The Big Winner of the 2008 Election is....Pro Cyc!

Watch the Video

November 5, 2008 - While you may or may not have been surprised at the final results of the 2008 Presidential Election, there was one surprise winner on election night who wasn't even running for office... Pro Cyc! Pro Cyc backgrounds were used by both NBC/MSNBC and CNN who both made extensive use of green screen virtual sets during their Election Night coverage. And while Pro Cyc's modular cyc wall backdrops normally operate silently in the background and are almost never seen (that's the point, after all), at one point NBC provided it's viewers with a very 'revealing' moment during which host Brian Williams asked his producers to turn off the virtual set in which Ann Curry was reporting so that viewers could see their "secret" that she was actually in a 'green room.' CLICK HERE or the image below to watch the video of that moment as reported on the Huffington Post.

That green room was actually a Pro Cyc System 4 QS that was built especially for Election night. CNN also used their large Pro Cyc System 4FS for their virtual set coverage with Wolf Blitzer. Below are several more links discussing the use of virtual set technology on Election night by several of the major networks.

DailyWireless
NewscastStudio
Wired.com
Huffington Post

Many other major networks use Pro Cyc as the backdrop for their virtual sets on a regular basis, including ESPN, CNBC, the NFL Network and the Home Shopping Network just to name a few. It is well known within the broadcast industry that Pro Cyc is second to none in quality, reliability, durability, ease-of-use and installation. With installation of even large studios taking only 1-3 days from start to finish, Pro Cyc is simply the best solution for green screen and blue screen virtual set backdrops. The votes have been counted, and Pro Cyc is the winner...by a landslide.

Time-Lapse Installation of a Cyc

This is a time-lapse video of the installation of a System 3EZ cyclorama being installed in the Adrenaline Films production facility. Thanks to Tim at Adrenaline Films for providing this great footage which is actually hundreds of photos taken 60 seconds apart and then stitched together to form this footage.




As you watch you will notice how Pro Cyc systems are assembled by first joining the modular pieces together for each straight section, then simply tipped into place and fastened to the wall and floor. This cyc wall which is used for both greenscreen and as an infinity background was installed in less than a day. But it can just as easily be used for blue screen as a virtual set. All that remained to do after the cove pieces were installed was to mud and sand the seams and then paint for a perfect seamless background.

The Inaugural Post

Welcome to the first blog of Pro Cyc. We're starting this blog to give our current and future customers a place to read and interact (by leaving comments) about Pro Cyc, bluescreens and greenscreens, and all other things related to cycloramas, virtual sets and virtual reality.

Pro Cyc has been in business since the first Pro Cyc cyclorama studio was built for Northern Light Studio in 1987 (the first studio was a built in System 5 and still stands to this day). Northern Light Studio was a photography company owned by Fritz von Tagen and the first cyc was for his photography studio. Virtual reality, while definitely a concept, was not even an industry at the time as computer technology and processing speeds were just not powerful enough to make chroma key and blue screen / green screen applications viable beyond your typical weather forecast and so forth. Virtual sets weren't even being designed at that time. As you well know, this would change significantly in the 1990's and we saw virtual reality become, well....a reality.

At about the same time, digital photography was coming on the scene and Fritz saw the writing on the wall (figuratively speaking, of course). He realized that the film-based photography business he had been running successfully would eventually be overtaken and possibly be made obsolete by digital photography; he had the choice of whether or not to invest tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars into converting his film studio into a full scale digital photography studio. Fortunately, with the rise of digital photography also came the rise of the virtual set and brand new opportunities for his cyclorama molds. With an eye towards the future Fritz bought out his partner and incorporated Pro Cyc and began taking his patented molds to a few key trade shows. What he found out is that he was the only one providing an infinity background product that was so sorely needed. With the information and feedback he began to acquire, he then set to work designing a variety of modular solutions to meet virtually (pun sort of intended) any need or situation. The result is a line of modular cove products of the highest quality that can be configured to meet the needs of anyone, from a home based 8' x 8' studio built into someone's home or garage to the 16' high 50' x 50' freestanding studio built for CNN, or the even bigger cyc ordered by NASA.

If you are in the video business and need an infinity background for any reason, green screen, blue screen, white or any other color, look no further than Pro Cyc. We are hands down the best cyc wall solution on the market today. You will save time and money and be giving yourself the best possible cyclorama that you can get. Please contact us for a free quote or with any questions, and visit our website to learn even more.