Articles tagged #STUDIO
Articles tagged
#STUDIO
Why you should upgrade to the Sennheiser EW 512P G4-S
People are always looking for ways to make their lives easier. This includes finding the best wireless mic system for their needs. If you're looking for big step up, you should check out the Sennheiser EW 512P G4-S 520-558 MHz Portable Lavalier Wireless. This is a high-end mic system that offers increased frequency range and distance, as well as increased sound quality for your voice. The EW 512P is the latest in the evolution wireless series and is the high end of the G4 line.
Blackmagic Design Announces Fusion 16 Studio
Dramatically improved GPU accelerated performance for 3D, tools, trackers,masks and more! Fusion 16 Studio is a major new upgrade that brings all of the improvements made to Fusion built into DaVinci Resolve available to VFX artists using the standalone version of Fusion Studio! Fusion 16 Studio public beta is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design web site. Fusion 16 Studio is a major upgrade that brings all of the improvements made to Fusion inside of DaVinci Resolve to the standalone version of Fusion. Customers get an updated and more modern user interface, along with dramatically faster performance. All 3D operations are GPU accelerated, making Fusion much more responsive and interactive. In addition, there are dozens of GPU accelerated tools such as time effects, dissolves, stereo 3D tools, vector motion blur, corner positioning, colour tools and more. B-spline and bitmap mask operations are accelerated, as are the planar and camera trackers. Improved memory management makes large compositions with high tool counts more reliable, making Fusion 16 dramatically faster and more stable than ever before. "Fusion 16 is the biggest update we’ve ever released for Fusion software," said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. "It features an updated user interface and enhanced toolset developed by the larger DaVinci Resolve engineering team during the last 12 months. What’s even more exciting are the massive performance and reliability improvements customers get from the GPU acceleration of all 3D operations, dozens of tools, trackers, masks and more! I think it’s very clear to see the benefits of a much larger engineering team now working on Fusion." Availability and Price Fusion 16 Studio public beta is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site www.blackmagicdesign.com.
Videocraft builds first Esports Production Studio in Australia for Gfinity
The global esports market is booming with revenue predicted to reach US$1.65 billion in 2020. One of the industry’s drivers in this country is Gfinity Esports Australia with their new Elite Series competition which is delivering gamers and fans a clear and structured competitive framework within Australian esports. A key requirement for the Elite Series competition was the creation of Australia’s first, dedicated Gfinity esports production studio which has been designed and built by Videocraft. The Elite Series presented by Alienware sees 6 city-based clubs competing weekly in front of a live audience at Gfinity’s state of the art esports arena within the Hoyts Cinema Complex at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter and it is here that Videocraft built the new production studio.Clubs compete across iconic game titles: Counter Strike Global Offensive, Street Fighter V and Rocket League, for a share in the some of the largest prize pools in Australian Esports history and each event is broadcast live on Twitch. COO of Gfinity Australia Sam Harris said, “Gfinity are setting the new benchmark for quality in esports in Australia. As such, we looked for experienced partners to help bring our vision to life. Videocraft played a pivotal role in the development of the high quality production capabilities for our first esports arena at the Hoyts Entertainment Quarter.” Videocraft’s Nick MacLean added, “Gfinity have produced esports events very successfully in the UK for years and set a very high standard for their productions. It was clear that all of our 45 years of broadcast experience would come into play for this project as the knowledge required to build the studio transfers perfectly into esports.”As well as creating and building a studio to create content for Twitch, Videocraft also had to send content, ready for playout, to TEN’s digital channel, One. MacLean continued, “For this studio we had to produce all the content to a much higher standard than for regular SD television which is usually 1080 50i. However, as the primary delivery and viewing platforms are online and in order to keep up with refresh rates, all of the content from the studio is 1080 60p.”
