Showplus team up with Disguise to shine a light on China’s New Year’s celebrations

China Central Television’s New Year’s Eve Gala is officially the most-watched television show on the planet, with viewing figures of more than one billion people. With such a large audience tuning in, the annual celebration always promises variety and spectacle.

In this case study, you’ll discover how Showplus and Disguise used extended reality (xR) and augmented reality (AR) techniques to deliver an incredible musical performance worthy of the occasion. 

At a glance

China Central Television (CCTV) is famous for the sheer scale and scope of its annual New Year’s Eve Gala. The event features dance, dramatic performances, and music from various performers and genres. One of the highlights of the 2024 showcase was a performance by singer Zhou Shen, which featured an elaborate sequence produced by extended reality experts Showplus.

The performance of ‘China in the Lights’ took place on a sprawling stage in front of a live audience. It also featured various music video-style segments, including the arrival of a giant cruise ship and a sequence in which Zhou Shen entered a floating gallery of pictures and interacted with a family in their home.

The challenge

“The performance employed a combination of naturalistic onstage performance, a virtual frame using xR technology and an xR stage for the family scene before finally returning to reality,” says Showplus CEO Zeyu Zhang. “This blending of reality and virtuality allowed the audience to connect to the deep emotions and warmth conveyed by the song.”

But it also presented a challenge: How could the team seamlessly integrate these different production approaches in a live setting on the biggest broadcast stage in the world?

“As in previous years,” Zhang says, “the team made full use of virtual shooting technology to help innovate during production.” Both xR and AR techniques had been used in the past to deliver ambitious sequences, and Showplus knew that a combination of all their expertise could deliver a final product worthy of its primetime position.

The solution

Showplus turned to Disguise’s hardware to help them deliver reliable visuals and transitions that would ensure virtual elements of the sequence appeared seamlessly alongside Zhou Shen’s live performance. Two LED screens were set up to power the xR portion of the shoot: one running alongside the main stage to act as a virtual backdrop and the other spanning 84 square meters of the stage floor, allowing Showplus to transport Zhou Shen anywhere they liked.

Using a Disguise VX4 and three Disguise RX units, the team could control everything happening on stage—real and virtual. A dual-camera tracking system ensured AR elements looked like natural extensions of the environment from any angle, allowing Zhou Shen to walk into a family home through a doorway that didn’t exist and stand among a gallery of memories as though they were actually floating before him.

The result

“The audience witnessed Zhou Shen traversing from the framed world into a domestic setting,” says Zhang. “This virtual family scene was presented through a combination of real set environments and realistic virtual environments. The foreground and background were designed through virtual scene techniques, with the furniture, such as tables and chairs, being actual props on the set. This combination provided the audience with an immersive experience.”

For Zhang, the advanced approach to virtual production that Disguise supported was the only way the team could have delivered the desired result. “The technology differs from a traditional virtual studio using full green screen keying techniques,” he says. Disguise’s powerful render engines allow real-time replacement or extension of the stage, which Zhang says ‘enables a multi-dimensional stage expansion'.

Success

For Showplus, the final result of their work was a stunning realization of everything AR and xR can offer live television broadcasts. The scale of CCTV’s elaborate live stage was met by the ambitious virtual elements of Zhou Shen’s performance. A towering ship cruised above the audience, its lights reflected in shimmering digital water. A flock of virtual doves flew across the real Beijing skyline, and thirty-meter-long hands reached out from the stage to usher in the new year.

“Zhou Shen's 'China in the Lights' has been meticulously designed in a form that combines reality and virtuality,” Zhang says. “Through the use of Disguise tech, the real stage and virtual scenes are seamlessly connected, employing a successful combination of AR and xR technologies. We created a stage world that blended reality and virtuality, showcasing the warmth of family and providing the audience with an unforgettable experience worthy of one of the biggest stages in the world.”