Canada Wins Two Grand Prizes at Amsterdam's 2017 IBC Innovation Awards

TORONTO, September 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

IBC Innovation Awards Winner Groupe Média TFO (GMTFO) Continues Its International Rise and Makes Ontario Shine

Groupe Média TFO's technology is now 1^st in the world following a double victory in Amsterdam at the IBC Innovation Awards 2017, one of the industry's most prestigious competitions in the world. As grand winner in Content Creation and winner of the Jury Prize for the quality of its creative and technical imagination, the Virtual World Laboratory (LUV) is the brand new disruptor of a whole new generation of content. With the LUV, GMTFO continues to transform the industry of audiovisual production through its original combination of unique software and technologies from the video game industry.

"GMTFO has adopted French-language innovation as our working language. This double victory at the Amsterdam IBC Awards underscores the exceptional creative ability of the team led by Eric Minoli, Vice-President Technologies and Optimization, as well as Cliff Lavallée, Maxyme Paiement, Alfred St-Audin, Sébastien Bertrand, and Ravi Dutt. The LUV is a truly pioneering incubator that uses the most advanced video game industry technologies to create virtual environments and produce high-quality audiovisual works. These two international grand prizes from the IBC show that even small players like GMTFO can dream big and achieve great things."
- Glenn O'Farrell, President and Chief Executive Officer.

A true unifying project, LUV, the first and only virtual set studio in the broadcasting industry, uses the latest video game technologies to produce dynamic and captivating French-language educational resources. Such a high-level recognition is a celebration of GMTFO's innovative influence and leadership as a producer of a new generation of digital content in French.

LUV uses the powerful Unreal video game engine by Epic Games, which allows TFO to produce up to 40 short videos in real time every day. With its studio, GMTFO, now a multiplatform leader, continues to reinvent itself and boost its outstanding contribution to the industry by transforming it continuously.

"LUV is showing the amazing potential for real time virtual production in the broadcast space, and along with partners like Zero Density, we're glad to support Groupe Média TFO in this endeavour. We're excited to see this innovation recognized by the IBC leadership, and we hope that LUV serves as a model for other broadcasters looking to think outside the box."
- Marc Petit, CEO, Epic Games.

The LUV provides infinite creation possibilities and reinvents audiovisual experiences for audiences, becoming more interactive and stimulating. Since developing this ambitious project in 2016, GMTFO has seen a huge increase in audience engagement, spreading far beyond its native Ontario into all parts of the French-speaking world.

About the LUV
Born of collaborative research on TV production sets, LUV's greatest asset is its original method of anchoring software and technologies from the field of digital video game production. LUV uses the power of Epic Games' Unreal Engine and the Reality Virtual Studio solution from Zero Density to create an infinite variety of virtual worlds at the click of a mouse. The virtual sets eliminate the high costs associated with physical sets, and the real-time production power means that complex scenes can be shot live with no need for post-production, further driving down costs. Special effects and CG elements can be added to a scene instantly and will interact with characters in real time, allowing for much greater flexibility with creative decision-making.

On top of using LUV for its own productions, Groupe Média TFO aims to offer LUV's services to external production companies.

About Groupe Média TFO
At the cutting edge of digital learning, Groupe Média TFO is an essential destination for audiences seeking innovative educational and cultural content in French. TFO serves two million students and 30,000 teachers in Ontario and Canada. Groupe Média TFO has earned two YouTube Silver Play Buttons and over 350 million views for its 21-channels network. Its content has earned various awards, from Austin to Amsterdam: Kidscreen Awards, Gémeaux Awards, Cassies, IBC Awards, SXSW Film Design Awards, and many more.

About IBC
IBC is the world's leading media, entertainment and technology show. It attracts 55,000+ attendees from more than 170 countries and combines a highly respected and peer-reviewed conference with an exhibition that showcases more than 1,700 leading suppliers of state of the art electronic media and entertainment technology. Since 2001, the IBC Innovation Awards recognize the best applications of technology helping media entities to achieve their goals, such as increased creativity, more effective workflows, and heightened audience engagement.

Interview requests: Alexandre Vignola Côté, Citoyen Optimum, alexandre.vignola-cote@citoyenoptimum.com | o: +1-514-282-4793 | c: +1-514-830-1226; Carole Nkoa, Groupe Média TFO, Director of communications and Chef de missions Communautés franco-ontariennes, cnkoa@tfo.org | o: +1-416-968-8313 | c: +1-416-606-5113