Category: Events

Mo-Sys and ACO Partner to Host Robotics Showcase

Posted on by Stephen Gallagher

London, UK. July 28, 2023 – Mo-Sys Engineering, the leading provider of camera tracking and robotics solutions for the film and broadcast industries, today announced that it is partnering with the Association of Camera Operators (ACO) to host a Robotics Showcase. The event will take place on 15th August 2023, at The Cleveland Arms in London.

The Robotics Showcase will feature Mo-Sys’ latest camera robotics technology, including the G30 gyro-stabilized remote head, the L40 remote head, and the Pan bar and Handwheel controls. Attendees will have an opportunity to take a close look at the technology and meet the Mo-Sys team, who will be on hand to answer any questions. The event also represents an opportunity to meet and network with other ACO members.

“We are excited to partner with the ACO to host this event,” said Stephen Gallagher, Marketing Director at Mo-Sys. “The ACO is a great organization that represents the best camera operators in the world. We are looking forward to showcasing our latest camera robotics technology to ACO members and answering any questions they may have.”

The Robotics Showcase is a free event. To RSVP, please contact us.

Mo-Sys to partner with the Association of Camera Operators for Robotics Showcase

About Mo-Sys Engineering

Mo-Sys Engineering is a leading provider of camera tracking and robotics solutions for the film and broadcast industries. Mo-Sys’ products are used by some of the world’s leading filmmakers and broadcasters, including Disney, Lucasfilm, and the BBC. Mo-Sys is headquartered in the UK and has offices in the US, Europe, and Asia.

About the Association of Camera Operators

The Association of Camera Operators (ACO) is a professional organization for camera operators in the film and broadcast industries. The ACO’s mission is to promote the highest standards of camera operating and to provide a forum for camera operators to share knowledge and experience. The ACO has over 400 members in 15 countries.

Virtual production democratization, unlocking community potential 

Posted on by Claire

As a leading company in the media industry, Mo-Sys recognizes the importance of democratizing production through new technologies by lowering barriers of entry and providing access to valuable communities. 

FAME virtual production demonstration

At the Mo-Sys Academy, we’re proud to put ourselves out there, creating real opportunities for people not just to experience virtual production, but to see for themselves how exciting and immersive the creative possibilities really are. We want to spark their creativity, inspiring them to inspire the world with it. 

Recently, Mo-Sys Academy virtual production educator Eric Rigney collaborated with the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles. With the help of FAME, their dining hall space was converted into a small greenscreen studio, and in one afternoon, we demonstrated to church members, young and old, how virtual production opens up possibilities they may have never otherwise imagined. 

We showcased just how liberating virtual production is by bringing an animated elephant into the space – not many had expected to see an elephant in a church auditorium in LA. The many small fingerprints left on the church’s television monitor screen demonstrated joyful evidence of how the younger children attempted to pet the virtual pachyderm. “Mama, did you see the elephant?” In one simple demo, that 3D elephant showed future media artists the power of augmented reality. 

Mo-Sys Academy VP Educator Eric Rigney

From there we transitioned the audience over to live real-time compositing. Student actors converted their makeshift green screen studio into Grand Central Station. We even placed an animated mannequin actor on to the virtual train station lobby floor, a shiny white robotic figure that breathed heavily in a creepy manner. Everyone in the room saw first-hand just how cool – and how accessible – virtual productions can be. 

The event showed parishioners just how quickly Mo-Sys tools like StarTracker and VP Pro Studio can be set up to create stunning results that might fire off some new ideas for engaging congregations with houses of worship, attracting the community’s youth. 

But the real value of the day was to enrich and excite the community. Sue Beidleman, chair of the FAME commission on scholarship, education and training said “It was clear that the audience was very interested in the presentation, and you did not disappoint. I saw that some audience members approached you even before the program began!” 

FAME’s Tsega Habte added “Our audience saw a skilled professional representing a technology platform most had never experienced. I am convinced that some of our lucky boys and girls are going to have such an opportunity for success that they will one day say, ‘If it was not for Mr Eric, where would I be now?’.” 

Education is always a good thing. Tapping into the power and potential of communities that typically have less access to tools and opportunities is valuable and important. By sharing with all communities what is achievable in their own backyard, we help unlock tomorrow’s creative leaders to share their talents with the world. We all win. 

Mo-Sys to feature as key technology partner at Netflix Post Production Summit

Posted on by Claire

Mo-Sys is proud to announce its collaboration with Netflix, and its involvement as a technology partner at the new Post Production Summit taking place at the Netflix production center in Madrid Content City (Tres Cantos).

