Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live from Tokyo Olympics: NBC Studio Designs Embrace AR and VR

30/07/2021

Live from Tokyo Olympics: NBC Studio Designs Embrace AR and VR By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 5:59 pm

Print This Story

The effort NBC Olympics has put into the various studios over the years is hard to miss. Homey indoor locations and lively and stunning outside locations are just a couple of the consistent themes one sees while tuning in.

The Tokyo Olympics is no exception as this year Mike Sheehan, NBC Olympics coordinating director, Atila Ozkaplan, VP, production operations, Olympics, have worked closely with the internal team as well as external partners to create sets that span from Tokyo Bay to Stamford and Miami.

Explains Sheehan: Four years ago when we started this journey to represent Tokyo on television, we knew that we wanted to do something different and we didn't want to be in a hermetically sealed environment. And we thought, let's look for an outdoor set and we looked at a couple of different locations that fell apart and didn't work.

What did work was someone from the team was staying at the Tokyo Bay Hilton and visited the gym on the fifth floor. Ozkaplan then went into action, working with Lillian Cereghino, the Operational lead for the outside studio location, the site owner, scenic partners and structural engineers to figure out weight loads, support systems, and structural parameters for the fifth-floor location.

It was hey, this might be a good place to do a set,' says Sheehan.

The NBC Olympics main outdoor set for the 2020 Games has a dramatic backdrop.

Ozkaplan says that Sheehan is the visionary while partners like designer HD Studio, lighting experts Lighting Design Group, fabrication company Black Walnut, system integrator Greg Gerner, Inc. and LED and technology provider Planar turn vision into reality.

It's helped that we have all functioned within the Olympics model as a group for so long, says Ozkaplan. It's been the same group since Sochi and for some even longer.

The centerpiece this year is the Olympics primetime set located on the fifth floor of the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Fabrication took place in the U.S. and then it was broken down and shipped to Tokyo where it was reassembled earlier this month.

The only way to load it on to the fifth floor was with a crane in the overnight hours, says Ozkaplan. Black Walnut worked in the rain for a solid week or 10 days, and they were really great.

The use of AR elements, with the help of Ross Video graphics and a Stype camera, also have been a game changer, allowing the team to give new dynamic looks without needing physical pieces.

It integrates with the set design and adds a beautiful element that doesn't interfere with the natural backdrop and adds to the stories host Mike Tirico and others go through during the day, adds Ozkaplan.

Sheehan says Dave Barton, senior art director, NBC Sports & Olympics and Mark Levy, Senior Vice President, Original Productions and Creative, NBC Sports Group, had a good plan in place for the virtual elements.

We didn't want them to be a 50-foot giant overlooking Mike on the set, explains Sheehan. We want to take advantage of some of the geometry and some of the angles on the set to be able to pin different graphic elements into right angles and around the front part with the woodwork that we have. We can have front elements that go across and compliment the angles, not necessarily fight against them.

As for designing the Tokyo Bay set, Higgason is happy with the results.

Bryan Higgason, owner and principal designer at HD Studio and HD Studio Designers Paul Benson, and Sid Wichienkuer, looked to create a set that gets out of the way of a dramatic backdrop.

The function of the studio works really well and I'm really happy with how it looks on air, says Higgason. It was similar to an outdoor set we did in Rio that had Sugarloaf Mountain in the background and at times like that you just get out of the way. You want to provide accents scenically that helps frame the viewer without taking away the star of the shot which is the backdrop.

A virtual set is also in the mix this year as Telemundo in Miami has a virtual set that is designed to look identical to studio A at the IBC in Tokyo. HD Studio worked closely with Telemundo on the World Cup and Higgason helped them interpret his design of studio A, gave them dimensions, and ultimately the files that were used to design a graphical representation of studio A in Cinema that was then transferred into the Unreal graphics engine. That engine powers the virtual studio.

It's a mimic of what we have here in studio A, and it looks great, says Ozkaplan.

It's spectacular, says Sheehan. [Telemundo VP, Sports Content] Robert Pardo called me one day and just said, Hey, what would you think?' and we worked together on the whole thing to figure it out. Robert worked with their team, and it turned out beautiful. The irritating thing is some of the things that we had to cut out of our studio they were able to keep it because they had the advantage of a being virtual.

Sheehan says the communication and honesty between all involved has been a difference maker when it comes to solid set designs.

