ESPN's fancy new virtual production studio

Welcome to another issue of VP Land - you’re daily update of all things new and interesting in the virtual production industry.

Special thanks to this email’s sponsor, Adspective, an AI platform that automates ad design and placement in existing multimedia content.

ESPN Launches a New Virtual Studio

ESPN has launched Catalyst Stage, a groundbreaking virtual production studio that fuses physical and virtual environments, revolutionizing the production of live multi-camera and cinematic-quality projects.

The studio harnesses the power of Unreal Engine and proprietary software developed by Disney and ESPN, opening up a wealth of creative possibilities in live sports broadcast and branded content production.

Key Features

• It can produce live AR and XR productions in 1080p or UHD, as well as 4K cinematic-quality and advertising projects.

• This studio eliminates the limitations tied to building physical sets, enabling quick alterations and a blend of physical and virtual elements.

• Producers and directors can view all virtual set cameras simultaneously, much like in traditional set-up, keeping the focus on storytelling.

Technology

• Disguise XR: 26 real-time servers, rendering 11 million pixels, making it the largest and most complex Disguise XR system ever built for TV production.

• ROE Visual: ROE LEDs are powering the 11-million-pixel stage

• Pixotope: Uses machine learning to track people and movement on stage

• GhostFrame: Powers the multiple angles of the virtual set on the LED wall, so all 4 cameras are configured with the correct virtual set perspective in real-time (see our interview and demo with GhostFrame)

• Cameras: Four Grass Valley LDX 150 broadcast cameras and one ARRI AMIRA Live 35mm camera

• MRMC: Mark Roberts Motion Control robotic camera systems control all the cameras

• GRACE: Disney's proprietary system GRACE (graphics real-time automation and control environment) uses automated tools in Unreal to make complex changes to a scene quickly and without the need for a specialized crew.

The Future

While the current plan involves using it primarily for specialty segments in SportsCenter and other shows, there's potential for the space to host its own daily or weekly studio show in the future.

Disney anticipates the advancements made with this project will eventually extend to other parts of the company.

Watch the video below for an overview of the studio and check out this in-depth breakdown from Sports Video Group.

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Small-scale VP application: using short throw projectors to create an interview space that can cycle through 4 different looks and setups instantly.

Around the Web

• Building a powerful VR computer for less than $1700

• New Unreal demo environment is available to download

• Send and receive large files quickly with MASV*

• Review of the new Samsung Odyssey 49” OLED monitor

• Miami Herald cover story on the new BrandStar & GRUP MEDIAPRO virtual studio that opened in South Florida (we covered this last week)

Events

• ROE is hosting daily GhostFrame workshops in the UK from June 28 - July 21

• VIVE Mars launched a film competition to show off your best VP shot. Deadline is July 21st.

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