BBC Football Studio BTS

Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio

Without the virtual set, there is very little to look at in the BBC Football studio that isn’t green. Designed with Toby Kalitowski, then built in Unreal Engine and powered by Zero Density’s Reality Engine, we created a 360° virtual space around a 1 + 2 presenter and guest setup. These images show the studio as it really is, and document the larger rostra design, which was oversized to allow for 2m spacings between presenters during Covid.

Seeing the space as it really is, illustrates just how significant a well designed, professionally lit virtual set has become to the visual success of so many flagship TV shows like Match of the Day.

Housed in Dock 10’s HQ7 studio, and utilising a modified version of the previous desk design, this virtual set went on air in August 2023.

The opening shot of Mtach of the Day
The Match of the Day set, as it appears on screen.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
The Match of the Day studio, seen from the service corridors.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
The Match of the Day studio, without the virtual Set
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
Design discussions with directors.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
This is the only way to get a lighting director to do as they are told.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
Camera operators have two monitors on their camera; one shows the clean feed, the other the “dirty” feed i.e. the real plus the virtual combined.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
Sometimes you need to take snaphsots of the studio monitors, in case the session isn’t being recorded.
Behind the scenes in the Match of the Day greenscreen studio
The studio furniture set up for Final Score, which incorporates a bank of monitors on which the presenters can watch multiple games happening at the same time.

This virtual set is now featured on the new Lightwell website: https://www.lightwell.tv/case-studies/bbc-football-virtual-sets

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.