Ventuz Powers On-Air Broadcast Graphics for Chinese Idol

Chinese Idol, the Chinese reality/singing competition modeled after American Idol, marks the start of every show with an animated opener that takes the TV viewer on a journey of synchronized sound, moving design, text and images. The dazzling branded opening sequence as well as the dynamic live on-air and in-studio graphics are produced and delivered using Ventuz real-time 3D presentation and broadcast graphics software. Beijing-based Hunter, an interactive creative division of TVM, designed the on-air graphics for the show.

Like its highly successful British (Pop Idol) and American (American Idol) counterparts, Chinese Idol searches for the best undiscovered vocalist in China based on viewer voting and participation. In-show graphics display dynamic text, 2D/3D animations and contestant images using Ventuz software. Data-driven graphics, including the results of online voting and the “Win a Ford” lottery, are automatically generated in real-time using Ventuz 3D presentation templates in a very efficient design and operational workflow.

Chinese Idol selected Hunter based upon their earlier work using Ventuz to design the visual imagery and real-time, interactive on-air graphics for Asian Wave, another Chinese talent show featuring contestants from many different Asian countries. In Asian Wave, a VJ uses an iPod to remotely control a Ventuz interactive presentation that visualizes the dynamic reshuffling of the singing teams, as well as real-time voting results and contestant status.

Hunter has also worked on live coverage sports graphics using Ventuz, including the 2012 Olympic Games and the Euro Cup 2012. Most recently, they were selected by CCTV to design the on-air graphics presentation for the Chinese broadcast of World Cup 2014.

As part of the Ventuz-based workflow in both Chinese Idol and Asian Wave, Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 and Maya 2014 were used to create 3D models. Textures and motion graphics were created using Adobe Photoshop and After Effects. AMD professional graphics were used to output the HD video from Ventuz to a BlackMagic switcher for TV broadcast.