Extended Reality Group Optimizes Content and Unreal Engine Workflow for Historic Resorts World Las Vegas Campaign
Brie Clayton July 9, 2021
0 Comments
In April, the new US $4.3 billion, 3,500-room Resorts World Las Vegas luxury destination launched its Stay Fabulous campaign with an immersive, groundbreaking short film featuring Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Ti sto, and Zedd. Created by Hooray Agency and Psyop to build excitement for the resort's recent grand opening and convey the astounding entertainment in store for guests, the agency and production partners famously pioneered some revolutionary workflows. Among the production's key technology vendors was the Las Vegas-based virtual production and creative solutions studio, Extended Reality Group (ERG).
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Google Youtube uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
Launched last year by Founders Evan Glantz, Zack Kingdon, Keith Anderson, and Patrick Beery, ERG's phenomenal roster of artists, integrators, and production experts pioneer new applications for XR, MR, AR, and VR, extending reality in new dimensions. While most of ERG's first collaborations remain confidential, its reputation is soaring in the world of cutting-edge virtual productions.
In Resorts World's campaign's credits, ERG lists Glantz, Kingdon, CG Supervisor Darrion Granieri, and Senior Unreal Artist Patrick Beery with their company, under Unreal Engine (UE) Workflow Optimization and Creative Services. For the record, their project talents also included Virtual Lighting Director Alvaro Turino Grosso, Senior Technical Artist Warrell Andrew, Project Manager Andrea Frey, and a group of highly skilled animators that extends around the globe.
To shine more light into the extraordinary Stay Fabulous production approach, ERG shared the following insights, accompanied by a new case study video: https://youtu.be/zEaQhJimc8I
Building Virtually Tracked Content
Supporting the opulent vision of Psyop's Director and Founding Partner Marco Spier and his colleagues, ERG's assignment began by providing asset optimization of geometry and texture for LED volume production, based on models provided by Psyop. In direct collaboration with Marco, we were tasked with doing all the scene building, lighting, and final touches, Glantz began. We were responsible for optimizing, and in some cases, creating, the content appearing in the volume, which is the space where the virtual-tracked content is presented for motion capture. In other words, the volume is comprised of the LED screens where the Unreal Engine technology renders all the complex visual effects shots in real-time during the live-action shoot.
Drilling further into cinema magic widely hailed as the future of production, ERG's maestros began with models created in Autodesk Maya, Maxon's Cinema 4D, SideFX's Houdini, and Adobe's Substance Designer. Those assets were then integrated into the UE environment volumetrically, where optimization largely focused on designing for geometry.
According to Beery, This project's high number of animation and lighting elements interacting together required a tight polygon budget to render everything at an acceptable frame rate. Our workflow allowed us to optimize and re-topologize these models to work well within Unreal, and required us to model each component and environment accordingly, to meet the industry standard for motion capture.
While this artistry resulted in the creation of the vibrant worlds where the campaign talents seamlessly appear in the finished brand film, there is more to know about the process of making the content interactive, to serve the filmmakers' needs during production.
Hybrid UE Workflow for Real-Time Visual Effects
Following Psyop's aim to leverage talents and technologies behind the award-winning Disney+ series The Mandalorian, this campaign's physical production took place at LA's Nant Studios, and involved acclaimed director of photography Matthew Jensen, ASC.
As part of its pre-production services, fully understanding the potential for massively impacting in-camera virtual production scenarios, ERG created and programmed several different baked lighting scenarios for instant activation on the set. These addressed factors like various positions for the sun, and incorporating effects such as lazy God rays, with appropriate shadows.
This approach of preparing baked lighting workflows saves a huge amount of time on set, Turino Grosso explained. In settings like this, it allows us to give the director and DP content that is consistent across all playthroughs, which can be invaluable for blocking and rehearsals.
Anticipating on-set demands for dynamic interactive lighting, Turino Grosso programmed full CUE to CUE and in-engine control via DMX. This allowed him to run both UE environmental lighting and physical lighting on the set using a GrandMA3 lighting console. The results include the ability to make on-the-fly color adjustments and vary the speed of the pinball's roll, among many others.
For ERG, Turino Grosso, Beery, and Granieri actively participated in the production, providing quality control during the rehearsals and shoot, in concert with executives from Nant Studios and Epic Games.
Along with Virtual Production Supervisor Lawrence Jones, Marco gave us an amazing set of references and concept art that helped us understand the goal of telling a dynamic story blending classic Las Vegas with the newest technology, Kingdon added. In this case, the use of bold p
Most recent headlines
31/01/2025
Zeam Media, a provider of broadcast OTT technology as well as the hyperlocal streaming platform Zeam, announced today that it is again collaborating with John S...
31/01/2025
Sonnet Announces Secure Mounting Bracket for All-New 2024 Apple Mac mini Compute...
31/01/2025
Kalamazoo College Uses Blackmagic Design for Campuswide Productions
Brie Clayton January 31, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design cameras and switchers u...
31/01/2025
Tiger's 1st Pro AV Sale of 2025 Features 700 Plus Lots of High Quality Gear
Brie Clayton January 31, 2025
0 Comments
Excess inventory from full-se...
31/01/2025
Camera Corps Streamlines Live HDR Sports Production with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton January 31, 2025
0 Comments
High dynamic range (HDR) has transformed th...
31/01/2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C., and BRISTOL, Conn. The Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN have announced that the sports programmer has exercised its option to extend its TV r...
31/01/2025
The URSA Cine 12K LF Body excludes shoulder mounts, handles, some lens mounts, battery plates, power supply, lenses and the high capacity 8TB media module
By J...
