As Texas A&M Fort Worth’s new virtual production studio takes shape, the city’s place in the media and tech landscape inches closer to a major milestone. An immersive movie set, featuring LED walls and motion-capture technology, is on track to start fueling Fort Worth’s film, video game, and training industries by January 2025.

David Parrish, director of the School of Performance, Visualization, and Fine Arts at Texas A&M, describes the setup as an environment where scenes and CGI come alive in real time. “You’re putting up an entire environment on this wall,” Parrish says, explaining how LED panels can create surrounding volumes and even ceilings, transforming a room into any setting imaginable.

The studio itself will be housed at Winfield Place in downtown Fort Worth, with a 30×11-foot LED screen anchoring the setup. A secondary, larger studio at Red Productions in the Near Southside neighborhood will provide additional capacity for projects and classes.

Aimed not just at film production, the studio opens doors for video game design, VR-based training, and simulations across industries—from first responders to healthcare and architecture. Texas A&M students will also gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology, enabling them to step into industry roles with real-world skills. “It’s the marriage of art and science,” says Parrish, reflecting on how the facility will elevate both creative and technical expertise in Texas A&M’s curriculum.

Fort Worth is primed to capitalize on this influx of trained, tech-savvy talent. With a creative economy that has steadily expanded since the Fort Worth Film Commission’s launch in 2015, local productions have generated $700 million in economic impact and supported over 30,000 jobs. “When productions look for a film location, one of the first things they ask about is our local workforce,” says Taylor Hardy, director of video content at Visit Fort Worth. “Having a skilled local workforce means productions can hit the ground running without flying in talent from out of state.”

To meet the demand for skilled professionals, the Fort Worth Film Commission launched the Film Collaborative Certificate Program in partnership with Tarrant County College and 101 Studios. The fast-track program has trained over 200 students in specializations such as grip, lighting, hair and makeup, and set construction. Additional certificates for roles in camera, sound, art, and costume departments are set to roll out next year, with each course designed to get students job-ready in three months.

“Our goal is to train up Texans to be leaders in a Texas-centric film industry,” says Sean Fousheé, program director at Tarrant County College. Students from diverse backgrounds—including career changers, film enthusiasts, and recent high school graduates—are filling these classes, ready to jump into Fort Worth’s thriving production scene. And the timing couldn’t be better. According to Fousheé, “They’re paying rates comparable to union jobs in LA for set-building work here in Texas.”

Fort Worth’s appeal as a production destination is growing, with its unique landscapes and expanding creative infrastructure attracting a new wave of industry leaders. Rather than replicating Hollywood, Texas aims to build a homegrown industry rooted in its unique culture and geography. As Fousheé puts it, “It’s a great place to shoot, and a great place to attract, train, and retain talent.”

In addition to Texas A&M’s advancements, Trilogy Studios recently opened three virtual production stages in Dallas-Fort Worth in June 2024. Developed in collaboration with Optic8, Trilogy’s facilities include LED volumes that support cinematic productions, vehicle shoots, and broadcast work, further enhancing Texas’s capabilities in high-tech production.

With the Texas A&M Fort Worth studio and the Film Collaborative Certificate Program laying the groundwork, Fort Worth is set to become an essential player in the national production landscape—offering world-class facilities, robust training, and a committed, local workforce.