Disguise powers Alan Walker’s NIO Day virtual concert

Norwegian DJ Alan Walker was invited to play a virtual concert titled “World of Walker” for electric vehicle manufacturer NIO’s annual product launch day. Co-produced by Norwegian music company MER, UK-based xR specialists 80six and China and Malaysia-based multimedia content creators Super Bonfire, the short set would highlight tracks from Walker’s first two albums and offer a sneak peek at a forthcoming single.

In this case study, you will find out how Disguise’s Extended Reality (xR) workflow helped Super Bonfire and 80six create astonishing virtual worlds culminating in an exhilarating live performance in just three weeks. The end result: a live show representative of one of today’s most ambitious DJs worldwide.

The challenge

Limited timeframes, multiple locations

From the moment of conception, Super Bonfire had just three weeks to put together the content for an eight-day production done by 80six, with only a single day shoot for the actual concert.

Together they had to produce a spectacular show that would look flawless and capture the world-beating standards of Alan Walker, whose single is certified as Platinum.

“We were creating the content in such a short amount of time and needed to build the stage to shoot it in an even shorter period in order to give ourselves room to shoot the footage we needed,” says Super Bonfire CEO, Jason Kirby. “We had teams in three time zones working 24 hours a day to put this together. The logistics of it were complicated.”

The solution

“The Disguise workflow allowed us to build in a lot of flexibility across both the Unreal Engine and Notch projects, which gave us more room to improvise and maneuver when shooting on site,” says Kirby.

Disguise's ground-breaking virtual zoom feature allowed the team to zoom in and out of each scene, shooting in a virtual space that extended far beyond the physical limits of the LED screens.

The results

The ambitious xR performance, boasting more than three million views on Youtube, skilfully merged 80six's leading extended reality expertise and experience in the integration of real-time technologies, with Super Bonfire's creative genius in delivering high-value multimedia content.

One of the big advantages of filming in an xR studio is the impact on the artist’s performances. Unlike shoots on green screen sets, xR studios allow artists to immerse themselves in their environment and interact with their surroundings.

In the Alan Walker concert, audiences might spot a moment where German singer Au/Ra casually hops over a raised bar in the landscape. It’s a playful moment, completely improvised and possible only because the xR set allowed Au/Ra to see the virtual elements around her.

Success

80six and Super Bonfire proved that xR technologies can be relied upon to deliver outstanding visual content even with a limited pre-production time, whilst avoiding the perils intrinsic to such a new set of immersive technologies. The finished virtual concert was released on NIO Day, just three weeks after the teams started work on the project. It has since been viewed over 3.6 million times.

“It's always good when we get to work with Disguise! The back-end support from them has been great and we learn a lot from them everytime we do a project. There is so much support available, not only technically, but also through the wider Disguise network. Being a part of it gives you access to a world of industry leaders in this field. Without the support from Disguise, this project would not have been possible,” says Kirby.