Category: In the Press

Contributing Editor for InBroadcast November edition David Kirk gives us an update on some of the developments over the last year within the world of robotic camera systems.

The article features Mo-Sys StarTracker Studio, the world’s first pre-configured complete virtual studio system.  

Mo-Sys StarTracker Studio is specifically designed to provide a complete switched-camera system for users new to virtual production or without skills to create a VP studio solution from scratch.

The virtual production software used in StarTracker Studio is Mo-Sys’ VP Pro, which offers the same capabilities as traditional virtual studio software, but rather than being a layer on top of Unreal Engine, it’s embedded directly into the Unreal Engine’s editor interface.

For the InBroadcast November edition, Adrian Pennington explores how the virtual production phenomenon goes from strength to strength with new tools, greater photorealism, and lower prices driving demand.

Currently the industry is using live events LED technology and needs to transition to fit-for-purpose cinematic LED technology. Mo-Sys’ Cinematic XR initiative is aimed at driving for change in LED wall technology, output image quality, re-introduction of established shooting techniques, and smart workflows.

This is the first product on the market that changes an LED volume from just being an expensive backdrop, into something that can be integrated into the storytelling. It enables for the first time real interaction between the talent and objects in the virtual scene positioned virtually behind the LED wall.

Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of the classic 1965 Frank Herbert novel will see Dune adapted to the big screen using ground-breaking artificial backdrops to bring Dune’s feudal interstellar society to life.

At the forefront of the film’s technology is DNEG, a London-based VFX house whose virtual production credits already included Interstellar and First Man – for which it received Academy Awards.

Driven by the impact of Covid-19, DNEG is continuing to develop through exciting partnerships. With Dimension, Unreal Engine, Arri, Mo-Sys, 80six, Roe and Brompton Technology, DNEG is shooting a proof-of-concept virtual production test, led by creative director Paul Franklin.

Head to DNEG here to learn more about the collaboration, go behind the scenes at the test shoot and even get a sneak peek at some final footage captured during the test.

In the last 18 months, with studios working with less on-site staff, Sony says it has seen a great interest in remotely controlled cameras, “especially those that offer high image quality.”

More recently, says Norbert Paquet, Head of Live Production, Sony Professional there’s been interest in PTZs with built in AI features or models compatible with third party specialist suppliers that offer advanced features such as facial or object tracking.

This is where collaboration with our partners such as Mo-Sys and others has really borne fruit for our customers, such as Aftonbladet or RTL Belgium who are using our BRC or SRG ranges to diversify their content offering, in easy to set up and smart environments.

Norbert Paquet, Head of Live Production, Sony Professional

Read the full article here.

Broadcasting can be both cautious and enthusiastic in its approach to new technology. While virtual production has been around for some time, it is now becoming a priority for many broadcasters. In the first of a two-part feature, Kevin Hilton plugs in to see where it could be heading.

Camera tracking and robotics play a part in creating many of these worlds and Mo-Sys reports that the area of virtual production generating most interest in both TV and film right now involves shooting real-time visual effects in an LED volume.

Read the full article here.

In the NAB Show Daily Edition 2021, TV Tech’s Peter Suciu explores using virtual technology to ‘amaze the viewer’ and how artificial intelligence is enhancing the AR experience.

Game engines are providing production teams with real-time feedback, and even allowing those teams to make informed creative decisions on set, explained James Uren, technical director at Mo-Sys Engineering.

The technologies incorporated into our VP Pro and VP Pro XR solutions enable final pixel filming in LED volumes, previsualisation for green screen filming and augmented computer graphics in live television broadcast. These technical tools are giving directors, actors and production teams a tremendous boost and will be helping blur the lines even further between the real and virtual components in a shoot, creating stunning visuals to engage and delight their audiences.

James Uren, Technical Director

Democracy in virtual production is causing an evolution
in the technology. As VFX becomes a greater part of the industry, virtual production attempts to fix the growing divide between what filmmakers can see through the camera on-set, and what they have to imagine will be added digitally many months later.

Definition magazine takes a look at how these new tools work and interviews Michael Geissler to find out more about the challenges the virtual production industry is facing and how new advances in technology from Mo-Sys are helping overcome them.

Mo-Sys’ Cinematic XR initiative is aimed at driving change in the image quality of LED panels. Purpose-built for cinematic and broadcast use, and designed by expert engineers, the solution improves final-pixel Unreal Engine image quality.

Geissler explains: “There are two extremes of Unreal graphics quality. In final-pixel LED volume shoots, you sacrifice Unreal image quality for immediacy. That is, you can’t turn the Unreal quality dials up without dropping below a real-time frame rate. At the other end of the scale, post-production compositing enables non-real-time rendering with all the Unreal quality dials at maximum, but at the expense of time and cost. Mo-Sys’ new NearTime rendering combines the immediacy of final pixels with graphics quality approaching offline compositing, stretching rendering time in a patented and automated workflow.”

Definition September 2021

TV Tech features the story of how UK’s talkRADIO created a virtual studio using Mo-Sys’ camera tracking technology and PTZ cameras in their Special Guide to PTZ systems.

With just four weeks to the US presidential elections, talkRADIO turned to Mo-Sys to help them develop a virtual production studio from scratch.

The recently launched StarTracker Studio, a one-stop package solution for virtual studios and augmented reality, was the natural choice, with integrated Panasonic PTZ cameras.

“What we achieved, working together with Mo-Sys is something really remarkable – something quite sensational,” he says. “Afterwards I spoke to a television executive, who said of our coverage ‘that looks really good – as good as television’. For a small radio team, supported by Mo-Sys, I think we achieved something remarkable.”

Read the article in full here >

Kevin Hilton talks to Mo-Sys about how broadcasters are looking to modern tech for dynamic, attention-grabbing moving images in this article for Definition Magazine.

As in all areas of broadcast technology, systems being used develop and change to match both innovation and user requirements. Michael Geissler, chief executive of camera tracking specialist Mo-Sys, thinks motion control is in decline, with other priorities emerging. “It’s been part of post-production in the past, but the advances in CG are killing it off,” he says. “A rise in virtual production calls for repeated camera motion instead. These days, broadcasters want to move around much more than they did before. We’re closer to that reality – and they will push it as far as it goes.”

Definition Magazine article: Never Miss a Thing

Read the full article here >

As a general contractor for Telekom, Plazamedia produces the European football championship for MagentaTV. Five cameras capture what is happening in the studio, three of which are prepared with Mo-Sys StarTracker for augmented reality displays.

The optical camera tracking system from Mo-Sys has been in use at Plazamedia for years. It uses an upward-facing sensor attached to the camera. With the help of reflective points that are attached to the studio ceiling, the system can be calibrated once and then “deliver the finest camera tracking,” as Hardy Steinweg emphasizes.

Read the full article here >