Videocraft designed and built the new Gfinity esports production studio with one of their highly-acclaimed and well-proven FlyAway kits at the core. The kit also integrates Sony HDC-2400 cameras, HDC-P1 cameras, EVS XT3 video servers, a Sony vision mixer and full Yamaha audio. MacLean added, “We deliver all of the competition match content in 1080 60p live to Twitch who in turn put it out live to their viewers. For One we had to work with Channel TEN to come up with a solution that looked equally as high quality. This meant a workflow which involved sending One the content in 1080 60i - which is the same as a live feed from the USA - and then cross converting that to 1080 50i. From there it all went out via the Telstra DVN and the whole process was flawless.” The mix of broadcast expertise and workflows combined with the new generation of esports’ requirements is an interesting one as the production crew and equipment are all from a traditional TV environment which in turn makes the esports online production values particularly high. Maclean said, “We used all of our broadcast experience and expertise to give Gfinity, Twitch and One the very best quality content possible. We also broke new ground by using the clever new Bird Dog NDI converters for supplying vision feeds to monitors throughout the new facility. This meant we could control the units, get them to accept any material we wanted in 1080 60p and put this up on the screen whenever we wanted to. The Bird Dog converters enabled us to maximise the network infrastructure we built for the new facility and made life particularly easy for operators choosing content from a single screen. There were also complexities involving the project to the cinema location that we needed to overcome. The studio floor was built in the cinema and our CAR and control room built in one of the projection bio boxes on the other side of the complex. We had an extensive fibre install completed to enable us to send signals to various parts of the cinema complex. Utilising Mediornet and a 10gig Ethernet backbone made this very simple.” 
In a nutshell esports is already having a huge impact in Australia and now with dedicated arenas and high end production facilities, that impact stands only to grow further. Nick MacLean concluded, “This project was all about quality and experience. We had to use all of our experience and work closely with Twitch, TEN and One to make sure everyone got the pictures the way they required them, in a seamless fashion and looking amazing. In the world of esports gamers play at 1080 60p therefore the images we give them to watch also have to be of the same ultra-high standard. This creates the very best in engaging content which in esports, is all that’s acceptable.” Season 1 of the Gfinity Esports Australia Elite Series started on 2 June and runs for 7 weeks of competition, featuring Melbourne Avant, Sydney Chiefs, Brisbane Deceptors, Perth Ground Zero, Melbourne Order and Sydney Roar. Each of the Clubs 3 teams compete on Saturdays, CSGO 3-8pm and Sundays, Rocket League 10-1pm and Street Fighter V 4pm-7pm in an action packed 5 week regular season and 2 week Finals.Videocraft brings state of the art Avid solutions to Studios 301
When Australia’s longest running professional recording studio, Studios 301 decided to upgrade their Pro Tools systems as part of planning it’s new multi-million dollar facility they brought Videocraft in to advise them on the best way forward, what equipment to use and critically what budget they would need to work within. Videocraft post production and pro audio sales manager Ian Parish explained, “Studios 301 brought us in at the early stages of this project because of Videocraft’s history in delivering Pro Tools HD systems and our extensive experience working with AVID solutions. There aren’t a lot of studios of this size that are being built from the ground up these days, and to be a part of that is unique in itself.” From that initial consultation the discussion expanded to include an AVID Pro Tools S6 modular control surface in a multi-purpose surround mix room and as Videocraft had already installed multiple S6 consoles around Australia, the team at Studios 301 sought their advice on how best to make this a reality. Parish continued, “This was a very large project as they were building an entirely new facility from the ground up with five control rooms, three mastering rooms, digitising facilities and vinyl pressing capabilities. It was clear, due to our experience in this field, that Videocraft’s role would be to supply and support all of the AVID hardware and software and the associated peripherals to make those systems work.” As the project plan developed the brief included 64 channels of analogue IO for the client’s Neve console in Studio One, 48 channels of IO for their SSL console in Studio Two and 32 Channels of IO plus an AVID S6-M40 for Studio Three. In keeping with the tech riders of their top tier international music clientele master clocking was to be provided by an Antelope unit and Apogee Symphony’s would provide AD/DA conversion. Parish continued, “This particular job didn’t require too much translation from brief to system design and quote as the stakeholders involved are all heavily experienced in the industry in particular on the technical side so we all worked incredibly well and efficiently together. Drawing on my experience upgrading Pro Tools HD systems to 64-Bit for SAE Australia, Box Hill Institute and also delivering new systems at Abbey Road Institute, I designed the most logical system that would meet Studios 301’s requirements. Another bonus for them was the fact that we could offer local support so that any issues could be dealt with promptly.” [caption id="attachment_3271" align="aligncenter" width="1440"]
