For this reason, the DJ duo “Angst & Banger” from Cologne, Germany was signed for the project,  which turned to be quite the experiment since in VR everything is possible. As planning and having a functional and flawless workflow is key to a show production company such as Visualprime, the team also set out to test the creation process under special circumstances. They not only measured the time to set up a fully functioning “show”, but also tried to find points of friction within the setup of their equipment as well as overall design approach. In cooperation with DSLMedia, also based in Cologne, the DJs were placed before a mobile green screen setup. The recordings then went unfiltered into the Depence software.

As far as the show is concerned, the artist is always the center of attention. Visualprime attaches great importance to this approach when designing a show, as their main goal is to support the artist's vision with their lighting and video content design and to visually convey the message of the songs. Decisive "omission" of elements at the right moments creates a balance of light, video and laser, so that each trade can also stand on its own. To that, it was key for Visualprime to not deliver just a perfectly programmed timecode show, but furthermore to catch the live essence of a real DJ set for the show. For this reason, the show was controlled live and was recorded directly into Depence as a DMX stream. The visuals were controlled live too and streamed via NDI into the setup while recording. These were left unedited to keep the live character alive for this show element as well.

As production speed was also tested during the creation of the show, there was no classic type of workflow with CAD planning and export/import into the Depence software. Instead, the whole planning, drawing, the hanging of lamps as well as the mapping of the video screens was done solely in Depence.

“The creation process was quick and flawless […].” – Uwe Schröder, Visualprime

The final rendering was completed in approximately 13 hours and was done directly after the recording session with Depence at the Visualprime studio.

15th & 16th July 2021

504 Render hours
177 Renders
1,504,671 Png Images
4710 Lighting / Laser / Motion Cues
Production : Set Vexy
Show Director : LD Company & Set Vexy
Designers : Leon Driessen  & Fabian Fisniku
Lighting Programmer : Bart Stofmeel
Lighting Design : Fabian Fisniku
Post Production : Set Vexy
3d Engine : Syncronorm Depence2
Console : ChamSys  MQ500m

www.within-temptation.com

“VR, xR and aR productions, that feel real and have a real live feel is the result of bringing together decades of experience in the real world and the willingness to push boundaries in today's virtual environments.“ – X4 Design, Press release

Founded by none other than entertainment production specialists Michael Kuehbandner, Markus Neubauer, Roland Greil as well as artist Haegar, the team at X4 focuses on production design, lighting design, and an over all holistic approach to perfectly merge together their trades in the virtual world. Having worked in a wide spectrum of the entertainment industry, the group also has a deep background and understanding in 3D real-time visualization.

“The new digital age opens up a variety of possibilities for the entertainment, as well as for the corporate production sector. The client benefits from the added value through the combination of cost savings through pre-production, manifold creative possibilities and reduction of the productions CO2 footprint through reduced rehearsal and travel cost.”

With the help of Depence, Syncronorm’s high-end multimedia show design & visualization software system, X4 are able to transfer the heart and soul of real live events and entertainment into the digital world. X4 have created a series of fictional show cases as a proof of concept first, displaying the potential of their work. The first part, as depicted here, thereby features a big scale EDM event, which was designed and created 100% digitally.

“The over all production design includes a dome structure with several moving truss circles and a floorplan with different floor elevations, canals and bridges. The whole show is designed around the element of water and all the other visual elements like light, video and pyro blend into a harmonious whole.”

Realized completely in house, the production includes 19 virtual cameras, which were rendered out for the video edit and finalized internally with a FinalCut Multicam System. Audio, including music and SFX as well as mastering were also done in house. Animations for virtual characters were rigged and animated in house, while host and DJane Laura was lit and filmed in a real in house studio and then integrated into the virtual scenery afterwards. Next to the powerful Chromakey Feature, which allowed the virtual integration of Laura, the Mass Crowd Tool of Depence was used to animate a huge audience, which is cheering and applauding the performance virtually. The show was produced on a GrandMA3 System driving a total of 28.723 parameters.

Further info: www.x4.design

Called “Cat House Sessions”, Insomniac made the broadcast of a total of 8 episodes possible, which premiered on 14^th February 2021. Each episode features a 2-hour long set by Cat Dealers, featuring different setlists as well as 8 most unique virtual environments, which were created with Depence, exclusively for these sessions to portray the musical mood of each set.

