The Cobalt Insider.

It’s all about control. Soundstages are trending—especially turnkey ones like Cobalt. It makes sense because producers are more concerned than ever about working in a controlled environment where crowd control is a non-issue, and virus mitigation solutions are in place.

Emmy-winning producer, Richard Janes, published “The Great Film Production Renaissance” on Medium, and we’ve never felt so “seen”. As a tech-forward company, Cobalt believed (and believes!) so strongly in the sustainability and unbound creativity that Virtual Sets deliver... that we spent years investing, mastering and sharing the VSet technology with our production community. Now, Virtual Sets are being recognized as the cornerstone of this New Production Era.

Decades before Cobalt Stages opened to the public, John Lennon’s iconic “Imagine” music video was shot here by a prior owner. As a tribute to our always magical space and Cobalt's history of innovation and imagination, we came up with “Soundstage Reimagined” when we first founded Cobalt. It seemed to ring true, then, and in light of recent events, well... our existing ideas and technologies take new shape and significance.

Want to limit crew on set, while saving time, money, and the environment? Get to know Cobalt’s Virtual Backlot—the first on the East Coast. We can help you shoot on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, on the moon, or in any other setting you can imagine—while dramatically reducing the amount of crew and staff on set.

Until this pandemic, Motion Control robotics has been used mainly as a creative VFX tool. Sometimes called “Precision Playback”, Motion Control makes it possible to program and repeat complex camera moves with a degree of precision that is impossible for humans to replicate on our own.

With retailers, prop shops, and suppliers closed for business, Cobalt is uniquely-equipped to help the Tri-State production community shoot safely.

Shows like Saturday Night Live and Cobalt Client “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” are broadcasting from home. Our industry-leading Livestreaming capabilities are evolving to meet the changing needs of the production community.

To the Tri-State production community: Thank you for keeping us informed and occupied, now and always! We’re proud of the way everyone is helping curb the spread of coronavirus. Knowledge is power, so here are some practical ways we’re making it work for our clients.

Cobalt President, Kara Vedder, has always applied her Health Sciences education by keeping our soundstage healthy. We asked her to weigh in on virus prevention and shooting safely, and here’s what she shared:

Cobalt Stages recently hosted a promo shoot for the Netflix hit “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch.” The shoot involved two kinds of special talent: VIP John Mulaney and 15 child actors! With our diverse Industry experience, we’ve worn many hats in front and behind the camera. We understand that special talent has unique needs, and we know exactly what those needs are. So, we fashioned our soundstage to exceed expectations in meeting them.