Blog

The Oates Victorian Open is one of the premier events on the Australian golf calendar. Both men's and women’s championships are played simultaneously over four days at the beautiful 13^th Beach golf course. This year organisers Golf Victoria wanted to raise the standard and level of innovation higher than ever before and include live streaming of the tournament. For that they turned to Sean Mulcahy from Australian Network Productions and Videocraft who provided all the OB and live streaming facilities. Mulcahy explained, “This event has gone from strength to strength and the addition of live streaming really took it to new heights. As a result I wanted an OB company that were innovative and that I could trust. Having dealt with Videocraft for years I knew they would be the perfect OB partner. They are a boutique operation who have great people like Andy Liell and Mark Grooby on their team, stock the very latest in equipment, have great local support and backup and a fantastic work ethic.” Having again been entrusted with the coverage of the Oates Victorian Open, the job of integrating live streaming and knowing golfing superstars including Karrie Webb, Nick Cullen and Richard Green would be taking part Mulcahy knew a great tournament awaited them and for that they needed to provide the very best services to meet expectations. He continued, “We asked Videocraft for a professional, high quality production and live streaming solution that could be backed up and supported by a substantial local presence and be very cost efficient to work within our tight budget. I’m delighted to say they 100% delivered. Most impressive was the way they answered all of our requirements with the utmost dedication and commitment. This meant I could trust them as I always have and knew I could rely on their solution.” Mulcahy and the Videocraft team designed and implemented a flexible and powerful onsite OB setup that included Yamaha audio, six channels of EVS, a Blackmagic 4K switcher, Ross Xpression graphics and RF links all based around Videocraft’s unique FlyPack. With the production day at the Open starting early and the live feed going to air at midday everyone on the team had to be prepared.

Mulcahy added, “Videocraft live switched the coverage whilst also integrating EVS replays and packages. The entire event was then played out to the Open’s official YouTube channel via a Livestream box. The aim was to provide a more intimate and informal coverage that included talking with the players in between shots. This also meant we had to be nimble and agile. We also set up a marquee where a host did player interviews. All in all the production was slick and efficient.” With a tight budget but a requirement for high production values Mulcahy and the Videocraft team in conjunction with the crew produced an end result which spoke volumes for the kind of OB production Videocraft has made such a name for itself in. Sean Mulcahy concluded, “I am extremely proud of our team for the job they did at the Oates Victorian Open. For such a small operation, the product was outstanding and in my view, has revolutionised golf coverage. Golf Victoria were ecstatic with the result and rightfully so as they can now comfortably lay claim to this country's most exciting golf tournament. I must again thank Videocraft who really went above and beyond in terms of service. They were committed, dedicated and professional at all times from prep to tournament to pack up and debrief, striving always to produce a job that everyone would be happy with. I genuinely couldn’t have done it without them.” To view some of the material that was streamed go to http://www.golfvic.org.au/oatesvicopenlive

Recently Videocraft provided a four camera OB solution with edit suite and EVS recording for some of Australia’s most prestigious cycling events. The events were produced and coordinated by one of Australia’s leading television services companies, Editrix.