The virtual environments were conceived by Creative Director André Ayres following the creative input and ideas from both DJs Pedro and Lugui (Cat Dealers) as well as the responsible lighting designer John Okazaki. The base frame of the design was modeled, assembled, and textured in Cinema 4D and then effortlessly exported as FBX file into Depence. From there on, John Okazaki designed the specific lighting setup as well as the special effects which brought life into each of the environments. Following all kinds of different themes, the shows display all kinds of creative designs reaching from spaceships over ancient temples to an ice cave and more.

"My favorite aspect of this software is how the lighting equipment in the virtual scene behaves as close as it gets to the equivalent real equipment."- John Okazaki

One main aspect to make the whole project possible, was the use of the Depence chroma key feature, which allowed the designers to capture the DJs through three different camera angles and to integrate the live video footage into the Depence visualization. The live content was shot in two 12-hour long studio sessions. To match the look and feel of a real stage even more, Okazaki used real lighting to be replicated over the DJs matching all colors and effects which later were also used in Depence. The result is stunning and adds up to the realism of the project even more.

[…] With such tight deadlines, a software that can preview quality visuals in real-time is a huge help in the workflow of a production with these many hours."- André Ayres

The whole production team is thereby more than satisfied with the various unique features, which Depence offers to realize such a complex virtual production. For example, the creators made use of the virtual motor driven fixtures, which allow to move virtual objects of any kind realistically. The realistic water simulation, a unique key feature of Depence, also allowed a brilliant world building. To create an atmospheric sunset scenario, the sun’s altitude was controlled with keyframe animations to simulate a feeling of time passing. In addition to that, the Mass Crowd feature, which was implemented in our latest big Depence update 2.2 was used to create an animated crowd, which also hugely adds to the realism of the scene. To that, NDI recording was used in combination with Resolume Arena to animate the light design displayed in the virtual LED strips along the different stairway designs.

“We look forward to keep pushing the boundaries of our Virtual sets through Depence even after the conclusion of the series.“

Cat Dealers Team:

Pedro Henrique Cardoso - Artist

Luiz Guilherme Cardoso - Artist

Mario Sergio Albuquerque & Edo Van Dujin - Management

John Okazaki - Show Director and Lighting Designer

Andre Ayres - Creative Director and CG Artist

Rodrigo Vieites - Production Manager

Carlos Eduardo Cardoso - Legal/Administrator

Mary Frasso - Marketing Manager

Gabriela Pacheco - Marketing Assistant

Fernanda Kuster - Junior Marketing Assistant

CAT HOUSE sessions:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvRwIXAqw5Wgva1peyjXRM314i_OTV-XO

https://www.youtube.com/insomniac/featured

“Depence² has been the starting point of our collaboration. We realized that this tool allowed us to individually express ourselves within one space. Not only is it possible to design our shows and its rhythm, but also we can make it immersive, thanks to the useful importing of 3D elements built in other programs.“ – Romain, ALIEN le studio 2021

Founded by lighting designer/operator Julien, motion designer Romain and lighting designer/operator Michaël, ALIEN focuses on the creation of powerful multimedia shows. As their discovery of Depence created a common ground for the three creatives, their different trades of lighting design and video motion art can now be mixed efficiently for the first time as the use of Depence unites them in their vision.

For ALIEN the starting point of a project is usually built around the art form of Brutalism, e.g., the way light shapes and interacts in an unexpected way with a nonconformist structure or type of building. The crew is driven by the desire of giving free rein to their imagination, without space or budgetary constraints, all in order to offer uncompromising experiences. After adapting the project to real life conditions, it is going to be made feasible. Depence is a huge help here, too.

“We are also thinking a lot about artists and production companies, because thanks to Depence what they’ll see in our videos, they could appreciate it in real life afterwards. We make it a point of honor to do a 3D render as close and detailed as possible to the result in reality.”

As soon as the trio has found an idea, Julien and Michaël take the lead by bringing in rhythm, placement and pacing to the lighting design, whereas Romain adds input to the overall design concept. Once the stage design is set, the team is focusing on the direction and dramatization as well as the different camera angles/positions. After rendering, the projects usually go into post-production and graphical arrangement.

