Pandora Presents: Sebastián Yatra Powered by Verizon

Overview

Brand
Pandora, Verizon

Technology
Virtual Production

Platform
Mobile

Industry
Music

Release Date
9th Sep 2022

In partnership with Pandora and Verizon, Magnopus produced a groundbreaking concert featuring multi-platinum singer-songwriter, Sebastián Yatra.

“The technology used in the Verizon 5G Lab to make this performance extra special was incredible. I never thought I’d perform with a hologram of myself. Thank you to Pandora for bringing this event to my fans.”

— Sebastián Yatra

Building worlds, not sets

Pandora and Verizon teamed up with Magnopus to push Sebastián Yatra’s creative vision into a new dimension, making the impossible possible and setting the scene for the artist to connect with fans in new ways.

Yatra performed a show-stopping virtual concert powered by Evercoast volumetric capture technology, Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, and mobile edge computing. The highlight was seeing Yatra sing a duet with a digital hologram of himself. Using real-time technology, he was able to play both parts of the song, with the physical and digital versions of himself interacting so naturally they seemed to share the same stage.

To make the stage walls "disappear" – a technique popularized by The Mandalorian – we captured the performance at Verizon’s 5G Lab in LA. LED screens displayed five custom virtual environments that shifted perfectly with the camera's perspective. By placing the volumetric capture of Sebastián into these worlds, he was able to walk through a digital dreamscape for an iconic rendition of Tacones Rojos, all kept in perfect sync by Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network and mobile edge compute platform.

We didn't just build backdrops; we crafted five distinct universes from scratch. Every setting was a deep dive into Sebastián’s visual history, blending intricate animation and lighting timed to the pulse of the music. For Tacones Rojos, we built an immersive golden city that breathes with movement, pulling fans into the space and surrounding them with abstract structures and neon signs.

The stage is everywhere

Not only was an innovative virtual concert created, but this project was the first step towards a revolution in filmmaking. By offloading part of the rendering pipeline to the cloud via edge compute, we proved that multi-million dollar machine rooms aren’t required to be on-site to run an LED wall stage.