Catalonia is establishing itself as a leader in virtual production thanks to a strong commitment to technological innovation, technical and creative talent, and the development of cutting-edge infrastructures. The Catalan ecosystem stands out for its flexibility, offering studios of various sizes and specializations to meet the needs of all types of productions. Additionally, Catalonia boasts an extensive network of companies, suppliers, and educational institutions already working with these technologies, facilitating the attraction of both local and international productions.

In this context, the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster is launching “Catalonia, Virtual Studio”, a three-episode video podcast supported by ICEC (Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises) and in collaboration with ISE (Integrated Systems Europe). Its goal is to bring virtual production closer to the audiovisual sector and the general public while showcasing Catalonia’s leadership in this field. Through discussions with experts and industry professionals, the podcast explores the challenges and opportunities this technology offers companies, such as reducing production costs and time.

 

Episode 1

The first episode features the participation of Cristina Brandner, manager of Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya, Antoine Vaxelaire, co-founder and creative director of Plató Nou-Appia, and Demian Sabini, executive producer of virtual production at Grup Mediapro, and is moderated by Bibiana Ballbè, journalist and CEO of TheCreative. In this episode, a detailed overview of virtual studios in Catalonia is provided, including their basic operation and the benefits they bring to the sector.

 

Episode 2

This episode focuses on the professional profiles involved in virtual production and the training programs being developed around it in Catalonia.

It features Ivan Garriga from Pijama Studio, Miquel Garcia from Gestmusic, Irene Figueres from APPIA, and Floren Magrinyà from FX BCN Film School, moderated by Antoine Vaxelaire from Plató Nou-Appia. The episode also includes the participation of Mike Blackman, Managing Director of ISE.

 

 

If you’d like to discover which companies are working with virtual production in Catalonia, check out the directories of the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster or the Catalunya Film Commission.

 

Amb el suport de:

 

Amb la col·laboració de:

 

Produced by:

          

Recorded at:

The largest audiovisual fair in the world is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in this edition that will take place from January 30 to February 2 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via. The Catalan Audiovisual Cluster has collaborated with ISE since 2019, when the fair moved to Barcelona from Amsterdam. The Cluster acts as a connecting agent of the fair with the Catalan industry and institutions.

This year, the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster is present at the fair within the framework of the Catalonia Pavilion of the Catalan Government (CS100 – Congress Square) and at the stand shared with the Barcelona City Council (CS224 – Congress Square).

 

Some member companies of the Cluster present unique audiovisual experiences and solutions, such as:

Sono (4D330 – Hall 4): based in Barcelona, Sono is the leading company in audiovisual services, with comprehensive solutions for events, integration and museum projects, stages and permanent audiovisual installations. At the 2024 edition of ISE, Sono presents the star installation of the fair’s twentieth anniversary: the largest invisible LED screen in Europe. With 193 square meters, this screen will be located at the South Access of Fira de Barcelona Gran Vía and will become a permanent installation. Among others, the screen will broadcast the show Bee Barcelona, by digital artist Jeroen van der Most. It will be on Wednesday, January 31 at 12:30 and 7:00 p.m. at the South entrance of the Fira.

Epson (3J100 – Hall 3): the world’s largest manufacturer of projectors will present an immersive projection developed from the company’s latest technology. In the projection, a huge umbrella unfolds to give rise to a multicolored waterfall, which is intended to recall some of the most iconic festivities in the world (the Gràcia festivities in Barcelona; the Chinese New Year; the Japanese festivals Tango No Sekku, Kodomo – no-hi (Children’s Day) and Cherry Blossom; the Portuguese AgitÁgueda Art festival; the Busan fireworks festival; or the Thai Yi Peng & Loy Krathong festival). In addition, Epson will show how it uses its technology to drive the full transformative potential of projection in education, retail or corporate environments.

Eyesberg (CS100 – Catalonia Pavilion): multimedia art studio based in Barcelona specialized in transforming environments into interactive and immersive works of art. They present 1.5 grados, an adaptation of an immersive experience that wants to make us reflect on climate change and the importance of glaciers, on which the stability that life on Earth requires depends. Eyesberg has collaborated with La Fura dels Baus on several occasions as well as with the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the production Turandot.

Panasonic (3J500 – Hall 3): Panasonic Connect Europe is a division of the Panasonic Group focused on business-to-business (B2B) business transactions. They invite visitors to travel through the cosmos in an immersive experience with 4K content, where they can explore galaxies thanks to their projectors and an interactive globe. Additionally, Panasonic will introduce an immersive meeting room with projection to drive collaboration, training and learning in business and higher education.

