ESPN Extends Reality in New Studio Built With ‘Mandalorian’ Tech
ESPN’s newest studio borrows techniques from the production set of Disney’s The Mandalorian in an effort to continue blending the real world with virtual ones.
Inside the company’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., the new so-called Catalyst Stage uses 11 million pixels refreshing 7.6 thousand times per second to make talent appear to be broadcasting live from any location, real or imagined.
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Broadcasters have previously relied on green screen technology for similar effects. But producers expect to generate more natural lighting, shadows and reflections by putting the graphics on surrounding video boards in real-time rather than after the fact. Additionally, with object and gesture tracking, the hosts may also be able to ‘interact’ with the digital representations.
Camera tracking allows for the visuals to change as the camera moves, further obfuscating the fact that the background isn’t really there. “Basically you create the live environment in the studio,” Disney Entertainment & ESPN director for creative automation and studio technology Christiaan Cokas said. “So we could make it look like an anchor was, you know, at the game when they’re not.”
Last year, Fox Sports unveiled a new studio that uses more than 5,000 square feet of LED displays to provide similar possibilities for its NFL pregame show. In each case, the networks use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to create the digital environments, as the worlds of video games and sports broadcasts continue to merge. In contrast to Fox’s space, ESPN is using four robotic cameras in a more concentrated footprint (part of what had been Studio F in Bristol, which once hosted SportsCenter). The company is also using proprietary software to integrate the virtual production work into its existing workflows.
After debuting in 2019, The Mandalorian made headlines for evolving beyond the green screen to use enormous LED screens and camera tracking to create its many virtual worlds.
ESPN’s conversations about how to update Studio F started not long after, and picked up throughout 2021. During the research phase, ESPN director of studio design and development Joe Ferretti said he was particularly inspired by a Katy Perry performance on American Idol that used many of the extended reality (XR) features ESPN would ultimately develop. ESPN ended up adopting the same compositing software, Disguise, as Perry used.
“For my team, this was like, kind of one of our little dream projects that we wanted to do,” Cokas said.
The specific cost of the new studio has not been announced, but in a year of cost-cutting for Disney, including significant layoffs at ESPN, Ferretti emphasized the savings involved in moving to virtual sets. “The ROI is so much better when it comes to building something in Unreal,” Ferretti said. “The space really kind of pays for itself.” The Catalyst Stage will also be used for advertising projects.
“A player after the game, could we make it look like he walks into the studio? Right off the field he walks into our studio and he’s talking to Scott Van Pelt?” Cokas said. “That’s that kind of long-term goal, North Star that we’re after.”
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