Innovate UK match funding will back project to assist virtual studios

dock10 2LE Media University of York AI virtual studios

dock10, 2LE Media and the University of York have been awarded match funding from Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme to AI tools to power lighting in virtual studios. 

The £100m BridgeAI programme was announced last year by Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, and the portion going to dock10, 2LE Media and the University of York 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.

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 studios.

The project hopes to use virtual studios, generative AI, and computer vision AI to enable real-time light interactions between physical and virtual worlds. It hopes to do this by creating 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, said: “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.