case study 2021 pdf
Bryson Tiller’s “Trapsoul World Series” immersive livestream
Singer/songwriter Bryson Tiller’s “Trapsoul World Series,” an immersive, otherworldly live-streamed concert experience, accentuated the artist’s unique musical vibe for fans around the world watching at home. In this case study you will learn how Xite Labs utilised the disguise xR workflow powered by a gx 2c media server and rx real-time rendering platform, to bring to life a myriad of virtual worlds in Unreal Engine and Notch that immersed Tiller’s performance in 3D graphics.
60 hours
recording additional cinematic outputs post-filming
1 week
of DMX timecode lighting programming
400+ hours
x9 Unreal Engine artists across 10 weeks
200+ hours
x2 Notch artists
The challenge
Los Angeles-based Xite Labs were tasked with one of their longest and most complex real-time projects for singer/songwriter Bryson Tiller's “Trapsoul World Series” immersive livestream. The livestream aimed to present Tiller in a series of six different worlds linked by a narrative flowing through the songs. Xite Labs were tasked with providing stunning xR content for 14 different songs performed in four virtual ‘worlds’ - each with distinct appearances and themes.
The solution
The virtual worlds included a virtual lounge that fell away to reveal a fractal world of galaxies, nebulas and spaceships, a time theme with a mountain desert landscape and a flight through a moonlit sky, guerrilla warfare transforming into a neon jungle as well as stark hallways with bold, flat lighting, colour-changing walls and silhouettes. Throughout, Tiller appeared to perform on a moving platform, which served as the anchor point transporting him from one otherworldly environment to another.
Xite used its proven in-house workflow featuring a disguise gx 2c as the primary xR controller, while running scenes in Unreal Engine on disguise rx via RenderStream. Front-plate elements were created in Notch to further link Tiller into each of the unique worlds.
I have not seen anything done in xR that was quite as diverse and complicated as this. And the fact that it was shot on our smaller volume in such a short timeframe still blows my mind!
Greg Russell, Creative Director at Xite Labs
Equipment
Credits
- Creative Direction:
- Show & Content Creative Director:
Mike Carson
- Production House:
- Executive Producers:
Ryan Hahn, Neil Dominique, Bryson Tiller
- Director of Photography:
Russ Fraser
- Post Producer:
Vince Tran
- Creative / xR Directors:
Vello Virkhaus, Greg Russell
- Technical Directors:
Jeremy Vannix, Simon Anaya
- Production Partners:
Evolve Media Group, Lightswitch, Robe
- Media Server Operator:
Simon Anaya
- Unreal CG Artists:
Diego Castro, Brian Egam, Kevin Aguirre, Ofer Zmora, Rodel Aragon, Brandon Rosado, Darrion Grannieri, Jussi Tolvanen, Rayworks
- Producer:
Anders Rahm
- Notch Artists:
Travis Poe, Simon Anaya
- Unreal Technical Support:
Jussi Tolvanen
- DIT / Technical Assistant / Photographer:
Billy Woods
- Camera/Jib Operator:
Pierce Cook
- Sequence Technician:
Bobbie Bunn