Placey teases that viewers could see some surprise characters throughout the game. Meanwhile, Grandma Alice and Bill Green will be in goal for the Rangers and Caps, respectively. We have been trying to find an opportunity to do something like this, so this a great opportunity for all the different parties involved.”Ĭricket Green will take the place of the Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck, and Tilly Green will play in place of the Capitals’ Evgeny Kuznetsov. “This is more for the casual, younger fans, not our normal super-fan who is already watching ESPN. “Alternative broadcasts like this are all about trying to expand your audience,” says Michael “Spike” Szykowny, senior director, motion graphics and production planning, ESPN Creative Studio. ESPN Creative Studio designed and modeled stylized 3D players to be used as avatars representing the players and animated via the live tracking data in conjunction with Beyond Sports.ĮSPN and Silver Spoon built a motion-capture set for announcers in Studio Z in Bristol, CT.

The first-of-its-kind alternative presentation uses the NHL Edge puck- and player-tracking data from SMT and Sony’s Beyond Sports AI-based data-visualization platform to re-create the action on the ice in real time while featuring Big City Greens characters skating alongside animated versions of the NHL players.

Cartoons on Ice: Tracking Data, Beyond Sports Drive Player Avatars, Animated Characters

The Big City Greens Classic is being produced in conjunction with ESPN Edge Innovation Center and NHL EDGE Innovation partners Verizon, Beyond Sports and Silver Spoon. Additionally, ESPN Creative Studio has created a full Big City Greens-centric graphics package and scorebug for the broadcast. Series talent Chris Houghton (co-creator/executive producer, Big City Greens, and voice of Cricket) and Marieve Herington (voice of Tilly) will use facial-recognition technology to imitate their reactions to the game remotely from Disney Television Animations studios in Los Angeles. Weekes and Carter will wear motion-capture suits to allow the full-body animations of them in the Big City to mimic their movements while calling the action from a studio in Bristol, CT. ESPN, Disney Channel, and the NHL are teaming up to bring fans the NHL Big City Greens Classic, the first-ever live animated NHL game telecast, featuring the Washington Capitals vs.

Debut video capture software key