Virtual Sets

A virtual set is a fully realised environment - architecture, materiality, lighting, exterior views, day and night states - designed to exist convincingly around presenters and talent in a studio. Lightwell designs virtual sets from scratch, to the specific spatial and technical requirements of each production.

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Green Screen LED Volume AR Set Extensions Hybrid Pre Aligned/ Non-Tracked

Realtime/Tracked

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.

Two people sit at a round table outside with BBC Sport van and Olympic signage in a European square.

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.

Man stands on glass floor with Olympic rings under blue metal and glass canopy in urban setting.

AR Set Extensions

Where a studio receives natural light, or where the economics of a full greenscreen build are not justified, AR set extensions offer a compelling alternative. Camera tracking composites virtual elements directly 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, 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.

Modern rooftop bar with a large screen showing a trophy and city skyline visible across the water.

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.