What goes into making a weather segment on an AR/VR set? CBS Texas chief meteorologist explains
CBS Texas recently launched a new augmented reality/virtual reality set, making it the only station in the region to offer the groundbreaking technology.
The new AR/VR set launched on June 23, introducing a new way to deliver weather and news, immersing audiences in the story. Just in time for football season, CBS Sports Texas will also start broadcasting shows from the studio.
Every week, we'll speak with a different person who has contributed to the project or will work closely with it. This week, CBS Texas sat down with chief meteorologist McKenna King.
CBS Texas: What excites you about having a virtual set?
King: The possibilities with this set are truly endless. The way we showcase weather has forever been changed, and it's only getting better. We have updates to this set almost daily... new things that have been added, adjustments that are being made, etc. This is state-of-the-art technology, never really used in the way CBS is using it. There is something fun about being at the forefront of figuring it all out. Sure, it comes with challenges, but it allows for so much creativity. It makes me think of a quote from Maya Angelou – "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." That is the weather team on this virtual set. We unveil something new, and once we figure it out, we're asking for more. It's really incredible to see how far we've come since launch, and imagine where we might be just a year from now.
CBS: What's difficult about using a virtual set?
King: Oh my goodness. So many things. Doing something that hasn't really been done before is exciting and also challenging. There isn't a real blueprint. We were given the tools and then given a few weeks to rehearse. Luckily, the weather team is used to adlibbing and doing things on the fly, because this was all new. We are essentially working two completely different weather systems at once. We have our iPad, and then we have a remote attached with velcro to the back of that iPad. The iPad controls the VR system, and the remote controls the brain behind our weather graphics. Imagine working two remotes (one of them you can't see because it's underneath the iPad) and then walking around trying to track yourself on monitors, while also thinking up what you're going to say next. It comes with speed bumps, but each day gets better.
CBS: What was the training/rehearsal process like?
King: Training for this was interesting because nobody in the building had ever done it. We, of course, had a team of people from across CBS Stations helping with launch, but during the training process, we didn't have an actual meteorologist here, guiding us through the steps of a weather story. The system was handed over, and the weather team had the obligation to figure out how to incorporate our North Texas weather into this virtual set. It was a couple of weeks' worth of being in the VR studio every day, for hours. For me, it was working with anybody I could find in the building to run the jib camera, while I tested each graphic and worked through the bugs. I was getting a lot of steps in!
CBS: Is this the first virtual set you've worked with? If so, how has the transition been from traditional green screen to AR/VR?
King: It is the first virtual set I've worked on! I think that's the case for most of us on the weather team, because very few places have technology that can be compared. It almost feels like you put on a set of VR goggles when you walk in the room. You have to imagine your next step inside your head, because you can't physically see it. Viewers see this sleek set, and we see this giant green space, save for the small monitors that show us our return of what is going to air. So, as far as the transition goes? It's similar in the sense that you're still working with a green screen... but we went from working in a small 8x10-ish foot wall, to 270° and nearly 1,800 square feet of green room. It can be a bit disorienting, but it provides so many new opportunities.