The Famous Group Ups the Ante on Mixed-Reality Tech at Super Bowl LVI, NBA All-Star Productions celebrate iconic L.A. Coliseum, NBA's diamond anniversary By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, March 10, 2022 - 11:41 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Whether for sports broadcasts or in-venue shows, The Famous Group has become known as one of the predominant players in the world of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) for live sports. Last month, TFG amped up its mixed-reality game even further with back-to-back trailblazing efforts at Super Bowl LVI and the NBA All-Star Game.
We're incredibly grateful to be a part of two of the biggest sporting events of the year, let alone on back-to-back weekends, says The Famous Group Executive Producer Andrew Isaacson. The stakes are high, but so is the reward.
At Super Bowl LVI, The Famous Group mixed-reality pregame production recalled Super Bowl 1.
Working its 17th consecutive Super Bowl during last month's game at SoFi Stadium, TFG was tasked by the NFL to create a cutting-edge mixed-reality pregame segment that would honor L.A.'s long Super Bowl history. Then, just one week later, TFG was on hand at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland for the NBA All-Star Game, creating eye-popping mixed-reality experiences for the pregame player introductions and 75th Anniversary Team ceremony at halftime.
Our team are all sports fans at heart, says Isaacson, and we've been blown away and humbled by the impact and reach these projects have. These productions that combine live performance with real-time effects are not easy to pull off, but we're proud to be at the forefront of bringing cutting-edge technology to the sports industry to enhance the fan experience and create more-immersive events.
Super Bowl LVI: MR Makes the Biggest Event in Sports Even Bigger When TFG began working with the NFL on creative development for the Super Bowl LVI pregame show last summer, they identified three key storylines: the Super Bowl's being in Los Angeles, the historical significance of the Super Bowl's returning to L.A. (the first Super Bowl took place at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in 1967), and the unparalleled sports and entertainment destination offered by the newly built SoFi Stadium.
We wanted the creative to lean into SoFi as a canvas and focus on the incredible [Infinity Screen], says Lauren Fisher, chief creative officer, The Famous Group.
The result was a double-tracked-camera mixed-reality production featuring a nod to the Los Angeles Coliseum: pulling back a virtual curtain to reveal a 3D re-creation of the iconic venue. In addition, TFG paid homage to Super Bowl I by referencing the jet packs featured in the first-ever Super Bowl Halftime Show. TFG created futuristic, drone-like versions of the originals to deliver the trophy into the stadium to serve as an easter egg and nod to Super Bowl history.
Mixed-reality elements evoked iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which hosted Super Bowl 1.
Mixed reality has the unique ability to enhance and deepen storytelling and the fan experience, says Tim Tubito, director, event presentation and content, NFL. The Famous Group continues to bring a creative and innovative approach to the in-stadium and broadcast environments, and Super Bowl LIV was no different. The mixed-reality production with nods to the L.A. Coliseum and original jet packs was a unique way to pay tribute to Super Bowl I in L.A. and create an impactful opening moment.
NBC Sports play-by-play caller Al Michaels introduced the opener moments before kickoff, and the Lombardi Trophy descended from the Infinity Screen, with the massive videoboard acting as a portal.
We brought the Coliseum into SoFi, bridging past with present with a special nod to history, says Fisher. Tim Tubito and his team at the NFL were amazing creative partners in developing these ideas; it was a true collaborative effort. They brought a heartbeat to the production by bringing in legends to round everything out.
On game day, TFG worked with SMT to ensure that camera tracking was calibrated and working properly, and NBC's production team, led by director Drew Esocoff and producer Fred Gaudelli, called the show cue-to-cue from the A-truck front bench.
The NFL and Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment (which produced the in-venue show) also made it possible for the moment to be shown to fans in-house on the Infinity Screen. TFG's team was based in a separate mobile unit with NBC communications and had its own operator running the various elements on cues from Esocoff and Gaudelli.
The opening mixed-reality experience also featured two live video feeds (Super Bowl 1 legends on the field waving to the crowd) integrated into virtual jumbotrons of the 3D L.A. Coliseum. This marked the first time a live feed was integrated into AR/3D elements at the Super Bowl.
A virtual curtain displays the familiar symbol of the L.A. Coliseum.
This was The Famous Group's 17th consecutive Super Bowl, notes Fisher. Every year, we look to evolve and enhance the production and fan experience. This year, we worked to create hyper-realistic simulations (specifically on the fabric of the [virtual] curtains) and MR elements and focused on enhancing the live video streams.
Among TFG's key technology partners for Super Bowl LVI were Epic Games/Unreal Engine, Quince Imaging, SMT, Pixotope, The LiveYard, Firebird Sound, TruePoint Laser Scanning, and NEP (which provided the mobile unit onsite). Van Wagner worked with TFG from a stadium-infrastructure perspective, and Madison Square Garden organist Ray Castoldi oversaw music selection.
This was a carefully coordinated event, says Isaacson. We had to meticulously time all production elements to align for both the in-stadium fans and the fans at home
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...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
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 has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
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...
The Famous Group Ups the Ante on Mixed-Reality Tech at Super Bowl LVI, NBA All-Star Productions celebrate iconic L.A. Coliseum, NBA's diamond anniversary By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
