Gary Lineker presenting Match of the Day from the hybrid real and virtual set located in Red Square. In the background, it is night time, and outside we can see St Basils cathedral s

This view is from a high camera, fixed to a rail above the presenters heads. Although half of this scene is virtual, no greenscreen was required, as the set was carefully planned to make effective use of masking. In the virtual section, we see a video window displaying the FIFA UHD feed from the stadium

FIFA World Cup 2018 Virtual Set

For the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Lightwell worked with BK Design Projects to create a groundbreaking hybrid studio environment for the BBC that blurred the line between real and virtual.

Unlike traditional virtual studios that rely on chroma key, our solution required no greenscreen at all. Instead, we developed a 50% virtual design achieved entirely through masking, creating a seamless integration between the physical set and its virtual extensions.

Inside the Moscow studio, we extended the architecture virtually:

A sleek, modern vaulted ceiling concealed the lighting rig, giving the impression of a purpose-built broadcast space.
At the rear of the studio, where the cameras and crew were located, we concealed these functional elements with a virtual area for augmented reality graphics, adding both depth and flexibility to coverage.
Most strikingly, we introduced a large window that opened onto the stadiums hosting live matches. These views were powered by UHD feeds supplied by FIFA, mapped onto the inside of a 3D sphere to ensure accurate perspective — giving the audience the sensation of looking directly out at the action.

To the sides of the studio, large LED screens carried stylised virtual dioramas rendered through Viz Virtual Window — an early form of virtual production using LED integration that anticipated many of the techniques now standard in LED studio workflows.

The result was an innovative fusion of real and virtual space. The physical studio anchored presenters in a tangible environment, while our virtual design elevated the space into something larger, more flexible, and more dynamic — without the visual compromises of a greenscreen.

This project set a benchmark for immersive broadcast design at major sporting events, demonstrating how virtual production techniques could be deployed in fresh, practical ways long before they became established techniques.

Client

BBC Sport

Design

Jim Mann

Toby Kalitowski