eStudio

The industry’s most flexible realtime 3D graphics and virtual studio engine 

Brainstorm eStudio is a powerful and flexible tool that provides solutions for any kind of real-time graphics. The eStudio is unique in the market due to its sophistication, open architecture and versatility, enabling both design and real-time playout of virtual studios and 3D graphics as well as the easy creation of customized applications. It provides excellent results for applications such as News & Sports, channel branding, weather, entertainment, charts and graphics, interactive corporate presentations or film pre-visualization. 

Brainstorm has been pushing the boundaries of virtual set production and development for over 25 years. Brainstorm pioneered the application of camera tracking to 3D real-time virtual set, and eStudio interfaces with practically all current tracking systems, making integration with any production hardware an out-of-the-box feature.

Advanced rendering and modelling 

The advanced modelling toolset of eStudio includes built-in geometries and primitives, imported models, hyerarchy of objects, material and textures, built-in text effects and particle systems and much more. eStudio also allows texturizing objects using pictures and movies. 

eStudio features advanced rendering options with fully OpenGL power with shaders, bumpmaps, shadows and impostors. Multi-texturing and multi-pass per material and customized filter shaders and 2D effects (distortion, bloom…) are also available. eStudio shaders support up to 32 inputs. 

Support for PBR shaders 

Supports PBR (Physically Based Rendering) shaders as materials, which can also be imported from external shader editing applications like Substance.

Reflector objects 

Real Render Object Reflection over flat surfaces via additional internal rendering from a reflected camera position.

Soft shadows algorithm 

eStudio renders real-time soft shadows from 3D lights parameters using a dedicated algorithm.

Playlist textures 

eStudio can run a playlist of pictures and clips with multiple start, end and looping points.

Selective defocus algorithm 

Using the real camera’s parameters, eStudio applies selective defocus on the virtual scene.

Real-time ray tracing 

eStudio takes full advantage of the latest hardware developments found in NVIDIA RTX GPU technology. By using NVIDIA Quadro RTX GPUs, eStudio can deliver real-time ray tracing, which provides a much more accurate rendering, especially with complex light conditions.

PBR and HDR 

eStudio fully supports PBR shaders as materials, which can also be imported from external shader editing software like Substance and other material editors. 

HDR allows for rendering wide-gamma pictures. The eStudio can render floating 16 bit per channel/component, supporting for P2020 gamma correction output. This allows for post-rendering exposure control and extended-range filtering.

Infinityset Pbr
Estudio Pbr

Unreal Engine workflow 

eStudio fully supports Unreal Engine, taking advantage of the benefits of what such game engine provides in terms of rendering quality. The added value of this configuration is the multitude of benefits of including more than 25 years of Brainstorm’s experience in broadcast and film graphics, virtual set and augmented reality production, including data management, playout workflows, virtual camera detach, multiple simultaneous renders and much more.  

With eStudio, UE projects can indistinctively be background or foreground, and with 100%-pixel accuracy guaranteed. This opens up the door to easily create AR with Unreal Engine, in addition to virtual set production.

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Beyond game engines: Combined Render Engine 

What Brainstorm offers goes far beyond what a game engine can do by itself. Broadcast graphics workflows have specific requirements, like database connections, statistics, tickers, social media or lower-thirds, a variety of hardware and software elements that are alien to the game engine framework but essential for broadcast operation. 

Brainstorm’s approach to external render engine support is unique in the industry, as it provides alternatives for using different render engines so users can achieve anything they might require. Brainstorm’s initial approach to using game render engines combined the eStudio render engine with the Unreal Engine in a single machine, that is the Combined Render Engine.  

In addition to the new developments and the improved UE compatibility and UE-native workflows, the Combined Render Engine approach allows users to select the alternative that fits best with their requirements or workflows. 

TrackFree technology allows for using tracked, fixed cameras or any combination of them to shoot the talent on the set, indistinctly using internal or external chroma keyers.

Unreal Infinityset Gui Both
Infinityset Unrealengine Native

2D and 3D object creation and management 

From stills, lower-thirds or OTS to full screen graphics and animations, virtually any kind of 2D or 3D graphic can be accomplished with eStudio. It also supports StormLogic and SmartTemplates which can automatically look up data and redraw graphics accordingly, allowing for manual or automatic data input from other applications, databases, spreadsheets or real-time feeds. 

eStudio imports and manipulates graphic files and 3D models from a variety of 2D and 3D software packages in a variety of 3D formats such as .fbx, .dae, .obj and.3ds, to name a few. Also, virtually any kind of 2D image and video format is accepted.

