Earlier this month, the winners of the annual Arab States Broadcasting Union BroadcastPro Summit and Awards 2020 were announced. Among the multitude of projects – Asharq News, Dubai – took home the Innovative Project of the Year.
Two years in the making, this project has been a point of pride for the Clickspring team. Spanning four floors with a bespoke spiral staircase working it’s way up through the building, the space was built for ingenuity and awe. The project typology, applied technology, and scale are unique to this one of a kind broadcast facility.
As lead designers of the project, Clickspring not only produced the look and functionality of the on-air broadcast studios, but also drew upon its substantial in-house architectural experience to master plan the facility’s entire 57,000 square feet (5,300 square meters), which includes high-end offices, briefing rooms, editorial spaces, newsrooms, and an array of areas dedicated to technology infrastructure. Ingraining thematic scenery of transparency and news making processes – the space emulates forward thinking twenty-first century corporate interiors and news broadcasting facilities.
The project’s building layouts and sections are rooted within the principles of Asharq’s emphasis on transparency as well as their goals to reach into previously untapped audiences of broadcast news. Close coordination between clients, vendors, partners and designers created three broadcast studios that are amongst some of the most technologically advanced spaces in the world. Yet each studio brings forth it’s own tone towards the audience that it’s reaching.
Sparkling arrays of fine pixel pinch LED, cylindrical LEDs, tracking ceiling elements, variable color temperature LED theatrical lighting fixtures, programmable window shade systems, and bespoke acoustic conditions to address transparency requirements; this space emulates the future of direct broadcast.
We are honored as a team to receive this prestigious award and once again have to thank our hard working internal team, our fantastic client, and each and every partner and vendor included along the way.
Asharq News marked the debut broadcast on November 11th, 2020, in Dubai. See more project imagery here.
This project was brought to us as the broadcast set design piece of a larger revamp within the BBC’s Washington Bureau. The entire Washington DC Headquarters underwent a complete gut and redesign, but our focus was the intimate 360 degree studio that required flexible show set ups and a smooth finish.
The space is equipped with 3 Tracking Curved LED Displays, two landscape one portrait. These features allow the BBC to set the studio up in a variety of ways. Before, the studio was locked and could only be shot from one direction. Working with programming that transitions from day to night – design considerations had to allow the studio a range of moods. Implementing two sets of roller graphics (four rollers in total), the studio can shift from a day look to a night look at a flip of a switch. The studio space presented challenges in its low ceilings and even lower structures, such as an HVAC duct and a water main. Ceiling conditions hindered us from going above eight feet tall, but by utilizing lightbox room extension views and an airy feel to the space, the 360-degree space has an added depth and openness.
BBC News’ Washington Bureau launched on August 17th,2020. See more imagery for BBC News here.
The annual CNN Heroes program is known for celebrating hopeful stories and triumphant humans across the globe. A favorite recurring project for us here at Clickspring design, we look forward to seeing the new faces each year who help this world become a better place.
The broadcast event has historically been held in the American Museum of Natural History’s Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, with the star-studded live audience celebrating the important work of the nominees under the famous life-sized model Blue Whale. As the risks of an audience event in 2020 grew due to the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 virus, the CNN team was forced to reimagine the format of the event while maintaining the splendor and hope of the Heroes annual broadcast.
Thankfully, CNN has Studio 19X at Hudson Yards. Designed by Clickspring in 2018, the space’s inherent flexible nature was the perfect venue to house a reimagined Heroes 2020 event. Once the location was identified the goal became to create a design that was fresh and accommodating to the necessary format changes while keeping the visual hallmarks of the traditional Heroes program. Without the ability to have live studio guests video became the primary means to tell this year’s incredible stories, via both pre-recorded content and remote live interviews. To support this, Clickspring configured the studio’s existing tracking LED displays within the studio to create multiple presentation areas, anchoring each with the traditional stacked Heroes cubes, though upgraded for 2020 with LED faces.
An iconic feature of the CNN Heroes production for the past 6 years is the three-dimensional stacked graphic cubes, highlighting the faces and work of the people being honored. A seasoned classic, these cubes traditionally have internal lighting and graphic still images. Working with the need for remote connection and scenic variability of interview screens, three new cube types were introduced to this year’s broadcast design. First, multiple of the aforementioned ‘video cubes’ were built to support LED video screens instead of the usual still graphics. Then ‘skeleton cubes’, made of internally lit frames, were included in the sculptural cube stacks to added visual diversity to the design. Lastly, ‘wild cubes’ mirrored the aesthetic of ‘skeleton cubes’, though design slightly smaller, battery powered, and on wheels to allow them to be used as foreground throughout the shoot. Integrating these newly imagined elements alongside the programmatic staple creates a visual reference to the broadcasts’ past, while formally declaring that the event is in a new home. Finally, completing the carryover from the look central to the Natural History Museum banquet, a LED star curtain drapes the backdrop of Studio 19x maintaining the broadcast integrity while giving the space a twist.
