26 TVBEurope London 2012 Countdown
www.tvbeurope.com May2012
Large MCRs are being requested — for projects to house up to 40 people
Hire expectations for Games
Today’s economic climate means there is not always money for capex such as cameras, vision mixers etc. So, when extra equipment is needed, broadcasters turn to hire companies to meet the shortfall. Philip Stevens reports
MIKE RANSOME, CEO, Presteigne Charter, says that despite an overall drop in new productions in the UK, the hire market has remained fairly buoyant. “In a recession, broadcasters and others are not going to spend huge amounts on items such as cameras, large lenses and the like. So we have enjoyed a steady amount of work in spite of the financial situation.” Kevin Moorhouse, COO at Gearhouse Broadcast, agrees. “We’ve been very busy — and there are a lot of enquiries. Our main issue is having enough kit to be able to supply. Currently demand outstrips our ability to supply — but we have made some extra investment to meet the increased requirements.” Despite the general air of optimism an event, such as the Olympic Games, always provides a welcome boost by creating additional requirements. “Obviously, it’s going to be very busy and basically all our kit will be hired out over this period,” states Moorhouse. “We also have large commitments for non-Olympic projects that we are working on. These are assignments and rental clients we look after year-on-year — so we have ensured we keep these loyal customers supplied with kit over this period and not allocate all our gear to the Olympics. As you’d expect, we do this whenever these large global events occur to make sure our long-term clients have their requirements met.”
A good mix Both dry hire and kit supplied with operators provide a balanced mix for the two companies — with large lenses, camera channels and EVS units proving the most popular. Both companies are responsible for various build and install projects in and around the International Broadcasting Centre at the Olympic Park. For obvious reasons, most of this type of work originates with overseas clients. Gearhouse Broadcast is
building temporary facilities for three broadcasters. These include large MCR/CAR areas with production control rooms and studios. The build also incorporates a number of EVS ingest and Avid editing systems. Moorhouse states, “There is definitely more demand for tapeless environments, but having said that, we still have a lot of HDCAM VTRs going out as well.” A similar picture emerges at
“There is definitely more
demand for tapeless environments, but having said that, we still have a lot of HD CAMVTRs going out as well” Kevin Moorhouse
up
Presteigne Charter. Ransome maintains that integrated workflows are a prime feature of the projects taken on by his company. “This is proving an important aspect of the bookings for the Olympics. There is a demand for end to end file based systems that incorporate all operations right
to editing.” One of the company’s builds is
for Channel 9 and Foxtel from Australia. The client has placed an order for more than 30 EVS units to be linked to both Avid and Final Cut Pro systems. Another client is CTV. Here
Mike Ransome: Most American clients prefer to use Grass Valley, whereas Sony is the preferred choice of European broadcasters and production companies
Kevin Moorhouse: “Currently demand outstrips our ability to supply — but we have made some extra investment to meet the increased requirements”
the requirement is to feed back material to a base in Canada. “This follows the trend set by NBC some years ago. Instead of despatching a large number of personnel to an overseas location, the broadcast material is fed back to base and editing carried out there. This saves in overall costs, but does involve us installing a large amount of infrastructure.” “We’ve been working with some of these project clients for the best part of a year and a half,” explains Ransome. “But we are also expecting something of a last minute rush in the final weeks before the start of the games.” He also reports that large MCRs are being requested from his clients — with projects that are capable
of being able to support up to 40 people being built.
Upgrade
programme Although Presteigne Charter already has call on nine existing large vision mixers, it has recently
purchased a fully-equipped Grass Valley Kayenne Video Production Centre. Although this will be used prior to the Olympics for commitments to the Wimbledon tennis championships and Euro 2012, it is earmarked for use during the London Olympics. “This is a part of our
upgrading programme,” explains Ransome. “We are moving from our existing Kalypso switchers to the Kayenne because of its size, the multiple inputs and, perhaps more importantly, the expectations of our customers.” Ransome says that most American clients prefer to use Grass Valley equipment, whereas Sony is the preferred choice of European broadcasters and production companies. This mixer is available with 1.5 to 4.5 M/Es. In the larger configurations — which is the one purchased by Presteigne Charter — it has up to 96 inputs, 30 keyers and 20 DPM effects channels. The number of MEs can be effectively increased to 10 through the use of Grass Valley’s DoubleTake split M/E technology.
High profile events call for
comprehensive temporary facilities, such as this production gallery installed by Gearhouse Broadcast
Ransome also confirms that
the Olympics has produced an increased demand for Lawo audio mixers. “These are becoming very popular with many OB providers and we are geared up to meet that demand.” Back at Gearhouse Broadcast, Moorhouse confirms there is an increased call for large flyaway systems. “This is a huge event, and the rights owners want to see the very best coverage.” Of course, 2012 is a busy year for Outside Broadcasts in the UK. As well as the Olympics, there are also celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Euro 2012. Moorhouse says that those additional events will bring further work. “We have bigger facilities at
Euro 2012 than for previous tournaments. In particular, we are working for the host creating Technical Operations Centres at every venue and all stadium cabling. We are also working with unilaterals providing IBC facilities.” So, will the hire companies be
able to keep up with demand? Ransome is in no doubt. “It is going to be a case of having everything prepared and then being able to move equipment around quickly to cope with the requirements. Yes, it will be busy, but I am confident that with good planning there will be no difficulties.”
www.gearhousebroadcast.com www.presteignecharter.com
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