We can be very honest with each other about what works and what doesn't and where the possible trouble comes are, he says. We work under very tight restrictions of time on stuff and o we don't have a lot of time. We get over the romancing very quickly and jump right in.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/07/29/live-from-tokyo-olympics-nbc-st...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

25/09/2026

Digital Anarchy Releases Newest Version of its Real-Time Skin Retouching Tool for Video

Digital Anarchy Releases Newest Version of its Real-Time Skin Retouching Tool fo...

25/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Used on More Than 50 Summer Films in 2026

Blackmagic Design Used on More Than 50 Summer Films in 2026 Brie Clayton September 25, 2026 0 Comments Hero image: Disclosure Day Blackmagic Design p...

25/09/2026

How I Automated Social Media Resizing in After Effects - Free Script

How I Automated Social Media Resizing in After Effects - Free Script Graham Quince September 25, 2026 0 Comments If your text keeps getting cut off on...

25/09/2026

IBC2026 celebrates collaborative breakthroughs as it anno...

IBC has unveiled the winners of the prestigious IBC2026 Innovation Awards at an event held at the RAI Amsterdam on Sunday 13 September, honouring collaborative ...

25/09/2026

IBC2026 brings global media industry together to turn inn...

IBC2026 brought the global media, entertainment and technology community together for four days of business, innovation and collaboration at the RAI Amsterdam. ...

25/09/2026

Lightware Helps Integrators Overcome MacBook Neo USB Topo...

Lightware testing has revealed that each USB-C port on Apple's new MacBook Neo consumes three of the seven USB tiers available under the USB specification, ...

25/09/2026

Lightware Expands Education Support With New Products and...

Lightware is supporting educational institutions in building modern learning environments by combining professional training with education-focused AV technolog...

25/09/2026

Study: Only 10% of Young Adults Watched Local TV News Last Week

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

Optimum, A+E Global Media Sign New Distribution Agreement

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

MPA, Unions Back 'Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

NAB Show New York Announces More Speakers and Programming Highlights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

Comcast NBCU, NBCUniversal Local Award $2.5 Million to Nonprofits

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

Orange Belgium Strengthens Its Consumer and B2B TV Servic...

Long-Standing Customer Renews Multiyear Contract for VO's Secure Video Player, Content Security, and Device Monitoring Solutions Viaccess-Orca (VO), a glob...

25/09/2026

Automate Video Progress Bars in After Effects - No Keyframes!

Automate Video Progress Bars in After Effects - No Keyframes! Graham Quince September 24, 2026 0 Comments Learn how to create an automated video playb...

25/09/2026

Last chance to apply to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show

Want to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show? Final call for applications in search for this year's stars The most wonderful night of the year is...

24/09/2026

Broadcast Management Group Assists Virginia Public Media With Move to New HQ in Richmond

Broadcast Management Group (BMG) is supporting Virginia Public Media (VPM), the ...

24/09/2026

Two Red Digital Cinema Cameras Receive GhostFrame Pro Certification

RED Digital Cinema's RED V-RAPTOR [X] and RED V-RAPTOR XL [X] cameras with the Phantom Track feature are the first cameras to receive GhostFrame Pro Certifi...

24/09/2026

FOX Sports Adds 4K Live Stream on Tubi to List of Available Options for Cowboys-Eagles on Thanksgiving Day

Bringing together the full family of networks, FOX Sports is also adding Tubi, F...

24/09/2026

Virginia Techs Lane Stadium Invests in Gameday Experience with New Daktronics LED Display, Audio Solutions

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) has unveiled...

24/09/2026

SVG AI Innovation Lab Blog Tracks How AI Is Reshaping Live Sports Production

The blog collects SVG's reporting on AI across U.S. and European sports broadcasting Since SVG launched the AI Innovation Lab in April to advance the devel...

24/09/2026

SVG TranSPORT Keynote Conversation: How FOX Built a Transcontinental Transmission Backbone for the FIFA World Cup

SVG's annual TranSPORT conference, which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in...

24/09/2026

FloSports is Using AI To Build a New Generation of Live Production Tools to Bolster the Streamer's Internal Operations

The self-built Master Control Room has cut streaming operations incident-respo...

24/09/2026

Ortana Links AudioShake, ScorePlay for Live and Archive Audio Cleanup

Ortana Media Group, the software systems integrator behind the Cubix workflow platform, has connected AudioShake's audio separation models to ScorePlay thro...

24/09/2026

AudioShake Debuts Multi-Speaker 2.0 for Separating Overlapping Voices

AudioShake has released Multi-Speaker 2.0, the company's newest Multi-Speaker model, which removes 75% more noise and offers 32% better separation of overla...

