Permanent mixed-reality activation debuted against the Brooklyn Nets at Rocket Arena on Oct. 24Sports teams keep two questions in mind when they're playing at home: how can they keep the energy high to create a competitive advantage, and how can they entertain fans from pregame to postgame. After four playoff appearances, the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers are upping the in-venue production value at Rocket Arena with the permanent installation of The Famous Group's Virtual Camera system for a new mixed-reality (MR) pregame open.
The fan experience drives everything we do, and our in-venue presentation team sets a high bar, says Dave McElhatten, VP, broadcast production, Cleveland Cavaliers. This setup builds straight into our intro video and player introductions as well as brings a larger-than-life arena moment into fans' living rooms.
Respective teams from the Cleveland Cavaliers and The Famous Group during the first launch on Oct. 24.Serving Venue and Fans: Enhanced Production
During the offseason, the Cavaliers transitioned their broadcast effort from the defunct FanDuel Sports Network to a new direct-to-consumer deal on DAZN. Bringing operations in-house, with the resulting formation of Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN), meant that the club had to build a plan from the ground up.
McElhatten led the brainstorming sessions and was keen on finding a solution that would bring the wow factor not only for fans in the venue but also for viewers tuning in from home.
Our broadcast is one of the biggest ways we reach our fans, he points out. Some arena traditions don't translate to TV on their own, but, with The Famous Group, we set out to elevate the new RESN-produced broadcast by reimagining the Cavaliers' iconic sword pull as mixed-reality content.
Establishing a brand identity for fans new to the team was important, but finding recognizable iconography for longtime fans was just as important. The primary Cavaliers C is the main star of the show near the activation's end, but the slicing of the opponent's logo is accomplished by another of the club's icons: the sword.
On the operational end, The Famous Group (TFG) was the team's partner for a handful of reasons. TFG turned heads last season with a similar deployment at Fiserv Forum for the Milwaukee Bucks, and, throughout the year, TFG and the Cavs have worked together on other projects, including TFG's Vixi platform.
When their broadcast team set out to launch its own network, they were looking for ways to give fans watching at home something distinctive, says Matthew Marcus, head of client strategy and corporate growth, The Famous Group. Dave and his team came to us interested in mixed reality and saw how a permanently installed Virtual Camera system could give them the flexibility to use it throughout the season. That combination of an established relationship and a broadcast team with a clear creative vision made Cleveland the right partner for our first permanent NBA installation.
The franchise considered the home opener vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Oct. 24, a perfect way to bring Cavaliers basketball back to the fans and launch the new local broadcast. Both TFG and the Cavs worked to tweak the activation for maximum effectiveness leading up to the first home game.
In the week before, says McElhatten, we worked closely with The Famous Group to refine pacing, timing, and camera logic so that the moment landed cleanly for viewers. It's another example of how we push for innovation across the fan experience.
The Cavs' sword logo is used during the opening sequence.Repeatable Experience: System Dazzles Nightly
Over time, The Famous Group has tinkered with the installation to develop a more reliable videoboard output. For example, an indoor setting is ideal and provides a clear canvas for operation. Outdoors, though, uncontrollable circumstances like a glaring sun, inclement weather, and building construction can make things challenging.
We have more control over the lighting and can make it part of the creative when we're indoors, notes Erik Beaumont, VP, advanced technology, The Famous Group. Mixed reality uses the full volume of the venue as a canvas, so the geometry of the building shapes what works. We had to think about camera placement, sightlines, and the scale of the virtual elements together, with the scoreboard as a visual anchor.
In Cleveland, or any basketball arena for that matter, the centerhung hanging from the rafters is hard to work around. Instead of ignoring it, TFG and the Cavaliers opted to incorporate the structure into the creative.
The scoreboard gave us something recognizable to build around, says Hemu Karadkar, executive creative director, The Famous Group. We could frame its edges with virtual fire or make snow appear to pour out of it for the Cavalanche. Those ideas work because the effects feel like they're happening in a place Cavs fans know. Designing around the scoreboard made it a big part of the show.
Technologically, the system comprises two pieces: the cameras shooting the physical space, and the back-of-house technologies that turn the real-world venue into a mixed-reality environment. To streamline the operation for in-venue presentations as well as the broadcast, McElhatten and his colleagues decided to centralize the workflows for independent operation during any given home game.
We permanently mounted the Virtual Camera system in the arena bowl and housed the processing servers in our central cabling room, McElhatten explains. That setup lets us send the MR output to the in-venue control room and the broadcast truck at the same time.
Each home game, the sword slices through the opposing team's logo.Customized Approach: Theme Nights, High-Profile Opponents
Although the home opene
