For Fox Sports, the Biggest Challenge in New NASCAR Virtual Studio Is the Infinite Possibilities Graphics execs discuss the opportunities and challenges in using Epic Games' Unreal Engine By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, November 9, 2018 - 1:54 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Last month, Fox Sports dropped jaws across the sports-video industry when it unveiled plans for a new virtual studio for its NASCAR coverage driven by the Unreal Engine software system developed by Epic Games, the gaming company best-known for the wildly popular Fortnite online game.
The super-flexible and customizable 60- x 60-ft. facility can generate 3D racetracks, cars, shops, pit rows, and more, taking the concept of an augmented-reality or virtual-studio space into a new stratosphere.
Fox Sports' virtual studio for NASCAR coverage will debut at the start of the racing season.
Although the set won't debut until the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season, Fox Sports graphics execs are hard at work running the system through tests in preparation for the on-air debut in February. It's an extremely daunting task but one that top executives seem to be enthusiastic about.
The biggest challenge is that the opportunities are endless for us, says Michael Dolan, SVP, design and creative services, Fox Sports. Every time we sit down and talk about a concept that we want to do for the set, it turns into 10 other things that we want to do. Then you talk to production, and they have their ideas. It's fun, but it can spiral out of control.
It's a major graphics effort, so Fox Sports brass, even up to President Eric Shanks, wanted to ensure that it was truly innovative and, frankly, worth the effort.
The real challenge, says Gary Hartley, EVP, graphics and creative services, Fox Sports, was that, if the former set had a touchscreen in the physical world and all we're doing is re-creating that touchscreen, then we've failed. So we needed to know what the pieces of the show are and figure out how can we reestablish that reality and present that information in a different way.
According to Fox Sports SVP, Graphics/Integration, Zac Fields, the new set isn't a huge obstacle for the tech and operations folks working behind the scenes: rehearsals have shown a relatively seamless transition.
From a production standpoint, a lot of the workflow is the same, says Fields. While [the crew] may not necessarily see the real output, [camera operators] do have it in their viewfinders. They will be able to see the return of the virtual set and see the composite. In the control room, the workflow is completely the same [as with the physical set]. The way the cameras track, the automation systems we use, and even the graphical playlist elements are the same.
There has been a lot of work, he continues, that we've had to do behind the scenes getting our artists up to speed and trained on the software, along with our software-engineering team. We need to create applications to bridge the gap between creation and playout.
As for those that might be the most affected, the show's on-air talent, a lot of work has already been done to prep those folks for working in a vastly different environment from the physical set they've come to know.
The biggest challenge with our talent was, obviously, how are they going to react when they are in just a large green room? says Hartley. Part of the effort was to reorient their focus to the composited playback, so they know where they are in the space and what they should be reacting to. Surprisingly, it was pretty smooth.
Adds Fields, There was a huge amount of optimism from the talent. They were really excited to try something new. They recognized, immediately, the possibilities that are there with this. They are all in on it.
In the months leading up to the set's debut next year, the minds behind it will continue to tinker, but perhaps the most important takeaway is that this will remain, at least for the short term, a work in progress.
Day 1 is only Day 1, says Hartley. We need to have a constant and evolving vision of where we want to go with the technology. We're never settling. However, we also have to manage the expectations of directors and producers that want to do everything on the first day.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
For Fox Sports, the Biggest Challenge in New NASCAR Virtual Studio Is the Infinite Possibilities Graphics execs discuss the opportunities and challenges in using Epic Games' Unreal Engine By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
