Tencent Games, China’s largest online gaming platform, depend heavily on technology, not only for broadcasting activities related to gaming, but also for new areas of exploration, as virtual shooting in interactive film and game projects. The company established two years ago, through the Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group’s Content Development Department (CDD) the Shenzhen-based CDD Virtual Studio, which has been pioneering new content production methods for China’s largest online gaming platform.
The space is the only virtual studio in the country equipped with CDD’s self-developed VP and XR dual-system automatic switching capability, which allows for rapid system switching within one minute, enabling the facility to meet the high-end VP and XR system shooting requirements for large-scale productions in film and television. The studio utilises industry-leading Brompton Technology LED video processing and AOTO LED screen as part of its cutting-edge technical setup.
CDD virtual production technical manager Nornor Chen (Below Chen) notes that since the studio’s foundation, the team has been very open to exploring new application scenarios through hands-on experiences in different sectors. “Based on the needs of Tencent Games and the market environment in Shenzhen, the studio has primarily been focussing on esports live broadcasts, virtual events, and Tencent’s virtual press conferences,” he says.
With an impressive LED setup that includes a 40m by 6m, 240-degree curved LED screen and a movable 12.5m by 11m LED ceiling spanning over 100 square metres, the studio utilises AOTO LED panels with a pixel pitch of 2.3mm, powered by 12 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors and 24 Tessera XD 10G data distribution units. To take advantage of the full potential of each LED, the AOTO RM2.3 panels were calibrated with Brompton’s advanced measurement system, Hydra, unlocking Dynamic Calibration colour processing features and making the panels Brompton HDR-ready, which ensures beautiful, uniform video content even at extremes of brightness and colour gamut.
With esports being a much requested activity, the first major production undertaken by CDD Virtual Studio was the esports live streaming event, CF (Crossfire) 14th Anniversary Celebration. This project seamlessly blended gaming elements with virtual live activities, successfully visualising the dark urban setting from the game and integrating it with the live stage. “This immersive live streaming environment catered to both players and users,” explains Nornor Chen. “It also cleverly combined LED virtual production with XR technology, harnessing XR’s capabilities for large-scale live production and employing high-precision LED virtual shooting for mid-shows and gala segments that demanded superior texture.”
Besides Tencent Games own production, as the 10th Tencent WE Summit, the studio is also used for external press conference events, including the OPPO Watch3 Series Launch Event, and BYD X Shenzhen Media Group (SZMG) Han Tang Double Flagship Super Launch Event. “For productions such as press conferences, timely product launches are crucial, which means that traditional linear workflows can lead to lengthy post-production periods. This underscores the technological advantage of LED virtual shooting, which provides a ‘what you see is what you get’ approach. Shooting on location results in an 80 percent complete production effect, eliminating the need for extensive scene and lighting adjustments in post-production,“ Chen elaborates.
The CDD Virtual Studio’s technical team was also responsible for shooting three car chase scenes using Virtual Production technology, for Tencent’s latest film and game Chenhun Line. This marked the first use of LED virtual production technology in the filming of an interactive film and game production in China.
“The technological advantages of virtual shooting in interactive film and game projects have just begun to emerge,” states Chen. “Non-temporal and spatially unconstrained virtual assets facilitate scene transitions in interactive films and games, opening up new possibilities for Quick Time Event (QTE) gameplay. As VP technology becomes more widespread, interactive film and game projects will certainly integrate this technology during project planning, allowing creativity to flourish without being restricted by the limitations of traditional filmmaking methods, ultimately making productions more diverse and engaging.”
“With Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG), the company has amassed significant experience in game engines and real-time rendering during the extensive game development process, granting their team a distinctive advantage. Thanks to our partners like Brompton Technology, the team can apply these skills and utilise the industry’s leading LED video processing technology to craft stunning productions using VR and XR.”
“We are delighted that CDD Virtual Studio has chosen to incorporate our Tessera SX40, along with a comprehensive array of Tessera processing capabilities,” stated Elijah Ebo, Director of APAC Operations at Brompton Technology. “We’re also anticipating the studio’s future adoption of Brompton’s latest solutions, including our innovative TrueLight technology, which provides a significantly more precise and realistic image-based lighting experience. We have full confidence that these advancements will bring about a revolution in what can be achieved in facilities like CDD Virtual Studio. We’re looking forward to witnessing the exhilarating new projects that will unfold at the studio.”