Newsletter from 08/09/2020
The Fight for the Restart of Live Performances continues
Worldwide initiatives continue to highlight the critical state of the live entertainment industry amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Shows and events came to an abrupt halt in March, stranding companies, venues, organisations and a large community of freelance creatives and technicians without any income, with precious little government financial assistance, and currently, no roadmap to reopening. We need to draw more attention to the live entertainment industry and its need for sector support from the governments world-wide to survive the coronavirus crisis.
The “one-hundred Unseen” Installation
Support for Red Alert Day of Action
LYNX Technik greenMachine HDR Evie+
LYNX Technik’s HDR Suite of Processing Solutions for the greenMachine® platform addresses the challenge that broadcasters and content creators are facing when there is a need to broadcast or archive content in both SDR and HDR. The demand for more realistic and vibrant colors and enhanced dynamic range is ever-increasing. This creates a demand for broadcasters and media professionals to implement HDR solutions into their workflows to not only deliver enhanced content to the new HDR equipped displays, but more importantly to provide equally stunning content to the vast installed base of legacy SDR displays.
MOBILE PRODUCTION
Mizmor OB3 HD
Mizmor HD was established in 1992. The company has steadily grown sonce, and has manage to accumulate a large number of steady and satisfied client pool.Through the years MVP was involved in various kinds of productions, which required skills and creativity, and turned it to an experianced and most proffesional in the filed of productions and broadcasting using OB trucks. MVP is the largest OB truck company in Israel and the only company with HD OB truck with up to 14 cameras!
UEFA Europa League Finals 2020: TVN MOBILE PRODUCTION implemented UEFA’s project
TVN MOBILE PRODUCTION implemented UEFA’s project using almost exclusively permanent staff for the duration of the Finals. Two UHD-HDR OB trucks UE5 and UE6 from TVN as well as two UHD OB trucks from project partner NEP were used."We were aware of the great trust placed in us by UEFA, but also of the immense responsibility that such a contract entails in the current Covid-19 situation", said TVN Managing Director Markus Osthaus, describing the approach to the UEFA Europa League Finals 2020 production. "Thanks to the extensive previous experience in the implementation of large productions for UEFA and of course based on structured planning and our good network, we were able to implement the requirements with high quality, as expected.”
Full Complement of FOR-A Equipment in Media Mania OB Truck Delivers Rock-Solid Live Coverage of UAE’s First Mars Mission
“This was a historic event, and we didn’t want to miss a detail or lose the signal at any point. We set out to capture this launch with the highest possible quality while staying out of the way of the engineers and mission crew, which was particularly challenging, given current distancing requirements. We needed to run and install a lot of cables and remote cameras in the UAE control room to keep our crew to a minimum. We knew this coverage had to be nothing less than perfect.” said Roland Daou, Managing Director, Media Mania. “As a production facility and broadcast service company in the UAE, delivering the best product to our clients is our top priority.”
STUDIO / REMOTE PRODUCTION
SMT Meridian Studio,the Creator of the Opening Film of the CF 12th Anniversary Ceremony
SMT as the partner of VSPN, the organizer of the event, The SMT Meridian Studio is responsible for the pre- and post-production of all visual effects at the CF 12th Anniversary Ceremony. The team made every effort to break through the production cycle and the dilemma of various objective conditions to achieve a balance between artistic beauty and technological innovation. This young creative team seeks new breakthroughs in every project production. This time, there are many remarkable highlights in the combination of technology and art.
XR Studios selects disguise as central technology hub for 2020 MTV VMAs
The first major awards show in the US to be broadcast since the pandemic was held Sunday, August 30, when the socially distant MTV Video Music Awards were telecast from New York City. XR Studios selected the disguise xR workflow, powered by the latest disguise gx 2c media server, as the show’s central technology hub. “The project was successful on a level of scale in terms of the size of the stage, the number of Stype-tracked cameras and the ambitious number of live performances and awards presentations,” says JT Rooney of Silent Partners Studio, who worked together with XR Studios to deliver the complex show in Extended Reality.
Riedel’s Industry-First Trans-Atlantic Remote Mastering Workflow Brings Exceptional Sound to Wacken World Wide
Riedel Communications partnered with Remote Recording Network (RRN) and Live Nation to establish a first-of-its-kind trans-Atlantic remote mastering workflow for the Wacken World Wide 2020 music festival. Streamed live to 11 million fans worldwide from July 29 to August 1 by MagentaMusik 360, Wacken World Wide took the world’s largest heavy metal festival online in a mixed-reality production. The audio for this broadcast was mixed in Hamburg, Germany, and mastered at Valhalla Studios NY, with communications and signal configuration, transmission, and monitoring handled by Riedel’s Remote Operations Center (ROC). “This new remote mastering workflow is incredible, and we’ve never before had such cool broadcast sound at Wacken,” said RRN Founder Peter Brandt, the Grammy® Award-winning producer and engineer who oversaw audio production for the event. “Because we were able to master in an acoustically calibrated room, we had perfect conditions for a well-balanced sound.”