For their first Depence project, ALIEN decided to focus on live entertainment and to be inspired by dancing venues and film sets. The idea was to showcase different 3D creations with several lighting themes, e.g., small venues with an indie gig flair, vast stadium rock shows or a warehouse for the electronic music sector. Therefore, several lighting ambiences for each location were designed, before mixing them all together to create something uniquely new.

“Depence² is the missing link between us as for the different actors of the event industry, to express ideas that live in our heads and render the most realistic and immersive way possible.”

For ALIEN, the main advantages of Depence are the internal programmer tool as well as the timeline-based features, which let Julien and Michaël work most precisely and efficiently. Furthermore, it is super simple to create detailed stages with technical and decorative elements alike. The PBR textures also help the team to greatly increase the sensation of virtual reality. To that, the simplified importing of video media, the frontal texture mapper as well as the NDI compatibility in Depence has taken the studio’s workflow to a whole new level.

Make sure to check out their latest stage visualization, a fan project for an imaginary last Daft Punk gig: https://youtu.be/CUoA8TLHpwY

Their latest Demo Reel can be found here: https://youtu.be/zyQ6vSNCloQ

Alien, le studio Home: https://www.alienlestudio.com/

VLE aim to produce virtual live events such as meetings, conferences, product presentations, award shows or any kind of interactive corporate event, all within the digital 3D environment of Syncronorm’s show design & visualization software Depence. They offer individually designed virtual stages and studios, a live integration of audiences via additional software tools as well as their own Live-Tools designed for Q&A Sessions, Voting, Quizzes or App integration.

“Working with Depence allows us to visualize realistic 3D worlds fast and effective. The results are very impressive every time and convincing again and again. Syncronorm shine with a good support, they will always lend you an ear for feedback and suggested improvements from the community are valued.”

Niklas Schmitt, VLE, 202

Depence allows VLE to realize their virtual events all live and in real-time, thanks to the powerful rendering capabilities of the Depence engine. With Depence, design possibilities are sheer endless. Combined with a modern workflow, any kind of green screen footage can be integrated via the common NDI protocol. For this reason, VLE offer three different kinds of green screen setups, where moderations, artists, speeches, or any other kind of real-life content can be filmed and easily imported into the virtual 3D world of Depence.

Depence Modules used: Stage + Laser + Animate

More information: https://www.virtual-live-experience.com/

The concert was broadcasted via the Lacave-Records YouTube channel on 13^th March 2021 and was the first release by Lacave where light- & sound design were done all digitally in a virtual 3D environment. Flame effects, ground fog, LEDs as well as laser effects were used on a great scale, which have kept the audiences glued to their screens. Simulated ariel views, done with virtual cameras, guaranteed a perfect illusion. The animated crowd displayed thousands of festival attendees, who were also interacted with during the countless moderation segments in between songs.

Lacave-Records are sure: the combination of virtual reality and live show is a real alternative for the industry. After seeing countless DJs doing their sets in a fully simulated virtual environment, Lacave spent 7 months to perfect their live vocal performance, planned together with Mandy Mettbach’s management and team around music producer Markus Neubauer. After realizing the concert, Mandy’s recent single went straight from position 59 to 11 within the DJ Top 100 Charts.

“That won’t be my last [virtual] concert.” Mandy Mettbach, 2021

The management and designers created the Depence environment after Mandy’s imagination. The deal was set to produce a whole live vocal set within the Depence 3D engine. After being abstinent to a real stage for over a year, Mandy was more than happy to be on stage again, but this time it was also a personalized stage with a dedicated light show, something that was unthinkable beforehand due to COVID-19. To perform before a TV camera and to import the footage into Depence was a simple workflow: Mandy was able to perform her whole set just naturally, because she already had seen the pre-visualization of the show in Depence, way before shooting:

“It’s a real alternative. I can create my own world, there’s nothing more beautiful in these times.”

To that, the production team was able to show Mandy the show, as she was performing simultaneously. This was a huge help production wise and a major difference to other green screen productions, where the artist is left alone to imagination.

