36 OPINION
MOTION GRAPHICS AND THE NEED FOR HYPER-REALISM
Miguel Churruca, Marketing and Communications Director, Brainstorm
From captions, lower-thirds, charts, bumpers and more, motion graphics are enjoyed by viewers in almost every TV show. Motion graphics’ design is of paramount importance for broadcasters, as they define the looks of the channel, and modern graphic engines help to dramatically increase the graphic’s quality by using advanced rendering features such as PBR or even ray tracing. Also, with the increased popularity of Unreal Engine for virtual production in broadcast, audiences expect hyper-realistic virtual content, and motion graphics must keep pace. However, television graphics have specific requirements that are alien to the game engine framework but essential for broadcast operation. Moreover, these graphics are often generated out of data coming from external sources, and are part of larger projects in which different graphics interact with each other depending on the playout requirements. It’s not just a matter of designing a single
graphic, but of creating a whole project that includes many pieces, external data sources and interaction logic between all graphics in the project, not to mention that said graphics may be standalone, full screen or AR objects.
“Audiences expect hyper-realistic virtual content, and motion graphics must keep pace”
Broadcast graphic engines have evolved to optimise the creation process while facilitating the on-air operation. And, although many of the above features can be achieved with Unreal Engine by extensively using blueprints, this is a painful, time- consuming process that requires an expert operator, while on-air operation needs to be fast, flexible and operator friendly. Does this mean we can’t use Unreal Engine to produce dynamic on-air graphics?
Not necessarily! But we must be aware of the game engine’s limitations. Production operators may not be familiar with Unreal Engine, and there are situations in which last-minute changes or unexpected edits are required, and here is where broadcast engines such as Brainstorm excel. So, why not have the best of both worlds? Brainstorm’s InfinitySet can integrate Aston graphics within an Unreal Engine scene, allowing for in-context typography, motion graphics, statistics, charts and more, all perfectly integrated in the composition both in animation, tracking, perspective matching and, of course, hyper-realistic image quality. By using its Unreal Control module, InfinitySet can control Unreal Engine’s blueprints, objects and parameters in real- time, or effortlessly create a custom control interface. This results in a new, unique and revolutionary workflow that is also compatible with the latest Unreal Engine developments for graphics, such as Avalanche. 7.C46
LED-BASED FRESNEL RANGE BOASTS BATTERY BENEFITS Astera BY DAVID FOX
The new LED-based Fresnel range from Astera is battery powered and wireless-enabled for greater creative flexibility. The compact PlutoFresnel and the larger LeoFresnel provide all the benefits of LED (lower power draw, higher output strength, precise colour control, lightweight profile), with the creative qualities associated with Fresnels, particularly for portrait work and the replication of daylight settings.
The 80W Pluto outputs the
equivalent of a 300W tungsten Fresnel, while the 250W Leo is equivalent to 1000W. Both lights can maintain a beam angle between 15° and 60° with no colour fringing. The Fresnel lens can also be removed so the LED base can be used for other applications. The lights use Astera’s Titan LED engine to supply a full range of colours, with complete colour fidelity and consistency, controlled using either the AsteraApp (with Bluetooth Bridge), CRMX wireless DMX or wired DMX controls. The 4.5kg Pluto and 14kg Leo are lighter than conventional tungsten
On beam: Astera’s LED-based LeoFresnel and PlutoFresnel
Fresnels and are claimed to be the first Fresnel lights with built-in batteries (giving two and three hours of maximum brightness runtime, respectively). These can
be combined with the Astera RuntimeExtender and Astera’s Seamless Runtime technology to further maximise duration. 12.G44
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