The Chrysaor facility brochure is here, and it is built for filmmakers who thought a real studio was out of reach
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
For years, shooting at proper production values on the Gold Coast meant one of two things: a budget most independent filmmakers do not have, or a compromise that shows up on screen. Chrysaor Studios was built to end that trade-off. Our full facility brochure is now available as a free download, and it lays out exactly what you can do here.
Here is the short version. Chrysaor is a purpose-converted production facility at Varsity Lakes, a church rebuilt into a working film and virtual production complex. It is 1,415 m² under roof, fifteen minutes from Gold Coast Airport and under an hour from Brisbane. Two soundstages sit under one roof, alongside Queensland's only permanent open-access LED volume.
That last word matters. Open-access. The volume is not locked behind a studio's own slate or a minimum spend that prices out everyone but the majors. You can book it.
Build the set you have been imagining
The Kevin Weldon AO Soundstage gives you 349 m² of clear stage floor, 423.5 m² total hireable, 6.94 m to the ceiling under a 7 m truss grid. It is fully acoustically treated, climate controlled, and semi-trailer and B-double capable with direct vehicle access to the floor.
That means you can drive a truck onto the stage, build a standing set, light it properly and shoot without the noise, the weather and the permit chase that come with a location.
For a lot of independent productions, this is the thing that has been missing. Not talent, not ideas, a room big enough and quiet enough to build in, at a rate that does not swallow the budget before you turn a camera on.
Shoot a location you cannot afford to travel to
The Animax Virtual Production Stage houses a 49.5 m² Unilumin LED volume running Unreal Engine 5 with OptiTrack camera tracking. In plain terms: your background plays live on a wall of high-resolution LED screens, the camera shoots straight into it, and the light from the screen falls across your cast and set. A city at night. A desert highway. A coastline at golden hour. Captured in camera, on the day.
Because the volume is permanently installed, there is no build day and no transport cost. You walk in and you shoot. Scale it from a single panel for product and portrait work up to the full volume for a feature. It is the same approach used on major streaming series, available to a Gold Coast production at a fraction of the logistics.
Everything a producer needs to plan a shoot
The brochure is the whole picture in one document: both stages, the LED volume tiers, the crew base with production offices and edit rooms, the canteen and support spaces, floor plans, vehicle and power access, and how a booking works from first enquiry to wrap. It is written so a producer can scope a shoot before picking up the phone.
The next step is a conversation
The best way to understand what Chrysaor can do for your production is to stand in it. Book a walkthrough and we will show you exactly which stage, which spaces and which configuration will get you the result you need, at a price that works for your budget. Most of the productions we host are stepping onto an LED volume for the first time. That is completely fine. It is what we are here for.
Download the facility brochure and tell us about your project. Lucie Swan holds the diary, issues quotes and runs walkthroughs, at lucie@chrysaor.com.au.
Chrysaor Studios is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland's Capital Grants Program.