Netflix Post Production Summit

From October 14 to 29, Netflix is hosting a series of training sessions which align with Mo-Sys’ own commitment to training and development through its Academy. The summit will focus on post-production, visual effects and virtual production for around 300 participants. The event will bring together producers, technicians, students and trainers from film schools, alongside editors, cinematographers, directors and other creatives.

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit two state-of-the-art virtual sets built by Netflix especially for this initiative. The workshops and activities will focus on various aspects of the industry, such as the production of visual effects, color management and high dynamic range (HDR) image creation. The event will also showcase pioneering techniques such as visual effects made directly from the camera (also known as In-Camera VFX or ICVFX).

Mo-Sys will be providing its StarTracker camera tracking technology for the event. StarTracker is known as being the industry’s leading ‘simple-to-use’ marker based optical tracking for virtual production. The team will also share insight and present the latest developments from Mo-Sys’ successful Academy which has expanded internationally.

Stephen Gallagher, Mo-Sys Marketing Director added: “We are proud to have been invited as a Technology Partner alongside the likes of LG, Arri, Epic and Sony to support Netflix at their new Post Production Summit in Spain. It is a great initiative that gives us the opportunity to showcase our camera tracking technology, share insight from our Academy and contribute to the discussion around Virtual Production education.”

The Post Production Summit confirms the strategic importance of the Spanish audiovisual industry. Mary-Kathryn Kennedy, Vice President of European Production at Netflix, explains, “Spain has the unique opportunity to consolidate itself as an international benchmark, at the level of the most technical and advanced industries”.

The conference also aims to reduce the technical gap and the lack of professionals in some of the currently most demanded positions, such as post-production supervisors, visual effects producers and technicians specialized in virtual production.

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.es/netflix-organizara-post-production-summit-madrid-content-city-1138109

Mo-Sys at KitPlus Show Twickenham

Posted on by Claire

Following on from the success at Salford earlier in the year, Mo-Sys Academy once again provided a series of Virtual Production training sessions in the Learning Zone at this year’s second KitPlus Show in Twickenham, on Friday 30 September 2022. The event was a great opportunity to showcase Mo-Sys’ latest Virtual Production solutions, training and workshops.

Virtual Production Learning Zone

Mo-Sys Academy’s Dominic Smith held a series of hands-on Virtual Production training sessions offering attendees the chance to interact with the camera tracking technology on display. The free taster sessions gave visitors insight as to the technology and techniques used in Virtual Production and the opportunity to get hands-on experience with Mo-Sys’ ground-breaking VP technologies.

Mo-Sys Academy offers an exciting new opportunity to learn Virtual Production from industry-leading professionals, featuring skills and techniques that are at the forefront of the modern broadcast and film industry. 

As you’ll see in the video above, filmmaker Philip Bloom interviewed Dominic to find out more about Virtual Production and what Mo-Sys Academy offers.

Check out the video below for a BTS look at the Mo-Sys Learning Zone:

The Future of Virtual Production

During the show, Mo-Sys also hosted a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Virtual Production’ with panellists including Alex Boutellier of Ravensbourne University London and David Levy Director, Business Development, Global Solutions at ARRI. The session provided insight and useful information around the career development paths that exist, whilst addressing the skills shortage and the importance of training.

Watch the seminar in full below:

The Future of Virtual Production

Mo-Sys receives Blackmagic Design Innovation Award

Posted on by Claire

Mo-Sys Engineering has been recognized and receives the first Blackmagic Design Innovation Award during IBC2022 for its significant and continued contribution to advancing Virtual Production technologies.

Mo-Sys receives Blackmagic Design Innovation Award

Innovation lies at very heart of Mo-Sys Engineering. From its HQ in Greenwich, London the company has pioneered Virtual Production technology for decades. Mo-Sys created the first easy to use, marker-based camera tracking solution StarTracker, which is recognized as the industry’s leading camera tracking product for its accuracy, reliability and robustness. StarTracker is used extensively by leading broadcasters, major film studios, high-end drama and corporate clients around the world.

The company has also developed an unrivalled level of on-set experience through its direct support of content producers like Netflix, BBC and ITV, where Mo-Sys’ Virtual Production technology has brought prestigious projects like Strictly Come Dancing, Limitless and Macy’s Day Parade to life. This on-set knowledge and experience is utilized to drive continuous innovation and product development.

Mo-Sys has also made a significant commitment to education. It was the first company to establish a Virtual Production training Academy, and offers a range of unique hands-on courses based around practical, small group learning geared to build students confidence and provide valuable experience. Mo-Sys’ Academy offers courses for all levels, providing students with an introduction to Virtual Production, as well as upskilling industry professionals and collaborating directly with universities to transfer knowledge, teach-the-teacher and shape curriculums.

