Synapse approaches its new phase reiterating its confidence in Brompton

Brompton Technology’s LED video processors support the intense pace of production at Synapse, a Los Angeles-based company that will imminently complete its move to a new production environment.

Synapse Virtual Production, an immersive entertainment collective comprised of industry-leading creatives and technicians in film and television, advertising, music videos, live events, and eSports, seeks to exploit the possibilities of virtual production with a creative approach in order to offer its clients maximum freedom. Since the company’s beginnings, Synapse has relied on Brompton Technology’s LED video processors, both in its main studios and in temporary installations.

Precisely, the Synapse team built a temporary LED studio in early 2023 for its own R&D and temporary production while it planned and built its permanent facility, which is scheduled to open in October 2023 at Los Angeles Center Studios. A total of nine Brompton Tessera SX40 processors were installed, powering the 18-meter-wide LED volume at 4K and 60 frames per second.

One of the most enlightening projects Synapse worked on during this time was the music video for Jackson Wang’s Cruel, directed by Synapse creative director and music video director and visual effects artist Rich Lee (Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, Rihanna…). To set the mood for the video shoot, the Synapse team created virtual environments in Unreal Engine and integrated them with practical foreground elements on the LED stage. The Brompton processors were particularly advantageous in two respects: the ability to facilitate multi-camera shooting using Tessera’s Frame Remapping feature, and the maximization of panel bit depth using Dark Magic to ensure the best possible color quality even in low light.

Geoff Knight, Synapse’s CTO, says looking back on this project: “It’s incredible what we’ve been able to achieve with the existing technology, so once we get our hands on Brompton’s new G1 receiver cards and the next-generation LED panels, I think it will blow everything we’ve done so far out of the water. I can’t wait to look back in a few years and see how much things have evolved.”