BTS: ELECTION NIGHT AT THE BBC
Thomas Doukinitsas Motion designer, real-time VR, AR graphics BBC News
BBC’s UK election coverage I had the absolute pleasure to work on the BBC’s Election 2024 , and more specifically on most of the real-time 3D graphics alongside some exceptionally talented colleagues (Steve Mantz, Tony Sinclair, Ammar Zuhair). This included both augmented-reality set extensions and the exit poll reveal for Studio B in London’s Broadcasting House, as well as Jeremy Vine’s famous Swingometer and other XR graphics in Cardiff’s Central Square building. The Cardiff project was unique as it featured a blend of traditional chroma key, XR virtual production using an LED volume with a frame-multiplexing LED capable of sending different images to different cameras, while allowing Jeremy Vine to have his own presenter view so he could see the various graphics he was presenting. It also let us hide some useful guides and hints in there which were not visible to the audience.
IT LET US HIDE SOME USEFUL GUIDES AND HINTS IN THERE WHICH WERE NOT VISIBLE TO THE AUDIENCE
BBC’s US election coverage Right off the back of the UK general election, I was lucky enough to also work on this year’s US election coverage. This was for BBC Arabic and BBC Persian, alongside a talented team, creating a suite of real- time Vizrt graphics for three studios all being used simultaneously. Reusable, live, data-fed cards, inspired by the UK third-form design by Andrew Harris, were used to show results. These could be driven from a single, shared Pilot template for all languages in all studios and run via Mosart, fed with live data from the BBC’s election data platform. BBC’s flagship Studio B was used jointly by BBC Arabic and BBC Persian as a results election centre. It showed an AR map that I built, the data cards in both screens and a 3D virtual White House designed by Ammar Al Yasiri and implemented in real time by myself and Adil Tazrouti, as well as a touchscreen built by Steve Mantz and Pete Late. The broadcast also used my Local Elections 2023 Mezzanine design, adapted by Caroline Pitt and Gintare Tamasauskaite. BBC Arabic’s Studio 34D brought the conversation to the Oval Office with a mix of 3D set extensions, video wall designs and props, while BBC Persian’s Studio 54D had the touchscreen and data cards on their screens. Both outputs could also display the cards as on-screen pushback graphics when showing live images or the Washington outside broadcast.
IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT Engaging graphics like Jeremy Vine’s Swingometer are a brilliant way to get people, both in the country and outside, excited about election night
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