Telemundo turns to virtual set for ‘Zona Mixta’

“Zona Mixta,” a Spanish-language weekend sports show that airs on Telemundo, launched a virtual set earlier in 2022 that was created by the network’s in-house production services team.

The show combines select furniture pieces with virtual set technology powered by Unreal Engine running on the Chyron Prime VSAR platform. 

Telemundo handled all of the virtual set design, art direction, lighting, camera tracking calibration and workflow setup in-house.

The environment features multiple distinct zones that give off the feel of a sports clubhouse or bar set up inside of a loft-like industrial space. 

Virtual venues include a cleaner, modern-feeling space with a virtual staircase peeking out behind one corner and the rest of the walls adorned with virtual renditions of framed sports jerseys. A large virtual video panel on the rear wall can be used for branded or topical graphics.

There is also the option to have two people seated on red chairs around a small coffee table with three virtual video panels behind them. 

Camera center is the largest of the trio, which is flanked by two additional ones in the same size but shown mounted vertically. Each of these units has subtle lighting accents that make them appear to be offset from the wall behind, which is decorated with a pattern of dashes and plus signs. 

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Another option is what is styled to be a bar area that has a bit more of a rugged feel, perhaps to evoke the feel of a sports dive bar. Talent sits on bar-height stools with a two-top high boy between them, adding to the bar-like atmosphere.

Like the sit-down area, there is a triptych of virtual video panels behind the main bar counter while details such as a freestanding arcade game and dart board continue the theme. 

This area also includes patches of exposed brick peeking out from behind the patterned tan wall.

A full-scale exposed brick wall serves as the background to another virtual space. This includes the show’s bold, lively logo painted on it above a red sofa.

On the perpendicular wall is a virtual video panel that can be used for topical graphics or tosses to footage, allowing studio talent to appear to be watching it from the sofa. This space is unique in that it is typically shot in a way that involves the camera moving past a wall that juts into the foreground, forming a sort of alcove-like space.

“Zona Mixta” also features a colorful and bold graphics package that combines a mostly flat, hand-drawn look with comic-book style typography and textural elements created using plus signs and matrices of dots.

The show’s logo sits inside of a bright yellow hand-drawn circle ringed with line segments and capped with three stars. The logotype appears hand-drawn and uses a drawing of a Telemundo microphone to form both the “O” in “Zona” and “I” in “Mixta.”

“Zona Mixta” is part of Telemundo’s Titulares y Mas franchise, which was originally a late-night sports show. It has since converted its weekday edition to a digital offering as part of a programming expansion ahead of the 2022 World Cup.