After our success with the Sky Sports News backdrops, we were asked to prepare designs for the channel’s Soccer Saturday show. This was our first design for an LED screen and the first time that we had applied our signature forced-perspective solution to an animated backdrop.

Challenge

Broadcast from a new studio quipped with a 3-sided LED screen, Sky Sports requested that Soccer Saturday was to look like it was based in the same building as Sky Sports News, but with a different outlook and a view to an external cityscape.

Action

We adapted Sky Sports News’ modular design approach to a new space built around the LED screens. While the screens were large in dimension, they were relatively low in resolution at only 360 pixels high. We therefore needed to avoid fine linear detail, and achieve a design with bold forms and shapes.

We achieved this through glossy, solid white surfaces and light blue accents and details (which reflected the Sky Sports branding). We placed the studio at a higher level, overlooking an atrium space. The opposite side of the atrium featured newsroom and gallery spaces populated by greenscreen video clips of people. Because Soccer Saturday typically broadcasts from lunchtime through to the evening, three different lighting setups were utilised to represent different times of day.

Result

Cue one very happy client. Soccer Saturday went on air in October 2011. Delivered ahead of schedule, our design still features on the show, frequently functioning on air for over seven hours at a time.