Dark Slope to Open New Virtual Production Stage in Vancouver (Exclusive)

Virtual production studio operator Dark Slope has unveiled plans to build and open a new virtual production stage at North Shore Studios in Vancouver.

Located within the popular eight-stage suburban Vancouver campus, the new LED stage, to launch in December, will use assets from former Pixomondo LED stages in Toronto and Vancouver.

That follows Dark Slope acquiring Sony Entertainment’s Pixomondo virtual production stage at Pinewood Toronto Studios, and certain assets from Pixomondo’s twin stages in Vancouver after Sony in March 2026 unveiled plans to shutter the visual effects firm to focus VFX work at Sony Pictures Imageworks, headquartered in Vancouver.

Amy Lang, president of North Shore Studios, welcomed Dark Slope opening an LED stage on her campus. “Dark Slope’s virtual production capabilities are a natural complement to our existing infrastructure, giving producers access to advanced virtual technology alongside our soundstages and resources, and further strengthening Vancouver’s position as a premier destination for film and television production,” Lang said in a statement.

Virtual production broadly refers to visual effects work done in real time on set. Dark Slope for its new Vancouver stage will use LED screens, motion tracking cameras and computer hardware, along with rigging and trusses, that it brought over from the PXO Clara stages in Vancouver earlier shut down and disassembled.

The new LED stage at North Shore Studios will also use assets from the Pinewood Toronto Studios stage run by the former PXO Clara that were used in virtual production shoots for Star Trek franchise TV series and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Dark Slope has already offered in-studio and on-location virtual production for TV shows like Heated Rivalry, Ginny & Georgia, The Boys, its spinoff Gen V and Disasters at Sea. Adding a new virtual production stage in Vancouver to its portfolio underlines the company’s bet on growing demand from producers of scripted and unscripted productions to use LED volumes to create visual environments.

That’s as major studios and streamers look to cut VFX-heavy movie and TV series budget costs as AI tools advance, and as those savings may continue to be found in incentive-rich Canada. “British Columbia’s production industry is built on exceptional crews, world-leading visual effects companies and a longstanding culture of innovation. We can’t wait to become a new resource in the local industry,” Dan Fill, president of Dark Slope, said in a statement.

His company also intends to open a consulting business to support custom virtual production builds with expertise and infrastructure at any location across Canada and globally. Dark Slope will offer to design, build and operate custom LED stages of any size or configuration at studios or production locations internationally as part of its consulting business.