Lang (3H500 – Hall 3): Lang Iberia is a German-Spanish distributor of technology for visual presentations. They showcase a wide range of new and innovative products, including displays, innovative applications in image processing as well as developments in the field of drones. In the Drone Arena (hall 6), attendees will be able to have a hands-on experience flying a drone.

INFiLED (3C100 – Hall 3): the global LED screen manufacturer celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and in Barcelona it will do so on January 31 and February 1 at 7 p.m. at the INFiLED Barcelona Experience Center (Avenida Diagonal 361, Local 2). At ISE, the company also offers the possibility of experiencing the latest innovations in LED screen technology. This includes demonstrations of INFiLED’s product portfolio, which includes the latest products as well as Infinite Colors and CBSF Technology to deliver unparalleled visual experiences.

Partner companies with their own booth:

d&b audiotechnik (7E150 – Hall 7 and Audio Demo Rooms E7 – Hall 8): present a range of new generation audio solutions, all under the banner of the MILAN standard. These new products demonstrate d&b’s dedication to driving the industry forward with future-proof technology. Additionally, in the Audio Demo Room E7 in Hall 8, visitors can hear from industry experts how they are innovating and exploring the power of sound in different types of projects and in a wide range of sectors.

Espronceda (4D200 – Hall 4): present IMMENSIVA, an international platform for artists and creatives working with advanced technologies such as VR, AR, AI, sensors and many others.

Watchity & Ebantic (4H820 – Hall 4): Watchity presents its video engagement platform, with more functionalities and features aimed at professional audiovisual communication of companies and entities. Ebantic presents the new functionalities that the programs that make up the DAM4cloud Suite incorporate. With special attention to Newsportal, a web portal, designed specifically for media and companies that need to publish news and events dynamically.

 

Partner companies at the Barcelona City Council booth (CS224 – Congress Square):

blit-studio: They present the creation of 3D content for outdoor screens, “Naked eye 3D advertisements” and how anamorphic 3D advertising works.

LOWKEYMOVES: present their new technological solution, the ‘AI Digital Avatars’, digital humans connected to a conversational AI capable of interacting with users through voice in real time, solving their needs efficiently thanks to the power of Artificial Intelligence.

OnInOff: Onionlab presents OnInOff, a powerful and scalable solution for designing interactivity in spaces. It simplifies capturing objects and people in multi-camera setups, allowing you to focus on creativity across various software platforms.

Partner companies at the Catalonia Pavilion (CS100 – Congress Square):

Blackfish: Specialized in innovative technical solutions, Blackfish offers a complete range of services that range from productions and streaming to the assembly and management of LED screens, mappings, projections and integration of extended and augmented reality.

Computer Vision Center: They present their projects and research capabilities in computer vision applied to the audiovisual industry.

EGM Studio: company that creates visual content for large formats. You can see how 3D Generation, 2D/3D Animation, Audiovisual Production and Post-Production and Augmented Reality work.

Eurecat: they work on technologies such as the application of sensors to improve the sustainability and conservation of structures, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Fluendo: they present their latest developments, among which the consulting services and the Fluendo Lab stand out, where their R&D&i projects are developed. They will present innovative solutions based on video processing, interactive content creation and audio enhancement, using AI-based computer vision, next-generation codecs and multimedia frameworks for edge devices.

NRDmultimedia: present Vector3 solutions, NRD’s brand of solutions for television and media automation. Automated solutions for content production, ingestion and multi-channel playout stand out.

WindowSight: they present the solution to integrate their platform into different signage software and have an installation in the Catering Area of Hall 6 with several screens.

 

Cluster members Blit, Eurecat, Espronceda and Lowkeymoves participated in Creativity Meets Clusters, an international matchmaking event in the field of creative industries held in Bari (Italy) between November 28 and 29. The Catalan Audiovisual Cluster, as well as the four partner companies, were invited by Distretto Puglia Creativa, a collaborating cluster in the Puglia region and organizer of the event. More than 100 companies from the audiovisual, technology, video games, performing arts, music and design sectors participated in this, accompanied by their respective reference clusters from 13 countries: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, South Africa and Spain.

Each of the participating companies was able to enjoy twenty b2b meetings with the aim of exploring synergies and new business opportunities at an international level. The activity is part of the cluster’s strategic line for the internationalization of Catalan audiovisual companies, and also has an impact on revitalization through cross-sector collaboration with other creative industries. Eurecat, Blit, Lowkeymoves and Espronceda stand out precisely for a transversal use of digital technologies in this area.