The various presentation areas were tied together by a custom circular walkable lightbox runway, which was integrated with the studio’s existing LED platform. This circular perimeter platform, mirrored overhead by a custom lighting feature comprised of 100 independent lighting instruments, unified the space into one immersive 360 environment. Completing the look, the studio was wrapped in the star drop familiar to the Museum of Natural History broadcast.
We are so honored to contribute to a program celebrating the outstanding, selfless, and inspiring people in this world. The challenge of reimagining a program focused on honoring people and sharing their stories, without being able to have people present, presented a creative opportunity that we had yet to see. To this year’s heroes: we congratulate you and wish you nothing but continued success. While we are proud of the work completed this year within studio 19x, we look forward to celebrating in person in 2021.
Design Team: Erik Ulfers, Murat Ustuner, Adrienne Kapalko, Corey Atwood, Danielle Ndubsi, Mayen Ondo, Jodie Golla.
As the industries of set design, corporate interiors, and virtual events adapt, the Clickspring team grows and adapts alongside. New technologies and workflows must integrate into our workflow in order to keep our projects on par with the trends of today. We are honored and ecstatic to announce that we have been awarded an Epic Games MegaGrant.
Guiding us into the learning curve of programs such as Unreal Engine, our team hopes to establish a flexible and cohesive understanding of integrating real-time 3D modeling programs into our design methods.
MegaGrants are awarded to a variety of enterprise professionals, media and entertainment creators, students, educators, and tool developers with projects that require the adoption of Unreal Engine. This unique opportunity will push forward the development of an end-to-end digital workflow that uses Unreal Engine to create fully augmented or virtual environment designs across industries.
Focusing on innovative enterprise project using Unreal Engine, whether a visualization, simulation, design, interactive application, or VR/MR/AR project for architecture, broadcast, manufacturing, or other industries, these tools also allow enhance our visualization techniques, allowing our designers and clients to use VR headsets to engage with unbuilt designs in real time.
This is an exciting moment for the Clickspring team. Accelerating the work and expanding the capabilities of our already talented designers means nothing but innovation ahead.
A fall season filled with groundbreaking launches, new projects, promotions and exciting grants; here at Clickspring we have been adapting to the challenges thrown our way and growing into our new opportunities.
Making a global debut in Dubai, UAE, Asharq News headquarters at the Dubai International Financial Centre, a future forward example of corporate interiors, marks a celebratory moment both internationally and here within the Clickspring (remote) office.
Working with the adjustments within industries of set design, corporate interiors, and virtual events – required for proper social distancing and the challenges of coordinating build-outs during a pandemic, we’ve aimed to maximize our flexibility as a cohesive team.
There is much that lies ahead for our team in 2021.
October 5th, 2020 marked the launch of two new NBC Universal programs: Zerlina, hosted by Zerlina Maxwell and The Mehdi Hasan Show. Both shows are affiliated with the network’s brand news streaming service ‘The Choice”. The NBC team turned to us in order to mind meld a thoughtful solution that mixed the use of virtual backgrounds, broadcast studio design, and corporate interior design. Veteran Clickspring Design Director Christine de Witte, alongside Chief Creative Officer Emmett Aiello spearheaded the project bringing all sides a success. We interviewed lead designer Christine de Witte to dive further into the specifics of the project and the future of virtual backgrounds in broadcast.
CSD: Tell us a little bit about the original ask from NBC.
CdW: NBC came to us in September describing a new show that would launch on Peacock in three weeks, specifically left-leaning, election analysis content – they knew the talent (possibly still working remotely) would be using a greenscreen and then keyed into a virtual background, so they asked us to help define that environment.
CSD: What was the desired outcome of the designed space? / What became our design intent?
CdW: We aimed to create a virtual space that feels like an authentic workplace: less polished but still aesthetically related to some of our other NBC work (like the Level 4 Newsroom, for example). After kicking around thematic suggestions, we landed on “campaign headquarters in a reclaimed building” – this provided the impetus to incorporate visually tactile materials like brick, wood, and aged steel, while simultaneously allocating areas to overlay media content (ie – building virtual LED screens). A final guideline was that we wanted the space to communicate through ‘found elements’ – items the “staffers” had brought in to adorn their workspaces would help set the tone for the environment.
