Channel Awards virtual event, Belgium

Belgium Channel Awards virtual event

For the first time in its history and due to the Covid pandemic, the Belgian Channel Awards were held online. To make this safe edition happen, A/V company ADC Production provided a virtual studio based on green screen and the Modulo Kinetic media server by Modulo Pi.

The Belgian Channel Awards ceremony rewards IT distribution professionals every year during a grand gala dinner. Due to the Covid pandemic, the networking event had to be reinvented to comply with physical distancing measures. The 19th edition went virtual for the first time.

ADC Production was entrusted with this online safe edition. Daniel Van Ruyssevelt, CEO of ADC Production, explains: “Every year, the event gathers 600 people in a gala dinner. This year, the challenge was to keep a cadenced presentation, and offer networking opportunities as if participants were together.”

The presentation of the event was held in the ADC Production studio designed for virtual events.
The set-up included a green key cyclorama of 7 x 4 meters with all appropriate lighting, as well as 2 x Panasonic AW-UE150 PTZ cameras, 1 x Blackmagic camera, and several laptops. The whole set-up relied on the Modulo Kinetic media server solution by Modulo Pi. The kit consists in 1 x Modulo Kinetic Designer workstation, and 1 x Modulo Kinetic V-Node server equiped with 4 x HD-SDI and 2 x HDMI live capture cards. “Modulo Kinetic allows us to manage the virtual set, media, and cameras switch through a single affordable solution” comments Daniel Van Ruyssevelt.

The virtual studio was customized to the colors of the Channel Awards ceremony, and two presenters were keyed on the virtual studio using the Modulo Kinetic chroma keyer. To allow a dynamic presentation, ADC Production could rely on the new Modulo Kinetic features for virtual events including background replacement and augmented reality.
Thanks to background replacement, the 3D virtual set could evolve simultaneously with the movements of the PTZ cameras, the Panasonic AW-UE150 being tracked real-time by Modulo Kinetic using the FreeD protocol.
Augmented reality was used for interactive votes organized during the ceremony. Results were collected live and transformed into bar graphs that were then added within the virtual set.
Other varied contents were also displayed within the virtual set over the ceremony, such as PowerPoint slides, and video conferencing feeds to allow real-time interactions between participants, awards winners, and presenters on stage.

The 2021 Channel Awards Safe Edition was streamed live on Vimeo, and attended by 400 participants.
“The entire profession awaits a quick return to in-person events, but part of the virtual format will remain relevant for speakers who can not travel to attend” concludes Daniel Van Ruyssevelt.

A glimpse of the 2021 Channel Awards Safe Edition

Credits:
Event agency: Mavil – Nicolas Demeure
A/V provider: ADC Production
Technical Direction & virtual studio design: Cédric Dewaide