24/09/2026

Op-Ed: Planning Media Day When the Calendar Isn't Certain - How MLB Clubs Can Prepare for 2027 Now

By Jon Morgan, Founder and Executive Producer, Ryval Studios For Major League B...

24/09/2026

Spectrum SportsNet Reveals Los Angeles Lakers Broadcast, Programming Schedule for the 2026-27 Season

Spectrum SportsNet has revealed its comprehensive programming and live game broa...

24/09/2026

Charlotte Hornets Ink Broadcast Deals With Gray Media, Sinclair to Bring Games to More Fans Across the Carolinas

The Charlotte Hornets has unveiled new broadcast partnerships with Gray Media an...

24/09/2026

Detroit Pistons Name DAZN as Exclusive DTC Streaming Platform

DAZN will be the exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming partner for the Detroit Pistons beginning with the 2026-27 season. Subscriptions are available at DAZN.c...

24/09/2026

Minnesota Wild Games Become Available to Spectrum Customers

The National Hockey League (NHL) has made an agreement with Spectrum that will allow Spectrum TV customers in the Minnesota Wild local broadcast territory to wa...

24/09/2026

Carolina Hurricanes, Spectrum Sign Multi-Year Agreement for Hurricanes Hockey Network Distribution

The Carolina Hurricanes has reached a multi-year distribution agreement to provi...

24/09/2026

Regional Games of the St. Louis Blues To Be Exclusively Broadcasted on Blue Note+

The St. Louis Blues has introduced Blue Note as the name of the new, exclusive ...

24/09/2026

Columbus Blue Jackets Games Head to Spectrum TV

Blue Jackets Hockey Network, the television home for Blue Jackets hockey, is coming to Spectrum TV under a new carriage agreement between the National Hockey Le...

24/09/2026

Waves introduce Tracks Live 2.0

The next generation of multitrack recording for live sound The latest version of Waves' dedicated live multitrack recording software delivers an array ...

24/09/2026

Polyend introduce the Loop

An idea machine for musicians Described as an idea machine for musicians , the latest addition to Polyend's growing collection of guitar pedals combin...

24/09/2026

Synchro Arts unveil VocAlign 7

Alignment tool gains multitrack layout Synchro Arts have just launched the latest version of their renowned time-alignment plug-in, and it's said to be ...

24/09/2026

Expressive E update the Osmose

Synth gains DAW Control & Ctrl-e integration Expressive E have just released a major firmware update that brings some interesting new features to the Osmose...

24/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz expands its system amplifier portfolio with the R&SSAM200 for applications up to 53 GHz

Rohde & Schwarz expands its system amplifier portfolio with the R&S SAM200 for a...

24/09/2026

Hitachi Launches Startup Challenge, Calling on Innovators Worldwide to Shape the Future of Mobility and Manufacturing Solutions

September 24, 2026 The Hitachi Startup Challenge FY26 invites innovative startu...

24/09/2026

NHK Technologies, Inc. Chooses Calrec for Sports Production

Download Now! To receive a short case study showcasing NHK Technologies, Inc. (NT) s audio setup, please enter the following details: -- First Name* Fir...

24/09/2026

Manifold Technologies Appoints Ryhaan Williams as CCO for North America

Manifold Technologies Appoints Ryhaan Williams as CCO for North America Brie Clayton September 24, 2026 0 Comments Brings three decades of broadcast e...

24/09/2026

UNIFACHA Expands Educational Program with DaVinci Resolve Studio

UNIFACHA Expands Educational Program with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton September 24, 2026 0 Comments Brazilian university empowers next generat...

24/09/2026

NABA To Convene Cyber University 2.0 To Address Cybersecurity Strategies

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/09/2026

Big Blue Marble Makes the Origin of Austrian Parliament V...

Viewers watching videos from the Austrian Parliament online will soon find it easier to verify the authenticity of the content. Big Blue Marble, an internationa...

24/09/2026

nsign and Sony collaborate to simplify digital signage de...

nsign, the digital signage SaaS platform built around its Simplify Complexity principle, is now officially certified for BRAVIA Professional Displays from Son...

24/09/2026

Viaplay Selects Encompass Altitude Scheduling to Transfor...

Encompass Digital Media today announced the successful migration of multiple Viaplay free-to-air channels, including TV3, TV6, TV8 and TV10, to its Altitude Sch...

24/09/2026

Standalone Streaming Services Continue to Decline in the U.S.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/09/2026

Hollyland Unveils LARK M3 Wireless Audio System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...