International. MOOV, a leading UK-based sports and event graphics company, completely revamped BBC Sport's Wimbledon studio, while offering new ways of interacting with the audience, enhancing storytelling during the tournament.
To do this, instead of rebuilding the physical set, MOOV and BBC Sport decided to virtualize it to take advantage of the infinite possibilities offered by virtual technology. MOOV worked with Brainstorm to provide the virtual set and the most advanced Augmented Reality features available on the market, based on the InfinitySet virtual studio solution, and using Epic Games' Unreal Engine.
Created around a chroma studio, Wimbledon's virtual set dramatically expanded the available space beyond its physical limits, enabling new spaces around the real table, which in effect created a circular 360º studio. It also allowed for alternative camera shots, more space to add infographics and, of course, increased presence of the Wimbledon brand. InfinitySet added its flexibility to change, adapt and make last-minute adjustments.
"We managed to create a virtual space that allowed dynamic coverage of the tournament by seamlessly combining real and virtual images, significantly improving coverage and increasing audience interest," says Nev Appleton, director and co-founder of MOOV. "It has been an especially difficult project, not only because of time constraints, but also because of on-site staffing constraints and technical issues such as the need to reuse the study for daily summaries. But despite the challenges, the really great results reinforced our commitment to using virtual technology to improve live programs."
The project had to be produced in record time, as the set designs were not available until the end of April 2021. MOOV collaborated closely with BBC Sport, and relied on Brainstorm's InfinitySet to create the virtual set and tracking for Augmented Reality, using Unreal Engine. As the studio had five cameras, including pedestals, cranes and PTZ, to ensure output quality each camera was associated with an InfinitySet system with Unreal Engine.
The final result combined the set with a physical table for the presenters, and even used the windows facing the outside to show the tennis courts, integrating them into the virtual world to allow the graphics and Augmented Reality information to appear as needed.
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