[APPLAUSE]
>> Thanks, Ben.
So yeah, I'm John Murphy.
I'm Creative Director for BBC Sport.
First, I just want to apologize because I
feel a little bit like I've gate-crashed a wedding.
And you know, obviously, if you gate-crash a wedding, you
probably get kicked out.
So I'm going to be quite brief in case I get kicked out.
So all that is, I just want to-- so last year,
I came to this event, and we had already
decided that, for BBC Sport, we were
going to do a project for Match of the Day
to be in a virtual studio.
And I came to this event, and I got
the real "wow" factor from what I was seeing, from what, people
in this room were doing.
And we are nowhere near that stage yet.
We are at the very beginning of the journey.
But I just wanted to give you a brief overview
of how we got there.
So firstly, three years ago I was at IBC in Amsterdam,
and we were looking at Match of the Day,
refreshing our actual physical set,
looking at new LED technology.
And it was there that I saw, on a stand that was Zero Density,
and they were using Unreal Engine.
And for the first time we thought, wow, you know,
we could actually do Match of The Day BBC Sport programs
from a virtual set and get the real kind of quality
that you get in the real world, real-time.
So that's, firstly, why we decided to do it.
And then, in terms of how we did it,
so we have a situation that we work with different partners
and suppliers.
And firstly, the Dock10, who are our studio
provider, because we don't own our own studio, they--
we talked with them about the technology,
how we were going to do it, their VFX team.
We utilized them to actually implement
the model and everything else into the Unreal Engine.
And also, Alston Elliot, who are our live data-driven graphics
supplier, they have done the development
and the build of the data-driven graphics,
live data-driven graphics, in Unreal Engine.
The obstacles and challenges for us on a project like this
is, firstly, if anyone watches Match of the Day,
or Gary Lineker who is our main presenter, if we're telling
Gary Lineker he's got to set a green screen studio,
then we've got to make it look good.
Another big obstacle for us is,
again, we don't have our own studio,
and also, the studio that we're using, the green screen studio,
is actually a set and strike.
So we actually only had five weeks prior
to going on air in August, in that environment,
to test the work that we'd done through the camera.
And so that was a massive challenge for us.
The other thing for us as well, also, is just workflows.
It's going to get better and better, I'm sure.
But as I say, in our industry, and where I am at the moment,
and BBC Sport, we've, obviously, been very much--
we've been used to a very specific workflow in terms
of running a live TX program, and this is just--
the challenges for this is--
we've been faced with them, and, obviously, we're
overcoming them, and it's going to get better.
But that's been a big learning curve.
And just before I've got a movie to play at the end,
which will explain a little bit more about the project itself.
I think the future for us is what we see that, as I say,
where we are now is very--
we are miles behind, in terms of development,
where a lot of people in this room are.
And actually, one of the other things
that when I came to this last year,
I was talking to some people in the room, architects
who we were hoping to get involved in this project,
but timescales didn't work out.
But I see, when I look at onscreen to some
of the presentations so far, and what I remember from last year,
and what architects are doing, that detail,
and that kind of-- that design, that
is what we want on screen on our live TXes,
and that's where we want to get to.
So for the future, we want to, obviously,
progress on where we are now in terms of the football,
but also, we are just seeing it in terms of when we have
to go and do events worldwide.
It could be Olympics.
It could be World Cups.
It could be whatever.
In the future, do we have to go those?
Do we have to take all of our production teams
to those, to those venues?
Do we have to do--
it would be a massive leap, but I'm
sure that eventually, that's the sort of area
that our senior management would want us to look at.
So I mean, in terms of-- as I say, for us,
it's brilliant to be at the start of it in terms of TV,
and we just want to develop on top of that
and see where it takes us.
And let's play this video now for you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
>> Oh, look, it's green.
What a shock.
>> We've had some big changes on Match of the Day
because we're actually moving into a smaller studio,
but in terms of the virtual world,
it will actually look a lot larger.
>> Now, it is very different to what we've done before,
because even though it looks incredibly new, if I
click my fingers, this is what our world really looks like.
It's essentially a kingdom of green velvet.
>> Where we were looking at LED screens and everything else,
we discovered a new technology, which is all
from the gaming industry.
For the first time, with the quality
of keying and rendering, we thought a virtual studio
was a viability for us.
And the reason for that, as well,
is that it gave us the opportunity
to have a different set between all the four football programs.
We're not all just sitting within one environment.
>> This is the games engine.
This is the Unreal engine.
It's most famously used, at the moment, for Fortnite.
>> Unreal Engine was born in the world of video games.
Over the last few years, a whole host of other industries
have started to use our real-time technology.
The Match of the Day virtual studio
represents a real cutting-edge technology,
and they're pushing the envelope with this virtual studio.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
>> The Premier League is back for a new season.
New stories, new faces, and a bit of a new look.
>> Starting with the blank page that is a virtual studio,
and all that can be done is a bit daunting.
And it's taken us quite a while to work out
how to turn a stadium into a studio.
>> All of the program directors have
been working with the virtual designer on each of the models,
and working within lighting, and making sure
that every program has its own distinctive brand.
>> The ability to mold the world and have it
change according to what's going on.
So for example, monitor positions, and screens,
and how they appear, and move around, and don't
have to be in shock so we can have a very vast studio design.
>> And it looks, at the moment, as if on any person in here.
But if we flick our camera around,
actually, there, behind the velvet curtain,
there's Sean filming us filming him.
>> In terms of presenters and guests,
they have a hard set, so they've still
got a real desk with real monitors inside.
But then, in terms of everything else, it's completely virtual.
So all of the screens that they aren't actually there,
they're not seeing them.
And so it's making sure that the eye lines are
right for all of the presenters and guests
and that they have some form of a monitor where
they can see what we're actually transmitting.
>> There is of golden rule, which we all have to obey--
which is understandable, really.
You cannot wear green, because, as I can demonstrate with this
lovely green cloth, if you do, you essentially disappear.
>> The biggest thing with a virtual studio is that we can develop.
Obviously, from where we are now,
the idea is just to develop, and develop,
and develop on top of that.
And then, also, at the end of each season,
then we have the ability to give the sets another refresh rather
than just having to be based in the same set for five,
six years.
>> I think it would be crazy not to take advantage of the fact you
can update things.
We would likely see a lot more progression, some more
ideas coming into play.
I think that it's exciting.
>> Thank you for enjoying our little tour around,
and we will see you throughout the season.
From BBC Sport, goodbye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
>> So anyways, as I say, I just wanted to give a thank you
for inviting me to talk, as I say,
in a completely different environment.
But hopefully, it was just a brief overview
of what we're trying to get to in TV using Unreal Engine.
[APPLAUSE]