Image courtesy of Studios 301[/caption] As a result of Videocraft’s system consultancy and design, Studios 301 took receipt of and had installed a new, state of the art AVID S6 M40 32 Channel console. The console was in a fully populated 5ft frame and has the addition of the master joystick module for surround panning. Parish explained, “This means that there is one more module than the console can accommodate, however the logic here was that, due to the multi-purpose nature of the room, the console could now either be configured as a classic 32-channel mix console or for post or surround music work with a spill zone and locked master faders and stem metering. The changeover time from one layout to the other is only 15 minutes, so it can easily be done in between sessions.” Whilst the AVID S6 M40 console might be viewed as the headline act just as exciting are the Pro Tools rigs. Parish added, “The backbone of each studio is HDX2 cards in a Sonnet Echo Express chassis, with Apogee Symphony Mk II interfaces handling the AD/DA conversion. AVID SYNC HDs act as loop sync masters and communicate with the automation computers of the analogue consoles whilst being fed word clock from Antelope Pure 2 Master Clocks. The exciting part about all this is the scale of these systems, the track counts and processing resources available. There’s also the fact that we have been able to selectively choose products from different manufacturers that are the best at their chosen role, as opposed to being locked to a single hardware set, so we have the very best results that fit the 301’s very specific needs.” Ian Parish had the privilege of being in Studio One for the first playing of audio, an experience he found quite special. He concluded, “The room was amazingly flat even before acoustician’s Tom Misner and Jochen Veith had applied any tweaks to the monitoring, which really is a phenomenal feet and the Studios 301 team has done a great job to plan and build such amazing rooms. As any musician, producer or engineer knows what is just as important as the technology in a studio is the rooms themselves. If they sound good and are comfortable to work in then you will want to go back and work there.”Videocraft builds State Of The Art TV Studios and Production Facilities For RMIT
Recently RMIT University undertook a significant renovation of its Melbourne city faculty specifically to open their campus up by redoing its Swanston Street facade and substantially renovating seven floors across four buildings. This huge undertaking was known as the New Academic Street, or NAS, Project. The existing buildings were where RMIT had its TV studios, originally built in the 1960s, much used and loved but long overdue for an overhaul. The NAS project provided an opportunity for RMIT to replace the old TV Studios with world class, cutting edge facilities to support both current and future trends in media production as well as RMITs research requirements in the digital media realm. To help them with the design and build of the complete project they turned to Videocraft. Before the project could start the university put out a tender for the design, construction and integration of four control rooms (two of which were to be UHD), five studio spaces and a virtual and augmented reality system. The tender also specified some unique components including a fully distributed routing system, UHD record and replay solution and the ability to quickly move any studio to any control room, or multiple control rooms. Technical Services Manager School of Media & Communication College of Design & Social Context at RMIT University David Beesley explained, “We required world class facilities with a futureproof and flexible infrastructure - a big ask - and we required a company who could work with us to enhance our vision of what these facilities would look like and how they could support our specific pedagogical needs. In conjunction with other industry leaders and after extensive research and consultation, RMIT came up with a base design which was subsequently put out to tender. Videocraft's winning point of difference was their ability to add significant value to our vision and turn it into a functioning reality.” Videocraft worked with RMIT end users to finesse the design and ultimately supplied and installed the kit for four TV studios and control rooms, a