CVP: Ready for more at Masterwork Films

Posted on Jul 14, 2025 by Admin

As more brands are turning to high-end, cinematic content, Masterwork Films is answering the call with green screen virtual production

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Bursting onto the scene in 2024, Masterwork Films is one of the few green screen VP studios operating outside London. Based in Brighton and Hove, it grew from a run-and-gun crew to a stationary base, according to founder and CEO Biro Florin. Welcoming a range of commercial clientele, the studio specialises in branded content with a narrative edge, offering endless production possibilities thanks to its cinema-grade virtual set-up.

Down to business

For Florin, entrepreneurship comes naturally. “I used to be in tech and, more specifically, software as a service,” he begins. “I built my own company – in SaaS – from 2018 to 2022, and at the end of 2022 I sold it.” After that Florin started a podcast, creating content that focused on blending his corporate strategy skills with his ‘passion for filmmaking’.

It’s from this combination that Masterwork Films was born. “I decided to start Masterwork Films because I wanted to help other brands and individuals vocalise their message, gain audiences, develop relatability with their audiences and ultimately build a better brand reputation,” Florin shares.

In the beginning, the company was a travelling band, going from location to location – and incurring lots of expenses along the way. “For one commercial,” he recalls, “we built an entire set, just for it to be destroyed after two days of shooting. I realised that there must be a better, easier, cheaper way to do things.

“That’s why I got into the world of virtual production,” he continues. “VP enables you to place your talent anywhere, and at a fraction of the cost.” At Masterwork this is especially true, with its green screen technology an affordable alternative to LED volumes.

Over the shoulder of a woman standing on a green screen. She looks towards a large panel light

Masterwork Films is still in its early days, having only just opened its new fixed-location studio in February of this year

The best around

According to Florin, green screens trump LEDs in a few ways. “LED walls are still super expensive,” he begins. “The technology still isn’t that accessible, price-wise. In my eyes, it’s also a bit harder to run,” he continues, adding that LEDs require more processing power, as well as more hands on deck. “If you’re running an LED stage, you need to have a couple of people on set to help you with that, whereas in the green screen studio, I can be the only VP engineer involved.”

As well as accessibility, Florin also prioritises flexibility, and green screens support both multicam set-ups and multi-layer recordings. “We do work such as live streams and podcast discussion panels, which require more than one camera. Usually, with an LED wall, you can’t use more than one. But with green screen, I can have as many cameras as I want,” he describes – though the studio typically supports up to three 4K cameras. Then, while capturing content, “we record the composited foreground and background, but we also record an alpha channel – basically the keyed out foreground, as well as the green screen footage – at the same time. This allows for a lot of flexibility in post,” he explains.

Masterwork’s virtual studio operates high-end, cinema-grade technology, including Unreal Engine 5, an AJA ColorBox and Blackmagic Design Ultimatte systems. The green screen area itself – painted with ChromaLight – measures 602 sq ft, with acoustically treated walls and DMX-controlled stage lights. “This gives us flexibility to take on pretty much any project,” Florin states.

It’s an ideal space for podcasts, live broadcasts or discussion panels, and Masterwork also employs RED cameras and Fujinon Premista lenses – the cream of the crop, optically speaking.

“I wanted RED cameras in the studio because the brand has a great reputation,” says Florin. “Premista lenses cover the sensor on the RED V-Raptor. We have a 19-45mm lens, and then we have a 28-100mm, and it means I don’t need to change lenses on set. Because we’re in a VP studio,” he continues, “there’s a lot of rigging around these cameras, so taking a lens off and putting on a different one isn’t as simple as just twisting it. You also have to recalibrate and make sure you load the right profiles in Unreal Engine.”

Florin also added an Egripment mini jib for smooth camera movement and two Godox KNOWLED F800Rs – one rigged above and another standing – for soft, yet powerfully bright lighting. “We wanted to have as small a footprint as possible,” he says – which is a good choice given the relatively tight quarters and single-stage operation.

Florin purchased the entire Masterwork set-up through CVP. “They’re the biggest and most reputable shop for film kit out there,” he claims, which made the decision a simple one. Since VP presents a technical barrier for some, “having partners that can help you is important,” says Florin. “That’s why I’m so grateful for CVP; there’s an entire VP team, and they’re more than happy to provide any studio that’s starting up with advice and guidance on what tech to use, what to purchase, how to set it all up and so on.”

A film studio with a green screen on one side and a pink area the other side, divided by a white wall

A woman stands in front of a green screen being filmed by a large camera. A large selection of equipment and monitors are placed in front of her at a desk

Branching out into using green screens for VP rather than LED walls has proven more cost-effective and less labour-intensive

Looking forward

Opened in February of this year, the Masterwork Films studio is arguably a new player on the board. “We’re still at the very beginning,” admits Florin. “We have a couple narrative projects that are currently in trial, and we’ve done a couple of trailers. We’re also working on some commercial projects,” he reveals, which he describes as the studio’s ‘main focus’, but “we’re pretty flexible. If it turns out that we get a lot more demand for, say, live streams and corporate events, then we have the set-up, and we’re ready for it.”

Florin is especially interested in YouTube and social media content. “This space is great for that world,” he suggests. “Let’s say you’re creating a show for YouTube. You’re more likely to rent the studio for just a few days per month. There are no obligations; there’s no big commitment. You can just come in and record whenever,” he describes. “It’s appealing for streaming platforms that have a lower budget. We only need to create the virtual environment once, so it’s simply a matter of turning on the lights the next time you come in to shoot.”

Masterwork runs its own regular video series, outlining ‘how to build a studio’ and introducing VP to novice filmmakers. “We’re already getting consultancy requests from other film production companies that want to set up a studio like ours,” he reveals. “I think we’re going to see more and more people interested.”

Florin believes Masterwork Films’ continuing experimentation with AI and other emerging tech makes it future-proof. “VP is notorious for front loading. With the advent of AI, that will become much more digestible,” Florin predicts. “Rather than spending time creating 3D assets and environments, you can quickly generate lots of them using AI. Hopefully, in the next couple years,” he concludes, “we’ll see virtual production become part of the mainstream.”

Delivering solutions to fuel your creativity

The CVP Projects Team delivers end-to-end solutions, from design and specification to seamless installation and training. With a flexible, collaborative approach, we tailor each project to your needs, leveraging our extensive supplier network and industry connections to ensure the best technology fit for you. Our expert project management and reliable equipment supply bring together the right people and technology to create future-proof studio environments.

Talk to the team on 0208 380 7400 or email [email protected] to learn more.