CSD: What were some of the biggest differences in workflow from a typical 3D project?
CdW: The biggest difference is that this entire design was executed in Photoshop. The project’s quick timeline and limited budget were factors, but ultimately the desired deliverable drove our approach. Usually, our goal is to build a physical space, so we model in 3D to inspect and control every possible angle of the design. This time, our final deliverable would be two high-res images, so it made sense to shortcut some of the “build” process by finding stock images of a space that generally felt right, and then customize to our needs via Photoshop editing. These edits, depending on their magnitude, require really careful attention to scale, perspective, and shading in order to maintain believability – that’s something 3D models automatically resolve, so it’s good practice to do manually on occasion.
CSD: You were asked to redefine a purchased-image space from a day-look to evening-look, can you tell a little bit about that process?
CdW: Ha, yes, that was one of the challenges – we found images of a space that, generally, really resonated with our desired aesthetic, but the stock images featured daylight that was so strong the exterior view wasn’t even visible, and many of the interior surfaces were washed in light. Knowing that we wanted an evening look meant not only masking out the windows and mapping a night-time view, but also reconstructing many of the metal, wood, and brick textures so that they weren’t reflecting full sunlight.There were a few other specific requests, too, like moving a wall partition forward or replacing a workstation group with soft seating, that would’ve been so simple in a 3D model but were a huge undertaking in Photoshop – definitely made me question the process once or twice, but in the end, and limited to two views, this route was still more efficient.
CSD: What was the anticipated timeline for this project?
CdW: We first heard of it 3 weeks before launch, spent a few days on initial discussions and (together with the client) determining an overall direction, quickly put together some rough comps for the camera testing, and then spent another week on meticulous Photoshop work. That landed us with the delivered concepts, and the client’s graphics team made final edits according to the director’s wishes before launch.
CSD: Can you point out some of the personal touches throughout the design
CdW: Sure! Since we were aiming to include a variety of ‘found objects’ to help define tone, it was easy to have a little fun with some of the Photoshop elements. I placed a patriotic Snoopy on one of the desktops as an easter egg for the client who is a Snoopy fanatic … and I personally drew the “Your Vote is Your Voice” sign, so my handwriting is now officially on air. All political affiliation was neutralized in the end, so few of my favorite elements that didn’t make the final cut include a “cup o’ Joe” coffee mug, Obama’s newly released book A Promised Land, and the stylized Joe + Kamala window applique.
CSD: Do you have any other opinions on industries moving towards virtual backgrounds? Or any other thoughts on this specific project?
CdW: I think it’s inevitable that we see more and more virtual backgrounds and entire virtual sets. One exciting or freeing aspect is that pixels can do virtually (pun intended) anything and cost nothing – we’re not subject to gravity, material properties, or construction costs. That being said, I think it’s great when a client recognizes they still benefit from consulting us to create a believable, communicative space. As we’ve all learned via Zoom these past months, it’s easy to swap out a digital background, but it takes expertise to design something that feels almost as real or meaningful as a built environment.
The notion of transparency is critical to Asharq’s editorial mission, and communicating that ideal both aesthetically and functionally within the built environment was important to the success of the project. Unifying four separated levels of the existing building with a dramatic and sculptural central staircase was an early design decision that informed the remaining organization of the project.
Ribbons of curved LED bands are mounted on glass fins around the perimeter of the atrium, gradually decreasing in density from top to bottom. Global stock market ticker data scrolls continuously within the installation’s displays, but any image or color can be displayed, as well.
Also critical to the idea of transparency is the unique organization of the two main studios and their adjacent newsrooms and control rooms. Avoiding the limits of traditional “black box” studios, Clickspring opened the studios to their newsrooms while integrating the control rooms into the on-air look, as well. These decisions required careful attention to acoustic and editorial workflows, but serve to visually reinforce the ideals of openness and accessibility both internally and on-air.
Extensive use of custom, high-performing acoustically rated glass wall assemblies can be found throughout the project, bathing the interior spaces with light while also maintaining visual sight-lines between teams. To create visual simplicity, the two glass channels that hold each pane are recessed into the raised sub-floor and dropped ceiling, creating a full hight, seamless connection.Highly reflective, white surface material finishes are employed across the project to help bounce light into interior rooms. In this way, light, space, and visual accessibility are distributed democratically throughout the building program, emphasizing that even in ancillary or production related spaces there is a commitment to openness, comfort, and equal access at Asharq News.