master control room (MCR), RMIT’s 'Black Box' research studio and multiple fibre-linked OB points throughout the NAS Precinct. [gallery ids="https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5135.jpg.jpeg|Head of ABC News speaking at the RMIT NAS Project opening,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5130.jpg.jpeg|James Taylor in one of the four control rooms designed and installed by Videocraft,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5136.JPG-e1522805026155.jpeg|,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5131.jpg.jpeg|James and Jeanette Taylor at the Opening of the RMIT NAS Project,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5132.jpg.jpeg|Panasonic 4K UHD Studio Cameras,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5129.jpg.jpeg|Checking out the studios on RMIT's Opening night for the NAS Project,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5133.JPG-e1522804985885.jpeg|Panasonic 4K UHD Studio Cameras,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5126.JPG-e1522804965720.jpeg|Installation by Videocraft at RMIT TV Studios,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5125.JPG-e1522804937190.jpeg|Installation by Videocraft at RMIT TV Studios,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5128.JPG-e1522804906693.jpeg|Installation by Videocraft at RMIT TV Studios,https://www.videocraft.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_5127.JPG-e1522804881286.jpeg|Installation by Videocraft at RMIT TV Studios"] Videocraft Head of Engineering and Projects Nick Maclean added, “We also designed a Central Apparatus Room for the 4 control rooms and 5 studios, plus supporting spaces such as green rooms, makeup rooms and production offices. Given that this was not a greenfield site, but a retro fit of an existing building, there were considerable constraints with the spaces, but with clever design we were able to come up with a solution that met the brief.” As part of the scope required a ‘distributed’ router Videocraft decided to install a large Riedel Mediornet system as, based on a 10Gig backbone, the system can handle up to 384x384 3G HD signals. For a distributed audio network they implemented a Dante audio network and ensured that all the audio mixers, stage boxes and tie lines were IP connected over a 10GigE IP network with a Cisco Nexus backbone. Videocraft also installed IP KVM systems, IP talkback using Riedel Smart Panels, and IP wireless comms using the new Riedel Bolero AES67 wireless keypanels. To tie all these systems together they used Lawo Virtual Studio Manager, a control solution that removes all the complicated backend components and presents a unified interface for operators. Beesley continued, Videocraft also installed the first UHD EVS system in Australia, which included IP Director and XFile for file-based ingest and delivery of both HD and UHD studio content. Critically they also supplied and installed kit for our temporary TV studios, constructed for the duration of the major build, to ensure business continuity. It really was a first class job and they met our every requirement.” Other kit supplied and installed by Videocraft included Panasonic 4K UHD camera chains, Sony vision mixers, a Zero Density 'Reality' virtual set and MoSys camera tracking, Ross Expression graphics, Yamaha audio desks and ARRI lighting. Beesley continued, “Videocraft took charge of face to face meetings, design workshops, numerous stakeholder and site meetings, design revision, installation, commissioning and testing. Their approach was professional and flawless.” Now complete the new facilities are used for teaching, including live broadcasts, research and more. As a result RMIT students can now learn on the same tools they will encounter in the field to which Beesley added, “These are the first purpose built UHD studios in Australia. They are at the forefront of technology for anybody, but for a teaching facility they are undoubtedly the number one studios in Australia. They are flexible and their unique infrastructure ensures that they'll be fit for purpose well into the future.” David Beesley, clearly incredibly pleased and incredibly proud of RMIT’s new TV and production facilities felt compelled to highlight the real shining lights of the project concluding, “There are many wow factors with the new facilities with their flexibility, extensive use of fibre, VSM, and 4K UHD capabilities but the real standout is the Zero Density Reality system. Videocraft installed a two-camera system with Star Tracker motion tracking which can render full virtual sets and augmented reality elements in realtime with unbelievable realism. The system uses the Unreal Engine for 3D design and rendering and the results are simply stunning. It’s the most realistic virtual system we have ever seen. I cannot speak highly enough about what Videocraft did for RMIT during this project. They were amazing to work with, incredibly patient, understood our unique requirements and worked with us to create something that is truly great, and the envy of many.”
