Newsletter from 07/07/2020
COVID-19, Women, Girls and Sport: Build Back Better
While the world is currently working on addressing and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls must be both participants and leaders in this process, so their gains are not lost, and a better future for all becomes a reality, says UN Women in a Policy Brief published today.
The impacts of COVID-19 are already being felt harder by women and girls in many areas of life due to gender inequalities. This reality is also mirrored in sport. The Policy Brief called “COVID 19, Women, Girls and Sport: Build Back Better” clearly points out that “existing gaps between women and men, girls and boys in both elite and grassroots sport may widen if governments, sport organizations, sponsors, civil society, athletes, media and UN agencies do not put women and girls at the centre and address their specific needs in response and recovery plans”.
Informed by the Sports for Generation Equality Framework, a multi-stakeholder coalition launched by UN Women and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March to advance gender equality, the document focuses on the impacts of the pandemic on women and girls in sport in five key areas: Leadership, Gender-Based Violence, Economic Opportunities, Media Participation and Representation, and Girls’ Participation in Sport.
MOBILE PRODUCTION
CCTV Installs Lawo V__matrix for China’s First Full IP Video Mobile System
The UHD 4k designed mobile studio installation, originally planned to play a central role during the Summer Games 2020 broadcasts from Tokyo, began construction in January 2019 under the supervision of the CCTV Production Department. The project’s multiviewer design is based on three Lawo V__matrix systems using 19 C-100 core processing modules and 19 Virtual-Module installations of the Lawo vm-dmv, the world’s first infinitely expandable true IP multiviewer. The overall installation integrates twelve Sony UHD camera channels and one EVS. The IP network is of a spine-leaf topology employing Huawei switches for the infrastructure backbone, with two CE8850 switches for the redundantly-designed core and four CE6865 switches as leaves. The vision switchers and cameras were purchased from Sony.
7 Production to Roll Out Middle East’s First 4K OB Truck with Grass Valley Solutions
7 Production’s new 12G 4K UHD OB unit will be packed with Grass Valley’s end-to-end native 4K UHD workflow elements - including cameras, production switcher, routing and monitoring - allowing production teams to acquire stunning quality feeds and seamlessly process them to the final output. Without the need of additional conversion and upscaling systems, the production team can save valuable time in ultra-fast live sports environments and deliver viewing experiences that are as good – if not better – than being there in person. “Like their peers around the globe, sports fans in the Middle East want access to stunning images and rich content that bring them closer to the live action. We are committed to giving our clients the power and capability they need to meet the demands of their audiences,” commented Hadi Ghanem.
MEDIAPRO Canada selected as TV production and international media rights partner of CEBL Summer Series in 2020
The company will supply all the technical facilities, production crew and transmission services to bring exciting live CEBL basketball coverage from the 2020 Summer Series, which will be held at the Meridian Centre in St Catharines, Ontario, and is distributing live and highlights rights to the Series to broadcasters around the world. MEDIAPRO Canada will use AutomaticTV, the group’s proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven fully automated sports production system, to produce High Definition live multi-camera coverage of the 19 games for CBC GEM – marking the first time the technology has been used in Canada. AutomaticTV offers a unique multi-camera broadcast quality production solution with a 60 frames-per-second 1080p rate, allowing rights-holders to maximize their investment and generate new revenue streams. “We are extremely excited to partner with MEDIAPRO, a world leader in broadcast production, and we look forward to them showcasing our talented players across the country and internationally,” said Mike Morreale, Commissioner and CEO of the CEBL. “We are thrilled to be the first in Canada to benefit from the MEDIAPRO AI platform AutomaticTV, and to be a leader in utilizing new technology to deliver our amazing product to our fans.”
Broadcast Rental is proud to present their new Fly-Pack
The core of the pack is the Ross Ultrix 144 x 144 router with it’s immense production power within such a compact unit. This router is equipped with all available licenses, such as twelve multiviewer outputs and embedding and de-embedding madistreams. In the standard set-up, the Fly-pack is equipped with Ross XPression graphics and a Ross Carbonite Black production switcher as these have both been proven and reliable solutions. With Axon’s Cerebrum control and monitoring platform, the quarantee engineer can control multiple systems at the same time. With a costumized pre-configured setup, the Fly-Pack is up and running within a heartbeat. Audio, video, cameras – Cerebrum controls them all and it couldn’t be simpler to use. Our new Fly-Pack is small in size, but with Cerebrum at its heart, the production opportunities to our clients are beyond boundaries.