The agenda of activities was completed with four round tables for the exchange of good practices in the fields of internationalization, innovation, social transformation and talent. In these, the need to develop common strategies in the face of challenges that affect the entire sector was confirmed, promoting the competitiveness of companies through international cooperation. Creativity Meets Clusters has therefore been a starting point for what we hope will become an increasingly extensive international network of clusters.

 

Blit is a creative studio for brands, events, music and art, spanning from visual design to immersive experiences.

Eurecat is an industrial R&D technology center, specializing in strategies for innovation and economic growth in the cultural and creative industries.

Espronceda is an art and culture center that promotes residency and artistic research programs in the fields of new media and technology, science and visual art.

Lowkeymoves is a creative agency and innovation studio that works at the intersection between music, culture, technology and brands.

The tenth edition of Zoom Brands, the annual event organized by the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster, was held yesterday at Foment del Treball, putting artificial intelligence as a key tool for brands at the center of the debate. The latest AI trends and solutions for this sector were unveiled and how brands relate to this accelerated automation tool was discussed.

In the session David Lahoz, Product Strategist at TAPPX, showed a battery of AI solutions that brands are already using. Among them is virtual product placement, which allows you to add, update and customize, according to the type of audience, the products that appear in series and films. Or, the automated editing of videos that illustrate digital media news.

After that, the round table debate moderated by the journalist and CEO of TheCreative Bibiana Ballbè took place with Albert Giménez, Business Development Manager of Wildbytes; Josep M. Ganyet, CEO of Mortensen and Pompeu Fabra University professor; and Ramon Arteman, Director of Metropolitana.

Albert Giménez, from the experiential innovation agency Wildbytes, explained how through these technologies brands reach the user in innovative ways with a hyper-personalized message, fostering a more fluid relationship with audiences. Among them he showed a campaign for New Balance where, through computer vision, unusual clothing patterns were detected in Callao Square in Madrid to be able to make personalized product recommendations. This same technology was also applied in retail stores directly.

Ramon Arteman of Metropolitana, known for campaigns where, through the deepfake technique, they revive characters such as Lola Flores for Cruzampo, the comedian Cantinflas for Soriana food chain or Dalí for the Reina Sofía Foundation; he stressed that one of the biggest challenges is to make artificial creations not look too perfect and reflect human errors to be perceived as real. He also emphasized that brands often disclose as part of the campaign that they have used AI techniques so that the public does not have the perception that it is a hoax.

Finally, Josep Maria Ganyet provided the counterpoint as an expert in artificial intelligence, explaining that AI is not an unattended process that works alone, the objectives and the validation of its results always go through the human hand. He also emphasized that the most repetitive jobs will be replaced by machines, but those that require reflection, judgment, improvisation… will remain in the hands of humans.

They all agreed to emphasize that the most important thing is that the AIs that are being used in brand communication still have a long way to go, but the evolution is being exponential and it is impossible to know how far it will go. The big question will be who and how these tools are controlled.

Last February 22, the Catalan Audiovisual Cluster hosted the last workshop of the training program in Shared Value that has been developed since last October.

Shared Value is a concept that refers to the intersection of practices that bring economic value and at the same time social value to a company. Thanks to the support of ACCIÓ and the mediation of the consultancy R4S (Roots For Sustainability) it was possible to carry out this pilot program which has reflected on how to integrate the Shared Value in companies as a strategy in favor of the generation of new business opportunities.

One aspect of the program has been to reflect together as a sector on how audiovisual can be a purposeful business area and how Shared Value can be incorporated as a mode of business management. In the case of the audiovisual sector, for example, we talk about the environmental impact generated by filming and the participation of dissident groups both in the artistic and production teams and their representation within the content that is created.

A second aspect of the program has been to accompany the companies that wanted to start the process of completing the BCorp tools, a standard that allows each organization to make a diagnosis of its situation in the application of Shared Value in its day-to-day life and which serves as a guideline for how to continue improving and working.

13 partner companies have completed the BCorp tools in a sufficient percentage to be considered “finishers” of the project and have been able to start a transformation process from different perspectives. They are 023, Metropolitana, Broadcaster, the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), ITES, ADN, Benecé Produccions, SONO, Lavinia, Minoria Absoluta, NRDmultimedia, Sabatellini & Associats and the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya.

The program has also resulted in 9 collaborative initiatives so that the sector as a whole, with the potential leadership of the Cluster, continues to work on creating business opportunities with shared value.