Exclusive typographic features 

eStudio has taken advantage of the development of character generation in Aston, which lead to the implementation of many text and font features usually available only in high end character generators. 

New Text Editor allows to apply effects such as color, font, size and style effects (bold, italic, underline) by simple selection. 

eStudio provides full support for complex languages and alphabets (Thay, Devanagari, Vertical Japanese, etc.) 

Advanced Font decoration: 

  • Three-border configuration 
  • Each layer can have different colors and textures 
  • Emboss effects for layers and borders 
  • Configurable shadow layers for color, size, blur, transparency, etc. 
  • Font Families for Normal, Bold, Italic and Bold-Italic
Aston Alphabets
Aston Alphabets
Aston Font Attributes

Data-driven graphics 

For applications like Elections, Sports or Entertainment, datadriven graphics are essential to display large amount of data in a visually attractive manner. Displaying complex data is extremely easy with eStudio. Data can be easily linked to template forms and can be input manually or automatically from external sources such as databases, spreadsheets, RSS feeds, etc., and allowing for unlimited input sources per production and data cross-references.

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SmartTemplatesModular Graphic Creation 

eStudio’s graphics are based on SmartTemplates that vastly outperform the traditional page-based creation. Graphics, of course, can be animated, allowing their internal elements to interact, being built on screen or use a particular behaviour to display the data as required.  

SmartTemplates can feature unlimited animations, and as complex as required, which can be triggered at any time. SmartTemplates also allow their elements to change dynamically as data changes, as they can automatically look up data and redraw graphics accordingly. Data can be edited manually or linked to databases, spreadsheets or real-time feeds for automatic retrieval, and scripting can be included, if required.

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On top of that, objects can interact with other objects within the template of screen. And as a graphic can be made out of other graphics, the final structure is contained in a project, which holds all the graphics, templates, data pages and the StormLogic which defines the templates’ interaction.

StormLogic: scalable animation logic 

To add flexibility to graphics creation and playout, Brainstorm developed StormLogic, an approach to intuitive template interaction with an advanced object-based animation. It is a tree structure of templates, and groups of templates, that defines the logic between them. The object structure of the StormLogic defines the animation logic and hierarchy, and all the templates contained within it will follow those rules.  

StormLogic allows building complex animations and interactions between elements with no need of scripting or complex animation matrixes.

Augmented Reality 

Augmented Reality requires the interaction between sets, talents and virtual objects, often created out of external data sources such as statistics, charts, bars, and many other. These in-context data driven objects allow for visually engaging and better explained representations of the data.  

During election nights, news, sports or entertainment programs, data bars and other statistics can interact with the talents creating an attractive augmented reality environment for the audience.  

eStudio can seamlessly integrate real-time graphics and virtual studio projects, including the graphics’ animation logic and structure which enhances the creation, management and use of graphics content for Augmented and Mixed Reality. Of course, graphics can use in-context data coming from external sources, linked to the graphics behaviour, and updating them automatically, even when using AR with Unreal Engine.

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Custom interface creation 

eStudio support FORMS, which enable the easy drag-and-drop creation of customized interfaces for simple and intuitive control. The user can have just a few buttons for basic animations or detailed control panels for complex tasks. Simple drag-and-drop controls allow for full control any element in the eStudio software to build their own applications. 

The custom interfaces capabilities of eStudio have been developed up to the point of being able to create individual products based on it, such as Aston or InfinitySet. New options include multisplitters for interface panners or IconTrees allowing to insert portions of interface in the folder. 

FORMS are effectively custom interfaces created for a project, that control whatever is required in such project, and allowing for customizing the resulting graphics as required.

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Estudio Custom Interface

TrackFree 

TrackFree is a patented camera-tracking independent technology that provides just what its name claims: the total freedom for operators to use any tracking system, trackless or fixed cameras, or a combination of these at the same time.

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Combined Chroma Keying 

TrackFree ™ allows users to choose the keying method of their choice, by using eStudio’s internal chroma keyeran external chroma key hardware or a combination of both, even within the same production. 

Advanced TrackFreee™ features 

  • TeleTransporter 
  • 3D Presenter 
  • Virtual shadows and selective defocus 
  • Virtual Camera detaching 
  • MagicWindowsVideoGate & VideoCAVE 
  • Dynamic Light Control 

Enhanced Internal Chroma Keyer 

eStudio features an advanced internal, resolution independent Chroma Keyer, supporting controls for main key, spill correction, detail recovering and colour correction. 

eStudio automatically creates a secondary key for feet tracking, independent from the main one. This key permits the calculation of the talent’s feet position for the FreeWalking feature and for creating virtual shadows and reflections.

