Newsletter from 17/05/2012
Olympic Flame was Lit in Greece – Rehearsals in Baku Have Started
MOBILE PRODUCTION
PDG Helicopters with Cinedeck RX
Based in Scotland, PDG Helicopters has over 40 years of knowledge in helicopter charter, a fleet of 17 aircraft, and registers over 10,000 flying hours each year across a range of services. These include passenger flights, aerial crane, aerial survey, helicopter maintenance, scenic helicopter tours and aerial cinematography. PDG Helicopters acquired its Cinedeck RX from Cindeck’s UK distributor Oxygen DCT. The unit is now being used to record uncompressed 4:4:4 from a gyro-stabilised Cineflex V14 HD camera, in a wide range of frame rates, recording variations of Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD and Cineform codecs, according to each customer’s preference. Since acquiring their Cinedeck RX, PDG has used the unit on projects for BAE Systems, QinetiQ, a commercial for McDonald's through Thomas Thomas Films, and a corporate production for LineUp TV.
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London’s Red Route Master
broadcastfacilities.tv expands the way of live broadcasting from 2 major sports events during the 2012 summer. Join the crowd and broadcast live where action is! From the middle of the cities, live from fan-zones, live in front of the historic sites, live from the symbols of the host cities and everyday with a new back-drop on your live shows.
The London Red Bus has the following production equippment on board:
3x HD-Camera OB facility with full audio & intercom system; Vision Mixer: Thomson Grass Valley Kayak HD 100 ( 48 inputs / 24 outputs ); Cameras: Grass Valley LDK 6000/8000 with various lenses; Sound desk: Yamaha DM 1000 ( 48 inputs / 48 outputs ); Intercom system: Riedel Performer 32 x 32 (16 digital ports, 16 analog ports); EVS: 3 EVS XT2; Multi Format VTRs for playout; Evertz Multiviewer with 32 inputs and 4 outputs Penta HD2Line 47” HDTV Displays
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Vladimir Putin Inaugurated as Russian President
Mr Putin won a third term as president in controversial elections in March. He took the presidential oath at the Grand Kremlin Palace, in a hall that was once the throne room of the Russian tsars. In a short speech he said Russia was "entering a new phase of national development". To show the beauty of the Kremlin two travellings.X fly were installed and operated by XD motion' staff: one was flying 850m and the other one was flying 730m in front of the Kremlin. The whole ceremony was covered live with more than 80 cameras and shown on Russia's Channel One.
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Red TX Records MTV Presents Titanic Sounds
Thousands of music lovers packed the docks where the Titanic was built for a star-studded pop concert ahead of the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking. Staged in front of the new multi-million-pound visitor attraction dedicated to the doomed liner, the MTV Titanic Sounds festival also saw the performances of the artists. The old dockland slipway where revellers gathered for the music extravaganza witnessed another major event 101 years ago, when thousands congregated to see the Titanic launched into the water for the first time. Belfast's most famous export sank a year later after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The Titanic Sounds gig is among a series of high profile events being staged in the city to mark the enduring legacy of the ship.
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The Los Cabos Summit: The G20 Remains a Process
The G20 is the most important financial and economic international summit. It is comprised of 20 members, the world’s major and emerging economies. In 2012 the meeting will take place in Los Cabos. Past locations include Heilgendamm, Washington, London, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Seoul, and Cannes. The summit’s meetings will be held at the new Convention Center in San Jose del Cabo. The G20 in Los Cabos will take place June 18th through June 19th, 2012. Leaders from 19 nations and the European Union will participate of this year's summit. Spain, Colombia, Chile, Benin and Cambodia have also been invited to participate. Aldea will be present on site with it's own exclusive production deployment which will include multiple paths, producers and facilities to service playouts and live standups. Delivery will be done via fiber sattellite to the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.
