Creative Technology Curates the First-Ever Virtual Graduation Ceremony for a Qatar Based University

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | May 21, 2020 | Press Release

Creative Technology

Creative Technology (CT) curated the first-ever virtual graduation ceremony in the Middle East for a Qatar based University. Supplying a full virtual solution, content creation, and communication system, which was controlled from their Middle East headquarters in Dubai. The ceremony allowed 38 graduates who were located across four countries to come together and celebrate their achievements. The graduation was streamed by over 1,500 people from 35 different countries. 

Giorgio Devecchi, Project Manager, Creative Technology said, "Our client designed the stage to look and feel as close to a normal graduation ceremony as possible. Once all designs were approved, CT built the virtual environment, modeling the 3D object of the stage to help produce the content. The content was created using 3D software and Notch to provide a fully customizable virtual environment, which saw various elements appear as augmented reality. Having multiple speakers allowed us to mix different solutions between pre-recorded videos and live inputs. We were able to show the speakers from different camera angles while ensuring there was always a view of the graduates, which enabled viewers to watch their reactions and interactions throughout the ceremony.

This integration enabled us to use the Disguise Camera system to build a sequence of different views and simulate the director's cuts for the different cues in the show. The camera system integration gave the audience the perspective that the stage elements and the environment were real, enabling them to feel as though they were attending a live show."

Dan Hughes, Senior Project Manager, Creative Technology said,  "The primary benefits were control and flexibility. Firstly, it meant that we could optimize each recording, which supported continuity between the virtual environment and the videos playing back within, timelining pre-recorded assets into the virtual environment gave us the ability to present the graduation days ahead of the final 'live rehearsal' to stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to give feedback and direction."

The show was streamed live onto the university's website and recorded so it could be played back on their website via video on demand. CT integrated its Riedel system to the video conferencing platform to enable the client, crew, and remote staff to communicate from anywhere in the world.