Coinciding with the Blackmagic Design Innovation Award, Mo-Sys unveiled a raft of new products at IBC. Customers were treated to their first look at StarTracker Max, the next generation of professional inside-out camera tracking. The programmable and motorized rail system for PTZ and ENG cameras, MoRail was demonstrated for news and sports broadcast and bMR, Mo-Sys’ new solution which combines an LED content server with MOS/NRCS data driven on-air graphics was also announced.

The Blackmagic Design Innovation Award is a brand new annual award recognizing an organisation that is pushing the boundaries of science and technology using Blackmagic Design products. This special award has been created to identify and recognize unique and creative implementations of Blackmagic Design technology in both product and solution design for solving technical and financial barriers to customer challenges.

“Mo-Sys is one of the great rising stars of the Virtual Production industry, and their approach redefines the boundaries of cost-effective virtual creativity,” said Tim Siddons, Director of Sales, Blackmagic Design EMEA. “Their approach to designing and delivering the StarTracker virtual studio system, based around URSA Mini, ATEM and HyperdDeck, provides a complete solution that removes the complexity of virtual studio configuration and calibration, enabling customers to focus on the creative aspects of delivering their visions.”

“There is a strong alignment between Blackmagic Design and Mo-Sys. Both companies are pushing boundaries and making technology more accessible to a wider market. Mo-Sys developed the first optical tracking system 25 years ago and has continued to move Virtual Production forward VP through innovation”, said Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys Engineering. “It is great honour that our contribution has been recognized with this award and I’d like to thank the Tim and the team at Blackmagic Design.”

Mo-Sys excel at IBC 2022

Posted on by Claire

Mo-Sys excel at IBC 2022! As the dust settles in the wake of IBC 2022, we reflect on one of our busiest industry events to date. After the enforced three years sabbatical, we enjoyed the opportunity to meet customers and partners in person and showcase our latest innovations.

Mo-Sys at IBC 2022
Mo-Sys at IBC2022

We introduced two exciting, new products. bMR (Broadcast Mixed Reality), a new category product that combines an LED content Server with Multi-camera switching and a MOS based On-air graphics system. Intended for Sports, News and current affairs broadcasters who want to deploy (or transition to) a unified Unreal-based graphics solution for driving an LED virtual studio with integrated 2D/3D graphics under MOS/NRCS control.

MoRail is our new high-performance motorised rail for regular or virtual newsroom studios. Available in 3m lengths, either straight or curved (30 degree), with height adjustment and the ability to accept camera payloads of up to 15kg, it offers cost-effective, programmable creative movement of ENG and PTZ cameras to immerse viewers into the studio.

Visitors to our stand were also treated to a first showing of prototype models of the latest StarTracker Mini and Max systems.

We were also proud to feature on partner stands. MoRail, StarTracker and VP Pro XR powered the impressive Canon live performance and XR Zone in Hall 11, while bMR and StarTracker drew crowds at the AOTO booth in Hall 7.

During the show we announced a collaboration with Adobe to allow video professionals to see their visual effects scenes come to life in Frame.io as they’re being shot on-set, thanks to an integration between Adobe Camera to the Cloud and Mo-Sys NearTime. We are also making this functionality more widely accessible.

Mo-Sys Technical Director James Uren joined AWS’ Solution Architect Leader Content Production, Matt Herson, as part of a panel session about the Mo-Sys Deferred Cloud Rendering service and how it provides an innovative alternative for virtual production. James gave some amazing insight into how he and the AWS team collaborated to convert an idea scribbled on a cocktail napkin to a cloud enabled service providing cost effective virtual production services to production companies.

Finally, we are hugely honoured to be recognised by Blackmagic Design as one of the recipients of their Award for Innovation at IBC 2022, rounding off a fantastic show.

Get the LED out!

Posted on by Claire

James Uren, Technical Director for Mo-Sys, and Matt Herson, Solution Architect Leader Content Production for Amazon Web Services (AWS), joined forces to discuss the Mo-Sys Deferred Cloud Rendering service and how it provides an innovative alternative for virtual production in a panel session hosted by Katrina King at IBC 2022.

The ‘infamous’ cocktail napkin

James shared how he worked with AWS to get an idea scribbled on a cocktail napkin to a cloud enabled service providing cost effective virtual production services to production companies. James and Matt discussed how they worked together during the pandemic to build, test and iterate a new product and workflow that provides virtual production efficiency without the LED wall.

Click on the link below to watch the video of the session in full on the IBC365 website.

GET THE LED OUT! VIRTUAL PRODUCTION INNOVATION WITH AWS AND MO-SYS ENGINEERING

Panel:

James Uren, Technical Director – Mo-Sys Engineering Ltd

Katrina King, Content Production Media & Entertainment – Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Matt Herson, Solution architect leader Content production – Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Offering real solutions for VP

Posted on by Claire

We were delighted to be part of the Directors Guild of America’s recent Digital Day on August 27th. This hugely prestigious, invitation-only event shines a spotlight on the creative, technical and business issues emerging from new technologies.

