ESPN is the first broadcaster to use Epic Games’ Project Avalanche, a new tool in the Unreal Engine 5 game engine for rendering 2D and 3D motion graphics. The idea here is making event production easier by using one tool to go “from design to on-air playout,” said Epic Games Dir of Technical Product Management Andy Blondin. Its first deployment was the Rose Parade broadcast on New Year’s Day, showing how Epic continues to add broadcast and film production capabilities to Unreal, one of the most-used game engines, to become a viable production tool for running live broadcasts, not just games and films. While Unreal Engine 5 runs games like Fortnite and the upcoming Tomb Raider and Witcher blockbusters, Unreal has seen use in Hollywood, going back to “The Mandalorian,” which debuted in late 2019. “It is now possible to build both the animation package and insert package all within one software suite, which makes it much easier to share assets and reuse designs, increasing productivity,” Blondin told SBJ.
TEST RUN: ESPN used Project Avalanche to produce the Rose Parade broadcast animation package, which included the show open, said Michael "Spike" Szykowny, ESPN Creative Studios Senior Dir of Animation, Graphics Innovation & Production Design. He said it took about 30 days to create the package. ESPN and Epic view this as a test run of sorts to see just how feasible Project Avalanche would be for other live broadcasts, like college football games. That appears to be the end-target for Unreal since it showed off a tech demo called The Hype Chamber for Rocket League in March, though Szykowny said “Project Avalanche does build on what Epic Games’ esports team learned from that project. “The insert graphics for the Rose Parade consist of 14 overlay graphics, which are used throughout the parade to display information about the various presenters, bands, floats, and so forth,” said Szykowny. “Project Avalanche introduces enhancements and ... overlay graphics such as banners and other infographics which are used in every broadcast." Szykowny said the tool "also addresses workflow efficiencies for designers where most graphics and animations can be created without any Blueprints or technical requirements."
PROJECT'S PURPOSE: Szykowny said the "purpose of this project was really to learn from collaboration between Epic Games and ESPN to ensure that the new tool delivers both a good experience for designers and the right capabilities for a real-life production." It helps that the Rose Parade, unlike a sports event, is far more scripted in advance, with segments, band positions and floats scoped out in advance. “Given that Project Avalanche is under active development, we wanted to start with a show that does not require a lot of complex integrations and at the same time will benefit from the visual quality enhancements Unreal Engine 5 has to offer,” Epic Business Director of Broadcast & Live Events BK Johannessen said. “The Rose Parade is a perfect candidate because the production complexity is manageable, plus it’s a beautiful show.” While during the Rose Parade, ESPN artists, producers and technicians worked from a production truck, Project Avalanche also works from remote production studios. This could be appealing to companies like Riot Games, whose Project Stryker will have three production facilities for broadcasting League of Legends and Valorant esports. It could also entice Wisdom Gaming, which opened a new studio last year that focuses on remote production of esports and gaming events.