STUDIO / REMOTE PRODUCTION
Global Streaming Event SHEIN Together Streamed with Blackmagic Design
SHEIN is an international B2C fast fashion ecommerce platform offering women's wear, men's apparel, children's clothes, accessories, shoes, bags and other fashion items. From May 4 through May 11, 2020, SHEIN donated all proceeds from its SHEIN Together apparel, as well as an additional $100,000 to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the WHO, which supports global efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the pandemic. Noah Clark, CEO of Los Angeles based video production company and creative content agency Station 22, was tasked with producing the four hour streaming event, which was hosted by E! News' "The Rundown" host Erin Lim and online personality Sheela Awe, and featured top performers in music, beauty and fashion.
Big Picture Launches Premium Live Event Studio Facility in Sydney
‘There is no other offering to this scale with the extensive professional broadcast studio facilities, global secure connectivity and industry-leading production technology captured with a premium 4K UHD camera system to our knowledge in Australia which specifically caters for the live event, corporate theatre and music sectors. We look forward to supporting our clients to deliver ground-breaking events in a new way whilst continually pushing technical boundaries with the support of our studio partners,’ said Josh Moffat, Business Development at Big Picture. The main studio set comprises a 40 square metre high fidelity ROE Black Onyx 2.8mm LED screen over 4000 pixels wide in a concave curve, running Brompton processing, with dual ROE Carbon 3mm LED Screens for presenter foldback, showing remote audiences, and presenter notes, connected by a Barco E2 control system and Disguise GX2C media servers for complete presentation integration and support for remote video calls and presentation connectivity to suit any requirement.
Industrial Sessions Live Streaming and Recording Studio Uses Claypaky Fixtures in New Zealand
“Our purpose is to bring high-quality live streaming to Queenstown and the world by giving local and national musicians a space to perform and connect with their audience in a time when they can’t perform as usual,” says Hamish Edh, Managing Director of TomTom and Co-Creator of Industrial Sessions. “The space is also used for corporate meetings, a pretty popular usage given the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. We do one or two Industrial Sessions a week and convert the space for multi-track recording, webinars and virtual conferencing.” Edh notes that he and his collaborators have had to be very creative in carving out the studio from warehouse space with low ceiling heights and second-floor support pillars. “We built a 3.6 x 5.4m stage inside a 4x5.5m truss structure as we don’t have the ability to fly from the roof. The video design has a back wall of Martins VDO Sceptron and VuePix DB2.6mm LED panels. The lighting design is from the stock we own in the warehouse, with 12 Claypaky HY B-EYE K15s and five Mythos 2 comprising the base rig and more K15s and Mythos 2 available to create slightly different looks each session.”
Innovation Empowerment, SMT Opened a New Model of Large-Scale "Cloud" Conference
All the guests worldwide can access the conference site, make keynote speeches, and participate in offline interactions through the professional and customizable SMT "cloud conference" system during the forum. In response to this forum, SMT also added the "Multilingual Simultaneous Interpretation" feature for the first time in the "Cloud Conference" system, providing a thoughtful experience for multi-national financial giants to archive real-time barrier-free interactions on the cloud. The "cloud conference" system independently developed by SMT is not only a simple conference access system, but a fusion and innovative product of traditional media and new media technology, which has many advantages: The system can access multiple real-time picture signals, according to the requirements of program production, it can realize split-screen display, real-time scheduling, and zooming to meet the needs of various program production; Can simultaneously realize the guest end teleprompter, Tally prompt, real-time PGM look back and call function; It can also archive the "controllable multi-person real-time communication" and guest cloud interaction functions; safe system design, which is suitable for a variety of top-level conferences and various types of live broadcast needs.
SPORT EVENTS
esports trailblazers, VENN, select Blackbird for ultra-fast and efficient remote video production in multi-year deal
Blackbird is the world’s fastest, most powerful professional cloud video editing and publishing platform. Enabling very scalable remote production, Blackbird provides rapid access to video content for the easy creation of clips, highlights and longer form content to multiple devices and platforms. Delivering unbeatable speed and quality of editing tools and video output, Blackbird is accessed through any browser, easy to learn and needs only limited bandwidth to use. Blackbird delivers significant efficiency benefits to any enterprise-level organization working with video. VENN’s production team will use Blackbird to remotely and frame-accurately edit, enrich and publish a wide variety of engaging video content ultra-fast. Content will be delivered to VENN’s 24/7 post cable network and social channels including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Twitch for millions of gaming fans around the world to enjoy. The content will span multiple categories of entertainment with original programming produced both in-house and with some of the biggest names and creators in gaming, entertainment, streaming and esports.
