‘Shark Tank’ reality series to use virtual set as background Innovation Studios, Sony Entertainment & Technology, debuts its advanced technology on the iconic “Shark Tank” television show this season. “Shark Tank,” the critically acclaimed and multi-Emmy® Award-winning entrepreneurial-themed reality series, is known for showcasing innovative products and ideas. Behind the scenes, the same is true. Now in its 10th season, when not enough stage capacity was available to handle current production needs, “Shark Tank” producers turned to a radically new solution provided by Innovation Studios. Innovation Studios, a state-of-the-art facility launched earlier this year. on the Sony Pictures Studios lot, captured a virtual 3D digital model of the Exit Interview Shark Tank set using a technique called volumetric image acquisition. This was accomplished through a unique combination of capture technology to create a photo-realistic environment. In June, Innovation Studios scanned the “Shark Tank” set, creating a 3D digital model (the Virtual Set). In September, this Virtual Set was then used as a background when “Shark Tank” filmed exit interviews with approximately 100 contestants, and Innovation Studios was able to composite them in real time. Scenes with this technology aired for the first time in December and will continue to air throughout the season. “The technology is truly seamless,” said Alex Halatchev, Shark Tank Production Manager. “When we were watching interviews on monitors remotely, a producer asked to move a plant next to the couch, but it wasn’t really there because it was the virtual set.”
68 EILE Magazine
