Virtual Sets
Virtual sets fall into two broad categories: real-time tracked solutions, where the virtual environment responds dynamically to camera movement, and pre-rendered non-tracked solutions, where environments are fixed to specific camera positions. Both have their strengths, and the right choice depends on the production, the studio, and the budget.
Real-time tracked virtual sets can be delivered in three distinct ways: Greenscreen, LED Volume, and AR Set Extensions. These approaches can also be combined into hybrid solutions, where physical and virtual elements work together within a single studio environment.
Lightwell designs and delivers all of them.
Real-time tracked virtual sets can be delivered in three distinct ways: Greenscreen, LED Volume, and AR Set Extensions. These approaches can also be combined into hybrid solutions, where physical and virtual elements work together within a single studio environment.
Lightwell designs and delivers all of them.
Realtime/Tracked
Camera tracking unlocks the full creative potential of a virtual set. For productions that require dynamic camera work - wide shots, tight shots, crane and jib movement, multiple presenter positions - a tracked virtual set responds correctly to every camera position in real time, giving directors the same freedom they would have in any conventional studio.
Lightwell designs realtime environments across three distinct delivery methods, each suited to different studio conditions and production requirements.
Lightwell designs realtime environments across three distinct delivery methods, each suited to different studio conditions and production requirements.
Greenscreen
The established method. Talent is shot against a chroma key backing, and a fully realised virtual environment is composited in real time using camera tracking data. Lightwell designs greenscreen virtual sets for all leading broadcast platforms, with environments built in Unreal Engine and delivered to integrate with the production's existing technology infrastructure.
LED Volume
For the most immersive on-screen environment, LED volumes offer a fundamentally different proposition to greenscreen. Large-format screen surfaces wrap the studio, displaying the virtual environment directly, with camera tracking ensuring correct perspective at all times. Presenters can see and react to the environment in the studio, with physical and virtual light sources working in harmony. Presenters are free to wear any colour, fabric, or jewellery without the restrictions that greenscreen keying protocols impose. Lightwell has designed LED volume extensions for BBC and CNA, delivering environments of genuine visual depth and impact.
AR Set Extensions
Where a presenter is not required to appear in front of a virtual set, AR set extensions offer a compelling alternative. Camera tracking aligns the virtual scene to the real studio environment, matching perspective precisely and enabling virtual elements to be composited seamlessly into the studio image, with no greenscreen backing or LED screens required. The result is a 360° wraparound virtual environment that conceals cameras and operators, creates clear space for AR graphics, and extends the physical studio seamlessly into a virtual one. Lightwell has used this approach on major productions including BBC Sport's 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Hybrid
Some productions call for a combination of techniques - physical set elements, greenscreen, AR virtual extensions, and real-time compositing working together within a single studio environment. Hybrid approaches require careful design from the outset, with every element - physical and virtual - considered as part of a unified whole. Lightwell has designed hybrid sets for BBC Sport's Paris Olympics 2024 coverage, BBC Wimbledon, and ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup production.
Pre-aligned / Non-Tracked
Not every virtual production requires camera tracking. For studios using platforms such as Tricaster, Lightwell designs and delivers virtual environments that are pre-aligned to fixed or limited camera positions - a pragmatic, cost-effective approach that can still produce visually compelling results when the design accounts carefully for the constraints. The skill here is in designing spaces that feel natural and coherent within those limitations.
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Digital Backdrops
Not every production requires a tracked virtual set. Digital backdrops are pre-rendered animated environments - carefully designed video loops delivered to large LED screens - that create a convincing illusion of depth and space behind presenters without the requirement for tracking or real-time engine performance.
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Consultancy
Not every commission results in a finished virtual set. Some of the most valuable work Lightwell does happens earlier in the process - helping broadcasters and production teams understand what is possible, what is appropriate for their studio and budget, and how to specify and procure the right solution.
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Other Services
Lightwell designs virtual sets and virtual production environments for major broadcasters and global sporting events. Combining architectural design thinking with deep technical fluency, we create environments that are visually compelling, editorially flexible, and built to perform live. Clients include BBC, ITV, CNA, Bloomberg, Sky, and Discovery.
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