Editrix Executive Producer Ian Gates explained, “Editrix has a long history of hiring facilities from Videocraft. The unique side to the relationship is that their MD James Taylor has a keen interest in cycling and understands exactly what I need to do the job properly. This year our brief to Videocraft was that we needed to provide fast turnaround daily highlights packages for all the events and to achieve this we would utilise their newly refurbished OB truck. As all the events I hire Videocraft’s production truck for are same day turnaround programmes for on-air, this requires a facility that can have a team of editors and producers efficiently working and sharing media.” The volume of work Editrix hired the Videocraft production facility for over the summer of 2015 included the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic (4 x 1 hour programmes), the Road National Championships (3 x 1 hour programmes + 1 x 1 hour combined highlights programme), the Subaru Track Championships (3 x 1 hour programmes + 3 x live stream telecasts) and the Jayco Herald Sun Tour (5 x 1 hour programmes + one international highlights programme). Gates continued, “Videocraft met all our technical, editing and production requirements but the star factor of the production is James Taylor’s knowledge as that enables us to get all the extras done. James and I have spoken about what is required to make the production less stressful and it basically means we need an extra editor and a clone of James who can split the, up to 18 hour, shifts!” Gates sees Videocraft’s newly equipped OB truck as essential to meet his tight deadlines and deliverables. The fully internally and externally refurbished, ten seat IP-based OB truck now has new air conditioning, racks, ergonomic production furniture and electrics throughout. The truck also has the ability to be configured as either a mobile edit facility complete with Avid edit suites, Isis storage and Avid Interplay, an EVS facility or as a traditional OB truck. As a facility for Videocraft’s clients the OB truck is a proper extension of what the company does best, post production integration featuring the latest in smart, IT-centric connectivity. Ian Gates concluded, “I honestly don’t think there is another mobile production facility to match Videocraft’s which would meet our needs in the market. The production values we were able to achieve by using the truck on this summer’s races were the best yet. Videocraft’s expertise, service and support were excellent. It’s a real labour of love for them and with James Taylor there to personally oversee each production we couldn’t ask for a better solution. We are very much looking forward to working with Videocraft on the next series of cycling events.”   Videocraft’s mobile editing, production and OB truck will be at this year’s SMPTE exhibition held at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, NSW from 14-17 July.   For more information on Editrix go to: www.editrix.com.au

"We're breaking new ground and have designed a product that meets the needs of news in the 21st century. The features in Inception v9 have been driven by requests from our rapidly growing customer base,” said Shawn Snider, Marketing Product Manager for Inception. "We are delighted to be able to respond quickly to customer feature requests, and the new platform that Inception is built on permits us to do just that. With flexible workflows and social media built right into the core, Inception is an entirely browser-based, platform agnostic environment that users can access from both the newsroom and in the field." Inception News is one of the fastest growing news products available, due in part to its modern news workflows, tightly integrated social media capabilities, and easy-to-learn browser-based interface. Within Inception, reporters can quickly create multi-platform content destined for broadcast, social media, and the Web, and plan their day with a rich assignment management interface. In addition to managing news wires, reporters can also leverage social media for news gathering, create geo-targeted searches for relevant keywords within the news environment, or bring social media content right into the production with a simple drag and drop interface. New to v9, Inception is introducing an integrated notification and instant messaging system, permitting users to quickly communicate directly within the newsroom. Users can quickly send one-on-one messages, engage in group chats and virtual meetings, or even share documents and photos right within the conversation. Furthermore, Inception brings context to content creation, with the ability for users working with running orders, assignments, playlists, or stories to instantly converse with anyone else viewing that content. This conversation is then permanently linked to the content, and will be archived alongside the story or rundown. Inception has also added the ability to completely customize the running order, assignment, and story grids, with users being able to add custom columns with various validation and presentation options such as dropdown lists, checkboxes, and date and time fields, among others. This customization permits newsrooms to truly tailor the environment to their needs and existing workflows.

At the NAB2015 convention in Las Vegas, the Optical Devices Division of FUJIFILM North America will introduce its 4K Ultra HD Series of lenses for broadcast applications.Designed for a 2/3-inch sensor, the new UA80X9, the first field lens in the series, has an 80x zoom andoptical image stabilization, making it ideal for coverage of large-scale live events, such as concerts and sports. In addition to its advanced optical performance, the lens covers focal lengths ranging from 9mm in wide angle to 720mm in telephoto. The UA80x9 size and weight is similar to the popular XA99x7.4 field lens. The lens will be available by August of this year. “NAB is the perfect venue to unveil this new lens,” said Thom Calabro, director of Marketing and Product Development for the Optical Division of FUJIFILM. “Our Premier PL 4K+ cine lenses and Cabrio cine/ENG-Style lenses have experienced a significant boon in popularity. Given the projected growth of 4K production, we needed to extend that 4K optical performance to our customers working with 2/3-inch broadcast cameras for sports and entertainment productions. This lens delivers 4K video with the same focal lengths currently being used on those type of productions. 4K UltraHD productions can now be produced with equipment that has the same ‘look and feel’ capabilities of HD, but with a premium picture quality. We are thrilled to show this zoom off at NAB this year.” Designed using the latest proprietary optical simulation software, the UA80x9 offers exceptional optical performance in the center of the image through to the corners of the frame. The digital servo’s 16-bit encoding assures operators that all lens data output—including the position of the zoom, iris, and focus—is extremely accurate. It can be linked with other systems, such as a virtual studio system for combining CG images with live action. Fujifilm’s proprietary multi-layer coating processing “High Transmittance Electron Beam Coating” (HT-EBC) is applied to the lens for enhanced transmission and color reproduction. The lens also features the company’s unique “optical stabilization mechanism” as standard, which provides optimum adjustment to image shakes caused by vibration and wind. This makes the lens well suited for any application where the camera operator must maintain a rock-steady close up shot for long periods, such as sporting events, houses of worship, corporate presentations, or concerts. The entire range of FUJINON Premier PL 4K+ cine lenses and the Cabrio cine/ENG-Style lens series willalso be on hand and demonstrated within the Fujifilm booth at NAB.  