Videocraft Designs, Supplies, Builds and Installs New Television Studio for RMIT
Recently Videocraft played a major part in the delivery of RMIT’s New Academic Street (NAS) consolidation project which included providing teaching and learning environments for students in their Screen and Media, Screen and Media Productions, Communications and Journalism programs. The scope of works required to deliver this project involved Videocraft designing, building and being responsible for the full construction of RMIT’s new TV Studio A. Videocraft MD James Taylor explained, “This was a very comprehensive project and build and involved the acoustic treatment of ceiling, walls and windows, specialist acoustic doors, an upgrade of existing mechanical and electrical services and the relocation of existing equipment which was no mean feat. Bearing all this in mind Videocraft fulfilled all of RMIT’s audio visual requirements.” Moving studios is never easy. Moving studios and simultaneously building a new one is even more complex as Taylor detailed, “This was a challenge for all involved. Maintaining continuity of business whilst shutting down one facility and building and troubleshooting a new state-of-the-art studio definitely had its challenges. That said we approached the broadcast AV installation in our usual professional manner and completed the project on a very tight timeframe and within the budget.” According to Taylor the program constraints were difficult to achieve however he added, “Despite this major constraint we delivered in full and worked extensively with the end user to ensure their functional requirements were comprehensively addressed. I’m delighted to say RMIT were very happy with the end result.” When all was complete Videocraft built and installed a state-of-the art digital television studio and master control including fibre link to C31, live streaming capabilities and green lighting technologies throughout. To which Taylor added, “All of this on a very tight budget by and within a very short timeframe. I’m very proud of our team for making this happen. It was an incredible effort and they were so professional.” Videocraft supplied RMIT with the equipment for two TV studios with all associated cabling, two control rooms, comms, master control, cameras, audio, vision switchers, routers, racks, patch bays, CCUs and graphics. Now complete and ‘on-air’ the new studio is a dynamic and busy teaching facility catering to both VE and HE classes at RMIT in addition to RMITV. As a result students can now put live broadcasts to air on CTV31, live stream broadcasts over IP and cater for numerous pre-records and teaching activities. James Taylor concluded, “RMIT’s feedback is that the users are ecstatic with the new spaces and the overall user experience has been excellent. The students find the state-of-the-art gear we installed a joy to work with and represents best industry practice, which in turn ensures the graduates are industry ready.”
Panasonic Announces 4K Large Sensor Handheld AG-DVX200 and 4K Studio and Box Cameras plus GH4 Firmware update
AG-DVX200 4K Large-Sensor Handheld Camcorder Features Top-End Performance Offering many top-end features such 4K/60p recording, a 13X optical zoom and a V-Log L gamma curve (12 stops of latitude, target) and delivering a shallow depth of field and a wide field of view, the DVX200 is the ideal companion camera to the company’s groundbreaking VariCam 35 4K camera/recorder. The DVX200 will be optimized for 4K/HD production and shares the esteemed VariCam family characteristics of filmic tonality and colorimetry, with natural, subtle rendering of skin flesh tones. It willoffer a V-Log curve emulating the natural grey-scale rendition of the VariCam 35. The camcorder will be available in late 2015 with a suggested list price under USD$5000. The new handheld 4K camcorder will offer an array of professional features including a newly-designed Leica Dicomar 4K F2.8~F4.5 zoom lens (4K/24p: 29.5 mm ~ 384.9 mm, HD: 28 mm ~ 365.3mm, 35 mm equivalent), time-code in/out, 3G HD-SDI and HDMI 2.0 (4K) video outs, easy focus and zooming, and programmable user buttons. The DVX200 will record 4K (4096 × 2160) / 24p, UHD (3840 × 2160) / HD (1920 × 1080) 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p in either MP4 / MOV file formats. There are two SD card** slots, facilitating backup and relay recording. For professionals working worldwide, the camera’s master frame rate is selectable between 59.94Hz (23.98Hz) / 50.00Hz / 24.00Hz. The DVX200’s three manual operation lens rings—13x zoom (Cam driven), focus and iris—will provide a comfortable manual control similar to an interchangeable lens camera, but without the need for actual lens changes. The zoom ring's solid feel and smooth action allow delicate ultra-slow zooming. In addition, the camera’s multi-step zoom control provides fast response and smooth zoom action, yielding the creative freedom every camera operator desires. The zoom control on the handle enables variable speed zoom, allowing fine zoom control even for low angle shots. The DVX200 also features an enhanced Image Stabilizer,including a five-axis Hybrid Image Stabilizer and 4x correction-area Image Stabilizer that produces clear images without blurring, and a micro-drive focus unit that improves focus speed, tracking and capture performance, facilitating 4K focusing and shallow focus shooting. Panasonic Introduces AK-UB300 Multi-Purpose Camera With Simultaneous 4K and HD Output
