The BBC R&D MAX-R team collaborated with Production Park studios and Academy of Live Technology to conduct our first technical trial and media shoot of music artists as they performed and were streamed live into a 3D space hosted by our project partner Improbable. In MAX-R, we are exploring capturing live music performances using broadcast cameras rather than volumetric capture rigs, or specialised 3D cameras, so that the capture could potentially be done alongside a normal broadcast, without impeding the production or the performers. We are also aiming to give the participants (aka players) in our test virtual worlds the illusion that the performer is in the space with them, so we want to produce a realistic effect using video billboards (video projected onto 2D planes).

The trial included three solo artists (Badliana, KDYN, TWST) and one band (New Wounds) performing with full stage lighting, dynamic graphics displayed on an LED wall backdrop, with some occasional haze. Collaborating with Production Park gave us the opportunity to use real live event stage technology for the artists. This enabled us to test our capture and streaming solution for potential integration with 3D environments under realistic yet controllable performance conditions, and to film media for further enhancements to our approach. The video shows a behind the scenes look at our trial (closeup photographs of artists provided by Tom Stokes). 

Link to the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fJOs2MaDzsgaLYc4fvjFimJJxi0rTQj8/view