2020 in xReview

We reflect on 2020 and how we provided our user community with vital support including free training and licences, new software, and virtual events.

In a year like no other, we're celebrating a number of resounding successes, where the company saw the sudden shift to remote performance, production and events, and a new partnership with Epic Games to enhance the delivery of our Extended Reality (xR) solution on a global scale. This year alone has seen over 200 xR projects powered by disguise and in excess of 100 xR stages built around the world in 30+ countries.

In light of the continuing global health crisis that has brought the live events industry to a standstill, we've worked hard to provide assistance to our community of users. The accelerated development of our xR workflows has shifted the production journey as we know it and allowed a number of cancelled shows to resume in a virtual environment. Our response to the COVID-19 impact was also recognised in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, marking 2020 the third consecutive year we have made it in the publication’s Fast Track league.

We've also committed to providing free access to our Designer software licence until June 2021 and have launched an elearning hub with online certified training courses free to access for anyone interested in learning, or upskilling, in all seven disguise workflows. This year saw the launch of ‘disguise OnDemand’ - a virtual hub that hosted 59 free webinars in 12 languages exploring key features and elements of the disguise workflow, specialist discussions on key industry topics and showstopping case studies.

Epic, mega recognition

With an ever-growing presence within the esports industry and sourcing ways to improve interoperability between technologies, Epic Games awarded us a MegaGrant to revolutionise production workflows in 2020. This Epic MegaGrant marks the start of an active collaboration with Unreal Engine to empower the world’s leading brands, artists and production houses to immerse audiences with inspiring stories. The MegaGrant will allow us to advance the platform's integration with Epic’s Unreal Engine and embark on groundbreaking new research to dramatically enhance how content is delivered in xR.

In 2020, solutions that optimise workflows at home have been more vital than ever. For our community, the past year has seen a series of software releases that continue to help them complete their best work from home, develop AR experiences without high-end tracking equipment, and maximise on the creation of engaging content for online audiences. Our latest release, 17.4, unlocks full RenderStream support for engine-agnostic rendering from leading third-party engines like Unreal Engine and Notch.

Our xR solution has been completed by the launch of the rx render engine hosting platform and the new vx 1 and vx 2 hardware bundle, creating the complete solution for delivering uncompressed video playback and scale out real-time generative content. Used alongside rx and RenderStream, vx 1 and 2 lower the barrier of entry to xR and give users a proven platform to tackle the growing wave of xR productions that are now becoming the norm.

Success for all to share in

As a solution specialist for creative and technical professionals to imagine, create and deliver the world’s most spectacular experiences, we also welcomed a host of new xR creative and rental partners to our worldwide partner network this year. These include Orca Studios, Fuse Technical Group, and Streamliner Productions in New Zealand. We also saw exciting ventures throughout 2020 with the Netflix virtual production initiative NLAB, with partners Lux Machina and Fuse Technical Group.

“In a year like nothing anyone could have ever imagined, disguise has enabled teams to push boundaries in xR. We understand that it continues to be a challenging time for our industry, and disguise is committed to doing all that we can to support our community of users, partners and customers across the globe,” said Fernando Kufer, disguise CEO. “As we look forward to 2021, we will continue to develop solutions with our community of customers at the heart and strive to democratise our tools even further, turning disguise into an inclusive platform for everyone to achieve their creative vision.”