The company is previewing the AK-UB300 4K multi-purpose camera for remote studio, weather and traffic reporting, image magnification and sports implementations. The UB300 is equipped with a one-inch MOS sensor that outputs a UHD signal up to 3840x2160/59.94p, with the ability to simultaneously output HD (up to 1080/59.94p). Panasonic Expands Studio Camera Line-up With 4K and High-Speed 1080P Models 
Also shown for the first time is the AK-UC3000 4K-ready studio system, targeted at studios and productions requiring high-end functionality at an affordable price. The UC3000 outputs a UHD signal up to 3840/2160/60p, while also delivering superior picture quality in HD. The camera’s B4 mount accommodates the gamut of existing 2/3-inch lenses to maximize customers’ return on investment in existing lenses, and allows a wider and more economical choice of glass for sports, concerts and similar applications. Lumix GH4 Firmware update Version 2.2 At NAB, it was announced that the award winning LUMIX GH4 will have firmware update (Ver.2.2) available later this month, enabling recording anamorphic video content. Unlike complex digital post processing needed to achieve the classic Hollywood look, many effects that have became so popular with anamorphic film capture can now be achieved optically in the LUMIX GH4. Thanks in part to its Micro Four Thirds format and 4K recording ability, firmware Ver.2.2 for the LUMIX GH4 enables an Anamorphic (4:3) Mode capable of recording video in 3328 x 2496 pixel (equivalent to approx. 8.3-megapixel) resolution at a frame rate of either 23.98, 24, 25 or 29.97 fps. With an anamorphic lens such as 2x*1 you can capture and un-squeeze a 3356x2496 image in post-production. In addition, 4:2:2 / 10 bit HDMI output is also available*2. A further enhancement of the new firmware is the addition of a very high shutter speed of 1/16,000 sec. when using its electronic shutter mode. New HD Studio and Field Cameras
Building on the widespread success of the AK-HC3800 studio model, the company will introduce the high resolution AK-HC5000 studio camera, capable of high-speed output up 200fps. The camera incorporates new 2/3” 2.2M 3-CMOS sensors with high sensitivity and low noise, and is 1080/60p native, making it ideal for sports trucks, and staging/rental applications where 1080i/720p operations must be native and clean. Panasonic Announces AJ-PX380 1/3-inch AVC-Ultra Shoulder-Mount, Fully Loaded for Modern Field News Operations 
Panasonic is premiering the AJ-PX380 1/3-inch AVC-ULTRA shoulder-mount camcorder with comprehensive networking capabilities and dual-codec recording, making it an optimal tool for fast-moving ENG operations. The PX380 joins the latest series of Panasonic’s AVC-ULTRA camcorders with built-in wireless/wired streaming capabilities, and will be available in September 2015 with a suggested list price under USD$12,000, including supplied lens and viewfinder. Panasonic Adventure Introduces the Wearable POV Action-cam HX-A1
Panasonic is debuting the A1, its latest wearable POV Action-cam, weighing a mere 1.6 ounces. The camera’s rugged structure keeps water and dust out, making it an ideal choice for any adventure thanks to its high durability. The A1 also shoots in total darkness with an IR light source. Videocraft Builds Full Production Facility For Hillsong Church
[caption id="attachment_375" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Hillsong Church’s new state of the art full production facility in Alexandria designed and built by Videocraft[/caption] The title for one of the year’s more impressive studio builds currently belongs to Hillsong Church’s new state of the art full production facility in Alexandria, which Videocraft helped design and build. Hillsong TV Technical Manager Luke Irvine explained, “For years our Waterloo campus in Sydney has been growing and we've had a great need to expand our facilities to house the increasing numbers of people attending. As a church we have looked at many options to help relieve the pressure and time restraints that we faced with our current building in Waterloo. Before we embarked on this new project, we were running eight services on the weekend to try and accommodate everyone. Thus the decision was made to custom-build an additional venue so the campus could still grow and not be crippled by time and space.” The venue Hillsong chose was in the neighbouring suburb of Alexandria which was, before construction, an empty warehouse with shop fronts requiring a major construction effort to get it ready for use. Irvine continued, “The warehouse building was converted into a 950 seat auditorium so we knew we had to