RTVE’s live show “Aquí la Tierra” is a pioneer in using real-time hyper-realistic virtual environments, which will be broadcast from today

Brainstorm, a specialist company provider of real-time 3D graphics, virtual set and augmented reality solutions, has reached an agreement with RTVE and in collaboration with MR Factory to generate a series of hyper-realistic contents for the program “Aquí la Tierra”, a well-known daily show focused on meteorology and lifestyle, which will be broadcasted from today. The content is produced at RTVE’s E3 Studio in Prado del Rey and at MR Factory’s facilities, where their expertise in real-time photo-realistic content for series, films and TV shows is recognized worldwide.

The hyper-realistic virtual sets created by MR Factory and RTVE comprise a total of six different scenes, ranging from the inside of a spaceship to an alpine exterior, a castle and the Nautilus submarine. All the virtual scenes include a wide variety of rooms and areas viewed from many different camera angles, which allows the director to plan the programmes with total creative freedom and with multiple shots as well as camera cranes able to cover the scenes in their entirety.

Brainstorm’s InfinitySet virtual studio application is the key component for the generation in real-time of these scenes, acting not only as the render of the virtual sets built by the Unreal Engine creative toolset but also as the management hub that brings together all the technologies involved. The whole production chain is 4K HDR, from capture, chroma-keying and render. The recording of the presenter takes place in a green screen set and is combined with a background created by the Unreal Engine within InfinitySet, which receives camera tracking data from the Mo-Sys StarTracker and the 4K HDR video signal from the Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro cameras with Canon zoom optics, mounted on cranes and tripods. The studio combines a virtual set with real RTVE props, using a BlackMagic Ultimatte chroma key for the overlay. The project also benefited from the collaboration with Moncada y Lorenzo and Canon.

According to Jaume Asensio, Head of Content Innovation Management at RTVE, “With this innovative project we have created six tremendously creative hyper-realistic scenes, both indoors and outdoors, providing the “Aquí la Tierra” team with countless possibilities for their pieces to camera. This project opens up a wide range of possibilities for live shows, documentaries and fiction that are very attractive to the audience”.

Mónica Víctor, Brainstorm’s Production Services Director and Sales Manager for Spain, states that “RTVE is a client with whom we have had a fruitful relationship for many years, and which has led both companies to generate unique contents. Within this new new production environment MR Factory and RTVE are at the forefront of the latest trends in content generation for television”.

Virtual production has proven to be a fundamental element of today’s broadcast content, and even more so in these times when social distancing is necessary and travel restrictions make traditional program productions more difficult to do. By using hyper-realistic virtual production, RTVE is able to both reduce costs and optimise production times while maintaining the highest standard of quality and maximising audience engagement.