Newsletter from 06/10/2020
Global Action Day Around The World - The Live Event Industry is In Need for HELP
The Live Event Industry has always been there in times of need. Not unlike the Red Cross, the Live Event Industry shows up every time we are asked and provide artists, stages, lights, sound, video, lasers, pyro, crew, venues, catering, staging, busses, trucks, and support to raise awareness, money, and love. We always work for free to enable all of the money raised benefits those in need. We give greatly of ourselves and our companies each time, no questions asked.
There are over 30 million people across the globe who work in live events; the majority of which have not worked since the COVID-19 outbreak and remain unsure as to when their work will return. Following previously successful Days of Actions from the #WeMakeEvents team, the Global Action Day sought to bring together the global industry and highlight the impact that its effective shutdown is having throughout the world. The action started in New Zealand and Australia, where key landmarks such as the Auckland Sky Tower, The Domain in Sydney and Perth’s Matagarup Bridge were illuminated. The red wave then moved through other countries including India, the Philippines, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Austria, Norway and South Africa, to name but a few.
advertisement
MOBILE PRODUCTION
AMPVISUALTV Millenium 3
The new Millenium 3 and 4 have arrived in AMP’s range to replace the old ones of the same name, but above all, to achieve a new operating philosophy. The principle of these obvans is very largely based on IP technology, which makes it possible to distribute all the workstations according to any productions. Each one can, according to the needs be EVS station, editorial station or graphics. Likewise, the layout has been carefully devised in a logical way, deliberately separating the technical team (vision, coach managers and sound) from the editorial team : some at the back of the OB van, others at the front. This radically limits unnecessary and disturbing movement.
advertisement
Videe Expander One HD12
Videe is a true solutions provider, which can count on its reliable modern fleet. It is both managed and organised efficiently by the same team. Systems are put together based on 30 years of experience gained from broadcast services, combining the engineering abilities and knowledge earned in the field using broadcast technologies. Quick and practical in set up; versatile and light to allow easy transport and keep costs down; optimally customised by our technicians, who know how to get the best from our equipment
advertisement
EMG NOVA 104
Very spacious and kitted out with the latest technology, Nova 103 is paired with its twin truck Nova 104. Both trucks are equipped for large, high-end sports productions and both have been commissioned as host broadcasting trucks for UEFA EURO 2020, scheduled to occur from 11 June to 11 July, 2021. Due to being broadcasted all over the world, very large international sports events such as the UEFA Super Cup require a strong processing power allowing for production feeds in multiple formats and a video switcher suited for simulcast production. Nova 103 and Nova 104 can output multi-format feeds: UHD 3G-SDI HDR 1080p50, UHD 3G-SDI SDR 1080p50, HD SDI SDR 1080i50 & HD 3G-SDI SDR 1080p50.
advertisement
SDNsquare’s GRID Adds IP modularity to the CTV OB Golf Truck
“The idea was initiated around the time of refurbishing one of our large SDI-based trucks,” explains Paul Francis, CTV’s chief technical officer. “The limitations of SDI infrastructures were apparent in their design, whilst according to research, IP promised flexibility could overcome almost every SDI constraint. IP technology would also need to support our client’s needs for the foreseeable future – capable of responding to changes in video formats, for example.” Francis further explains: “That initial intention turned into a project. Our parent company, Euro Media Group (EMG), launched the diPloy project that would allow us to find partners supporting our migration to a fully IP-based infrastructure.”
advertisement
Timeline Television’s New 4K IP Truck Packs a Punch with Grass Valley Solutions
The double-expanding truck was originally commissioned for the BBC’s presentation coverage of UEFA Euro 2020, with the event postponed until next year it will initially support the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League soccer and various light entertainment programing. The truck will also act as a remote production hub gallery to support Timeline’s Ealing Broadcast Centre. In addition, UHD3 will link with Timeline’s existing IP 4K UHD HDR truck, UHD2, to deliver expanded production capability when needed – entirely managed by GV Orbit. Built on a smaller scale, UHD3 leverages the same Grass Valley IP infrastructure and Arista 100G switch as Timeline’s triple-expanding UHD2.
