Even as the world returns to something approaching normality, studio broadcasts are likely to look different to pre-Covid productions – at least from the point of view of camera operators and producers ensuring social distancing is observed between themselves and presenters. That is just one of the benefits of MRMC’s Polymotion Chat solution, an innovative AI system for tracking subjects using PTZ cameras or robotic pan/tilt heads.
Where typical facial tracking products can be confused by presenters turning their back to the camera or the appearance of other faces, MRMC’s sophisticated computer vision engine detects a person’s limbs and builds a virtual stick model to track the onscreen talent, enabling the system to deal with the highest demands of studio broadcasting – and the most animated of presenters. Having been in use for around four years, the highly reliable and cost-effective product is now available for three bespoke markets: Pro, Studio and Broadcast.
The Studio tier is specially tailored to live productions; from news and weather to product demonstrations, Polymotion Chat can ensure there is a shot ready whenever the director wants it, thanks to live person recognition and advanced tracking features. The system can control up to six cameras, offers a wide range of framing options and switches between fully automated, semi-automated and manual modes. Easily adapting to new studio environments, the automated tracking system is camera agnostic and works seamlessly with all major broadcast vendors, including Panasonic, Sony and Grass Valley.
As for the broadcast tier, the system is complete with all of the above along with additional features to create the ultimate broadcast camera tracking solution, including presenter profiles, scene recognition and advanced sequencing for executing pre-defined camera moves. This high level of studio automation has important implications for social distancing, reducing the amount of staff required for operations while minimising contact with on-screen presenters.
Again the system integrates effortlessly with equipment from all major vendors, offering control for third-party robotics from the likes of Ross, Shotoku, Telemetrics and Vinten, as well as PTZ cameras from Panasonic, Sony, Birddog and Lumens. Plus, the ability to work with every studio automation system – including Dalet, Grass Valley Ignite, Ross Overdrive and Vizrt Mozart – means complete studio automation is possible for the first time.
That integration, reliability and automation makes Polymotion Chat an invaluable tool in post-Covid studio operations, always available and easy to use for automatically delivering consistent shots – and with the relaunch finely tuning the system to the needs of each target market, there has never been a better time to discover the power of Polymotion Chat.
Find out more about Polymotion Chat from MRMC.