Sensitive to the need to generate contexts for an audiovisual business that is more attentive to ethics and sustainability, the Audiovisual Cluster already dedicated in 2021 an edition of its already traditional advertising trends event Zoom Marques to Branded Content with a purpose. Greenshooting and sustainability in film and television filming were also the topics that kicked off the last edition of the Audiovisual Talent Week in November 2022.

This year, ISE Fair is held from January 31st to February 3rd at Fira Barcelona Gran Via. We have collaborated with the ISE since 2019, when the fair moved to Barcelona from Amsterdam. Since then, the Catalan AV Cluster has acted as a connecting agent for the fair with the industry and Catalan institutions.

As in the previous edition, the Catalan AV Cluster is present at the fair in its own booth shared with Barcelona City Council (CS300, hall 5), where there will be a unique immersive experience created by SONO where you can scan your image and it will become part of the most iconic places of architecture in the city of Barcelona.

 

Some members of the Cluster exhibit unique audiovisual experiences and solutions, such as:

Onionlab presents the Xarxa installation, in collaboration with the ephemeral architecture studio Haus Of Color, which consists of a laser installation that was also installed at the Smart City fair. It will be located on the Walkway in the upper area of Hall 2.

Gestmusic (Banijay Iberia) presents its avant-garde virtual screen, a new experience for any type of company that wishes to make a production based on virtual environments with high-end technology. The set manages to integrate virtual environments where it is possible to design and record audiovisual products, from commercials to television programs, fiction and entertainment.

d&b audiotechnik will be exhibiting a range of installation-specific technology and design solutions. In its Demo Room, visitors will be invited to experience the d&b Soundscape and learn about object-based audio playback and its benefits. It will be located in Demo Room E1 in the Sound Demo Rooms area of Hall 8.

Windowsight collaborates with ISE Fair presenting an exhibition that reflects the innovative spirit of Barcelona. They have worked with 30 international artists and photographers to create a memorable visual experience. It can be seen on the Walkway that leads to Hall 8, where the new Sound Demo Rooms space is located.

INFiLED (3R600, 6E350) will feature more than tan installations in its booth. INFiLED’s must-see displays include a fully operational XR studio for a real-time demonstration of advanced xR and virtual production solutions and the ultimate transparent touring solution TITAN-X.

Lavinia Services will be present at the ACCIÓ’s booth (CS400) and will also present an immersive installation. They offer all kinds of integrated solutions in all activities carried out in the audiovisual sector.

Visyon exposes a set of LED screens and offers a round table to talk about its new project VIVIM. It will be located at the Mediapro stand (6D600).

 

Members with their own booth:

The CCMA (6D400 – Hall 6) will exhibit activities related to new technologies, including the new 360º and 3D multi-camera experience of Eufòria and the live 360º multi-camera production of Castells.

Lang Iberia (3H600) is a provider of video equipment. They offer rental and sale of high-end products and their installation and operation.

SONO (6E700) presents, together with Brainstorm, the Edison PRO solution. It is an innovative template-based playback application that will transform any live online presentation or conference into an immersive experience using AR and virtual environments.

 

Members at Cluster’s booth shared with Barcelona City Council (CS300):

UNIVRSE is specialized in creating collective immersive VR and AR experiences, which can be shared with up to one hundred users.

 

Partner companies at the ACCIÓ’s booth (CS400):

Blit is a content creative studio for brands, events, music and art. They work with large companies and institutions from visual design to immersive experiences.

Blackfish will present the range of solutions they offer, such as: manufacturing mediaservers to power LED screens on TV sets; better tools for mapping; an own set to carry out live performances or recordings in virtual environments. You will be able to see a 360 VR tour of their studio, as well as an immersive experience in some of the environments they have created this year.

Ebantic will present its new projects in Blochchain Integration, AI, news writing in the cloud, sharing systems and collaborative management of news and programs, news web portals and industry 4.0.

Emogg is a company that offers technology capable of identifying the emotions of users in live sessions.

Eurecat is a technology center, specialized in strategies for innovation and economic growth in the cultural and creative industries.

NRD Multimedia designs audiovisual production centers with open and scalable professional solutions for each client.

 

Cluster members that will be at the IOT Solutions World Congress:

The Computer Vision Center participates as an exhibitor with a booth that wants to be a meeting point to discuss the transformative power of Computer Vision technologies in the IoT industry. They will be at booth 16 of the Catalonia Pavilion.

 

You can check our program here.

Last week from November 14 to 18, the Audiovisual Talent Week took place at CaixaForum Barcelona. It is an initiative of the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia that encompasses a series of activities aimed at connecting new emerging talent from catalan, spanish and european university centers with professionals across the sector.

