Diamond View Studios and Vū
Bringing the Future of Production Into the National Spotlight
As Diamond View Studios prepared to launch Vū in Tampa, HCP Associates brought together filmmaking experience, production industry insight and established media relationships to introduce a new way of creating film and television content at a moment when the industry needed alternatives.
Diamond View Studios
Private Sector
Film and Commercial Production / Virtual Production / Media and Entertainment
Film and Television Producers • Advertising Agencies • Brand Marketers • Production Companies • National and Industry Media
Vū launch technology partners included Unreal Engine • Sony • Mark Roberts Motion Control • Mo-Sys • NVIDIA and Aputure Lighting • Regional supporters included the City of Tampa • Hillsborough County and Tampa Bay Film Commission.
NBC TODAY national feature aired February 6, 2021, during Super Bowl weekend
Executive Summary
Launching a production studio requires more than announcing a new facility.
Producers and clients need to understand what it makes possible, how it fits into their work and why it deserves their attention. For Vū, that challenge was heightened by an industry navigating pandemic disruption while demand for content continued.
HCP recognized an opportunity to connect an emerging production capability with a timely national story. The engagement drew on the firm’s experience in filmmaking through Gulf Atlantic Films, longstanding research and planning work with Film Tampa Bay, and established media connections. That combination helped HCP approach the launch with an understanding of both the production business and what would make its story compelling to a broad audience.
The campaign culminated in a national NBC TODAY feature during Tampa’s Super Bowl weekend. It gave viewers a demonstration of virtual production and gave Diamond View a prominent platform for introducing Vū.
Tim Moore
Chief Executive Officer
Diamond View Studios
Understanding the Landscape
Diamond View announced Vū in December 2020 as a 10,000 square foot virtual production studio in Tampa.
Its LED volume could display digital environments for filming, supported by camera tracking and motion control technology. The approach offered creative control within a studio while reducing the need to travel to physical locations.
The timing mattered. Pandemic restrictions had disrupted production, and controlled environments and remote collaboration offered practical advantages. At the same time, Super Bowl LV was bringing national attention to Tampa. The launch connected a local investment with a wider question about how film and commercial production could adapt.
HCP had direct experience with that industry. Gulf Atlantic Films, founded in 1997 and wholly owned by HCP, has produced award winning independent films, documentaries and commercial content. By the Vū launch, that experience extended across nearly three decades. HCP’s continuing work with Film Tampa Bay added a regional perspective on production activity, business needs and opportunities for growth.
Research
HCP’s understanding of virtual production grew from decades of working at the intersection of technology, communications and filmmaking.
During the early dot com era, the firm helped incubate internet businesses and was an early adopter of green screen production for emerging digital applications. HCP also provided production support behind the scenes for major agencies that had not yet developed those capabilities in house. That work gave the team practical knowledge of how live footage, digital environments and visual effects could be combined to tell a story.
HCP’s managing partners also brought firsthand experience with the business of filmmaking. Through Gulf Atlantic Films, a subsidiary with roots dating to 1997 and nearly three decades of film industry experience today, they had attended the American Film Market in CA, worked with distributors, publicists, writers’ unions and agents, and brokered deals. Those experiences provided insight into how creative ambitions, commercial interests and stakeholder expectations must come together to move a production forward.
Through Gulf Atlantic Films and continuing involvement in the film industry, HCP followed advances in motion picture and commercial production, including developments on the West Coast. Research was an ongoing practice of tracking industry news, maintaining production relationships and evaluating how new techniques could change the work. HCP’s longstanding research and planning work with Film Tampa Bay added insight into the region’s production resources, business conditions and opportunities.
The Mandalorian, a television series created by Jon Favreau in 2019 for the streaming service Disney+, provided a prominent demonstration of the potential of immersive LED volume production. Its use of real time digital environments showed how filmmakers could create convincing locations within a controlled studio. For a team already familiar with green screen workflows, HCP understood the significance of bringing those environments into the 360 immersive filming space, where they could become part of the image captured by the camera.
Diamond View’s Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl commercial production made that capability tangible in Tampa. European driving environments, including German roads and forest settings, could be recreated inside Vū rather than requiring the full production to travel to those locations. The example gave HCP a concrete way to explain the technology’s relevance to commercial producers and brands: ambitious location based storytelling could be achieved within a local studio.
COVID made that capability particularly timely. With productions interrupted and travel constrained, the ability to create distant environments within a controlled facility addressed an immediate industry challenge. HCP connected its technical understanding with the news cycle and Tampa’s approaching Super Bowl spotlight, recognizing that Vū offered both a compelling visual demonstration and a practical story about how production could move forward.
Strategy
That film industry experience informed HCP’s approach to launch planning.
Its managing partners understood the coordination required when creative teams, business leaders, technology providers and media participants bring different priorities to the same opportunity. Experience navigating film markets and brokering deals helped HCP anticipate where expectations needed to be clarified and keep the launch centered on a shared story, a clear demonstration and a coordinated timetable.
HCP centered the PR strategy on a story audiences could see. A description of an LED volume can be technical; a demonstration of someone appearing to move between distant locations makes its potential immediately understandable. The strategic opportunity was to translate a production capability into a visual experience suited to television.
The campaign targeted national and international media and industry audiences on a focused timeline. HCP worked with NBC correspondent Kerry Sanders and the TODAY team to bring the studio’s capabilities into a segment timed to Super Bowl weekend. The approach connected the technology story with a national broadcast already turning its attention toward Tampa.
HCP’s role was to connect production expertise with editorial judgment: identify the useful story, communicate it credibly and help the right media team see its possibilities. Industry knowledge supported the pitch; established relationships helped open the conversation; the timing gave the story immediate relevance.
Marketing
The launch announcement introduced Vū’s capabilities, technology partners and regional support.
It positioned the studio as a resource for film and commercial production, with benefits that included controlled environments, remote collaboration and greater flexibility in creating locations.
National television then made the concept visible. The TODAY segment aired on February 6, 2021, and showed Sanders moving through virtual settings before revealing the studio behind them. The demonstration gave viewers a clear way to understand a technology they might otherwise associate only with major entertainment productions.
For Diamond View, the feature connected the Vū name with a memorable explanation of its capabilities. Tim Moore’s published testimonial described the coverage as a launch opportunity whose value continued beyond the initial broadcast.
Impact
Secured national NBC TODAY coverage during Super Bowl weekend, placing Vū’s launch within a major moment of attention for Tampa.
Translated virtual production technology into a visual demonstration understandable to audiences outside the film industry.
Connected the studio’s capabilities with the practical production challenges of the pandemic period.
Brought filmmaking experience, regional industry knowledge and media relationships together in a focused launch campaign.
Created a prominent national introduction that Diamond View leadership credited with continuing value after the launch.
Delivered the campaign in fewer than 90 days; HCP’s original case study reported a return valued at more than 20 times the project budget. This is a reported campaign valuation, rather than a measure of sales revenue.
What We Learned
A technology launch becomes more compelling when the audience can understand what the technology changes.
For Vū, the opportunity came from showing a new production method in action and connecting it with a moment of clear industry need. HCP’s filmmaking background helped the team understand the capability, while its communications experience helped shape the story for national television.
The result illustrates the value of preparation meeting timing: relevant expertise and established relationships were already in place when the opportunity arrived.