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STUDIO PRODUCTION
Qatar TV Builds for the Future with Grass Valley
The design for Qatar TV's new Broadcast Centre focuses on adaptive and flexible workflows, while being future-proofed for emerging technologies, such as 3 Gb/s 1080p. This ensures that Qatar TV will be able to serve its viewers for years to come, without fear of technical obsolescence. Grass Valley is providing the systems integration, installation, and commissioning for this multi-million dollar project. The experience and knowledge of Grass Valley's best-in-class system architects are vital in ensuring that Qatar TV achieves its stringent deadlines. For maximum efficiency, key technologies such as Grass Valley’s Trinix™ NXT router with integrated multiviewers is being used alongside the Maestro™ master control system, offering an exceptional combination of integrated features, expandability, and control options.
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dbn gets Lucky on Norwegian Lotto
Manchester based lighting and visuals specialist dbn has specified and installed a custom LED lighting and control solution for the new set of the Norwegian National Lottery which is operated by Norsk Tipping AS. dbn’s project manager was Nigel Walker, and they were working for UK based Stage One Creative Services, with whom Walker has enjoyed a long and successful working relationship. Stage One in turn was commissioned by producers Fabelactiv, to deliver a set for the high profile show which is broadcast from their HD studios in Hamer via national TV channel, NRK. Stage One appointed Nick King to design the spectacular set, and then asked dbn to interpret the prominent lighting elements of the resulting 15 metre wide scenic environment, a streamlined fusion of interlocking curves made from frosted acrylic material and backlit with LEDs, embracing retro and futuristic in the same breath.
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SOI TV Launches Interactive Channel with wTVision Solutions
SOI TV reaches millions of Hispanic households across the United States through an innovative way of broadcasting that enables users to interact, in real-time, with its on-air programming. Viewers can give their opinion about the news by interacting with the channel via Facebook, Twitter or SOI’s website. wTVision offered an end-to-end service to support SOI TV to build this channel from scratch, together with Imagina US, wTVision’s partner and leading broadcast service provider. For this project, wTVision's Playout Automation System, Channel Maker, interfaced with a Nexio Video Server from Harris as the main source of content. Sequencing data came from Broadway Systems' traffic management platform and all sources were routed throuh a Snell video router including all the channel's live sources. All the channel's graphics came from a VizRT engine and everything was key'ed and mixed in an IconMaster from Harris master control switcher.
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SPORTS
London 2012 Olympic Flame is Lit in Greece
In a traditional ceremony organised by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the Flame was lit at the Temple of Hera, next to the historic ruins of the home of the ancient Olympic Games. The High Priestess used a parabolic mirror to capture the sun’s rays to create the Flame. It was then carried into the Ancient Olympic Stadium. Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'The Olympic Flame lit in Olympia will connect the ancient Games and the modern Games. Cities, towns and villages across Greece and Britain will be connected together and to the London 2012 Olympic Games forever.’ The Olympic Flame will come within 10 miles of 95% of people in the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It will enable local communities to shine a light on the best their area has to offer – including celebrations of local culture, breathtaking landscapes and dynamic urban areas.
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Olympic Games 2012: Synchronised Swimming
Synchronized swimming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers (either duets or teams) performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music. Synchronized swimming demands advanced water skills, and requires great strength, endurance, flexibility, grace, artistry and precise timing, as well as exceptional breath control when upside down underwater. Having made its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 1984 Games, the all-female event will be held at the dazzling Aquatics Centre during London 2012. Aided by underwater speakers, duets or teams of eight swimmers perform short routines to a musical accompaniment. 10 judges, who are divided into two groups, with one panel awarding points for technical merit and the other for artistic impression, mark a variety of components during the course of a routine, including choreography, difficulty and execution.
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Olympic Games 2012: Table Tennis
Power, subtlety and lightning-fast reflexes will all be on display at ExCel during the Table Tennis competition. The sport has come a long way from its origins in the late 19th century, when it developed as an after-dinner game played by upper-class English families. More than a century later, Table Tennis is a breathtaking spectacle that blends power, speed, skill and subtlety. It’s the biggest participation sport in the world. To anyone who witnessed China’s clean sweep of all four gold medals in Beijing, there is absolutely no reason to believe that anything will change in London. The extraordinary enthusiasm of the Chinese fans may be hard to replicate in the ExCel but it will be one of the best shows at the Games, with the quality of fare on offer guaranteed to be as compelling, almost hypnotic, as ever. Table Tennis is based on the same basic principles as Tennis, but it has a very different scoring system, and a ball weighing just 2.7g. As in tennis, players must allow the ball only one bounce on their side of the court before returning it to their opponent. Points are scored if the opponent is unable to return the ball, or if they hit the ball ‘out’ of the court, ie it does not bounce on the table.