With a history of delivering the very best that MotoGP has to offer, the 2014 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix pushed excitement levels to the limit. The on track broadcast for this year’s Phillip Island event was again managed by Axis Films who for the first time used Videocraft’s new Mobile Production Centre for their big screen coverage. Axis Films owner Tim Maloney explained, “This year we moved from our usual site shed set up to using the Videocraft truck and it was a resounding success. Videocraft provided a significant amount of equipment whilst easily integrating our existing equipment which was a huge plus.” Videocraft provided full OB production facilities for the three day MotoGP event, many of which were a first for the production. Maloney continued, “Videocraft did a great job. By using the truck as a hub they tied together all the internal and external facilities. They also provided all the comms and audio between all stakeholders some of whom were over half a kilometre away, integrated an EVS system and hooked an edit suite into the EVS. All the connectivity to remote locations was fibre based which provided us with the added bonus of quicker rig and de-rig times and better quality audio which was crystal clear and completely hum free. In fact Dorna Sports SL, the Spanish production company, said it was the best in circuit audio of any MotoGP event.” Videocraft also integrated Axis Films’ Tricaster system and supplied the latest RTS Telex ADAM-M intercom system which along with Dante media networking provided the IP-based comms and audio. Alongside these was a Yamaha CL1 audio desk. Maloney added, “There were so many good things about this OB truck and the facilities Videocraft provided. Their audio setup gave us great flexibility and made it easy to create custom audio mixes. The fact that it was all digital also preserved the audio quality irrespective of distance or location. They also used an excellent Lawo VPro8 audio video processor which allowed us to easily marry any audio into the video signals and back out again.” Being responsible for MotoGP Big Screen coverage is a very big responsibility with many challenges, which according to Maloney is why he was very careful in his choice of OB truck and provider. He added, “I’ve watched Videocraft MD James Taylor build that truck over the last six months and I’ve been very impressed. He has chosen the best equipment available and critically made sure it turned up ready, configured and able to cope with anything we threw at it. The fact that the truck is fibre and IP-based is a big bonus. We use MediorNet Fibre Backbone which James, like all the other parts of the puzzle such as MADI and Lawo, had no problem integrating and overall the truck and its interconnectivity capabilities are very impressive. For MotoGP we have many varied signals that have to be sent to many people and we have to interface with Dorna Sports. This takes much knowledge and expertise, all of which come in bundles with Videocraft and their truck. Dorna have very specific, unique audio embedding requirements which, again, were no problem for Videocraft. In addition we have to meet the incredibly high quality standards set down by the Australian GP Corporation so only the very best will do.” As far as Tim Maloney is concerned not only did he choose the right truck and equipment partner but the whole experience raised the bar again in terms of production values. Maloney concluded, “James Taylor treats every job like it’s his own. He quite clearly cares more about providing the best solution for his clients than anything else. This is rare in this industry and I commend him highly for his approach. MotoGP is the biggest job of the year for Axis Films and as a result of the success of this year’s event I have already booked Videocraft and their OB truck for next year. I can honestly say we now have exactly what we need, a luxurious production environment in a state of the art OB truck that makes the entire production smooth, seamless and look great.” For more on Axis Films go to: http://www.axisfilms.com.au For more on the Australian MotoGP go to: http://www.motogp.com.au