Its main act was the Audiovisual Pitching Session, where 80 students from 36 university centers presented 50 projects in front of representatives of companies and professionals across the sector, in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, TV formats, video games and new windows. This year, and as a great novelty, the pitching was more international than ever: 25% of the projects were from outside Spain and there was a session of fiction projects that the students presented to professionals from all over Europe. After each pitching session, the students were able to have one-on-one meetings with the interested companies.

The opening day consisted of two conferences. The first, The new Catalan audiovisual economy, in which prospects, infrastructures and growth of the Catalan audiovisual ecosystem over the next ten years were discussed, with the Departament de Cultura, Barcelona City Council, CCMA and Mediapro. The second, Greenshooting: sustainability in filming, where a round table was held on the great challenges of sustainable filming, with Fresco Films, K is for Knowledge and the Catalunya Film Commission.

In this edition, during the Meet the Experts session we were able to learn in depth about the profession of sound, from the experts Inés Mirás, Fabiola Ordoyo and Irene Rausell. The presentation of the Talent Pact was also held, with an exclusive projection of the audiovisual pieces made this year, which aims to help emerging talent to professionalize and connect with the fields of live arts and audiovisuals. The presentation was accompanied by the talk “Between the curtain and the screen: contamination between the languages ​​of theater and audiovisuals”, in which the playwright Guillem Clua and the journalist and theater critic Manuel Pérez participated.

Audiovisual Talent Week was completed with networking sessions such as the Market for New Professionals, where people seeking a job in the audiovisual sector were able to meet with companies from Cluster that have vacancies; and the Coproduction Meetings between international producers and Catalan producers to promote co-production.

 

Audiovisual Talent Week receives the support of:

We have been to the two major audiovisual events that have taken place in Barcelona during the week of 9 to 13 May. At ISE (Integrated Systems Europe), the world’s largest audiovisual trade fair, and at INPUT, the international public television conference.

We have been collaborating with ISE since it moved to Barcelona in 2019 from Amsterdam. In its landing at the city, the Cluster has served as the connecting agent with the Catalan industry and institutions. We have organized 8 conferences with the participation of 20 Cluster members, which publicly discussed audiovisual and technological issues of importance in the sector, such as immersive shows, LED screens, the potential of the MICE sector in our country and applications of audiovisual innovations in sectors such as the Live Arts. We have had the opportunity to listen to our expert members in metavers in one of the biggest stages of the fair. We also shared a meeting with various international clusters interested in sharing ideas and getting to know our work.

On the other hand, we have organized the INPUT conference together with Pompeu Fabra University, which has brought together 400 professionals from 59 public television stations in 28 countries. Throughout the week, attendees have participated in viewing the new television formats in entertainment and fiction and witnessed debates and round tables from the hand of their professionals. We would like to highlight that there have been 7 Catalan and Spanish productions from TV3, TVE and Betevé out of the 86 that had been presented. It took the opportunity to organize parallel activities that would give visibility to the potential of the city in the audiovisual production sector, such as a route through the cinematographic Barcelona, and a current talk to discuss on the role of international correspondents as providers of information when there is a war and in which professionals from Catalan, Spanish, Danish and Canadian television as well as Ukrainian public television have participated.

On Monday, March 22, the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia held the first International Open Talent Pitching in hybrid format, broadcast in streaming from Barcelona and with the participation of professionals and audiovisual producers from Belgium, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom and France. Among them, there are Kinomada (Québec) or ALIEF Films (United Kingdom), responsible for works of authorship selected at various world-renowned festivals, such as SXSW, the Malaga Film Festival, the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) , or the Sitges Festival. The event was moderated by David Matamoros, a well-known Oscar-winning producer and also a mentor to the show.

The projects presented come from 4 different universities (La Salle, UAB, UPF and Blanquerna) and previously competed in the Pitching Audiovisual University-Industry in the fiction categories (two real image and two animation), non-fiction and television formats . Thus, the young people responsible for the projects Tripple Nipple, El Escudo de Sherwood, 11, Identidad Digital, Ergasía, Part of You and Meet the Star presented them to this panel of international audiovisual producers. The professionals established links with similar projects in their respective countries of origin and agreed to highlight the good level of the presentations and their interest for the international industry in a very positive overall assessment.

Open Talent is a mentoring program for projects participating in the Pitching Audiovisual University – Industry with special potential for the national and international markets. After a training process to improve these projects, the program concludes with the International Pitching, until now held in person on the sets of international correspondents in Brussels, which this year reaches a greater projection thanks to digital technologies.