advertisement
STUDIO / REMOTE PRODUCTION
Unmasked in Belgium
Masked Singer – TV singing competition with celebrities concealed in fantastic elaborate costumes and full face masks, in this case depicting the Wolf, the Dragonfly the Queen and several others to keep their identities secret whilst performing cover versions – hits Belgium for the first time this autumn! Presented by Niels Destadsbader and recorded at NEP Studio in Londerzeel, a judging panel and the audience are drip-fed with clues as to their real identity … which is revealed when one is voted off at the end of each episode. Lighting for the show, broadcast on VTM, is designed by Michiel Milbou and includes nearly 200 Robe moving lights, a skilful combination of 58 x Tetra2 and 56 x CycFX 8 moving LED Bars and 36 x LEDBeam 150s. The 400 or so lights in total involved – including video and light-panels – are supplied to the production by rental company Splendit.
advertisement
disguise Unlocks Immersive Environments And Virtual Production
disguise has recognised the demand for immersive real-time production and their latest release, 17.4, showcases features that were identified through the Netflix virtual production initiative NLAB, with partners Lux Machina and Fuse Technical Group. The knowledge gained from experimentation and feature testing has optimised their already market-leading workflow for virtual production on set. RenderStream is a proprietary video-over-IP protocol that synchronises and transfers content between render engines and final composition machines. It provides low latency, uncompressed video transfer and sends control metadata to sync camera tracking between disguise and the render engine in addition to providing parameter control from disguise to the render engine. This new approach to the technology stack allows disguise to move towards a scale-out rendering approach.
advertisement
Pink TV selects Sony XDCAM air to optimize remote news production
Serbian commercial broadcaster, Pink TV has selected Sony to optimize its news production with the purchase of XDCAM air cloud-based workflow service licenses. This provides a fast and flexible bridge for content sent between the station’s field-based camcorders and its broadcast studio network. With the support of in-built wireless capability, XDCAM air provides seamless integration with Pink TV’s existing Sony PXW-X200 and PXW-Z280 camcorders. Newsroom planning data can be sent directly to any connected camera with acquired footage tagged for easy location within the workflow chain. This ensures Pink TV’s news production team is able to retrieve files and images back in the studio as quickly as possible.
SPORT EVENTS
Robe on the Rig for NHL Return to Play
North America’s National Hockey League (NHL) spectacularly returned to play – without live audiences but with massive enthusiasm, determination and impressive TV and online followings – for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoff series which had been suspended in April during the Coronavirus pandemic. Lighting equipment was supplied by Solotech and included over 200 Robe moving lights – a mix of Pointes, Spiiders and Tarrantulas used by lighting designer Tom Kenny. The 24-team playoff format (comprising Eastern and Western Conferences) was staged in two Canadian hub cities – Edmonton and Toronto – over two months … running as two complete Covid-secure ‘bubbles’ for production teams, players, coaches and other associated personnel. Tom was asked to design lighting for the two Arenas – Scotiabank in Toronto and Rogers Place in Edmonton – working closely with production designer Gary Wichansky of Seattle based Hotopp. The two have collaborated in these capacities on several previous NHL projects, and together they crafted a production design to WOW everyone including their clients, the NHL entertainment team of Steve Mayer, Rachel Segal, Bob Chesterman, John Bochiaro and Renee Riva.
Malaysia’s Merdeka Race 2020 Streams Live Four-wheel Race Coverage to Fans Across the Globe with AJA HELO
“Merdeka only takes place once a year, and this year’s race was especially important, as it marked the first local return of sports since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” shared Blonde Robot Territory Manager Azrina Jane Abdullah. “With the competition closed to spectators, the event organizers wanted to ensure audiences could tune into every second online, which meant streaming full coverage of the event via Facebook Live, in addition to highlights shared on local channels, and HELO proved a perfect tool for the job.” For the production, TWMR provided an OB truck outfitted with a host of equipment, including a combination of traditional and RF cameras, which captured HD footage of the event that was then distributed via fiber or RF to a production switcher. Once mixed with graphics overlays and audio, a 1080i output of the produced feed was then sent through AJA HELO and encoded to H.264 at 1080p 25fps and distributed to Facebook Live.
Animation Research Uses AWS to Virtualize Remote Sports Production
Typically, Virtual Eye teams travel around the world to provide on-site production support and create 3D graphics that help broadcasters deliver compelling stories to viewers as sports action unfolds. In golf alone, ARL and Virtual Eye cover more than 90 tournaments a year across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the US, and have an average of 30 projects under way at any given time. “Helping sports programmers share great stories with fans is in our blood,” said John Rendall, Head of Technology and Innovation for ARL.
