BitFire Studios opened its doors in Phoenix in Oct. 2021. At that time, BitFire Studios joined BitFire Networks, which came to be in July of 2020. BitFire Networks & Studios is the only combined company of its kind anywhere in the country — combining a state-of-the-art LED studio with a proprietary IP transmission network designed to take a client’s broadcast quality video wherever it needs to go, securely, reliably, over the internet and all under one roof.
“After we started the network in 2020, the next logical step in our business plan was to open a studio space to create complementary, original content to the work we were doing with our broadcast transmission clients,” says Bob Sullivan, president and CEO, whose experience in the industry spans more than four decades.
The broadcast production facility in North Phoenix boasts 16,000 square feet of production space; two separate sound stages; adjoining control rooms that allow for several productions to take place simultaneously; and LED walls that create real-time, reactive environments that perfectly sync with the camera for a seamless and fully immersive filming experience.
The cutting-edge technology highlights the use of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality, emphasizing the use of computer-generated content and creating intricate new worlds as was seen on Disney’s “The Mandalorian.” These ultra-high-resolution LED screens and floors wrap around the sets, enveloping hosts in any location imaginable. Expensive location shoots can now be flawlessly created in studio with the perfect lighting.
“Starting a new business during a pandemic is always a challenge, but because of the work we do, it actually created an opportunity,” says Sullivan. “Many of our clients, like Judge Jerry Springer and The Tamron Hall Show, were forced to enforce COVID protocols and produce shows from disparate locations. Our technology allows production crews to be in any number of locations while hosts are also off-site, and still produce a full show as if everyone was in the same room. This technology was on full display when the NHL had to move their 2020 Draft to an entirely virtual event.”
BitFire’s full production team of engineers, studio executives, photographers and editors are all top in their class, winning numerous Emmy Awards and other prestigious recognitions for their work in managing major events like the Super Bowl, Miss Universe, The Oscars and The Grammys.
Now with offices in both Phoenix and Boston, BitFire Studios opened in partnership with Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers — which inspire teens to grow through music, dance and art — providing vocational training in sound and recording, lighting, staging and video production. “The mission of the Solid Rock Teen Centers fit perfectly with the work we do here at BitFire Studios,” says Sullivan. “Our partnership will allow youth access to our studios and the opportunity for us to mentor and augment their video production and broadcasting skills. It’s important for us to give back to the community and this opportunity is a perfect fit.”
BitFire Studios offers content creators a place where they can generate new material at a time when the pandemic has accelerated an already ravenous appetite for video. And Sullivan notes Phoenix is also just a short flight from Los Angeles, with much cheaper costs, “so we see the interest level in Phoenix productions definitely increasing.”
