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PL & P
PHOTO : ERIC MYRE
CANADA DAY
TOGETHER 2020
A Cultural & Technical Mosaic
By Kevin Young
Serena Ryder performs at TOHU in Montreal as part of Canada Day Together
Even before the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic , the 2020 iteration of Canadian Heritage and the CBC ’ s live Canada Day extravaganza on Parliament Hill was to be slightly different .
“ We ’ ve been doing the Canada Day celebration for a few years , but this year , with Parliament under construction , we intended to do it in a park adjacent to the Hill ,” explains Matthieu Larivée , creative producer and partner with Montreal production design firm Lűz Studio .
Ultimately , COVID-19 derailed that plan , but Larivée and Lűz Studio proposed a unique backup solution for the celebration , dubbed Canada Day Together : a live / virtual hybrid show , but one that dramatically upped the ante over the type of Zoom , Instagram , and Facebook Live performances that have become ubiquitous since the shutdown in March .
Utilizing augmented reality ( AR ) effects and an elaborate stage lighting and set design in tandem with video performances captured in a facility in Montreal and elsewhere , the result was not only impressive on its own , but offered a look at how “ live ” sets in the virtual space could potentially alter and enhance traditional televised performances in general , including awards shows , galas , and other special events showcasing various artistic disciplines including music , dance , and theatre .
Larivée first presented the idea as an answer to the question on the minds of everyone who was involved in the event , which was , essentially , “ What do we do now ?” Every year , Parliament Hill ’ s Canada Day festivities are packaged for broadcast and watched by millions of viewers across the country . Cancelling entirely wasn ’ t really an option ; instead , he envisioned a show partly comprised of pre-recorded content – performances captured via iPhone or other means from remote locations – which would then be incorporated with performances filmed in an actual event venue . That venue and its set , as the backdrop for all of the “ live ” performances , would act as a visually unifying element – a stage on which they could “ paint ” the elements to tie it all together with an AR “ brush .”
To realize their vision , Lűz Studio and their production partners , Rec4Box , utilized Ross Video ’ s Voyager graphics rendering solution , which is based on Epic Games ’ Unreal engine and allows for a host of highly realistic animated graphics to be integrated seamlessly into physical sets and environments . “ It ’ s a technology that ’ s mostly used in sports ,” Larivée explains , but the way in which they were used by Lűz , and the degree to which the virtual elements appeared to be physical – literally existing in the space – however , went well beyond projecting stats on a field or suffusing a hockey puck with an orange or red glow .
In fact , in many cases , it ’ s actually difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was virtual or augmented , owing to the way in which physical