Aided by Vizrt technology, Australia’s Nine Network was able to create a virtual studio environment that boosted election night ratings.
WILLOUGHBY, AUSTRALIA
Vizrt has changed the way news graphics are produced at the Nine Network Australia.
During the last few years, the Nine Network has invested heavily in graphic technology to enhance the presentation of our network news programs. The system's technological advantages and our skilled creative team have allowed us to produce cutting-edge, real-time graphics in a way not seen before in this country.
GREAT FOR ANIMATED EXAMPLES
Nine News has been using Vizrt products for some time on the lower frame supers used within our news broadcasts. Now, we can produce detailed animated recreations of news events, allowing us to show the viewer how an event unfolded when no actual footage is available (the trapped miners in Chile is a recent example). Our Vizrt operators also produce graphics for our news and current affairs promotions department. This gives us a distinct advantage as good looking and compelling graphics can be produced quickly and efficiently without having to wait for more time-consuming devices and processes. We're always on a same-day, tight turnaround with our promotional material.
The use of Viz touchscreen technology has also provided Nine News with another unique advantage. Our presenters and reporters can control the graphics that they are referring to in their broadcasts. The touchscreen technology has worked so well that many of our viewers have asked if what they were viewing was real or not. In fact, we wound up making a YouTube video to show viewers that it is in fact real and exactly how it works. It's available at youtube.com/9newsaustralia.
Nine News has really come into its own with the use of Vizrt products for big events. Nine Sports was the first in Australia to terrestrially transmit stereoscopic 3D with the coverage of the national State of Origin Rugby League matches. The graphics used in the telecasts had to be in stereoscopic 3D. This was easily achieved with our Viz Sports graphics package, as it's 3D-capable right out of the box and can be easily adjusted to run on a dual channel stereoscopic Viz Engine renderer.
AIDS ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE
For our recent Federal Elections, we performed an Australian first by creating a virtual studio. The system was created with a Vizrt Virtual Studio control and a Viz Engine output PC, coupled to a Shotoku Mini-Jib VR crane. Real-time data was fed into the system, allowing our operators to pull up graphics that displayed the changing status of the election result as votes were counted. The virtual parliament we produced for elections coverage created a real buzz and that contributed to our ratings that night. The use of this technology made such an impression that the Australian National Film and Sound Archive archived a behind-the-scenes video we made due to the cultural significance of the technology.
Vizrt has has made such an impact that our competitors are now also transitioning to this technology. Our aim is to keep one step ahead by investing in the right technology and by having the best in the business driving it. It's a win-win situation.
Robert McKnight is in charge of news and current affairs promotions at Nine Network Australia. He may be contacted atrmcknight@nine.com.au.
For additional information, contact Vizrt at 011-47-5523-0025 or visit www.vizrt.com.