In difference to a real-world concert, production cost was very low, which allowed the team to leave the sale of “entry tickets” for the stream out of the discussion. But, with a slightly different concept, sales could be exceptionally well since the production cost during a pandemic are not to be leveled with the ones for real touring. Depence allows to create a concert experience, which is a 1:1 replica of a real stage together with the typical (or untypical) surroundings of a live gig. Any kind of location can be built with the help of the internal rendering engine and design features.

“Depence² satisfies with its near photorealistic renderings, not only in regards of light, video and laser, but above all in its virtual scenery. The virtual beach environment was furnished with water and vegetation, which did a great part for the realistic portrayal of the virtual set.” – Marek Papke, Gerdon Design

The virtual environment of the uniquely designed “SundaySession-Beach” was used in a total of 4 live streams with changing light- & video-setups. The shows were rendered & controlled in real time, using Syncronorm’s show design & visualization software Depence. The virtual camera tracking was realized by using the internal DMX-camera & was controlled via a lighting console in real time, nearly without latency.

The show is a celebration of the Ame Club's 2 years anniversary. Ame is a club dedicated to electronic music located in Valinhos, São Paulo. It's the younger brother of Laroc Club, also a club dedicated to electronic music.

Due the pandemic of covid 19 and all events canceled, we had to find a nice way of celebrating the 2 years anniversary of the club, so we decided to produce a virtual DJ set. The main idea was to reproduce in maximum detail the original experience of the club, so every detail was made to achieve this. Silvio Soul is one of the founders of the club, and also resident DJ.

All the project was made by 3 people. Me, Pieter den Hartog, took care of all the 3D drawing and construction, and programming and operation of lights, sfx, camera and motors using a GrandMA2. I also created and directed the whole project and edited the final video. Marcela Staffoker made all the video content displayed on the ball behind the DJ and operated the video. Caio Moraes managed the network (we used 7 PCs during live recording) and operated the LED strips. We also recorded the DJ set itself using 2 cameras and a green screen.

Check out the full here:

Full Show

After starting to plan & visualize their prestigious projects with Depence² earlier this year, Dutch event designers Live Legends are focusing on a new & creative way to present their show concepts all digital. Due to socio-cultural restrictions, making events happening online is a fine and fresh way to bring show content to audiences at home. With the Live @ Home concept, Live Legends are bringing this idea to life as they try to capture the nature & mood of live experiences on a whole new level.

With Depence², Syncronorm’s powerful & innovative multimedia show design software, Live Legends have found the ideal tool to design impressive 3D-worlds for their future online events. In this way, it is possible to create any kind of stage or event location. Combined with streaming technologies & recording methods, shows even can be moderated by persons in live action, all without an actual stage. The safety to create & watch these events from home thereby grants another bonus. From small conferences, up to award ceremonies or large virtual concerts, in the virtual world anything is possible.

Hereby, Depence² makes it possible to render all kinds of multimedia show elements in real-time, e.g. stage lighting, fountains, laser, special-effects or various animated characters/objects. In this way small & intimate areas as well as vast stadium shows can be created on any scale by using the many different tools Depence² has to offer, for example the extensive 3D world editor.

For more information about LIVE@HOME visit: www.liveathome.online 

Launch of the new mobile app “Budget of Honduras” of the Ministry of Finance

The Secretary of Finance approached us requesting support since they wanted to launch their new APP "Budget of Honduras" which was important to demonstrate to the public its use. For UNICUS it was important to be able to create a stage that could emphasize the launch of the APP in a clear and explicit way; so, a colorful and striking virtual stage was created that gave rise to said launch

For the public could understand the used of this application, the screen of a cellphone was capture in real time during the explanation of its use, after that it was insert into a 3D model that appeared on the virtual stage.

This launch was developed in a 100% virtual Depence² stage transmitted and operated in real time, managing lights, effects, camera management and transmission from Honduras.

Unicus, Abner Yuman
www.unicus.io

Galardón al Trabajador 2020 by UNICUS

In order to present the winners of the “Galardón al Trabajador 2020” that rewards the work, innovation and entrepreneurship of the Guatemalan worker, they wanted to overcome the limits of its previous events and because it was not allowed to hold face-to-face events, BANTRAB turned to us to create a virtual stage in which they could present all their categories.

