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Studio-Hopping: Visit the Production Hubs Behind Vice’s Reboot

UUnknown

2026-02-22

10 min read

Map Vice Media’s 2026 reboot into a travel route: visit studios, co-working hubs, post houses and creative neighborhoods where edgy content is made.

Struggling to find shareable, behind-the-scenes travel stories? If you’re bored of obvious studio tours and tired of stale city guides, map Vice Media’s 2026 reboot into a tangible travel route: a studio-hop that visits the filming stages, co-working production hubs, post houses and creative neighborhoods where modern Vice-style journalism and edgy content are actually made. This guide turns industry shifts into a travel itinerary you can follow, photograph and post — with practical tips for access, budgeting and creating your own viral BTS content.

Why studio-hopping matters right now (2026)

In late 2025 and early 2026 the media landscape accelerated a shift: legacy publishers and indie studios doubled down on production infrastructure instead of pure publishing.

"Vice Media is expanding its C-suite and reshaping itself as a production player,"

reads recent reporting on Vice’s post-bankruptcy reboot — new executives have been hired to scale production capabilities and studio deals. For travelers this is fertile ground: media companies are opening or partnering with production hubs, co-working studios and post houses — giving curious visitors a chance to trace the making of the content they share online.

What you’ll find on a Vice-style studio-hop

Filming studios: independent stages and legacy lots where shoots and news segments are produced.
Co-working production hubs: hybrid spaces where creators, producers and brands share gear and crews.
Post-production houses: color labs, mixing rooms and VFX shops where story comes together.
Creative neighborhoods: cafes, galleries and street corners that feed the aesthetic and give you photo ops.

How to use this guide — logistics, permissions and timing

Think of this as a travel-meets-industry playbook. Follow these steps before you travel:

Research and prioritize: pick 1–2 cities to focus on — most travelers can only do one major media city per trip and really dig in.
Contact PR and community managers early: many studios require 2–4 weeks notice for tours or on-site visits.
Buy day passes or memberships for co-working production hubs — these give you legal access and often include gear discounts.
Plan around festivals and trade shows (Sundance, SXSW, IBC, NAB) for pop-up access and open studios.
Use official studio tours (Warner Bros, Universal) for context and contrast with indie hubs for authentic Vice-style flavor.

Signature studio-hop routes

Below are curated city routes — each designed for a 2–4 day deep dive and optimized for photo/video storytelling. Swap or combine stops based on your schedule.

New York City: Industry City to Long Island City — grit meets infrastructure

Industry City (Brooklyn) — co-working studios, rental stages and pop-up production markets in a redeveloped waterfront campus. Great for BTS street shots and maker fairs.
Gowanus & Red Hook — smaller studios and workshop spaces where indie doc crews set up. Walk the canal; look for open-door filming days.
Brooklyn Navy Yard — industrial stages and soundstages repurposed for film & TV. Book a public tour or join a scheduled industry open house.
Long Island City & Silvercup Studios — major soundstages and backlots in LIC; contrast classic studio lots with the indie spaces you saw earlier.
Post-production stops: look for New York offices of shops like Light Iron and creative finishing houses where color and audio are finalized.
Creative neighborhoods: DUMBO, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side for café interviews and street-level visuals.

Los Angeles: Arts District to Hollywood — the modern media campus

Arts District — boutique sound stages, director-run production houses and co-working studios that blur brand content with indie filmmaking.
DTLA (Row DTLA, ROW) — creative campuses anchored by post houses and gear rental shops. Perfect for behind-the-scenes timelapses.
Sunset Gower & Sunset Las Palmas — legacy lots that give context to modern studio workflows.
Silver Lake & Venice — gather street-level culture and creator collabs in cafés and vinyl shops.
Post-production and VFX: LA is home to big color and finishing houses like Company 3 and numerous boutique audio studios — ask about public show-and-tell sessions or alumni events.

Montreal & Toronto: Canada’s production powerhouses (and Vice’s roots)

Vice began in Montreal — it’s a meaningful stop for anyone tracing the brand’s DNA.

Mile End & Plateau (Montreal) — creative neighborhoods where magazine and video culture mixed into early Vice identity.
Pinewood Toronto Studios — one of Canada’s largest soundstage complexes. Combine a tour here with a walk through Toronto’s Queen West for contrast.
VFX & post houses: Toronto hosts major VFX shops (Mr. X among them) and a thriving compositing community — usually open to industry inquiries during festivals.

London & Berlin: European creative campuses

Shoreditch & Hackney Wick (London) — co-working studios, video collectives and galleries mixing tech and art. Pop into Factory-style hubs and exhibition spaces.
MediaCityUK (Salford) — a modern media campus with public-facing tours and broadcast activity.
Berlin (Kreuzberg, RAW-Gelände) — independent studios, rehearsal spaces and post houses where experimental docs and music videos are made.
VFX and finishing: London’s Framestore and DNEG (UK) are world-class VFX houses; check for alumni panels and public workshops.

Post-production & tech trends shaping visits in 2026

Post-2024 the biggest industry changes affect how you experience studios in 2026:

AI-assisted editing and VFX: Generative tools are standard in many shops — expect demo stations showing automated cutdowns and AI-assisted color grades. Ask about ethics and usage rights before recording.
LED volume and virtual production: LED stages (volumes) scaled rapidly in 2023–2025 and are now accessible in more regional studios. If your route includes a tech-forward stage, request a volume demo — the visuals are spectacular for social content.
Hybrid and distributed workflows: Remote dailies, cloud-based editing and real-time collaboration let smaller hubs punch above their weight. Many co-working studios offer remote edit suites you can rent by the hour.
Sustainability: Green production standards and carbon calculators are common. Studios may highlight their sustainability certifications on tours — good content for conscious travelers.

