The extent to which technologies traditionally perceived as being ‘broadcast’ and ‘pro AV’ oriented are now converging is examined in-depth elsewhere in this issue. In this article, we zero-in on the corporate market and the role that new technologies – including some, like virtual production (VP), which have their foundations in film & broadcast – are playing in helping companies to produce and deliver content that is increasingly indistinguishable from TV output and possesses the highest production values.
While the philosophies – and budgets – of individual corporations inevitably vary considerably, one overriding observation is that all can now benefit from introducing broadcast-grade technology to their inventories: whether it’s adding a few PTZ cameras to capture everyday meetings and events, or an extensive in-house VP facility to produce the most ambitious corporate content.
Mark Faugstad is product & business development manager for immersive collaboration at AV and collaborative technology solutions specialist Kinly. Of VP and its use of versatile LED screen technology, he says that “corporates can use [VP] volume to create high-end broadcast-type content with all the advantages of LED. And there are so many applications – [such as] town halls
and fireside chats”.
There are no prizes for guessing that the pandemic period served as a massive catalyst for companies to improve the frequency and quality of their content. With the subsequent normalisation of hybrid working and remote contributions, this realisation continues to be manifested in an increased desire for new technologies and solutions.
BROADCAST LEANING
“In the last few years, every corporation has basically realised that it needs to become a broadcaster, too,” observes Richard Rees, CEO/MD of QuickLink, a multi-camera video production specialist whose broadcast base has lately expanded significantly into pro AV. “If they haven’t done so already, they’re aware that they have to embrace new technology and put their own media out there, so there has been a really big explosion in that market.”
For CJP Broadcast Service Solutions, director of sales & marketing Kieran Phillips puts the content boom in the context of broader digital-driven change in the corporate world. “In recent years, corporate and enterprise customers have increasingly embraced digital transformation, integrating new technologies into their content creation strategies,” he says. “There has been a notable shift towards using VP and other immersive technologies to create more engaging and interactive content.”
The ability to harness technologies that allow so much media content to be produced without leaving the office is also hugely complementary to the net zero targets to which many companies are now committed. “The shift is also motivated by sustainability goals, as VP allows for content creation without the need for large teams and equipment to travel widely,” confirms Phillips. “As a result, there is a growing demand for high-quality, dynamic content that can be produced cost-effectively and delivered across various platforms.”
ROBUST SOLUTIONS
Given this undoubted surge in content needs, it’s fortunate that it seems to be coinciding with the appropriate phase in the budgetary cycle at many corporations. “In the Covid time, we observed a certain stagnated mode, but the budget cycles coming up now suggest there’s a big shift to many becoming full-blown broadcasters in their own right”, says QuickLink’s Rees, adding that, despite this, corporations “might not have the skill-sets coming through yet, which means you need to provide very easy to use, robust solutions”.
The ability for customers to “embrace the remote side of production” – including contributions to corporate events and meetings – is a particular focus for QuickLink, which selected InfoComm 2024 for the inaugural presentation of its StudioPro 4K video production platform. Designed to provide an “ultra-low latency production experience without the complexity of legacy systems”, the platform incorporates QuickLink StudioCall technology, allowing remote guests to be seamlessly integrated with Teams, Zoom and Skype calls, other camera feeds, audio sources, images, videos and graphics.
The use of remote production techniques and technologies is also a key theme for Matrox, whose Edge encoder and decoder product family is described by Samuel Recine, vice president global strategic partnerships, as a “very strong product line for people who are trying to use production in a different place than where the source is”. The ConvertIP range, which supports multiple standards and can be used as a converter and for AV routing, is also resonating in AV, where the migration to IP – as in broadcast – is “now moving very fast”.
VISUALLY ENGAGING
It’s an observation that can also, increasingly, be applied to virtual production. VP has been a recurring theme in Installation for more than two years, largely in the context of its potential for verticals such as corporate and education. But now the theory is translating into reality for vendors.
Liam Hayter is product manager at Vizrt, whose Viz Virtual Studio product enables the production of advanced live virtual sets and AR graphics. “There are more and more presentation-style studios coming up [in the corporate market],” he observes.
“A lot of companies have these mini-studio spaces they want to create content in, and bringing AR [into such an environment] can really help it to bring that content and communication to life. It’s much more dynamic and visually engaging… [and] you do need visual variety to keep people’s attention.”
VISUALLY COMPELLING
CJP’s Phillips pinpoints both internal and external benefits of implementing VP. “For external content, companies use VP to create more engaging and exciting content,” he says. “The technology enables them to produce visually compelling promotional videos, virtual events and immersive presentations that can quickly adapt to current trends and audience interests. Internally, VP benefits teams by streamlining the production processes, fostering real-time collaboration, and enhancing creativity. It allows internal teams to work more efficiently, reduce production costs, and quickly act on ideas.”
Looking forward, the company anticipates considerable growth in applications such as virtual product launches, interactive corporate training and sophisticated data visualisation. Phillips adds: “As technology advances, VP will enable even more innovative uses, such as personalised customer experiences and advanced visual storytelling.”
“There’s definitely an interest in finding new ways to communicate,” says Recine, who points to new creative and commercial opportunities with VP, including the further deployment of “professional production assets that currently get used whenever there’s an event and are dormant otherwise”. VP also promises the ability to be able to ‘pay as you go’ for events a lot more than with more traditional set-ups – interesting for broadcasters and corporations.
Financial organisations, says Kinly’s Faugstad, are prominent among the early corporate adopters: “Banks can use it between locations for hybrid-style training. It’s a much more immersive, interactive way of doing training and presentations.”
The comparative newness of VP, and the potential cost of investing in the technology at inception, means that there are some lingering questions about how widely it might be adopted in the fullness of time. However, as prices come down and combined solutions become more available, perceptions about it being the preserve of FTSE 100/250-level organisations are bound to dissipate. Of course, this doesn’t mean that vendors can’t help to move the needle in the meantime.
“Sometimes [potential] customers have not ‘deep-dived’ so much and might think it’s only for the big productions. So it’s important for us to show that it can be beneficial for smaller scales,” comments Sebastien Leske, head of cinema business development at Sony Europe, which opened a virtual production space at its digital media production centre in Pinewood, UK, in 2023.
COMPACT INSTALLATION
To this end, Sony’s presence at ISE 2024 included a compact VP installation intended to “give inspiration as to how corporate customers can utilise [this technology] to be faster and quicker in their productions and have content ready to go”. The more opportunities for familiarity corporations are afforded, implies Leske, the more “they can see it might be a solution or workflow they can use to create more appealing content in a quicker turnaround time”.
Meanwhile, it’s important to remember that implementing VP is still not without its logistical challenges. At present, technological standardisation is at a formative stage in most areas apart from metadata, while production processes and job descriptions remain the subject of considerable variation. Moreover – as in broadcast – there continues to be a sizeable shortfall in the number of technicians with VP training.
“Addressing the skills gap is crucial for broader adoption,” says Phillips, adding that CJP is actively contributing via its university VP projects: “These industry-grade studios enable students to gain hands-on experience and develop the skills required to excel in this field. As a result, companies can tap into a pool of highly skilled individuals who are well-versed in VP technology, facilitating smoother integration and more innovative applications within corporate environments.”
With a lot of short-term and degree/post-grad courses coming on line in the past 12 months, this problem will diminish in time. At which point, VP will – along with the burgeoning combined production and remote contribution platforms – fully take its position as one of the top technological tools in the corporate creative arsenal.
