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The recent Phillip Island MotoGP, with crowds of over 50,000 and watched by many thousands more on television, was a major achievement for Network TEN as it was the first time a tapeless workflow was used to broadcast a live Australian sporting event. Videocraft Managing Director James Taylor explained, “Videocraft have been helping Network TEN with their motorsport broadcasts for several years. Before the last Phillip Island Moto GP we sat down with Michael Heaton and his team at TEN to plan for the upcoming event and that’s when they told us that this year they wanted to introduce a tapeless workflow.” TEN Sport Senior Producer Michael Heaton added, “This was going to be a complex job and it took a good deal of planning and consultation with Videocraft to get the system and workflow right. The key was using XD Cam cameras for acquisition together with an Avid Unity system integrated with Avid’s Interplay Media Asset Management and Sony PDW1500 XD Cam decks for high-speed upload ingest into Avid Media Composers. Avid’s Interplay Assist was also a critical tool for our producers and media loggers allowing them to review any material on the Unity irrespective of its source and faster than real time which meant we didn’t have to stop recording in order to start editing.” The Avid Interplay Assist desktop video tool is an efficient way to review and log video, select shots, and add locators and comments using ordinary desktops and laptops on a network. With the media loggers on the Moto GP having to review such a large body of material and then organise clips for editors and producers, using Interplay Assist helped the whole process to be faster and more efficient. Heaton added, “Using Interplay Assist our producers were able to create a rough ‘cut’ before handing it over to the editors which saved a significant amount of time. Previously this process was a manual one involving handwritten timecodes on paper. This year the producers were able to choose actual shots to show the editors which was very exciting not to mention incredibly efficient!.” James Taylor added, “We are very proud to have been involved in helping Network TEN come up with this workflow as we believe this is truly the way of the future.” Avid Interplay Assist also allowed Videocraft to integrate the EVS servers, used for slow motion replays and playout to air. “This was another real bonus.” Said Heaton. “With this new workflow there was no need to complete the edit and layout to tape. We could now finish the edit, send it to the EVS playout server and it was ready to go, all faster than real time and it worked perfectly – thanks to the Avid Interplay Assist.” The tapeless workflow pioneered by Network TEN and Videocraft is a significant development in Australia according to James Taylor, particularly in live sports. He added, “This tapeless workflow is a very big deal. It allows easy access to information, the ability to rename and organise clips and is a massive time saver. All huge advantages in live sporting events. In order to get everyone on the same page, before the Moto GP we did a full day’s training with TEN’s producers to make sure they were 100% comfortable with the system. After all, as this was a first, we would be taking away the tape machines they were used to and replacing them with computer screens. Videocraft also provided on-site audio sweetening via Pro Tools and technical support crew for the entire event.” Commenting on the success and overall efficiencies of the broadcast Michael Heaton said, “In essence Videocraft built a medium sized, fully functioning post house in 24 hours in the middle of nowhere! In addition to that they provided full technical video monitoring in and out using an HD capable Codan router system. Another improvement on the previous year was that we didn’t use a traditional SDI based network, instead only using it to check systems and as a back up. We archived everything to Digibeta Cam tape and aside from that everything else was tapeless. Although large in size, this Moto GP was one of the easiest jobs we have ever done and we couldn’t have done it without the help of Videocraft.”

Following the huge worldwide success of the UK original, Top Gear Australia was the most eagerly awaited TV franchise of 2008 and for good reason. With a nationwide search for presenters and significant promotion on SBS, the motor loving Australian public were keen to see the results. Freehand Productions were the production company tasked with creating Australia’s biggest motoring show based on a global product and Executive Producer Scott Young and Videocraft’s James Taylor discussed the best way to make this happen. Taylor’s solution involved the latest in Avid equipment and workflows. He explained, “The solution we put together included two Avid Media Composers, a new Avid Symphony Nitris DX, a 24Tb Avid Unity Media Net, a Digital Beta Cam Camera, DV Cam record facilities, a video router, tape machines, and high quality video and audio monitoring. Basically the whole shooting match.” The Avid solution came after Taylor looked at how the Avid Symphony was used on the UK show and decided that the new Nitris DX would be perfect as the main finishing suite for sequences with the Media Composers used for editing. Taylor continued, “It was an excellent solution and with seamless data transfer between the Symphony and Media Composer which meant not one problem despite very heavy shooting and post schedules.” According to Taylor it was the robustness and reliability of the system which was the key. “At Videocraft we have extensive experience with this type of system.” He added. “Our philosophy is to have a solid nucleus and then customise it per the individual project’s requirements. There was an intense amount of post and treatments on Top Gear Australia and the editors did an amazing job.” Scott Young was impressed with the Videocraft approach to solution solving. “James was spot on with this system.” He said. “He demonstrated that as Avid’s Media Composer and Unity have developed and extended their functionality there was no need for full blown and costly edit suites. The Symphony Nitris DX achieved the post look that we wanted at a much cheaper cost than if we were to have used the standard Symphony that’s at the heart of the UK show. With the Boris Continuum Complete and Sapphire V2.0 plug-ins we were able to achieve everything we wanted.” The real technology star according to Taylor was the Avid Unity Media Net. “The Unity was the key.” He explained. “It allowed an edit created in Media Composer to be seamlessly opened and finished in Symphony. Editors could also easily add to and change each other’s work without complications. The Unity as a shared storage system also saved time and money as there was no need to re-digitise tapes.” Scott Young concluded, “We congratulate Videocraft on creating a professional solution for Top Gear Australia. We have had constant feedback that the show not only looks as good as the UK version but in many respects, even better. Their sheer professionalism and hard work combined with expert knowledge was invaluable to us. With the much smaller budget it was a real achievement to attain the same look as the UK show.” Top Gear Australia Series Two begins shooting in February 2009

