“A big challenge was being able to integrate changes at the very last minute and even during the live ceremony. To do this, you need a solution that works in a nonlinear way, and Ventuz offered the only truly suitable real-time graphics solution for this,” comments Jorge Enueve, Creative Director of DMS. “Ventuz is designed to retrieve live data that is inserted into the graphics, so it was super easy for us to make these late changes. In addition, the non-linear animation and extensive interaction tools gave us the flexibility to trigger the graphics and events we wanted, with complete freedom for us and the presenters.”

The Ocean Ceremony project was also a good acid test for remote production workflows, with one DMS/DMT team working on-site, installing live cameras, large format displays, etc., while a second team remotely integrated all live input streams from the National Gallery and other video streams from award winners and nominees into the Ventuz-generated virtual studio graphics. The final video composite, including all video inputs and real-time virtual graphics, was then output by Ventuz and streamed via Vimeo.

Blackmagic Design equipment was also used extensively in this setup, from Blackmagic 4K studio cameras to Atem video mixers and WebPresenter 4K devices to stream the live video signals. Ventuz received these video streams as SDI/NDI inputs and output the final composite signal as SDI for video stream distribution – this signal was sent back to the venue to be displayed to the live audience.

“From a technical perspective, this was a very complex workflow because we had to send video signals back and forth, which would not have been possible without Ventuz. Ventuz’s render engine is 100% frame accurate and provides us with absolute color fidelity so we can meet the high quality standards that our client and this project demanded,” explains Enueve.

DMT and Digital Media Studio are looking forward to a bright future, with several projects already in the works and some technological developments that will allow them to offer end-to-end solutions to their customers; and Ventuz is one of the cornerstones of these future plans. Furthermore, the whole DMT group is moving into new facilities in Hertford as we write these pages, including a brand new showroom where DMS will present their innovative Ventuz-based solutions to their customers.

“Digital Media Studio was supposed to be a creative studio right from the start, but we have placed equal emphasis on the technical knowledge that makes our projects achievable. We believe that these two aspects are so closely intertwined that you can’t work in one without taking the other into account. This will become even more important with the widespread adoption of interaction and fully connected workflows in the coming years,” Enueve said.

“I’ve come a long way with Ventuz and seen it evolve into the mature production platform it is today. At Digital Media Studio, we see Ventuz as integral to the future of our business because it gives us the technology and openness to bring our ideas to life.”