Mo-Sys DGA Digital Day
LED Virtual Production

Mo-Sys partnered with PRG to show an LED virtual set complete with our StarTracker and VP Pro XR solutions. On our own stand, we were able to walk Directors and Assistant Directors through our NearTime auto-re-rendering capability, the Cinematic XR Focus that makes pulling focus simple, and LED key, which eradicates issues such as Moiré, green spill and bad light quality. They were able to see how first-hand how we take away the headaches associated with real-time and optimization.

RTS Young Technologist of the Year 2022

Posted on by Claire

Recently, Mo-Sys’ Florian Gallier joined a panel discussion on some of the key technologies and skills for the future of the industry at this year’s RTS Young Technologist of the Year Award.

Ahead of the awards presentation, a keynote speaker and panel discussion was held at the event focusing on the key technologies and skills for the future of the industry including remote production, image robotics and live broadcasts. The panel chaired by Muki Kulhan, Innovation Co-Lead IBC, included Claire Wilkie, Founder and Managing Director, Limitless Broadcast; Florian Gallier, Product Manager, Remote Production & Image Robotics, Mo-Sys Engineering Ltd and Krystel Richards, Broadcast IT Engineer, CNN, Chair of WISE Young Professionals’ Board.

Every year the standard of applications we receive continues to impress us, so much so that this year we took the decision to award two talented individuals with the RTS Young Technologist of the Year Award. Both Jahreal and Jonathan demonstrated to the jury not only the dynamic experience they have garnered so far in their careers, but the drive to move the industry and technology forwards and to be an integral part of the UK production community for years to come. Congratulations to Jahreal and Jonathan, and also to Andrew for receiving the Coffey Award

Terry Marsh, Chair of the RTS Young Technologist of the Year Award Jury

Read more here >

Mo-Sys Hosts Regional Virtual Production Learning Zone at MediaCity

Posted on by Claire

Mo-Sys ran the successful Virtual Production Learning Zone at KitPlus Show, MediaCity, on Thursday 23 June 2022. The event underscoring Mo-Sys’ deep commitment to share knowledge, collaborate with universities and training the next generation of industry professionals.

Led by Juliette Thymi, Mo-Sys Academy’s senior VP Technician and experienced Virtual Production Producer who has worked on projects for Netflix, ITV and BBC, such as Strictly Come Dancing, the free taster sessions gave visitors insight as to the technology and techniques used in Virtual Production, while highlighting a proven development path for those who’d like to learn more.

The full range of innovative Mo-Sys VP solutions were on display, including StarTracker, the industry standard for precision camera tracking; VP Pro XR, a dedicated XR server that has been built specifically for Cinematic XR on-set real-time production; the unique Cinematic XR Focus feature that enables pulling focus from talent to virtual objects deep within an LED volume; and Multi-Cam for seamless multi-camera switching.

Nicholas Glean, Senior Lecturer in Video and New Media at the University of Sunderland recently completed the Mo-Sys Academy 10-day Foundation Course and commented on the importance of engagement between industry and the education sector:

Nicholas Glean – University of Sunderland – The importance of Virtual Production

Mo-Sys is actively driving engagement with universities such as Sunderland, Greenwich and Ravensbourne to ensure we have the right skills coming through to meet the surging demand for VP, but also offer the next generation access to exciting career opportunities.

Mo-Sys Academy with Virtual Production Training at KitPlus Show MediaCity 2022

During the show, Mo-Sys hosted a panel discussion titled The Future of Virtual Production Training, featuring Kieran Phillips of CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, Nicholas Glean from University of Sunderland, and Adam Soan of Bendac. The session provided insight into overcoming the skills gap and maximizing the opportunities of LED Virtual Production for Broadcast. Watch the seminar in full below:

The Future of Virtual Production Training – KitPlus Show MediaCity 2022

Alistair Davidson and a team from Scan Computers attended the workshop and said it was “a really fantastic insight for anyone whose interested in Virtual Production.”

Scan Computers talks about the Virtual Production training workshop at KitPlus Show

Rizwan Wadan from Pixeleyed Pictures summarised the KitPlus event adding: “These sort of events are amazing. They help you understand what is going on and I’d highly recommend that whether you’re a student, lecturer or professional to attend.”

Rizwan Wadan from Pixeleyed Pictures gives some KitPlus Show feedback!

Mo-Sys Academy has announced new course dates in the UK and Los Angeles. Spaces are limited and demand is expected to be high. Visit Mo-Sys Academy for more information and to book your place.