Modern broadcast facilities are some of the most technologically advanced spaces in the world, yet the scale and quality of Asharq News’s studio build-out establishes a new precedent for what can be accomplished in the broadcast industry at large. Vast arrays of fine pixel-pitch LED tile span the full length of two sides of the Level 6 News Studio, allowing for a mutable cityscape vista, regardless of weather conditions. The main anchor desk also can track in 270 degrees, supported by a sub-floor Igus cable management system. Complimented by eight additional fully automated and radially tracking ceiling mounted displays, the studio facilitates an unprecedented level of flexibility for program directors. A cylindrical LED column wrap also frames shots into or from the open newsroom adjacent to the studio.
A similar approach was taken within the other major studio on Level 6, which is dedicated to business news coverage. Unique to this studio is a recessed, circular floor mounted LED display, which can support augmented reality graphics that blend the boundary between physical and virtual.
The studio’s lighting system is also noteworthy, as it represents the first use of the ETC DataTrack Backbone outside of the United States. This product allowed Clickspring to integrate lighting positions seamlessly into areas which would otherwise require a traditional – and less visually appealing – pipe grid, cabling, and sporadically placed junction boxes. Through the alignment of ceiling conditions in both the studio and newsroom environments, producers are given more on-air production opportunities throughout the entirety of the facility.
Additionally, the 775 individual, variable color temperature LED theatrical lighting fixtures work in conjunction with an integrated, programmable window shade system, allowing for maximum daylight control of the newsroom backgrounds when they appear on-air.
A historic moment in history; the nation facing a global pandemic in the midst of an election year. The 2020 presidential election called for studio modifications both to revitalize the narrative storytelling of this year’s presidential race as well as to address each space for proper social distancing.
Thinking critically on studio space 3A, in which a refurbished socially distant desk was first utilized for the 2020 convention coverage, the goal became to implement transformative changes that adapted the space into an election-centered broadcast environment. The studio space is to be utilized by Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid and Nicole Wallace on election night. transporting the viewer into the up to the minute, statistic rich would of election coverage. Along with lifting the space into an election narrative, came the need to reimagine the adjoining studio 3 newsroom in order to visually extend the election center behind stats guru Steve Kornacki. Large ceiling lanterns positioned from the original Clickspring studio design, are now counter posed in red and blue with a large vertical LED screen, clad with the same detailing of MSNBC’s industrial election graphics package, hangs in between the two lantern sections. Downstage of this, the old newsroom riser has been reimagined as a visual delivery ‘platter’ for MSNBC’s augmented reality election graphics. The structured space was fabricated with smart architectural developments that framed key LED components. Lead Clickspring designers utilized strategic placement of graphic AR information panels that have a natural relationship with both the scenic that the graphics derive from as well as the space surrounding.
Staged at the West end of Studio 3, typically used by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, MSNBC asked to modify a section of 3A West that would be a home base for Brian Williams on election night. Efforts centered around elevating out touring NBC debates-cycle desk to become an appropriate home base for Brian Williams. Used heavily throughout MSNBC election coverage, this space both re-engages and re-invents the use of star shapes within the anchor desk. The curvilinear desk is stationed front and center featuring double-sided star shaped lensed lightboxes and updated platform extension. Taking NBC’s 2020 ‘bug’ and dimensionalizing it helps make Williams’ home base larger and more impactful, while providing a beautiful foreground detail for the camera to bump from. To match the scenic elements, significant changes to the material palette in the spaces were made, transitioning from the more traditional Walnut to a clean, gloss white. Logo elements are brought into usage on both the edges of the desk highlighting the 2020 election narrative as well as bringing the iconic NBC peacock into play.
The final portion of this election revamp scope supported NBC News’ Election coverage in Studio 1A; typically used for the Today Show but now a home from which Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell will call the election. Through simple color and graphic choices, the studio design was thoroughly ‘electionized’ for the coverage, Once again our existing Election desk design had to be modified to ensure that each anchor was spaced 6 feet apart for proper social distancing. The new support structure of the larger top was designed to be as light and transparent as possible, with flanking edge-lit peacocks providing visual accents, so that the twisting stacked star of the original desk design remained the hero visually. Finally, a brand new, sweeping wall form on the 49th st side of the studio provided a visual bridge from the anchor desk to Chuck’s Stand-up location at the large 86” mobile touchscreen. Cameras are strategically hidden inside this wall to enable cleaner shooting.
