ep118 - From an $8M Exit to a Virtual Production Studio: Inside Biro Florin's New Course – CineD Focus Check

In this episode of Focus Check, Nino speaks with Biro Florin — entrepreneur, misfit, and founder of Masterwork Films — about his unconventional path from cosmetics and software to running a green screen virtual production studio in Brighton, UK. They also dive deep into the new Virtual Production for Beginners course now available on MZed, which Biro co-created to help filmmakers, studio owners, and virtual production engineers build their own VP setups from scratch — without the budget of a Hollywood LED volume.

🎓 Virtual Production for Beginners course on MZed:

https://www.mzed.com/courses/virtual-production-for-beginners

Chapters and Articles in This Episode

(01:19) Meet Biro Florin

(03:26) From Romania to the UK: cosmetics, software, and an $8M exit

(07:01) The "Misfit" mindset: Jexo, Masterwork Films, and entering industries sideways

(17:13) Raising investment: finding ethical investors and protecting creative control

(22:32) AI in filmmaking: the commercial shift, Cannes AI features, and what's defensible

(46:10) Pivoting to filmmaking and founding Masterwork Films

(50:55) Building a green screen VP studio on a budget

(01:05:14) Why Blackmagic cameras work best for real-time keying

(01:12:36) Blackmagic UltraKey, dynamic range, and getting a clean key

(01:12:55) Unreal Engine workflows: compositing inside vs. outside the engine

(01:15:49) Course structure, the 100-page workbook, and upcoming chapters

(01:17:40) Understanding business

🎓 Virtual Production for Beginners course on MZed:

https://www.mzed.com/courses/virtual-production-for-beginners

📖 Course overview on CineD:

https://www.cined.com/virtual-production-for-beginners-new-mzed-course-on-green-screen-stages-unreal-engine-and-real-time-compositing/

📬 Email us: [email protected]