Inside Star Trek: Discovery's LED Volumes With PIXOMONDO

Perforce

Jan 20, 2026

In this episode, Jase chats with Matthew Swanton, Virtual Production Unreal Engine Supervisor at PXO Clara who pulls back the curtain on what really happens when you're trying to deliver final pixels on a film set where every minute costs thousands of dollars.

Here's what you'll learn:

The accidental career path: How modding Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at 16 became Matthew’s unlikely foundation for a virtual production career
When virtual production actually works: Why Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 hit 90%+ in-camera finals (and what that really means)
The $45GB mistake: The moment an artist's innocent update nearly derailed an entire shoot—and how they fixed it
Robomerge to the rescue: Why PXO Clara split their Perforce workflow into studio and stage streams, complete with hashtag automation that actually works
The performance puzzle: Rendering three high-res screens simultaneously on one computer (spoiler: it's harder than it sounds)
Creative translation: Why "make it darker" is never just about making it darker—and how understanding story intent changes everything
Beyond the hype: The honest truth about virtual production's limitations, and why LED walls won't replace green screens

This isn't your typical "virtual production is magic" interview. It's the real story of innovation, collaboration, and scrappy solutions that make cutting-edge technology actually work in production.

00:00 Intro and Show Overview

01:47 What is Virtual Production?

04:53 From Grand Theft Auto Modding to Film Production

06:19 Six Years of Compositing: The Foundation

08:00 The Transition to Virtual Production During the Pandemic

10:01 The Virtual Production Toolkit: Software and Hardware

13:04 nDisplay and Multi-User Server Explained

16:03 The Reality Check: Final Pixel vs Post-Production

20:05 Achieving 90% In-Camera Finals on Star Trek: Discovery

23:01 Version Control Crisis: When Updates Cost Thousands Per Minute

27:00 The Robomerge Solution: Studio vs Stage Streams

30:05 Shared Content Between Lighting Scenarios