- Norwegian firm Vizrt will work on AR virtual fans
- Tech also used to create virtual 'canvas' for other messaging
- EA Sport's La Liga audio library will supply artificial crowd noise
Spanish soccer body La Liga has confirmed that virtual fans and fake crowd noise will be part of its live broadcasts when Spain’s top two leagues return to action behind closed doors later this week.
A collaboration with Norwegian firm Vizrt will see stands in La Liga stadiums ‘virtualised’ and offer to-scale images of seated fans wearing the colours of the home team. When the game is stopped, the virtual fan images can be transformed into a canvas that will show institutional messages and other offerings.
The crowd noise, meanwhile, is being supplied by EA Sports, makers of the FIFA video game franchise. The company’s library of La Liga audio, which was recorded in stadiums, has been digitally adapted to be implemented in real-time in response to incidents such as a goal or a foul.
The broadcast experiences, which will be in place until supporters are allowed to attend games, will be available both domestically and internationally, although fans in Spain will have the option to view the empty stadium without the crowd audio.
La Liga said that the broadcast innovations will allow fans to watch matches ‘in an attractive way’ that resembles ‘how they looked and sounded’ before the league was postponed on 12th March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have made these broadcasting changes so fans can enjoy La Liga,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas. “We work with global partners to offer a great viewer experience. We are in an exceptional situation, but for us it has been important to be able to adapt and offer a compelling, cutting-edge broadcast to our fans.”
La Liga is also rolling out new camera angles for its resumption. Some cameras will move to positions where they would previously have blocked the sightline of fans in the stands, while the aerial camera will change its flight path to offer new shots. The bench camera will be moved to the opposite stand and robotic cameras will be used in the tunnel for health safety.
La Liga will be the second major European league – after Germany’s Bundesliga – to resume when Sevilla host rivals Real Betis on 11th June. The second-tier La Liga SmartBank gets back underway a day earlier, when Rayo Vallecano take on Albacete.
Spanish soccer body La Liga has confirmed that virtual fans and fake crowd noise will be part of its live broadcasts when Spain’s top two leagues return to action behind closed doors later this week.
A collaboration with Norwegian firm Vizrt will see stands in La Liga stadiums ‘virtualised’ and offer to-scale images of seated fans wearing the colours of the home team. When the game is stopped, the virtual fan images can be transformed into a canvas that will show institutional messages and other offerings.
The crowd noise, meanwhile, is being supplied by EA Sports, makers of the FIFA video game franchise. The company’s library of La Liga audio, which was recorded in stadiums, has been digitally adapted to be implemented in real-time in response to incidents such as a goal or a foul.
The broadcast experiences, which will be in place until supporters are allowed to attend games, will be available both domestically and internationally, although fans in Spain will have the option to view the empty stadium without the crowd audio.
La Liga said that the broadcast innovations will allow fans to watch matches ‘in an attractive way’ that resembles ‘how they looked and sounded’ before the league was postponed on 12th March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have made these broadcasting changes so fans can enjoy La Liga,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas. “We work with global partners to offer a great viewer experience. We are in an exceptional situation, but for us it has been important to be able to adapt and offer a compelling, cutting-edge broadcast to our fans.”
La Liga is also rolling out new camera angles for its resumption. Some cameras will move to positions where they would previously have blocked the sightline of fans in the stands, while the aerial camera will change its flight path to offer new shots. The bench camera will be moved to the opposite stand and robotic cameras will be used in the tunnel for health safety.
La Liga will be the second major European league – after Germany’s Bundesliga – to resume when Sevilla host rivals Real Betis on 11th June. The second-tier La Liga SmartBank gets back underway a day earlier, when Rayo Vallecano take on Albacete.
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