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TeleTransporter 

TeleTransporter seamlessly combines virtual sets with live or pre-recorded video feeds of the presenters and 3D objects from remote locations, all moving accordingly with precise perspective matching. TeleTransporter allows a remote talent to enter any scenario at any time, while seamlessly mixing real and virtual elements. 

Tracking data coming from real cameras or third-party tracking software can be included as metadata in live feeds or pre-recorded videos, and immediately be transferred and applied to the virtual camera’s parameters.

Infinityset Live Teletransporter

3D Presenter 

Converts the live feed of the talent into a true 3D representation of the talent from a video feed. The presenter becomes an actual 3D object embedded within the virtual set, casting real shadows and reflections of the talent over virtual and real objects and interacting with volumetric lights.

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HandsTracking 

HandsTracking allows presenters to trigger animations, graphics or data with a simple movement of the hands and without the need for any additional costly and complex tracking devices. eStudio features an optimized usability and also supports StormLogic from Aston graphics.

FreeWalking 

FreeWalking enables talents to move freely around the green screen theatre matching their movements within the 3D space. Presenters are allowed to move forward, backwards and sideways with precise perspective matching even though the real camera is in a fixed position.

Real Set Virtualization 

eStudio can use real, live or pre-recorded footage as the background set for the chroma keyed talent. This allows for enhancing the corporate image of a large broadcaster, as it can reuse a single real set to be the background scenario for smaller stations in the network.

Virtual Camera detaching 

Set space restrictions are no longer a problem. Regardless the camera used is fixed, manned, tracked or robotized, eStudio can seamlessly detach the camera feed while maintaining the correct position and perspective of the talent within the virtual scene.

Virtual shadows and selective defocus 

The eStudio can create virtual shadows in addition to the real keyed shadows and apply then to virtual surfaces. Using the real camera’s parameters, eStudio is able to create a selective defocus and bokeh effects on the virtual scene adding an even more realistic effect to the final rendered composition.

Infinityset Selectivedefocus

MagicWindowsVideoGate 

VideoGate allows to integrate the presenter not only in the virtual set but also inside additional content, meaning we can make the presenter travel between real worlds, virtual worlds or between real and virtual scenes.  

VideoGate extends the virtual scenario beyond the virtual set and creates an infinite combination of worlds for the presenters to be in, allowing for better real-time content creation possibilities.

MagicWindowsVideoCAVE 

VideoCAVE feature is a Mixed Reality application which make monitors on a real or virtual set to behave as a window, with virtual elements seen with the perspective of the camera, as if the screens were windows to the outside world.  

Also, VideoCAVE allows for including additional features such as a Touch Screen for interactivity, and can be combined with the VideoGate feature, with objects coming in/ouof the screens.

Dynamic Light Control 

eStudio can remotely control and adjust in real-time external light panels via DMX, and external Chroma Keyer settings, allowing for changing the lighting conditions of the real set to match those of the virtual set.

Infinityset Dynamiclights

Real-time post-production 

Although chroma keying technology and virtual sets have been around for a long time, the latter have sometimes been criticized for the relative lack of realism compared to other non-real-time applications such as composition and VFX technologies.  

The ability of eStudio to work as a preview hub, allows for substantial savings in the costs of filming and post-production, ensuring the different shots are adjusted (chroma, camera movements, tracking, etc) prior to enter in post-production, and even directly delivering the final production master.

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Open hardware interfaces

Brainstorm works closely with many hardware and software manufacturesrs such as NVIDIA, AJA, Bluefish, Epic Games, Blackmagic, FOR-A, Panasonic and many other. The eStudio also interfaces with most camera tracking systems.

 

See the partner list
Hardware Recommendations

This is an orientative guide of the hardware supported by eStudio 14. However, we encourage you to contact your sales representative in order to ensure the following configurations fit your needs.

  • 6 Core Intel Xeon CPU @3.5Ghz
  • 16GB RAM
  • HDD 500GB (OS)
  • SSD 256GB (Data)
  • Minimum: NVIDIA Quadro M2000
  • Recommended: NVIDIA RTX A5000 (RTX A6000 also supported)Please refer to the NVIDIA Quadro webpage for information about performance.http://www.nvidia.com/object/quadro-desktop-gpus.html

 

  • AJA
  • Blackmagic Design
  • BlueFish444
  • FOR.A
  • Matrox
  • CARTONI
  • EncodaCam
  • MO-SYS
  • Motion Analysis
  • nCam
  • Shotoku
  • TECNOPOINT
  • Telemetrics
  • TrackMen
  • Vinten

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