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SHOWS
ESC 2012: Rehearsals in Baku Have Started
Across the European continent, people have grown up with the remarkable tradition called the Eurovision Song Contest. In recent years, new members were welcomed. Not only did they join to be part of that pan-European tradition, they were challenged by the concept of this musical battle. Azerbaijan was one of those countries. Viewers and professional judges from all Europe picked Ell & Nikki’s Running Scared, the country’s fourth entry to the contest, as winner, and thus as host for the 57th Eurovision Song Contest. Hosting Europe’s favourite TV show is a great opportunity for the people of Azerbaijan to get to know Europe better. Maybe even more valuable is the opportunity for the rest of Europe to get to know Azerbaijan. Millions will do so as they tune in for the two Semi-Finals (22nd and 24th May) and the Final 826th May) of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, as well as through a world wide coverage of this event.
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Wingsuit Daredevils Achieve World-First
The Red Bull Skydive Team recently performed a spectacular performance high in the skies above Austria well worthy of any James Bond film. As part of the project Akte Blanix III, the five-man squadron set off in hot pursuit of two Blanix gliders cruising 4,000 metres above the ground. In one of the most daring wingsuit manoeuvres ever seen, the skydivers then inched their way towards the aircraft before flying along side by side at speeds in excess of 180km/h. When the Red Bull Skydive Team meets up with the Blanix Glider Team, one thing is for sure – you’re not going to believe your eyes. The two teams, which have already wowed millions around the world with images of their breathtaking performances, recently upped the ante even further with the final part of their Blanix trilogy.
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Robe Looks to the Future
Over 300 Robe moving lights Rocked the House at the 2012 Future Music Festival (FMF) – Australia’s premier dance music event - which reached record audiences this year as it toured the country featuring the very best sounds from over 35 top international and local DJs and dance acts. The Las Venus (Main) stage offered a hugely dynamic lighting rig, fully featured with Robe moving lights including ColorSpot and Wash 2500E ATs, ColorWash 1200 and 700E ATs and ColorBeam 700s. With incendiary performances from The Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Jessie J, Fatboy Slim, Tinie Tempah and numerous others, visiting LDs had plenty of choice and flexibility with the rig. These designers included Ian Tomlinson (Swedish House Mafia), Stephen Abbiss (Fatboy Slim), Andy Hurst (Tinie Tempah) and Neil Carson (Chase & Status) – all based in the UK!
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PRODUCTS
TeliaSonera Selects Snell Alchemist Ph.C
Supplied by Snell's Swedish channel partner, Danmon Svenska AB, the Alchemist Ph.C – HD TX50 systems are dedicated to simultaneous 60-Hz to 50-Hz frame-rate conversion of live ice-hockey matches from the United States for distribution to Nordic territories in partnership with Encompass Digital Media. A Snell Centra control and monitoring system facilitates remote IP-based control of the Alchemist Ph.C – HD TX50 systems, installed in New York, from TeliaSonera's Stockholm facilities. The result of extensive research into the exacting demands of HD frame-rate conversion, Alchemist Ph.C – HD TX50 is designed to produce converted HD outputs that are virtually indistinguishable from the input. The standards converter is driven by Snell's Emmy® Award-winning Ph.C phase correlation motion technology, providing the most accurate motion-compensated video processing — even with exceptionally demanding types of content and for frame rates up to 1080 50p.
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TSL's Multi-Channel Audio Monitoring Solution Sets the Standard for London 2012
Forty-six PAM2 units, supplied by Dega Broadcast Systems, will sit across numerous operator positions in the temporary facility for the duration of the games, including the BBC's VT editing suites and playout desks, main MCR, three main TV galleries and the commentary line-up area. TSL Professional Products' PAM2, which features loudness-compliance monitoring and audio delay to match video latency, has the ability to monitor 16 embedded audio tracks simultaneously and to decode Dolby E, as well as viewing associated metadata. Time and expense will be spared with TSL's solution, as manual configuration of individual audio monitoring requirements in each area need only happen once before the same pre-set can be applied and recalled to all other units automatically. Multiple pre-set recalls can be assigned to 'hot' keys on the front of the PAM2 so that the monitoring mode can be switched at the push of a button.
