Virtual Set Designs for CNA Singapore

In late 2020, as the world recalibrated and newsrooms everywhere were rethinking space, safety, and spectacle, Lightwell partnered with CNA to reimagine what a news environment could be. The result was a virtual set that transformed constraint into choreography.

The physical studio was bordered on two sides by a greenscreen curtain, keyed out to create an expansive virtual window. Rather than simply dropping in a skyline, we built a layered architectural world beyond it. The concept was deliberate: not a traditional newsroom bristling with desks and ticker tape, but a contemporary gallery space. Calm. Sculptural. Intentional.

This mid ground interior became the stage between anchor and horizon. We introduced clean lined columns, integrated display screens, and floating ceiling elements that defined volume without clutter. Each component was positioned to create parallax and perspective, allowing the camera to glide through a space that felt tangible and dimensional. Depth was the quiet hero of the design. As lenses tracked and pivoted, the environment responded like a real structure, not a flat backdrop.

Beyond the virtual gallery’s perimeter windows, the city performed. We developed animated loops from drone photography captured at different times of day across the Marina Bay district in Singapore. Morning features a warm, crisp daylight. Evening settled into a constellation of architectural light. These loops were not decorative wallpaper. They were temporal cues that subtly aligned the studio with the rhythm of the city outside.

Inside the gallery, light became a narrative device. Virtual lightboxes and architectural accents shifted in tone to reflect the branding of each bulletin. For Asia First, the breakfast programme, the space warmed with a confident orange glow. For Singapore Tonight, the evening broadcast, the environment deepened into rich reds. The late night broadcast, Asia Tonight switched to cool blues. The set did not change shape, yet it changed mood. Branding was embedded in illumination rather than plastered on as graphics.

This approach offered flexibility without visual fatigue. A single architectural framework could host multiple identities, simply by modulating colour, light intensity, and content across the integrated screens. The result was a studio that felt coherent across the day while still distinctly tuned to each programme.

The design remained on air until 2024, when major technical upgrades at CNA prompted a new chapter. Lightwell was commissioned once again to evolve the virtual environment, building on the lessons of the previous four years and taking advantage of expanded capabilities within the studio infrastructure. Read about our most recent design for CNA here - CNA Virtual Set 2024

The 2020 virtual set proved that a newsroom can be both disciplined and atmospheric. By framing the broadcast within a gallery that opened onto a living city, we created a space where architecture, light, and storytelling moved in quiet synchrony.

Client

Mediacorp/CNA

Design

Jim Mann, Lightwell

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