Coca-Cola Arena - 100% LED, 100% teamwork.
The tender requirement stipulated the specific sports lighting criteria required to maintain the correct lighting levels to be TV / broadcast friendly. The whole arena had to be properly lit in white as well as having the capability of being turned into an array of vibrant colours and textures, so in all, some 369 high output LED fixtures were specified. Three different types of LED fixtures are used in combination – 74 x Ephesus Arena Pro Variable White, 191 x Ephesus Prism RGBA fixtures and 104 x LED profiles. These are carefully positioned around the venue to light the floor, seating stands and surrounding areas for both sporting and non-sporting events like concerts.
Samsung Teams Up with Hollywood Park, Los Angeles’ Newest Sports & Entertainment District, Making SoFi Stadium the Undisputed Leader in LED Video Display
The Samsung LED technology represented in the videoboard at SoFi Stadium is unlike anything fans have ever experienced," said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. "The design as well as the board's video and audio capabilities are the first of their kind in sports and will set a new precedent for the in-stadium experience." Built for the future, the videoboard has the largest LED content playback system ever deployed. With nearly 80 million pixels spaced 8 millimeters from center to center, each panel can be uniquely or congruently programmed with statistics, live and/or animated content. The largest panel is almost 40 feet or four stories tall; its smallest panel is nearly 20 feet or two stories tall. Its unique size and shape make it wider than the field of play and offers fans a spectacular view from anywhere in the stadium, enhancing the action taking place on the field.
Thrilling F1 season opener at Red Bull Ring
Numerous retirements and safety car phases. Max Verstappen had to abandon his RB16 in the pit lane early on: “Can‘t drive, the wheels are blocked!” he said straight after his retirement. Many others followed him out of the race, including Ricciardo, Stroll, Räikkönen, Kvyat – and Alexander Albon then became the second Red Bull Racing driver to have to drop out after a tussle with Lewis Hamilton. Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly finished the race in seventh. I’m not quite sure what happened yet, we’ll investigate and find out but of course that’s not how you want to start the season. I had a good start, unlike last year, and quite early on I could see that Valtteri was quick so fighting for the win was always going to be a big challenge. I think it would have been an easy podium and third would have been a decent start to the season but what can you do? This is racing and it is what it is, you can’t change the result now. It is a shame for everyone who worked so hard to get us here this weekend but we will just focus on the race next week and hope for something better.”
SHOW EVENTS
Robe Helps Play It Forward with Oooth
MGG’s Johannesburg Studio B is the largest of the two at around 16 x 16 metres – allowing for a good amount of social distancing – and has been set up in their structures warehouse since the lockdown, as the company has reorganised and re-purposed itself to deal with radical changes in its current business. With a decent amount of headroom, its ideal for rock ‘n’ roll style streamed shows ... which have been produced there since SA instituted level 3 lockdown on June 1st. MGG’s talented and resourceful resident lighting technicians Sipho Kekana and Hein Ströh worked together to design the lighting for both Johannesburg studios (MGG has a third at its Cape Town branch), and their input included specifying the 50 x Robe moving lights.
Elite Multimedia takes the show online in a Virtual Event Production Studio
As the team at Elite Multimedia got busy creating the new studio, their production expertise and extensive inventory would prove to be valuable assets. Understanding exactly how the infrastructure of a high-quality production studio should be built, they were able to create an engaging and robust design environment. “When we came back to the office after the stay-home restrictions were lifted, we really hit the ground running,” continued Mason. “In the room, we now have an upstage 2.8mm LED video wall along with some decking that’s wrapped in EPIX LED lighting strips. On the backend, we have our 3ME switcher that’s running multiple PTZ cameras due to social distancing guidelines. We then have a monitor position for the band as well as a broadcast mix position, and we are using multiple set-ups throughout our headquarters to create control room locations. In all of these positions, there is a program feed with audio, plus we have the ability to multi-track in case the artists would like to take audio from the live stream for mix down.”
Jason Lyons lights Rock of Ages with Artiste Monet™
Lighting Designer Jason Lyons has been lighting the musical since that storied 2008 New York debut. “Back then it was a bit of an experiment,” he says. “We didn’t really know what we had and it exploded from there. It’s one of those rare shows that people can go back to over and over again and still have a really good time. I think that’s part of its success. You find new moments to enjoy every time.” For the uninitiated, Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical that tells the story of a rock ‘n’ roll romance on the Sunset Strip during the glitz and decadence of the ‘80s. When the Bourbon Room is set to be demolished (the local bar where most of the action takes place), it’s up to wannabe rockers to save it. With a score that features some of the biggest classic rock hits of the ‘80s, this hilarious, high-energy 80’s-era satire has evolved into a theatre classic.