RED SOX HIT A HOME RUN WITH NIKON ROBOTICS DURING COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Fenway Park, a famous ballpark celebrated as a historic landmark is now at the forefront of modern technology when bringing fans the most iconic moments in baseball. The team worked with Nikon Professional Services (NPS) to install five Robotic Pods, a modular camera system housing that can be remotely controlled by an operator from a custom software interface. With the system, the photographer/operator can capture high quality photos and videos for broadcast, social media and marketing needs while reducing proximity to other staff and players and gain remote access to restricted areas. In fact, a photographer can cover an entire game without ever leaving the booth.
SHOW EVENTS
XD15s Boost Olivia Dean´s Unique Truck Tour
Conceived by Olivia Dean and Emily Braham, with the help of Rob Sinclair and tour manager Andrew ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson (of Sinclair Wilkinson) the ‘From Me To You’ truck tour has been arriving at some unusual outdoor locations to help promote Olivia Dean’s new album of the same name. The Martin Audio rig has been supplied by Wales-based CS Audio Ltd. Wilkinson had met the sound hire company’s MD, Paul Hatt, on the Clean Bandit tour, for whom the latter had been handling monitors and providing the audio control package.
Elation Fuze Profile™ preferred choice for iconic Arena Wien
Arena, Vienna’s top alt-music venue, grew to prominence in the 70’s and 80’s as a platform for cultural and social activities and is still an important center for Viennese youth and alternative culture today. Located in a former slaughterhouse and possessing an old industrial charm, the venue houses a large hall for concerts, as well as two smaller rooms for events of all types. Elation partner AVL-Medientechnik (avl-medientechnik.at) of Traiskirchen, located just south of Vienna, has been supplying consumables to Arena Wien for years so it was only natural that they were contacted about the lighting upgrade.
Creating a new hub for house music fans
As lockdown measures begin to ease, live producers are tentatively starting to investigate how events can be held that will bring people together again, while maintaining safe boundaries for the audience and artists alike. Rather than simply returning to what was previously considered ‘normal’ in terms of production, many are using what they learned during lockdown to evolve the concept of what a live event can deliver. As part of an arts and culture festival in the medieval walled city of Templin north of Berlin, electronic DJ collaboration “ambientkarawane”, played a live, socially distanced set and decided to capture the event with a newly established streaming and recording set up, built around the ATEM Mini Pro.
Robe for Circo de Hielo 2
It’s approaching a year since Spanish lighting designer Juanjo Llorens first enthusiastically compiled his design for Circo de Hielo 2, the latest winter show from Madrid-based Productores de Sonrisas (Smile Producers), creators of large scale multidisciplined extravaganzas like Circo de Los Horrores and many others. The newest arena show, directed by Suso Silva, played in a bespoke 1800-capacity circular tent that was erected for the run of shows at IFEMA Madrid that combined premium ice skating with acrobatics, breath-taking stunts – including a skater fighting with a violinist playing live – and heaped with theatricality, pumping live music and incredible visuals!
PRODUCTS
Sony Acquires Nevion to Enhance its Portfolio of End-to-End IP/Cloud-based Production Solutions for Broadcasting and other Applications
Sony has been at the forefront of IP-based production innovation for the past decade. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand in broadcasting and other business areas for remote production solutions and remote integration (REMI), as they allow resources such as equipment, facilities and even staff to be shared across locations in real-time, resulting in greater efficiency and effectiveness. The spread of COVID-19 has accelerated this trend, and the need of combining on-premise facility and cloud processing, enabling remote work and resource sharing, has become the basis of business continuity planning for the broadcast and production community. Since June 2019, Sony has had a strategic partnership with Nevion, and both companies have been collaborating to address those markets. This investment will enable Sony to build a much closer relationship with Nevion and lead to the delivery of more integrated solutions.
PANASONIC L.I.V.E. SERIES SHOWCASES VIRTUAL INNOVATIONS IN THE BROADCAST & MEDIA INDUSTRY
Challenges addressed in the five-episode series include managing the move to remote production and the necessary workflow changes, enhancing the production value of live streamed content and the adoption of VR and AR technologies.
Talking about the concept behind the LIVE Series, Andre Meterian, Director of Panasonic’s Professional Video Systems, said: “This is a time of incredible innovation in the industry and this series, a first from Panasonic, brings to life our vision for shaping the future of broadcasting. It’s a practical series that demonstrates just what can be achieved in the virtual studios across Europe today and throws the spotlight on industry experts to show how live production challenges can be addressed by thinking creatively and using the latest already available technology.”