How to actually get backstage access — step-by-step

Getting behind the scenes often comes down to relationships and timing. Here’s a practical approach:

Start with daytime co-working passes. Production hubs welcome paying guests; you’ll meet producers and oftentimes get invited to set visits.
Network at public industry events. Festivals, trade shows and alumni nights are where PR reps and studio managers relax and hand out passes.
Email PR, then follow up on LinkedIn. Use a concise pitch: who you are, what you cover, top social metrics and a specific request for a 30–60 minute tour or interview.
Book official studio tours early. Famous lots sell out weeks ahead; independent studios may offer open days once per quarter.
Offer value. If you’re a creator, offer to create a short BTS cut for the studio’s channels in exchange for access — many small shops welcome cross-promotion.

Sample 7-day Vice-style studio-hop itinerary

This compact itinerary assumes you land in a major city and want a full immersion. Swap cities based on preference.

Day 1 — Arrival & orientation

Check into a centrally located hotel or creative residence.
Walk a creative neighborhood to capture ambient B-roll (cafés, murals).
Book co-working day-pass for Day 2.

Day 2 — Co-working and crew meetups

Work from a production-focused co-working hub; introduce yourself to community managers.
Attend community happy hour or screening if available.

Day 3 — Studio tour & B-roll

Pre-book a studio tour (indie or legacy lot). Shoot exterior B-roll, ask about allowed BTS areas.
Schedule a 20-minute interview with a production manager or assistant

Day 4 — Post-production & VFX day

Visit a color suite, audio mixing room or VFX studio. Ask for a demo of AI tools and finishing workflows.
Record short explainers about the post process for your platform.

Day 5 — Neighborhood stories

Gather vox pops with local creators, street artists, baristas and gallery curators.
Produce a short montage about the neighborhood’s role in content production.

Day 6 — Festival or screening

Attend a local screening, panel or pop-up event. Great place to meet editors and producers.

Day 7 — Wrap, edit & pitch

Spend the day editing a 60–90 second BTS highlight for social. Send it to hosts as thanks and amplification.

Budgeting, permissions & legal notes

Budget carefully — studio tours and co-working day-passes aren’t expensive individually, but cumulative costs add up. Here’s a quick checklist:

Day-pass for co-working production hubs: $25–$100 per day.
Private studio tours / demo sessions: $0–$300 depending on size and exclusivity.
Official studio tours (legacy lots): $30–$70 per person.
Post-production demos: usually complimentary if you’re producing social content; otherwise $50–$200 for formal demos.
Permissions: Always confirm filming permissions in writing. Post houses may permit photography but restrict interior video — ask before you shoot.

Sustainability & responsible film tourism in 2026

Green production is mainstream. When studio-hopping:

Prioritize low-carbon transit (bike, tram, public transit). Many creative campuses are transit-friendly.
Highlight studios with sustainability credentials — it’s a topical and sharable angle.
Respect union rules, crew rest periods and on-set safety protocols — don’t show up unannounced to active shoots.

Advanced strategies for creators and travel-curators

Want to level up beyond visiting? Use these proven tactics:

Pitch mini-docs to local studios: many production houses will co-promote short behind-the-scenes features that highlight their tech or sustainability efforts.
Use vertical-first storytelling: 2026 metrics still favor short, vertical BTS content for discovery. Produce 30–45 second cuts optimized for Reels and TikTok alongside a longer-form YouTube or article edit.
Leverage LinkedIn and industry Slack communities: Introduce yourself to post supervisors and line producers — they often have spare time slots for press or educational tours.
Cross-post with studio partners: Offer a shared asset (short edit or stills) in exchange for amplified distribution on studio channels.

Safety, privacy and AI ethics (quick primer)

Generative AI tools are used in editing and voice work across many post houses in 2026. When filming or reporting inside studios:

Ask if AI tools were used in the content you’ll feature — transparency matters to platforms and audiences.
Respect privacy of union crews and non-consenting individuals; get release forms where needed.
Clarify rights to distribute footage that includes proprietary studio tech or screen content.

Key takeaways

Vice Media’s pivot into studio-scale production has widened public-facing opportunities — more studios and hubs are positioned to welcome creators.
Plan ahead: PR outreach, co-working passes and festival timing are the difference between a pass and a peek.
Prioritize post-production visits: where footage is shaped is where you’ll find the best shop-talk and explainers for audiences.
Ethics and sustainability are now part of the story — feature them to differentiate your content.

Ready to turn Vice-style production into your next travel story? Use the sample itinerary above, pick one media city and start emailing community managers two weeks before travel. Want a printable route and editable shot list for Instagram and TikTok? Sign up for the Studio-Hop kit (includes outreach email templates, release forms and a 7-day social posting calendar) — then go make some content that matters.

Call-to-action

Download the free Studio-Hop kit to get outreach templates, a one-week editable itinerary, and a checklist for securing studio and post-production access. Start mapping your own Vice-style route and share it with our community — tag @viral.voyage so we can amplify your behind-the-scenes stories.

Unknown

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.