Elation meets broadcast standards on redesigned France Television set
The first live broadcast from Stage 2’s redesigned set took place last fall and marked the first program produced in a virtual setting on France Television. “It was necessary that we review all of the lighting for several reasons,” said Rousseaux, who reports that France Television wanted to equip the set entirely with LED lights. “The versatility of moving between real and virtual sets required a much more complete and flexible installation than the one that existed.” The new set, treated entirely in inlaid green paint, floor and walls, required a permanent lighting installation to illuminate the entire cyclorama and floor. Black and white curtains fill gaps at the bottom of the set and around décor elements. “It was inconceivable to make this fully automated set when France Television first contacted me,” Rousseaux says. “It was necessary to redo the entire grid, which is equipped with pantographs, and implied both an investment and very difficult deadlines.”
SPORT EVENTS
Broadcast Solutions Hungary Ensures Live-Feed at Blue Ribbon Round the Lake Balaton Race in Hungary With a Silvus MESH Radio Network
What was initially planned as a POC to show the capabilities of a MESH network providing internet connection to wireless cameras at the Blue Ribbon – Round the lake Balaton Race in Hungary, became the game-changer for Hungarian national broadcaster with its channel M4 Sport on-site to ensure stable signal connections for the live broadcast. Blue Ribbon, the longest inland regatta in the world, is an approximately 155km long sailing race around the lake with hundreds (600+) of different boats, and it has been held every year since 1934. Broadcast Solutions Hungary was on site to test and show national broadcaster the benefits of a MESH Network for live broadcasting during a POC. In the end they rescued the live broadcast providing internet connection to wireless cameras on boats and around the lake underpinning the superiority of MESH networks independent of existing infrastructure in live broadcasting during a real production.
SMT Gone Through a Special Volleyball Super League Final
On September 1, 2020, the 2019-20 Men's Volleyball Super League finals ended at the Qinhuangdao National Sports Training Center. The Shanghai Men's Volleyball Team defeated the Jiangsu Men's Volleyball Team with score of 2-0 and won the championship for the sixth consecutive year. This is also the 16th championship of the Shanghai Men's Volleyball Team. This season's men's volleyball league played the first round on January 19, and it came to an abrupt suspension because of the epidemic. It was not until August 20 that the game was rekindled at the Qinhuangdao National Sports Training Center. Drawing on the successful experience of the CBA and Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL), the men's volleyball league this season has also adopted a closed game system and an empty field for the needs of epidemic prevention and control.
StarTimes to bring Canadian Premier League’s Island Games tournament to audiences across Africa
The CPL’s appeal to African audiences is enhanced by the presence of a number of players of African origin, including Elimane Cissé of Senegal, who started his career with Diambars FC in the domestic Ligue 1, and had call-ups to the Senegalese U21 and senior national teams before signing with Forge FC, the reigning CPL champion. Another high-profile player is Valour FC’s Arnold Bouka Moutu, a Congolese national who represented his country in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and in a series of CAF qualifying matches in 2016 and 2017. Other top players include Jeannot Esua, voted FC Edmonton’s player of the year in 2019 (Cameroon); Edem Mortosi (FC Edmonton/Ghana); Solomom Kojo Antwi (Valour FC/Ghana); Mohamed Kourouma (Atlético Ottawa/Guinea); Ibrahima Sanoh (HFX Wanderers/Guinea); and Aboubacar Sissoko (HFX Wanderers/Mali).
SMT Together With Tengjing Sports Provided Full Remote Production for LPL 9th Anniversary Carnival Ceremony
The 2020 "League of Legends" 9th Anniversary Carnival Ceremony was held from August 27th to August 30th at the Shanghai Mercedes-Benz Arena. After 5 rounds of fierce battle, the TES team defeated the JDG team, winning the league championship for the first time in team history. TES also successfully advanced to the 2020 League of Legends Global Finals (S10) which will be held in Shanghai from September to October as the top seed in the mainland China division. In the ensuing 2020 League of Legends Global Finals Qualifying Tournament, SN defeated LGD with a score of 3-0, and LGD, who lost in the first game, made a comeback and eliminated IG with a score of 3-1 to grab the last seat in the global finals. Nine years have passed, now LPL has become the highest-level League of Legends Pro League in China, and it is also the only channel for the mainland China division to the annual mid-season championship and global finals. According to LPL official data, in 2020, the total number of viewers of the LPL season exceeded 20 billion, and the number of viewers of event-related content exceeded 65 billion.
SHOW EVENTS
Robe Helps put Hands in The Air for L.A.B. Auckland Gig
The first live arena concert in the world … since coronavirus silently spread global mayhem, was headlined by sizzling hot rising-stars L.A.B. at Auckland’s Spark Arena, New Zealand, a momentous occasion offering the artists, their management, crew and fans a joyous and heartfelt night where they could once again all embrace the emotions, experience and adrenaline rush of live performance! Robe moving lights were on the rig in a production design created by lighting designer Jack Hooper – his first gig for the band – together with the artists, their management team Loop, visual director Olivier Jean and live video specialist Big Picture. A truly collaborative effort that made a big impact.
