Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema Launch State-of-the-Art Virtual Production

The ANR Virtual Production Stage is a state-of-the-art facility that allows filmmakers to tell stories without being limited by location or space.

Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema, two respected names in the Indian media business, have launched the ANR Virtual Production Stage in Hyderabad. This state-of-the-art ICVFX (In-Camera Visual Effects) facility promises to revolutionize the production process for filmmakers. The ANR Virtual Production Stage has been conducting tests since October 2022 and has already been used to shoot multiple movies, ads, and music videos. With its comprehensive workflow solution, the facility now offers filmmakers unprecedented flexibility and control, allowing them to achieve their creative goals without any limitations.

The technology used in the setup is cutting-edge, featuring a high brightness, curved LED wall spanning 60 ft in width and 20 ft in height, 2.3 mm dot-pitch, with ultra-high refresh rate and wide colour gamut. Top- of-the-line AOTO LED displays, state-of-the-art camera tracking using stYpe's RedSpy, and powerful, custom-built rendering systems using Unreal Engine allow for real-time rendering of complex photorealistic virtual locations. Filmmakers can now seamlessly blend real and virtual elements and shoot scenes in various locations worldwide without the need to physically relocate. They also have the ability to manipulate weather and lighting to their liking, giving them greater creative control.

Annapurna Studios is known for its infrastructure and services it provides for the media and film industry. Starting as a traditional film studio and production house, today it has transformed into an international standard studio with end-to-end services for all media formats. ‘Annapurna’ as a legacy brand is established in production, distribution, infrastructure and is constantly endeavouring to bring new technologies and business models to the media industry.

Qube Cinema’s success in transforming the media industry in India over the last three decades is a testament to the company’s willingness and ability to identify and adopt technology that can greatly improve production and post-production workflows. The unique collaboration between Annapurna and Qube will leverage this experience to reimagine the production process for today’s fast-paced and demanding entertainment environment with virtual production, the next evolutionary step in content production.

“The successful launch of the ANR Virtual Production Stage is a testament to our commitment to delivering cutting-edge services to our clients,” said Nagarjuna Akkineni of Annapurna Studios. “Our strength and experience in making movies and running studios in tandem with Qube’s technical knowledge make this a great collaboration. Virtual production enables the creative mind to imagine without limit and then create it.”

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“We are excited to collaborate with Annapurna Studios to bring this innovative technology to filmmakers in India and around the world,” said Jayendra Panchapakesan, Co-founder of Qube Cinema. “This is the start of a new era in content production, and we are committed to creating an ecosystem that allows filmmakers to work in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. Virtual production is the next big paradigm shift in content production, and we are thrilled to be leading this transformation.”

The launch of the ANR Virtual Production Stage is a game-changer for the Indian film industry, and it will help India's entertainment sector take a significant step forward in the global entertainment industry. The stage is the first world-class permanent ICVFX facility in India, offering significant cost savings in logistics and production, and it promises to empower filmmakers to tell their stories without being limited by location or space.

For further information, please contact vps@annapurnastudios.com and vps@qubecinema.com.

About Annapurna Studios

Annapurna Studios is a fully integrated media & entertainment company.

Established in 1976 by Padma Vibhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, Sri Akkineni Nageswara Rao, a pioneer in the Telugu Film Industry, the studio offers facilities for the production of feature films, TV and digital shows, special events, advertising commercials, music videos and more.

The 22-acre studio in the heart of Hyderabad city is a unique one-stop film production studio.

A filmmaker can walk into Annapurna Studios with a script and walk out with a complete film. Having been in the entertainment Industry for over 70 years, participating in production, services & distribution, Annapurna Studios’ film production arm has produced and financed over 50 feature films under the Annapurna banner while its television series air on primetime Telugu channels such as Zee TV and Star MAA. With the rise of streaming services, Annapurna has expanded to the digital space, providing content for multiple leading platforms.

Annapurna’s service offerings and facilities for the film and media industry are unparalleled.

Annapurna Studios provides first class infrastructure with 11 shooting floors and location facilities for the film and media industry, along with state-of-the-art TPN-certified, and Dolby approved post-production facilities. The services offered include data storage, video editing, audio dubbing, 4K colour grading, visual effects, world-class Dolby Atmos sound mixing and mastering.

The Annapurna group also lends its support to the Annapurna College of Film & Media, the first non-profit film school in India that offers government-accredited Bachelors, Masters, and MBA courses in Film and Media related subjects.

About Qube Cinema

Qube Cinema is a pioneer in crafting end-to-end digital cinema technology and solutions.

Drawing on decades of experience in the cinema business, Qube provides a seamless digital environment across the industry, from filmmakers and post-production facilities to exhibitors and audiences.

Qube's products are used in every step of the filmmaking and exhibition process.

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Qube Cinema’s portfolio of products are powerful, flexible, reliable, and cost-effective, and include Qube Wire, a service for global content distribution; Qube XP, fourth generation DCI compliant digital cinema servers; QubeMaster, a family of digital cinema mastering software solutions; iCount, a camera-based occupancy measurement solution; Slydes, a system that automatically creates just-in-time Digital Cinema Packages; Cheers, a web service for movie audiences that offers personalised greetings cards on the big screen; Justickets, a cloud-based SaaS ticketing solution; and Moviebuff, a website and mobile apps for accurate movie information. The Qube product line is well-established globally, with thousands of installations serving 135 countries across the world.

Qube's service offerings are constantly evolving to cater to the needs of the global cinema business.

Qube has digital cinema operations in over 4,000 screens across India, masters over 1,800 movies each year across 6 locations in India, designs and delivers the most cost-efficient Premium Large Format screens under its EPIQ brand and operates a patented advertising network for central control of advertising with local control of movie selection as the Qube Cinema Network (QCN).