Live-streamed from Optik Studios to the world, the NBA 2K22 E-League Draft had it all: Virtual set design, augmented reality (AR), and both extended reality (xR) and remote workflows. Let us dive in.
NBA 2K
The power of extended reality production in live broadcast.
For this virtual live broadcast, the client was looking for a sleek, polished virtual set design with a slight edge to capture the attention of at-home viewers. Our designers created an elite, futuristic virtual basketball court set with gritty/grungy street ball vibes in the game design software Unreal Engine.
The NBA 2K League Draft logo was recreated in Augmented Reality (AR) and superimposed onto the hosts’ desk, eliminating the need to physically build out the asset, and allowing it to cast reflections into the virtual environment while also providing the opportunity to explore different animations.
On-the-fly graphics, such as sponsorship logos, team logos, and live video feeds of remote draftees were configured in the virtual set design.
Since the live draft took place in multiple locations simultaneously, a smooth transition between the live correspondents in NYC, the draft's host in Atlanta, and the remote locations of all draftees was required. The control method to run this technology was custom-built by our xR specialists just for this project.
The event was produced and directed remotely from Vancouver by Defacto Entertainment, with a control room in Toronto, a synchronous red carpet event happening in NYC and the live stream broadcasted from Atlanta.
Set extension was used to transform the LED Volume at Optik Studios into a 3-dimensional, infinite basketball court that placed both hosts in the middle of the playing field.
Combining both xR and remote workflows into one live stream truly made this project unique.
See the full case study here.