Bobby Grey Delivers for Rock Band 311’s Concert Marathon in Las Vegas with Claypaky’s Versatile Mythos 2 Fixtures
At the last big event in Las Vegas before the lockdown, Bobby Grey of Notan Creative used 60 Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures to deliver a variety of looks for the 102 songs that rock band 311 performed in three marathon shows at the Park MGM’s Park Theater. Felix Lighting in Los Angeles was the lighting vendor for the concerts. Grey did the full production design for the series of concerts, March 11-13, and created and curated the shows’ video content. The band annually celebrates “311 Day” on March 11 staging marathon live concerts in even-numbered years and playing a cruise for fans in odd-numbered years. Formed in 1988, 311 has released 13 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, four EPs and four DVDs.
Rafael Mendoza and Artiste Picasso™ light ballet’s premiere dancers
“Gala of Stars, Elisa and Friends” featured performances by renowned figures in classical and contemporary dance from some of the most important ballet companies in the world such as the American Ballet Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Mendoza has served as lighting designer for the “Elisa and Friends” ballet gala for years, effectively from the beginning of the project, and has years of experience lighting ballet, dance and opera behind him. He comments: “Mexico, with its different dance expressions and genres, classical dance, Mexican folklore, contemporary dance and many that have been added in the last 40 years, all involve the wonderful human body expressing itself in different ways. I design lighting thinking about the body and movement, adding symbolism or other elements that, for example, in ballet is often defined in the script. Light often defines the space, defines the time, and defines interior or exterior places where you want to take the viewer. Color is often chosen depending on those spaces or simply highlights the state of mind of the dancers, modeling the body by contrasting it through the beam angle and color, generating drama and interest for the viewer.”
PRODUCTS
Reliable Sound in the Most Unpredictable Situations
Whether he’s in a dam on the Nile River in Uganda, in the Atacama Desert in Chile or in the middle of the North Sea—during a storm, no less—Nimkin relies on his arsenal of DPA Microphones to achieve pristine, natural sound. This includes the 4017 Shotgun and 4018 Supercardioid Microphones, 4160 Series Slim Omnidirectional Microphone and the 4098 Gooseneck Microphone. With such an extensive resume, Nimkin has used a range of different microphones, but, after trying DPA, he was hooked. “I remember seeing people rave about DPA microphones on various message boards,” says Nimkin. “With all the positive reviews, I had to check them out for myself; and I’m so glad I did. There’s not a better sounding mic out there. With DPA, it feels as though I’m listening with my own ears, and nothing is being boosted or lost—it’s incredible.”
SPIFFY GEAR ANNOUNCE THE ‘KYU-6’ LED LIGHT BRACELET, WORLD’S FIRST WEARABLE CINE-LIGHT
Spiffy Gear, the award winning and innovative lighting company, today announced its newest generation of LED light bracelets: KYU-6. KYU-6 is a lightweight slap-bracelet that provides readily available light on the go. It is magnetic, splash-proof, and easy to use. KYU-6 comes as a high CRI bi-color strip or clean wavelength RGB. Both flavors feature brightness and color control, and a set of pre-built special effects. With a high CRI of 95+, KYU-6 provides appealing skin tones and perfect color rendition. At less than 45 grams, KYU-6 is among the lowest profile cinematic lights in the world, so you can hide it just about anywhere, even in plain sight. Being a wearable light means that your KYU-6 is always with you. It is the perfect tool for cinematographers and content creators alike.
Stage Tec AURUS platinum becomes new backbone at KBS Hall in South Korea
In order to stay technically up-to-date and to integrate Merging Pyramix multitrack recorder, a digital upgrade of the mixdown room was recently carried out. The control room was equipped with a new platinum Stage Tec AURUS mixing console with 48 faders – perfect for working with the existing Ravenna/AES67 audio network technology and the analog effects units in the room. AES67 allows individual items to be connected to a network that primarily uses one protocol. AURUS large mixing consoles are Stage Tec's flagship products. In addition to the outstanding audio quality, this mixing console is characterized by the generously equipped user interface. All important functions are available with only one single touch. AURUS platinum delivers highest audio quality, most extensive editing functions, fastest workflows and perfect integration with the NEXUS audio network. All common audio processing functions can be accessed directly from each channel strip. The clarity is extremely high, the distances are very short and the operating speed is unrivalled. Especially important for the broadcast sector is the unrestrictedly flexible bus structure of AURUS with intelligent on-air/off-air solutions. In addition, compliance with the existing AOIP was a particularly requirement for this project and the Ravenna/AES67 protocol must match the digital audio workstation Merging Pyramix, AURUS was the ideal choice.