Cue 13 Design reimagines The Wharf using Elation Proteus™ and Paladin™
A nightly light show called Spectra has been drawing visitors to The Wharf’s Main Street since 2013. Ryan Stumpp, founder and Principal at Cue 13 Design, and a 15-year theme park design veteran, was subcontracted to work on the original design seven years ago and was called on to redesign the light show for 2020. “Many people come to The Wharf in the evening for the lightshow itself,” Stumpp comments. “It increases traffic on the street and really excites the crowd, who then go to shop, eat, drink, or go to a show. Seven years ago, we launched the lightshow with Elation Platinum series lights in outdoor domes and although they were in enclosures, because this is an outdoor environment that is close to the ocean, it was time to upgrade so we revamped and reimagined the show.”
Live Nation Launching Drive-In Concert Series With Brad Paisley, Nelly, Darius Rucker
Concertgoers will be able to drive into the parking lots of the amphitheaters — a maximum of four people per car — and will have two empty parking lot spaces in between each vehicle so fans can watch and party from their designated individual tailgating zones. Attendees are encouraged to bring food, drinks and chairs, setting up around their cars to view the performers from the stage and also from the large LED screens. All venue staff are required to wear masks, and Live Nation requests that attendees wear masks upon arrival, where there will be contact-less ticket scanning through their windows. Masks are not required once fans are in their designated tailgate areas, and Live Nation is not requiring that fans wear gloves.
PRODUCTS
LYNX Technik Expands yellobriks with New 12Gbit Bi-Directional SDI/Fiber Transceiver
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing interfaces, has introduced a new yellobrik module to its series of fiber transmitters, receivers and transceivers. The LYNX Technik yellobrik (model: OBD 1410) reduces the cost of transmitting and receiving uncompressed 12G SDI video signals in real-time and over fiber between equipment in a broadcast / AV facility or even over long distances - up to 10 km (6.2 miles). By using a single and bi-directional fiber link for transmitting and receiving video signals simultaneously, facilities can use this module to eliminate the challenge of expensive dual-fiber cabling costs. The OBD 1410 also saves space by reducing the number of fiber optical transceivers required for signal transmission.
NewTek Unleashes TriCaster® 2 Elite – Better Than Broadcast
TriCaster 2 Elite, the most complete video processing system in the world, affords 8 mix/effects (M/Es) with 4 layers each to ensure unlimited creativity, enhanced by strong integration with Adobe® Creative Cloud® tools. Reducing risk and effort, visual storytelling automation tools with simplified teleprompter-based scripting with Microsoft Word® document files are included. Virtual and augmented reality scenes can be rendered in real time from Adobe® Photoshop® files while non-standard framerate and aspect ratios such as 9:16 make it easy to deliver engaging content to a plethora of modern media screens. Other features include frame sync on every input, animated GIF support in buffers, social media publishing, audio mixing and routing, including support for DANTE™ and AES-67, among others.
Riedel Launches DisTag Distance Monitor for Maintaining Social Distance
“After weeks of quarantines and other limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic, our society is gradually returning to normal — but it’s a new type of normal. Slowing the spread of the virus is still a number one priority as key industries, organizations, and institutions start to reopen and people begin returning to work,” said Thomas Riedel, Founder and CEO, Riedel Communications. “In recent months, we’ve learned as a community to adapt to new behavior patterns and situations, and a fundamental aspect is for employees, visitors, and customers to maintain a safe distance between each other. That’s where the new DisTag device comes into play.”
AJA Introduces New 12G-SDI Mini-Converters
AJA Video Systems has expanded its powerful, portable family of 12G-SDI Mini-Converters, including new models that extend Fiber connectivity to simplify the transfer of 12G-SDI over long distances (up to 10 km) via a single optical cable with lockable ST connectors. FiDO-T-12G-ST and FiDO-R-12G-ST enable single-channel conversion between 12G-SDI and ST Fiber; the HA5-12G-T-ST and Hi5-12G-R-ST support conversion between HDMI 2.0 and 12G-SDI and ST Fiber; and the 12G-AMA facilitates 12G-SDI analog audio embedding/disembedding, with a range of model variations available for transmitting and receiving signals over 12G-SDI BNC, LC Fiber or ST Fiber.