Super Bowl LVI: Ross Video's Rocket Surgery Takes AR Graphics to the Next Level for NBC Sports, Van Wagner The creative-services supplier was also involved in the broadcaster's Olympics coverage By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, March 10, 2022 - 12:25 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In the seven years since Ross Video's Rocket Surgery Creative & Professional Services Division began working on NBC's Sunday Night Football package, the broadcaster's use of augmented-reality graphics has grown significantly - in terms of both frequency in the broadcast and quality of the graphics. Last month at Super Bowl LVI, Rocket Surgery cranked up its effort yet another notch, providing AR elements not only for NBC's broadcast but also for the in-venue show produced by Van Wagner Sport & Entertainment.
Rocket Surgery provided all AR elements for NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl LVI.
Given all the irons in the fire, this is without a doubt the biggest [show we've ever done], says Rocket Surgery Director, Creative Services, Jim Doyle. Not only did we provide all the augmented-reality graphics for the NBC show itself - like we always do - but we also debuted a new look for the show and, for the first time, we actually led the creative [process] on this one. Plus, we were also doing the AR and PIERO graphics for the in-venue show with Van Wagner. So there were a lot of different areas where we played a role.
At SoFi: Big Onsite Presence for Rocket Surgery's Biggest Show Ever With Rocket Surgery playing so many roles for the big game, the team opted to roll in a mobile unit (NEP Dakota) at SoFi Stadium to serve as its operations hub. Normally, Rocket Surgery is housed in NBC's SNF trucks, but, with 14 people onsite (plus three designers/technical artists located remotely) simultaneously producing content for NBC and Van Wagner - as well as for NBC's Olympics coverage -a dedicated mobile unit was brought in.
There was a need for us to have all of our people in one place to make all that happen, as opposed to being spread out all over the facility as we typically are, Doyle explains. That was not only for communication purposes but also to make setup and teardown easier.
Dakota housed NBC's pregame show, Van Wagner operators, and designer stations, while Rocket Surgery's normal space in NBC's NEP ND1 D unit was home to the primary in-game AR operations.
The Super Bowl LVI pregame show featured AR graphics that used a Technocrane on the Lakeside set outside SoFi Stadium.
Rocket Surgery relied on Ross Video's Voyager virtual-production platform powered by Unreal Engine - along with some Ross Video XPression graphics - to drive the AR graphics for Super Bowl LVI. In addition, Ross Video gear/software used for the production comprised Lucid, PIERO, OpenGear, Ultrix, Carbonite Ultra, Gator, DashBoard, Furio VR100, TouchDrive, and Ultritouch.
As is the case on all SNF broadcasts, AR graphics were available on both goalpost cameras (13 and 14). However, instead of using the low Skycam (Camera 40), Rocket Surgery deployed AR on the high Skycam (Camera 30) using Trackmen VioTrack technology. In addition, Rocket Surgery worked with Ncam, Stype, and AVS to implement AR tracking on the on-field Steadicam wirelessly via RF.
A full arsenal of Ross Video gear was on-hand in L.A. to power Rocket Surgery's AR graphics operation for Super Bowl LVI.
We didn't radically change the workflow because we wanted to make sure it was reliable and still comfortable for the director and the production team, says Daily. But we did add a lot to that more cameras and more tracking. All the [additional cameras] were added into our normal workflow, and we still triggered everything the same way we do [typically] with DashBoard. It was just a lot more in terms of volume.
Taking the Creative Reins: Rocket Surgery Spearheads the Process Prior to Super Bowl LVI, the creative process for Sunday Night Football AR graphics was led by NBC Sports Art Director John Schleef and his team. However, with the NBC graphics team's docket crammed with the concurrent Super Bowl and 2022 Beijing Olympics productions, the Rocket Surgery team was enlisted to lead the design process for the Super Bowl LVI AR-graphics package.
[Previously,] John and teams would give us the building blocks and the main creative direction, says Terry Daily, creative manager, Rocket Surgery Virtual Creative Services. We would implement and optimize that for playback in our engine. This time was really the first time we transitioned to complete design-from-scratch service.
Daily and his creative team pitched all the concepts to Schleef from the beginning and received approval, but the Rocket Surgery team handled the design and construction of all elements. Schleef and company provided early looks at the insert package they were designing for Super Bowl LVI, and the Rocket Surgery team drew its initial inspiration from that.
Ultimately, says Daily, John [Schleef] oversaw the main creative vision and direction, but it was unique for us this time around in that we actually created the looks in-house completely with our own design team. We got to dream up how we wanted these graphics to look and how we were going to execute shots, especially in terms of how we could play off the stadium design with the Infinity Screen. We let that dictate how we designed.
Besides Super Bowl LVI, Rocket Surgery was also providing AR graphics for NBC's Olympics coverage. Announcer Mike Tirico at the L.A. Lakeside set also did double duty.
SoFi Stadium is heavy on Ross Video technology, including the state-of-the-art Infinity Screen, which is driven by Ross Video's Xpression Tessera platform. Daily says this provided his team with a distinct edge in integrating the AR p
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Super Bowl LVI: Ross Video's Rocket Surgery Takes AR Graphics to the Next Level for NBC Sports, Van Wagner The creative-services supplier was also involved in the broadcaster's Olympics coverage By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
