INDUSTRY. EXTENDED REALITY
E xtended Reality (XR) – a virtual to be interacting with – continues to gain traction. It’s delivering immersive, innovative experiences in all kinds of scenarios – from reality TV shows and music performances to live sport. “The whole ecosystem involved is just larger, as are the requirements for the technical crew,” says Marina Prak, marketing manager at Roe Visual Europe. “It touches on almost every discipline and product involved. Suddenly, all the stand-alone equipment needs to be interconnected, synced and working together flawlessly. That requires an awful lot of technical backbone to make it all happen. Workflows for all the staff involved need to be integrated and every aspect of the production must be thought through in pre-production.” production technique making use of an LED volume to let talent see the environment they are supposed In live entertainment, XR allows artists to connect with their audiences – even if they may not be in the room with them. In 2020, one of the first major applications of XR was Katy Perry’s performance of Daisies at the American Idol finale. Instead of singing for a live audience, Perry sang her single on an LED stage with real-time graphics rendered on the LED walls and appearing in-camera. “She was immersed in a colourful virtual environment – allowing a virtual audience to experience an incredible performance,” says Tom Rockhill, chief commercial officer for Disguise, whose technology drove the event. “Since then, we’ve seen widespread adoption of XR.” In fact, more than 600 productions and 350 stages in over 50 countries are using Disguise’s XR solution. Last year, DJ Alan Walker used XR to power his virtual concert World of Walker for electric vehicle manufacturer Nio’s annual product launch day. In August, singer-songwriter Camila Cabello made a virtual album launch concert on TikTok using XR.
MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN Spurred on by the requirements for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, XR is ballooning in popularity – marrying the physical and virtual worlds together in a thrilling blend
Karate Combat 35 also used XR to create a hybrid event where in-person attendees and a virtual audience could both see the fighters immersed in a CGI environment. The technology is being used by broadcasters, too, immersing viewers – and particularly guests – into the virtual environment. Plazamedia is at the vanguard, having commissioned Mo-Sys to deliver a turnkey LED studio in Germany ahead of the 2022 World Cup. Using Mo-Sys tech, the new studio blends the real set with the virtual world, creating the illusion of a 360° environment, and adding the creative freedom to deliver real-time 2D keyed, and rich 3D on-air graphics into the scene
– together with multicamera switching at UHD 4K resolution. Initially, XR was expensive. There was a perception that you needed a huge volume similar to the enormous one used on Disney+ show The Mandalorian . “The ecosystem is larger, as are the requirements for the technical crew. It touches on almost every discipline and product”
GOLDEN TROPHY Plazamedia deploys Alfalite LED volume to broadcast the Fifa World Cup in a cutting-edge hybrid studio
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