Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1151096
AR/VR www.postmagazine.com 30 POST JULY/AUG 2019 C reative studio Disguise (www.disguise. one/en) supports artists with all stages of production, from initial concept all the way through to showtime with their inte- grated show creation platform. Users can view their stage, storyboards and test content from any angle instantly in the realtime 3D stage simulator, then check the content resolution, codecs, frame rate, sightlines, camera angle and timing. Within the latest version of the Disguise software, users can now include augmented reality workflows, creating more engaging and dynamic experiences. Using realtime content engines such as Notch, Disguise can blend real-world elements, such as presenters and set pieces, with augmented objects, such as overlaying graphics or 3D objects. It works by compositing AR objects on top of the camera feed, meaning the real-life audience or end viewer can relate to both the virtual and real world objects. Disguise's extended reality (xR), which was pre- viewed at the 2019 NAB Show, and the augmented reality workflows within xR were expected to be of- ficially launched as Gold release software in July. A select network of development partners have been using aspects of xR on projects already, including the Pakistan Super League 2019 (PSL). AUGMENTED REALITY IN PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE 2019 Every year the highest performing teams qualify for playoffs in the championship of PSL, which was founded in 2015. To kick off the 2019 sea- son, an opening ceremony was held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. For the opening ceremony, the Pakistan Cricket Board wanted something spectacular and discussed their vision with event management company ITW Trans Group, who collaborated with Musketeers Events, specialists in large scale opening cere- monies. Musketeers Events have coordinated the creative vision behind the last three opening cer- emonies. Creative director Samer Ferghali wanted to make the show bigger, but was not able to make a bigger set. He also only had 15 minutes to get the stage off of the Cricket pitch before the match started. This is where the augmented reality (AR) idea was born. Ferghali wanted to push the creative side for viewers watching from home. The opening ceremo- ny would feature elements of AR throughout the broadcast. Working in collaboration with Musketeer were content generating experts, Bild Studios and Studio One. While David Bajt and Scott Millar from Bild Studios technically produced and supplied all the equipment for the show, as well as content pro- duction, Urs Nyffenegger, from Studio One, provid- ed the AR animation elements. The teams used Disguise gx 2 servers, designed for compatibility with Notch and unparallelled gen- including directors, editors, compositors, interac- tive designers, technologists and more," explains Hans Payer, lead pipeline developer at Felix & Paul Studios. "We create our experiences from end to end, which can present interesting pipeline challenges as multiple people are involved, and navigating different contexts. Shotgun helps us streamline task management and editorial changes for all the different players who need access across our production, compositing, editorial, I/O, integra- tion, audio and CG departments." For Felix & Paul Studios, the post production pro- cess begins in Adobe Premiere with the selection of key shots. From there, shots get integrated into Shotgun for other team members to use. Shotgun gives the Felix & Paul Studios production team the flexibility to make changes without impacting other departments. For instance, for live-action experi- ences, the compositing department delivers the final rendered content but is not directly impacted by editorial decisions; the content may be used in different narrative threads with different timing. Felix & Paul Studios' proprietary Story Encoder tool is linked into Shotgun and allows artists to produce encoded content for multiple delivery platforms (e.g. Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Facebook 360, YouTube 360), with versioned elements and dynamically-linked timing based on a chosen story version. Prior to the final encoding, the editorial team can easily identify which shots have changed and avoid re-encoding those which did not. Ultimately the combination of Shotgun and Story Encoder helps the studio minimize errors while saving time. In addition, the team at Felix & Paul Studios uses the Shotgun Toolkit's Standalone Publisher tool ex- tensively to validate and secure data, thereby mini- mizing human and technical errors and saving time on communication between different departments. Shotgun is also used to incorporate metadata from set before footage is ingested, and to validate the ingest as it's synced. The studio is currently working in partnership with Time on the ISS Experience, a groundbreak- ing VR experience where astronauts from several countries aboard the International Space Station are spending a year filming their missions, including spacewalks, to provide an unprecedented firsthand look both inside and outside the ISS. Shotgun is playing a key role in the project workflow, making it possible for large amounts of high-res footage to be effectively shared with the team on the ground. "This project brings the most complex logistics and technical challenges so far for our studio," says Sebastian Sylwan, CTO and creative partner at Felix & Paul Studios. "We designed a workflow that relies on Shotgun to streamline the tracking, selection and downlink of footage from the ISS. This enables the entire team on the ground to easily review at all stages of the production chain and only downlink relevant footage, which saves us time and minimizes the use of astronaut time as well." Ultimately, the team at Felix & Paul Studios is driven by the powerful sense of place and con- nection that immersive experiences can provide to viewers — and Shotgun's capabilities help to keep the studio at the forefront of quality and innovation. DISGUISE DELIVERS NEXT-GEN LIVE PRODUCTION EXTENDED REALITY (XR) WORKFLOWS DRIVE PRODUCTION TEAMS TOWARD AUGMENTED WITHIN LIVE PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS The Jurassic World feature was extended Jurassic World feature was extended Jurassic World via an interactive experience. The People's House takes viewers inside The White House.