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Content Anywhere, Anytime Needs to be Monetized, Saved
It isn’t easy to move into new, uncharted areas. It used to be it was big studios, big iron, and big cigars. Now, it’s less about being vertically integrated than knowing how to loosely, flexibly integrate and leverage resources. Companies like Dalet, Harmonics and Accenture showed off some great production solutions; but we were more intrigued with their emphasis on how they could help content owners/deliverers protect, repurpose, recycle and monetize the assets. We were surprised at first to see a big presence of non-traditional broadcasters – Lowe’s, Safeway, Target, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Pizza Hut – just as intent on finding ways to improve their connection with consumers. Think about it (which we didn’t before NAB), they have the same problems, networks, stations the indies have. They have to not only produce attention-holding content, they have to also slice, dice and deliver professional-looking content to the store, on the Web, direct to your device.
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Turkmenistan TV Tower Broadcasts With Riedel Artist & Acrobat
With a height of 211 meters and an elevation of nearly 1,000 meters above Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital city, the Turkmenistan TV Tower is an impressive building. The tower transmits six channels, of which four broadcast in SD and while two are in HD. It also houses various other broadcast studios, an OB truck fleet and the transmission facilities of the channels. At the heart of the studios in the tower are six Artist 128 mainframes together with Artist 1000 series control panels. Due to their modular approach the system can be easily expanded in the future to form infrastructures of up to 1,024x1,024 ports. Flexible programming of the matrix, extensive interfacing and digital audio quality are key features to Riedel's Artist Digital Matrix Intercom solution. The TV Tower also incorporates an Acrobat Wireless Intercom system that is interfaced with the wired intercom infrastructure. Acrobat's DECT based system is license-free and offers seamless handover between cells. A total of 14 CC8 Base Controllers, 68 antennas and 71 beltpacks are used for providing wireless communications within the studios.
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3D ARISING
Men in Black III German Premiere
Displaying an image at more than four times the resolution of traditional 2K digital cinema projection systems, the premiere provided attendees with the ultimate-viewing experience. About 7,000 viewers have attended the German premiere at the multi-functional O2 World in Germany last night, making it the largest 3D movie screening ever done. Sony Pictures Releasing is now GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ™ RECORD HOLDER. As the world’s leading manufacturer of 4K resolution digital cinema projection systems, Sony Digital Cinema was selected by Sony Pictures to supply a solution capable of providing viewers with a superior visual experience. The set-up comprised an array of four Sony 4K SRX-R320 projecting left eye and right eye 3D images simultaneously onto a giant 25.9m x 14m screen delivering brightness exceeding industry standards, as requested by the director of the movie, to deliver the ultimate Sony 3D experience. Celebrity guests such as Will Smith, Nicole Scherzinger and Josh Brolin were all in attendance at the German premiere, along with film director Barry Sonnenfeld.
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Four Corners Offers Highly-Subsidised Training in 3D Camera Skills
With BBC and Sky set to ramp up their 3D-TV output over the next few years, now is the time for film and TV camera personnel to upskill in 3D camera. Four Corners’ 3D for Camera Professionals: creative and practical skills, offers an intensive, 3-day training course for camera professionals, highly subsidized by Creative Skillset, the Creative Industries’ Sector Skills Council. Each place is worth over £3,000, offered for £330 plus VAT. The course covers 3D theory, practical hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment, 3D motion control and DIT issues. Applications are welcomed from camera department professionals with significant experience in feature film or documentary. Delivered by Four Corners, FAVA Rental Ltd and Shoot3D, the course provides a mixture of theory practical hands-on experience. Equipment used will be up-to-date 3D equipment used by feature film crews. The cameras will be primarily EPICs, but Arri Alexas and RED One will be covered.
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