Among the many modifications and updates to all three spaces, the designs maintain an overall scenic integrity to the existing architecture while highlighting the election theme.
Clickspring Design Team: Emmett Aiello, Christine de Witte, Murat Ustuner, Corey Atwood, Tristan James, Danielle Ndubisi, Jodie Golla
CSD has prided itself on being a vital collaborative team, delivering award-winning design work for a wide range of clients, across multiple industry segments and geographies. Our work has brought us to the forefront of broadcast set design, branded consumer environments, and corporate interior design – among other sectors. These past eight months have presented unprecedented challenges — and it seems that for some time yet, we’ll all need to continue embracing resilience and change. We can do this!
Speaking of change: the big breaking news about the CSD team includes a number of promotions/leadership changes. Erik Ulfers, our CEO, will be shifting his role somewhat. He will continue to engage with and oversee creative projects but will not take the lead on operational and financial matters. He’s hoping with some extra time on his hands that he can focus on his own artwork.
Emmett Aiello, will step into the role of Chief Creative Officer, providing design leadership for the broadcast and events industry segments. Steven Dvorak is pushing into the Senior Vice President of Design role where his architectural expertise will further solidify our ability to handle integrated projects that require General Contractor, AOR and MEP coordination – not to mention inspired design collaboration. Adrienne Kapalko, not surprisingly, will become Chief Operating Officer. She is already well known for her stellar project and team management skills so she’s a natural fit.
Please help us congratulate these three super talents. Clickspring has grown and prospered over many years because of them and will continue to do so moving forward.
And now to all of you who are reading this: thank you for your continued trust and support over these many years. Let’s get to the other side of these darker times together.
The goals for the project were clearly set right from the beginning by Nexstar: ‘do something unique in a short amount of time’. Aiming for a design that was visually on par with ‘heavy-hitter’, primetime competitors that helped to visually define the brand for this new network we created a space that allowed for flexibility of both show rundown and look during the unusually long 3-hour run-time.
The desk itself utilizes adjustable modesty panels so it can shrink and expand from two anchors to a 270-degree discussion for six. The Weather area is complete with satellite staging options and there is a breaking news area at the other end of the studio with touchscreen and ped camera. The Space is built for opportunities, including the automated LED panels on the north side of the studio. Not to mention, there is a practical second level and stairs that will get used for special reporter hits.
The national coverage is organized by six geographic zones that feature individual stories which together weave into the news for the whole country. This is explicitly and metaphorically demonstrated with the six LED panels that can play separate, as 1 or in groupings. Time-zone clocks on the second level west wall nod to a traditional broadcast visual, but with the lens of the six zones central to WGNA.
Leaning into the motif associated with the [News Nation] logo created by Troika, WGNA’s trademark brackets become a key element of the studio design. Thinking critically about how the show was airing out of the midwest (Chicago), abstracted ornamental language alluding to the crop circles of the area found their way all throughout the space. A motif that gives life to the design vocabulary and helped us define the brand visually for the network throughout the entire scope.
Unlike any starting point we’ve seen before, the WGNA Newsroom started as a 12,000 square foot attic space was mostly being used for equipment storage. It didn’t have any of the infrastructure necessary for a functional office, much less a broadcast environment. The challenge was to create a functional, beautiful environment aesthetically aligned with the studio, while also enabling national news coverage supported by News Nation’s six dedicated geographic teams across the country.
The newsroom desk is specifically designed for social media hits. With an impressive amount of tech integrated into the unit, each talent position is able to have its own mini-broadcast setup complete with a webcam, microphone, and dashboard. Also equipped with a soft seating area for informal interviews and multiple flexible pivoting/tracking AV elements, the newsroom lends itself to a multitude of functionalities and broadcast capabilities.
The layout of the newsroom was informed by the need for six “zone editors” to coordinate with the broader editorial team. Since the newsroom features a 2,000 square foot open broadcast area, the newsroom is seen as a background in a variety of shots. Paying attention to detail with branding for the zone editor bays, as well as custom light channel monitor wraps that mimic the bracketed News Nation logo around several bays of competition monitors. Finally, we introduced limestone, wood, blue, and metallic finishes throughout the space to align with the material finishes in the studio environment.
WGNA [NewsNation] launched September 1st, 2020.
Learn more about the WGNA Newsroom and Studio here.
