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 ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
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 
