The funny thing is the heart of this whole place is like the master clock that ties all the stuff together is super boring. But it honestly empowers us to do so much stuff.
Steve Giralt, Founder of The Garage
Innovation Through Necessity
The studio has developed numerous custom solutions to meet unique production challenges:
Custom-built liquid-cooled LED lights that are flicker-free up to 100,000 frames per second
In-house fabrication of specialized rigs for specific shots
Integration of virtual production with robotic camera movements
Full-Service Kitchen
The studio features a professional-grade kitchen with restaurant-quality equipment, including a commercial gas range
Professional ventilation system
Commercial dishwasher
Modular setup allowing for brand-specific equipment integration
Fabrication Workshop
Their in-house workshop includes a CNC mill for custom metal fabrication
Electronic development facilities
Dedicated technical staff for creating custom rigs
Organized ticketing system for managing technical requests
Having an on-site workshop has proven crucial for maintaining production efficiency.
It's super useful having everything here in house because oftentimes the clients don't decide on what they want until the last second. To be able to do things on the fly and make adjustments by having a shop in house is super useful."
Matt Huber, Head of Special Effects Rigging Department at The Garage
Virtual Production Evolution
The Garage has adapted virtual production technology for commercial workflows, using smaller LED walls optimized for product shots.
For us, like this scale is pretty great and the need to basically try to control the scenario because we're doing a lot of food and food could really melt in the sunshine. To bring the location in here is awesome.
Steve Giralt, Founder of The Garage
Client Collaboration
They'll actually have us do R&D in house as part of the project. How do we push those further? They get to see things that they'd never imagined their product could do.
Steve Giralt, Founder of The Garage
What's Next
The studio continues to explore new frontiers in virtual production, including:
High-speed still photography synchronized with LED walls
Advanced networking technologies like SMPTE 2110
New workflows optimized for commercial production timelines
The Bottom Line
By combining robotics, virtual production, and practical effects under one roof, The Garage has created a unique pipeline for producing high-end commercials that push creative boundaries while maintaining efficiency.
