NEP launches XL chromakey studio
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Editor
| 02 November 2018

As part of its strategy to lead the augmented reality market, NEP has built what it says is one of Europe’s largest green screens at its studios in the Netherlands.

The 25-metre green screen at Studio 4 in Hilversum’s Media Park will see use in aiming to lower the threshold by which creators can use virtual sets for short-term productions. This says the company means the mass availability of virtual and augmented reality production tools, including real-time data and statistics, in combination with what is claimed to offer the most realistic render quality.

Over the past two years, NEP has invested in render engine technology and has set up a team of 30 designers, technical artists and developers at its hub. The team has been responsible for productions in the Dutch market as well as in the US, England, Germany, Thailand, Italy and the Middle East. In addition, the team has developed an end-to-end workflow, including a software layer that can be integrated with multiple-camera registration. The render engine includes technology from the gaming industry to bring photo realism into the domain of broadcasting.

NEP believes that the size of the green studio now enables programme makers to run bigger productions of any genre, from big live entertainment to game shows and from large-scale talk shows to news broadcasts. Yet it also regards its technology as appropriate for multiple small studios which can be set up next to each other so that when one programme ends, the next can be started right away. This it says means resources can be used more efficiently.

“We've been working with big content parties for some time now, but this way, augmented reality can also be used for smaller productions,” remarked Ralf van Vegten, NEP managing director. “After all, not everyone is able to set up [their] own studio, especially if you want to use augmented reality for a short time only. From now on, however, of the inspiration and creative possibilities of AR is open to nearly everyone.”