Spectacular Marco Borsato Concert in 3D!

Marco Borsato: 32 cameras to record the show, in 2D as well as 3D

On May 10 2011 United Broadcast Facilities (UBF) recorded the spectacular 3Dimensies concert given by top artist Marco Borsato in the Netherlands’ biggest concert hall, the Gelredome, in Arnhem.

UBF worked alongside entertainment marketing agency Brand New Life and concert organizer Mojo to record the event, which was the Netherlands’ first major concert to be recorded entirely in 3D. The  Dutch singer’s fans were able to relive the concert using this impressive technique later in the year on Blu-ray and DVD.

The 3Dimensies concert was massive – tickets for the Gelredome were sold out in just a few days, and promised to be just as compelling as all Marco Borsato’s other performances. The 3D recording was an innovative, cutting-edge operation; UBF and Borsato have worked together before on recordings of the singer’s performances, but never on such a large scale.

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UBF employed no less than 32 cameras to record the show, in 2D as well as 3D. The entire performance was running on 15 fibre cables, which carried  camera, video and audio signals and the project was carried out in a completely tapeless environment. UBF streamed 28 sources through a redundant EVS / X file system: more than 10 terabytes in 2 hours! Of course, such a huge concert also demanded considerable audio capacity: 120 channels multi-track main plus back-up. And UBF had opted for the ultra-modern outside broadcast truck OB14 to accommodate such a big operation. All 3D rigs converged at the OB14. On the day of shooting there was a 75-strong crew: largely UBF’s own people, but also colleagues from various international sister companies within the Euro Media Group.

UBF expects 3D to play an increasingly larger part in concert recordings in the future, so the facility division has been preparing itself for quite some time. The recording of the 3Dimensies concert showed that UBF is ready to address even the most complex issues in the 3D arena. In June 2010 UBF had the honour of recording the Netherlands’ first ever TV programme broadcast live in 3D: the Election Gala from the Paradiso in Amsterdam. In France, UBF recently realized the 3D recording of a major rugby match.

UBF obviously has enough experience to make the recording of this concert a memorable one. Universal will release the recording later this year on Blu-ray and DVD.

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