MOOV And Brainstorm Virtualise BBC Sport’s Wimbledon Studio

The studio virtualisation extended the space available far beyond its physical limits providing new virtual spaces and creating a 360 studio.

MOOV, a leading sport & events graphics company based in the UK, gave an eye-catching new look to BBC Sport’s on-site studio at Wimbledon, which also offered new ways of interacting with the audience and delivered enhanced storytelling during the Championships.

MOOV partnered with Brainstorm to deliver the most advanced virtual set and AR features available based on the company’s InfinitySet virtual studio application, integrated with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.

Built around a green screen studio, the Wimbledon studio virtualisation effectively extended the space available far beyond its physical limits, providing new virtual spaces around the real desk, which in effect created a 360 studio. There were also new and alternative camera angles, more room to add infographics, and of course additional Wimbledon branding. The added bonus was the flexibility to change, adapt and make adjustments on demand that InfinitySet provided.

“We managed to create a virtual space that allowed for a dynamic coverage of the tournament which seamlessly combined real and virtual imagery in a way that significatively enhanced the story and audience engagement” says Nev Appleton, director and co-founder at MOOV. “This was a particularly challenging project, not only due to the time constraints, but also because of restrictions on people on-site as well as technical issues such as the requirements to re-purpose the studio for the daily highlights. But, despite the challenges, the really great results reinforced our commitment to use virtual technology for enhancing live events”.

The project had to be produced in record time, as the set designs were available only at the end of April 2021. MOOV worked closely with BBC Sport as well as with a team of talented artists, and also relied on Brainstorm’s InfinitySet to create the virtual set and AR tracking, using Unreal Engine. As the studio had five cameras, including pedestals, jibs and PTZ, to ensure the output quality required, each camera was equipped with a Brainstorm InfinitySet system with Unreal Engine. The final output combined the real set with a desk for the presenters, with actual windows looking out to show the courts, and integrating the virtual world to enable the graphics and AR information to be displayed on demand.

You might also like...

Designing IP Broadcast Systems - The Book

Designing IP Broadcast Systems is another massive body of research driven work - with over 27,000 words in 18 articles, in a free 84 page eBook. It provides extensive insight into the technology and engineering methodology required to create practical IP based broadcast…

Demands On Production With HDR & WCG

The adoption of HDR requires adjustments in workflow that place different requirements on both people and technology, especially when multiple formats are required simultaneously.

NDI For Broadcast: Part 3 – Bridging The Gap

This third and for now, final part of our mini-series exploring NDI and its place in broadcast infrastructure moves on to a trio of tools released with NDI 5.0 which are all aimed at facilitating remote and collaborative workflows; NDI Audio,…

Designing An LED Wall Display For Virtual Production - Part 2

We conclude our discussion of how the LED wall is far more than just a backdrop for the actors on a virtual production stage - it must be calibrated to work in harmony with camera, tracking and lighting systems in…

Microphones: Part 2 - Design Principles

Successful microphones have been built working on a number of different principles. Those ideas will be looked at here.