31/01/2025
EDEN aims to provide continuous power when operating in remote locations, and can be recharged using solar power
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: January 31, 2...
31/01/2025
MIAMI Telemundo has laid out plans for extensive Spanish-language coverage of the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 that includes a large slate of programming across the net...
31/01/2025
ATLANTA TNT Sports is launching a new NASCAR Driver Cam experience exclusively on Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service that will offer motorsports...
31/01/2025
LOS ANGELES The real-time CG animation company Mindshow has unveiled its virtual production platform and announced the appointment of former Hulu executive Davi...
31/01/2025
CHARLOTTE, N.C. & BRISTOL, Conn. The ACC and ESPN have announced that ESPN has exercised its option to extend its rights to ACC games through through the 2035-3...
31/01/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media said it has revised its group-wide policy regarding the role of generative AI to acknowledge the technology's potential but underscored t...
31/01/2025
Leadership is developing at Shotoku Broadcast Systems. The international manufacturer of high-quality, easy-to-use, and reliable robotic and manual camera suppo...
31/01/2025
QuickLink, providers of industry-leading video production and contribution solutions, has today announced that it has teamed up with Zoom Communications, Inc. t...
31/01/2025
Ross Video is strengthening its presence in the corporate market across EMEA with the appointment of Nancy Diaz Curiel as Regional Sales Director, Corporate - E...
31/01/2025
Clear-Com is pleased to announce that DIAS Company has been designated as an official authorized service center for Clear-Com products in Kazakhstan, as well as...
31/01/2025
Mediagenix, a leader in software solutions for content strategy, value management, and scheduling, has today announced a successful deployment for France s lead...
31/01/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading platform sitting at the forefront of live and immersive experiences, will showcase a wide array of customer projects, live produc...
31/01/2025
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
31/01/2025
ThinkAnalytics today announced that DISH Network, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar, has selected the Think360 content discovery platform, along w...
31/01/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Earns Fulbright Specialist Award to Dublin City University The leader of Berklee's Institute for Accessible Arts Education, Dr. Bernard ...
31/01/2025
Why Alissia's Grammy Nomination Signals a Needed Shift As only the ninth woman nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical-a category that no woman ...
31/01/2025
We've reached the end of January, and what a start to 2025 it's been! MP...
31/01/2025
FOX Sports' 2025 NASCAR Season Gets Underway With Cook Out Clash at Bowman G...
31/01/2025
Unrivaled Deploys Conventional Sound Elements for an Unconventional Sport We're trying to create the ambiance of a championship game every game night' ...
31/01/2025
TNT Sports, Max To Offer NASCAR Drive Cam for all 38 2025 Race Weekends 1080p Driver Cam Feeds to also provide team radio feeds, statistics, and telemetry data ...
31/01/2025
The New Studio Show: How Fox Sports Takes XR and Virtual Production to New Heigh...
31/01/2025
Ratings Roundup: Bills-Chiefs Fuels Most Watched AFC Championship on Record; Wem...
31/01/2025
Behind the Mic: FOX Sports' Tom Brady Gets Set for First Super Bowl Call; Re...
31/01/2025
Sky Original podcast Smart TV with Alison Hammond confirmed to launch on Wednesd...
31/01/2025
Back to All News
Middle-Class Ambitions Meets High-Stakes Crime: Dabba Cartel&...
31/01/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Official Trailer for Aitana: MetamorphosisPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
31 January 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied...
31/01/2025
Back to All News
Caught, Netflixs New Argentinian Thriller, Premieres on March 26Play Video
Play Video
Entertainment
31 January 2025
GlobalArgentina
Link ...
31/01/2025
The recently released DeepSeek-R1 model family has brought a new wave of excitement to the AI community, allowing enthusiasts and developers to run state-of-the...
31/01/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales will be present at Aero India 2025 (3.3 i...
31/01/2025
Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on
This February, RT is delighted to support Dublin International Film Festival, along with 17 other ama...
30/01/2025
Steven Yeun and Kristen Stewart at the Love Me premiere (photo by George Pimentl...
30/01/2025
The supply capability of SGL Carbon, a leading international supplier of carbon-...
30/01/2025
Highlights*
2024 orders of $24.2 billion; book-to-bill of 1.14x
2024 revenue o...
30/01/2025
BOSTON - November 7, 2024 - Brightcove (NASDAQ: BCOV), the world's most trus...
30/01/2025
BOSTON - January 16, 2025 - Brightcove (NASDAQ: BCOV), the world's most trus...
30/01/2025
NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2025 - Black audiences spend 32 hours on apps and websites on...
30/01/2025
Auckland - January 30, 2025 - Data released today by Nielsen Ad Intel and Nielse...
30/01/2025
class=attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail f-align-center alt= decoding=async data-lazy-srcset=https://www.antonbauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/David-Pasko-...
30/01/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications has announced the acquisition of MECSware, a leading specialist in Private 5G technologies, and the launch of the priva...
30/01/2025
When it comes to current TV-viewing trends, viewers worldwide prefer scripted content to unscripted content, according to a new study from BB Media. But which p...
30/01/2025
COLOGNE, Germany RTW today made available its V 1.3 software for its TouchControl 5 hardware meter, offering support for dialog-gated loudness measurement....
30/01/2025
Ateliere Expands Live Production Workflows with Rapid Integration API for Techno...
Extended Reality Group Optimizes Content and Unreal Engine Workflow for Historic Resorts World Las Vegas Campaign 
