Days before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the live event industry to a halt, Hyundai revealed the 2021 Elantra to a broadcast audience with an elaborate and theatrical staged production.
Originally planned as a hybrid live event and simulcast to the web, the show was adjusted mid-production to become a broadcast only event as the pandemic unfolded. The lavish theatrical reveal featured choreographed live performers, Hyundai executives and product designers presenting technology demonstrations. Despite the change of circumstances, the production design of the broadcast was still intended to look and feel like a live event.
Although this show had many of the qualities of emerging XR technology, it was in fact all captured in-camera with live performers, lighting, and media. No augmented reality or extended reality techniques were used.
Lightswitch worked with the show’s director and designers to create a highly theatrical and immersive environment for the performers, executives, and vehicles, using lighting to expand the abstract and colorful visuals of the video wall and floor. Triangular designs were a key theme of the vehicle’s design language, so these shapes were used as a motif throughout the media content, and extended into the lighting design as well.
The large scale of the production design, as well as our efforts to create the energetic atmosphere of a live show, helped differentiate the broadcast from a traditional studio shoot or popular new XR techniques. The end result felt real, grounded, and genuine.
Despite taking place just before the pandemic, this show provides a great example of how a richer production environment, with full lighting and live performers, can bring the excitement of live shows to a broadcast application. These methods may prove more effective than simply using XR techniques, and could become a model for hybrid event production going forward.
