Fans of Sesame Street will soon be able to explore their favorite fictional neighborhood from a first-person view.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, has received a $150,000 grant from video game and software developer Epic Games (Fortnite), which will be used to support the production of a 360-degree capture of the set. The grant, aptly named the Epic MegaGrant, is part of Epic Game’s commitment to fund innovative projects built with its real-time 3D creation tool, Unreal Engine.
Sesame Workshop will use the grant to create a high-definition digital version of the Sesame Street set that captures iconic locations including the 123 Sesame Street brownstone and its front stoop, Oscar’s trash can, Hooper’s Store, and Big Bird’s Nest. The capture will then be used in future Sesame Street XR (extended reality), interactive, and gaming applications.
“For more than 50 years, Sesame Workshop has focused on innovating new ways to engage and educate kids and families wherever they are,” says Miles Ludwig, Sesame Workshop’s vice president of digital media. “We’re so grateful to receive the Epic MegaGrant, which allows us to now capture the Sesame Street set utilizing Unreal Engine and the most innovative technical capabilities available, as well as invest in assets to render the highest quality digital productions and interactive projects for the future.”
Sesame Workshop is already featuring the capture in current and upcoming projects.
