Forge Virtual Studios Opens Doors for Free Tours, Hires New VP Superivsor

Forge Virtual Studios says it will begin hosting complimentary one-to-one tours of its new Chicago-area virtual production facility this month, positioning the visits as both an introduction to the space and a practical way to demystify the technology before paid bookings begin in March.

Drew English told LBB they are now accepting bookings for the limited one-to-one tours, which will run about an hour long and will include a walkthrough of the studios and support spaces as well as hands-on demonstrations. Forge’s pitch is that the sessions can be adapted to what prospective clients need to understand – beyond the physical build and into workflow implications.

“We’ll have hands-on opportunities for demos with the technology,” said Drew. “Really we’re able to tailor a tour to, you know, anything that a customer is interested in or a client is interested in.” He pointed to use cases including “looking at camera tracking with Unreal Engine” and exploring “the use of 2D plates and AI image generation in a video production workflow.”

Drew said Forge expects strong interest partly because access to comparable facilities is limited. He argued that studios in the region are “booked frequently for larger… episodic productions” or “less accessible” to people who want to visit and learn – a gap Forge believes it can fill by making early-stage access straightforward. “There’s a lot of production companies and agencies in the area that we’ve talked to that are just dying to see one of these studios in person and get their hands on the technology,” he said. Asked about the price point, Drew replied, “No cost.”

Alongside the tours, Forge is announcing a senior hire, Michael Lister, who will join as virtual production supervisor and effectively lead the studio floor day-to-day. With a game design background and even having a game published on Steam!, Michael is an Unreal Engine specialist who transitioned from games to virtual production. He built and ran the Cherokee Nation’s virtual production stage in Oklahoma (the first and largest in the state), spent three years building it, running it, and training their team, and is an Emmy Award-winning director.

Drew described the appointment as part of a broader push to build an in-house team capable of supporting productions that may be curious about virtual production but uncertain about the shift.

Drew said Michael will be “an awesome asset and resource to production companies who’ve got the creative chops but are a little bit scared to take it to virtual production.” He added, “He’s got the creative side down. But he’s great technically and great with virtual production – so he has the ability to translate creative ideas to the digital screen.”

Speaking of an anecdote from the recruitment process, Drew noted, “I asked him, ‘You clearly want this job. But what would make you leave?’” Michael responded, “‘If I’m not being challenged. If we’re just doing car shoots in the studio, that’s great and all – but I’d like to explore new challenges and find exciting solutions.’”

“That’s exactly the kind of person we want running our studio. Someone who needs to be challenged. Who wants shoots that are mentally and physically engaging. Who’s here to build something real and enduring,” said Drew.

“Over the past two years of building Forge Virtual Studios, we’ve faced our fair share of challenges,” he added, citing the process of “find[ing] the right suburban city partner”, having to “re-design the blueprints after getting feedback from local producers”, and “procurement obstacles and shipping delays due to new international trade policies.

“Despite the challenges, our team and our partners rose to the occasion. From Day 1 of construction to completion, we built the Midwest’s most capable virtual production studio in just 4 months.”