have a high quality production facility to cater for that many people. That’s why we turned to Videocraft to help us build it.” Hillsong and Videocraft have had a successful relationship with the church utilising many of the company’s rental services over the last few years. After a personal customer service call from Videocraft’s Shane Jones ignited the project, the church decided to put out an industry-wide RFQ which was particularly well responded to. Once the tenders had been submitted, due to the nature and importance of the project, Hillsong took a good deal of time to study each one with great care before deciding on Videocraft as their equipment partner and systems integrator. The RFQ, according to Irvine, had some very specific requirements that made it unique from a traditional broadcast facility, but with quality always the overarching feature that had to be factored in. In essence the system revolved around dual Ross Carbonite switchers chosen predominantly due to their flexibility, functionality and cost effectiveness. The Carbonite switchers particularly excel with their onboard format conversion capabilities, built-in high quality multi-viewer and integration with the Ross Dashboard, which also oversees control and diagnostics of all Ross components across the entire system. Irvine added, “In short our requirements were that the system must be HD, facilitate four cameras, three projection screens and multiple external rooms. The system also had to enable linking to and from all other campuses and keying of song words had to be achieved on five different feeds with different backgrounds and different overlays with ease of use for one volunteer operator. The system had to be cost effective but extremely reliable, easy for volunteers to use on a weekly basis and versatile enough to accommodate for future changes that will happen within the campus. Every source and destination needed to be easily monitored by the relevant volunteer operators and the system had to also be capable of a broadcast TV record for our television programme Hillsong Television – in other words yes, it was quite an extensive set of requirements.” Irvine said, “Videocraft worked closely with us to find really good solutions to achieve a great result. They where willing to look at all options to give us the best outcome and price. They also gave us pros and cons of equipment and allowed us to make changes as we went along to take advantage of cost savings and usability of the system. Videocraft also worked very hard to fully understand our requirements and workflow – this was key to the success of the system especially in tricky areas like the integration between the keyer cards and switcher. They also had a great attitude even through some of the really challenging construction problems of the building.” When complete Hillsong’s new production studio included two Ross Carbonite vision switchers, a Ross video router, Sony OLED and LCD monitoring, several TV One scan converters, Blackmagic design Teranex 2D converters and HyperDeck Studios, a GVG T2 Turbo server, Ross OpenGear and mini converters, Sony cameras, Canon lenses, Vinten and Miller tripods and fluid heads and live IP video links between campuses. There were also significant audio, comms, display, rigging and lighting components supplied by others that Videocraft worked with and integrated seamlessly. Irvine and the Hillsong team were particularly impressed with the quality level and attention to detail of Videocraft’s involvement. He commented, “The Videocraft team were extremely helpful and continually suggested ways of making the system better and more cost effective. They were always professional and impressively took total responsibility for the systems integration, equipment selection, system design and diagrams, installation and labeling all in-house. Videocraft's willingness to work with us, take our ideas and make them work was a major plus. Also the fact that they could work with very tight budgets and be totally honest about the real cost of things from the very beginning was excellent. Listening, thinking outside the box and working with tight budgets is classic Videocraft. To that end I must say a particular thank you to Andy Liell, Glenn Beaumont and the entire Videocraft team for their outstanding effort and commitment to this project.” When inspecting Hillsong’s new production facility it’s sometimes a little difficult to believe that only a few short months ago it was a deserted warehouse. Hillsong Project Manager Sebastian Heck said, “We have often had people from other part of the building install project come and admire the cabling work and the neatness of the racks in the Videocraft install. Many of our volunteers comment on the professional look and feel of the control room and how it looks like we are part of a TV broadcast station control room. The song words on screen setup is my personal favourite as it is so easy for the operator to control the five different feeds they need to without them really having to think much about it at all.”