NewscastStudio: WUPA wrapped up construction on a green screen studio that will allow it to produce local news and weather from a virtual and augmented reality set when it launches next week.
The setup is similar to the ones CBS has installed at most of its other stations across the country. Many of these stations use the space for weather, with some also relying on it as their primary set for news and sports as well.
3 comments:
I always think some news stations' channels look cool until I see behind-the-scenes images and the green walls on set make it look so sad in reality. I always thought news channels were cool as a kid when the weatherman would hold his hand up and swipe through counties and weather icons and the screen behind made it look like they had some screen telekinesis superpowers. The technology that goes into weather stations is very cool and I imagine often high pressure as it’s usually live and mistakes are heavily scrutinized. I think it is cool they can make the backgrounds look hyper realistic now with the curved walls and full-greenscreen box sets since it’s probably safer in a lot of cases to show the weather behind the weatherman than to have the weatherman actually in the bad conditions. In some instances I see why news stations travel to the sight to report, but every now and then I see a weatherman fighting for their life in the middle of a storm and I wonder if they really needed to be there knee deep in water or if there could’ve just been a quality graphic behind them.
Reading the article “CBS Atlanta will use virtual studio for upcoming launch of evening newscasts” really struck me as both exciting and provocative from a design/production point of view. They’re launching local news in Atlanta from a fully virtual and augmented reality set, built on a green screen studio with camera tracking and software to render the “extended reality” environments. As a theatre student at CMU, I can’t help but see parallels between virtual sets in broadcast and scenic design in theatre: both require balancing illusion and practicality, creating believable space, guiding audience focus, and integrating performer interaction with environment. What intrigues me most is how interactivity and flexibility shift: anchors can “walk through” graphics, AR elements can change on cue, and the set can dynamically transform—things that in theatre we might dream of doing with clever projection or automation. It also raises questions: how does one maintain coherence, narrative, and “place” when so much is virtual? What are the limits of human perception in VR/AR space? This piece energizes me to think about hybrid design—blending physical and digital worlds—and to wonder how these technologies might influence future theatrical scenography.
It’s awesome that this technology is possible, I do have to agree with Carolyn though that this really crushed my childhood understanding of news channels. They could just whoosh their hands and create a storm that feels really magical to a kid. Knowing how this all works though is all really awesome, I wish they did something a little more interesting with the set they used. Like okay, sure, a big professional room with windows, I understand why this set is the way it is since news isn’t supposed to be very comfortable. We want to be serious, but it’s not very homey. This isn’t something I want to look at. Sure it’s professional, but scary professional not cute. All I’m trying to say is if I had access to this resource I’d be doing a lot more with it. If you only use one real backdrop and it’s boring then just make a boring set! Not to say this is boring… but hey there’s so much green screen access and you’re telling me this is the best we can do? If they could rent out this space for artists to use, or (maybe that’s crazy) if there was a space similar for artists to use, just saying it would be quite amazing to see what an artist would do with this resource.
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