SWR Launches Virtual Production Innovation Project

German broadcaster SWR has launched its Virtual Production innovation project with a three-month trial run to explore the possibilities of virtual studio production.

Virtual worlds are created on a large Sony VERONA LED wall in Studio 6 in Baden-Baden – right in front of the cameras. Presenters, hosts and actors perform in front of digital backdrops that are synchronised live with the cameras. The background on the LED wall moves in line with the camera position – and the image looks realistic, without any post-production, directly live in the studio.

The three-month test focuses on the reality-type show "Fehler im System" (Errors in the System), an interactive pen-and-paper show created in collaboration with the production company Midflight Productions that opens up new possibilities in the interplay of gaming, streaming and TV production in virtual production.

Pen-and-paper formats are narrative role-playing games: a game master guides players through the story and describes locations, events and supporting characters and the players take on characters they have invented themselves and decide how they act – supported by a set of rules and dice that determine success or failure.

On 24 and 25 October 2025, the studio will be transformed into a dystopian world for four hours each day. Hauke Gerdes, known from rocketbeans.tv and one of the leading figures in the German pen-and-paper scene, will be the game master. Streamers and creators such as Daniel Budimann, KaddiTV, Uke Bosse and Haselnuuuss will set out on a search for clues. They will be supported by actress Franciska Friede and actors Frederic Böhle & Ron Helbig.

The evenings will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/ard on 24 and 25 October, starting at 7pm each night.

Anja Räßler, Creative Director at Midflight Productions: "We are very keen to make pen-and-paper accessible to a wider audience. The fascination of the format lies in the combination of epic stories, collaborative play and spontaneous creativity. In SWR, we have now found the ideal partner to realise our vision of combining classic role-playing with state-of-the-art virtual production technology. The synergy effects within the team are enormous – it's great fun to work together on this new form of production."

The pen-and-paper format produced as part of the innovation project is not only narratively innovative – it is also a technical novelty. For the first time, a multi-camera production with three tracked cameras is being implemented live in virtual production. To display the virtual backgrounds, SWR is relying on a modern, 10 x 4 metre Crystal LED VERONA wall with the new OCELLUS tracking system from Sony, with whom SWR has entered into a development partnership for this project. OCELLUS was developed specifically for augmented reality and virtual production applications in the broadcast and cinema sectors. The planning, construction, setup and calibration of the production technology was carried out in collaboration with the Austrian AV company AV-Professional.

Michael Eberhard, SWR Director of Technology and Production: "Virtual production with multiple tracked cameras can be a real game changer for the media world in many ways: it gives us creative possibilities and makes us more efficient, flexible and economical. The technology can also open doors for collaboration in public broadcasting, making it a perfect fit for our times. Thanks to the commitment of my colleagues and the technology partners involved, we have succeeded in installing a test setup at our Baden-Baden site at short notice, which we will be testing extensively until the end of the year."

Sebastian Leske, Head of Cinema Business Development at Sony Europe: "Studio productions face the challenge of seamlessly and harmoniously blending actors, presenters and a studio set with a virtually generated background. This works best when the individual components, from LED walls to camera technology and sensors, are coordinated and work together as a well-rehearsed team, and when a comprehensive software solution brings these components together in an efficient workflow. This gives creativity much more space in the television studio."

The six virtual sets used during the pen-and-paper investigation were created in advance using the Unreal Engine real-time graphics system – a technology that originated in computer game development and is increasingly finding its way into television studios. The aim is to integrate real objects in front of the LED wall in such a way that they merge with the virtual 3D sets and the transitions between physical equipment and digital worlds appear so realistic that the boundaries are barely recognisable. Thanks to the so-called parallax effect, a design technique in which objects move differently to create spatial depth and a 3D effect, the virtual background dynamically adapts to the camera movement – and the transmitted image appears realistic.

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