TV studio dock10, The University of York and production company 2LE Media have secured backing from Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can power lighting in live virtual productions.
Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, announced the £100m BridgeAI programme last year to drive growth and competitiveness in the UK economy through the adoption of AI and machine learning.
BridgeAI has awarded match funding to dock10, The University of York and 2LE Media to develop AI-driven tools that deliver realistic light interactions for programmes filmed in virtual studios.
The collaboration will build on foundational research that dock10 and The University of York carried out last year to explore how AI can deliver real-time lighting for virtual studio productions.
Lighting remains a frontier for innovation in virtual studios production. In a green screen environment, lighting elements such as shadows and reflections do not readily transfer between actors or physical props and virtual environments. Instead, they have to be composited into scenes in post-production, limiting the commercial and creative potential of live virtual production.
This research project aims to leverage the latest advances in computer vision Al and generative Al alongside green-screen virtual studio technology to achieve real-time light interactions between physical and virtual worlds.
Specifically, it aims to create an AI neural network that is trained through the use of synthesised green-screen data to simulate the different pathways light travels between the physical and virtual elements of a scene.
Dr. Florian Block, R&D Lead, AI & Immersive at dock10 studios and a Reader in Digital Creativity at the University of York, said: “We are delighted to have received grant funding from Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme, which builds on foundational research we have undertaken into lighting for virtual studios. Bringing together leading creatives, engineers and VR specialists from dock10, Al researchers from the University of York and entertainment content producers from 2LE, this R&D project is a timely response to rapidly growing audience demand for live content that lies at the cross-over between physical and virtual worlds.”
Richard Wormwell, dock10 Head of Production Innovation, said: “This R&D project aims to enable live TV productions to apply established creative lighting practices to mixed-reality environments, achieving fully dynamic light simulation across both physical and virtual worlds. We’re confident that this project will be of significant value to the UK’s creative industries, helping them to compete even more effectively on the global stage.”
Michael Livingstone, lead creative for 2LE Media, added: “The technology being developed by dock10 and the University of York is incredibly exciting, 2LE are thrilled to sit alongside them as the creative partner for the project. We’re looking forward to the collaboration and the onward development of the new production workflows that embrace AI-driven lighting techniques in virtual production.”
