Virtual production technology is revolutionizing the broadcasting industry, offering unprecedented flexibility and efficiency. Pixotope offers more than just tools for stunning visual effects and immersive environments: by reducing reliance on physical sets and location shoots, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting the reuse of digital assets, Pixotope significantly lowers the environmental footprint, driving the movement towards eco-friendly media production. As sustainability becomes a priority for content creators around the world, virtual production platforms like Pixotope are essential in reaching these crucial environmental milestones.
For The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), sustainability plays a significant role in their operations and decision-making process. RUV strives to align its initiatives with the UN's Global Goals, ensuring that its broadcasting not only operates efficiently but also considers its impact on future generations. Their traditional production methods involved a cycle of constructing, dismantling and storing or discarding sets, which saw a significant amount of wasted materials over the course of numerous productions. Determined to weave sustainability into more aspects of their operations, RÚV sought eco-friendly solutions to optimize their production processes.
In addition to this, the high costs and time taken to construct, dismantle, and store physical sets presented a financial strain. This challenge was exacerbated during major events like the Handball Championships, which required blocking out the main studio for extended periods and limiting the broadcaster's capacity to produce other content.
While achieving these goals, maintaining viewer engagement was equally crucial by adopting a more flexible production approach. By enabling swift set transformations, RUV aimed to support a broader and more diverse programming lineup, catering to viewer needs or more efficiently adapting to meet changing production requirements.
Driven by these strategic eco-friendly and cost effective goals, RUV turned to Pixotope's state-of-the-art virtual production technologies. Pixotope's user-friendly interface and ease of integration into existing workflows allowed RÚV to implement the software in a record time. The all-in-one platform streamlined RÚV's workflow, reducing the need for multiple systems and ensuring seamless interoperability.
Within three months of the initial call, RÚV was live on air with Pixotope-enhanced broadcasts for the Handball Championships. This quick deployment was facilitated by Pixotope's on-hand support team, ensuring smooth setup and operation.
For the 2024 Handball Championships, one of Iceland's most beloved sports events, with over 50% of the country tuning in, Pixotope's virtual production graphics enriched pre-match discussions, post-match analysis, and play breakdowns, providing viewers with a greater and more engaging overall experience. The ability to visually dissect plays, present augmented reality statistics, and build immersive virtual environments for discussions dramatically elevated the caliber of their sports coverage.
RÚV additionally leveraged Pixotope's advanced and versatile features across multiple productions; virtual set extensions were utilized for popular entertainment shows like their Friday night comedy quiz program “Er þetta frétt?” as well as coverage of major sporting events such as the Euro Cup football and 2024 Olympics, enabling the creation of immersive, dynamic sets. When the physical foreground set for a major production was damaged, RÚV seamlessly integrated AR elements, enhancing the broadcast without needing a complete overhaul, as they would have previously had to have done, saving the waste of both physical set and time resources.
Virtual set technology enabled the creation of versatile and reusable digital environments that could be quickly adapted for different programs. Not only did this technology enhance production efficiency, but it also aligned with RÚV's eco-focused goals of reducing waste in production. By minimizing the need for physical materials, set construction and storage for the dismantled sets, RÚV significantly diminished the environmental impact of their productions.
One of the other most significant advantages RÚV experienced with Pixotope's virtual production technology was the ability to work on multiple programs simultaneously. By adopting Pixotope Graphics for AR and virtual studios, RÚV no longer needed to dedicate the entire main studio to a single production. RÚV could build smaller physical sets and seamlessly expand them with extended reality, creating the illusion of grander environments without the previous space requirements.
“The flexibility of using a green screen has allowed us to produce more content while saving time and money. In the past, our physical sets monopolized the entire studio, necessitating the relocation of other programs. Although there were additional costs associated with the initial setup, we anticipate even more substantial cost savings next year.”
Gisli Berg, Head of Production at RUV
As a result, the implementation of Pixotope software transformed RUV's production landscape. The broadcaster experienced a significant increase in production capabilities, producing six new series, including 29 live broadcasts of high-profile sporting events such as the Eurocup in Handball and Football, as well 26 episodes of their innovative quiz shows 'Er þetta frétt?' and 'Kappsmál'. The versatility of virtual sets allowed simultaneous use of studio space, maximizing productivity and expanding programming production schedules.
The successful integration of Pixotope has sparked enthusiasm across RÚV's production teams. The versatility of virtual production software is a key reason for this excitement, as these tools can be implemented into a multitude of different programs, offering flexibility and creative possibilities that are not achievable with traditional methods alone. There is significant interest in incorporating virtual production capabilities into various projects, signaling a promising future for hybrid production methods at RÚV.
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