The host and the singer Gaby Moreno were recorded in a studio in Los Angeles California, and the presentation of the CEO and president of the bank were recorded in Guatemala.

Our challenge in UNICUS was to create a stage in which the videos of the participants could be combined, as well as the presentation of the award to each of the nominees.

This award was made in a 100% virtual Depence² stage which simulated a theater with spectators, which was transmitted and operated in real time, managing lights, effects, camera management and transmission from Honduras.

An event that brought together many emotions and managed to connect many people in a virtual way.

Unicus, Abner Yuman
www.unicus.io

Aurora Music Festival

We were in charge of the desing and production of Aurora Music Festival, an event that brought together 5 recognized Central American artists connected from Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panamá.This festival was developed in a 100% virtual stage using Depence², transmitted and operated in real time, managing lights, effects, cameras and transmission from Honduras.

Our challenge in UNICUS was to create a virtual experience in which the public could feel immersed in an open environment and could enjoy the music and the show.

We worked for two months on the virtual stage that gave life to the Aurora Music Festival. We love working with companies that are not afraid to trust our ideas and that take full advantage of cutting-edge stage design and technologies.

UNICUS has been one of the first companies in Latin America to venture into virtual festivals.

Unicus, Abner Yuman
www.unicus.io

Titled “Tomorrowland – Around the World” the innovative & breathtaking festival experience will use latest technologies in 3D design & visualization to create a unique atmosphere & virtual place for its attendees. To transport the exceptional feelings & emotions which are integral parts of the festival experience, the designers have created a whole virtual island with different locations, stages & areas, all with different themes & looks.

We at Syncronorm are more than proud to be a part of this design process as our latest show design & visualization software system Depence² was used alongside latest rendering technologies to create parts of this extraordinary virtual music event. The digital festival will take place on the 25th & 26th of July.

Over 60 of the biggest artists of the world have pre-recorded their performances in 4 green screen studios. The video data was then re-organized and digitally integrated into the breathtaking renderings, done by the Tomorrowland design-team, who has created a huge digital universe, especially conceptualized for this particular cause. The goal: All festival visitors are supposed to experience a most immersive and unprecedented music festival which includes everything such an event would need, e.g. special effects, fireworks, laser shows, a realistic crowd and sound effects. The technologies needed for this project were brought together by the in-house creative team of Tomorrowland in collaboration with several partners. Live video, stage lighting, visuals and effects, feature film and gaming technologies alike were used to create a once-in-a-lifetime event. “Tomorrowland – Around the World” sets out to bridge the gap between the real world and a virtual environment like never seen before.

The 3D stages designed by Tomorrowland are imported [N.B.: into Depence²] and layers of show elements, lights, attributes and environments are added. Depence, a platform that is typically used to visualize show elements such as lighting, lasers, visuals and other effects, is used for most indoor stages where the show elements are key to the performance.

– from: Tomorrowland offers a glimpse into the technological masterpiece of its digital festival (2020)

Together with the team at Syncronorm the designers were able to add volumetric light on the virtual sets of the performing artists. All technical elements of the show itself were programmed by the skilled team which is also responsible for the regular editions of Tomorrowland. The combination of a lively visualization & the iconic stage designs of Tomorrowland result in a most realistic image:

We gratulate all team members of this huge project for their phenomenal technical accomplishments.

Additional facts:

• Tomorrowland has built 4 different large green screen studios around the world.
• All cycloramas (or infinitywalls) were 6m or higher, at least 8m wide, and at least 8m in depth.
• On top of the 6 4K ultra HD cameras, a number of virtual cameras were created per stage, allowing the director to choose up to 38 cameras at the Mainstage.
• Each stage has its own unique 16 square km surface with 32.000 trees and plants.
• Over 280.000 virtual people each have their own attributes, such as flags or lights.
• The digital 3D environment of Tomorrowland Around the World is made up of 10 times more polygons and lights than an average modern computer game.
• There are more than 750 virtual lamps per stage, all drawn by hand.
• There is about 300TB of raw video footage.
• Tens of different render engines (render farm) are working 24/7 to process all the data.

Get your ticket now: https://www.tomorrowland.com/en/around-the-world/