Videocraft, the leading broadcast equipment sales and rental company, supplied a Sony XDCAM HD solution to Ambience Entertainment for its new children’s TV series Larry the Lawnmower, opening the door to a groundbreaking new workflow. Glenn Fraser, one of the three directors on the Larry the Lawnmower series explained Ambience’s decision to use the new equipment and workflow. “We knew there was going to be a developing requirement for HD content for children's series like LARRY, and the existing HD acquisition strategies were either too expensive or weren't fully developing the rounded look we thought could be achieved. This XDCAM HD solution came along at just the right time. It might feel like there's a new flavour of HD turning out every six months, but when it comes to practicalities, there are really only a few things to consider. Number one being, ‘is your acquired picture considered real HD by the partners to whom you’re looking to deliver your deliverables?’ The pinnacle of HD delivery is still pretty much the BBC standard - most of the other broadcasters take their lead from them, so if you can tick the acceptable acquisition criteria that they demand, you're pretty much safe. Secondly, you've got to ensure that the uplift to HD isn't going to outweigh the programme's delivery opportunities. It's not much good feeling sexy about having HD at the front end if you don't have the processing power or storage to run the extent of your series without burning drive space. It's a false economy. The PDW-700's clever compression algorithm means that it's possible to get your pictures travelling back and forth in a good stream at 50Mbs. And all that in full raster 1920x1080.” Videocraft’s involvement began even before the project had been green lit with NSW State Manager Andy Liell consulting to the Ambience team and suggesting a package that included the PDWHD1500 Sony Professional Disc Recorder, PDW700 Sony Professional XDCAM® HD Camcorders and PDWU1 Professional Disc Drive Units. Once the package was agreed Liell and colleague Rob Floro conducted extensive testing on the kit with Fraser, cameramen Brad Smith and Richard Rowley, Series Producer Monica O’Brien and Senior Production Manager Kate Cooper. Smith added, “The progressive pictures the PDW700 delivers are without doubt, the knockout clincher. These cameras and this workflow bring HD back to levels that, although slightly more than Digibeta, are very affordable and give all the advantages of tape and non-linear. It’s the top of the line in XD evolution.” With Ambience’s budget having to cover 65 half-hour programmes for Channel Seven, editing and storage also became key deciding factors. “We investigated a variety of platforms for editing.” Explained O’Brien. “Omnilab Media’s CornerPost facility provided the ultimate post production workflow by embracing the Final Cut Pro-ProRes offline path utilising the elegant file-based workflow directly off the XDCAM Professional Disc media. This allowed us to work in ProRes reducing our storage requirements but without compromising the image quality. As the schedule is tight the only way for us to get through 65 half hours was for us to further utilise the XDCAM workflow in a way that we haven’t been able to do previously due to cost and time constraints. We did this by using a media manager on set who, with a running knowledge of the scripts and the series' goals, would be the first pair of eyes across the footage being delivered by two camera units every day. Her job, to collate the good, the bad and the very useful, into a bank of reusable locations, and character expressions. Then employing Sony's XDCAM transfer application, transfer the files 1.5 times faster than real time into Final Cut Pro to deliver a fast-turnaround offline cut. Instead of re-ingesting all tapes at conform, we do a picture lock-off in FCP and playout to the AVID DS HD Nitris suite for grading and titles.” Adam Spendlove, CornerPost’s technical engineer said, “After extensive testing this was by far the most efficient workflow taking into account the time issues we were challenged with”. Larry the Lawnmower is shot in a visualised studio space created by veteran designer Michael Bridges and imaginatively light-sculpted by Peter Borosh, ACS, and gaffer Graham Dickson. The Directors and the LARRY crew deal with a child's eye view of LARRY THE LAWNMOWER that is a hyper-realised world and exists within the backyard of a large suburban garden. Similar to Doctor Who’s Tardis, it is a place of seemingly infinite size and opportunity for the characters. Due to the fast turnaround schedule for episodes, the team were having to workably effect choice on a textural scale, and decided most efficiency was gained by doing 95% of their work in camera. Everything is bright, and richly detailed - grand, green lawns and azure skies - it is something like leafy, suburban Australia in miniature with puppets. “With such a huge amount of work to be undertaken, the Videocraft team, led by Andy Liell, have truly been pivotal to the success of the project thus far.” Fraser continued, “Videocraft's services and assistance have been nothing short of exceptional. In testing workflows via their Final Cut Pro setups they were always quick to initiate solutions, not sales. As a reasonably confident technician at this level myself, it would have been easy to see through a sales patter, but the experiential wealth they were able to honestly share meant that they were genuinely interested in the truth of the tests. The level of Rob and Andy’s technical and hands-on expertise meant that I never felt compromised and always felt supported.” Monica O’Brien concluded, “We are absolutely delighted with the XDCAM HD solution and the service and support from Videocraft. This is a real benchmark. As a result, HD productions are now truly affordable due to the efficiency of the XDCAM workflow. The argument that HD is too expensive just doesn’t hold up any more. We just couldn’t do this amount of episodes in the time we have without this workflow - it’s that simple. Andy, Rob and the whole team at Videocraft have been phenomenal. I have never experienced such amazing service and you can quote me on that!”