48 TVBEurope The Workflow
www.tvbeurope.com July2013
“This format definitely improves journalistic coverage of the races”
Sky races through F1
Sky Italia’s new Sky Sport F1 HD channel is providing fans with live coverage of the season’s Grand Prix — 10 of which will be exclusives. Mike Clark reports
THANKS TO virtual sets and augmented reality, dramatic race action and graphics will appear alongside the Milan Santa Giulia studio hosts — who include Jacques Villeneuve, also commentator at the actual races. A key aspect of the coverage is that the studio is connected with Sky Italia’s ‘portable’ cutting edge production set-up at the circuits entirely via fibre optics, and all the zones covered by the journalists and technicians at the races are also fibre-linked. Fabio Guadagnini, head of the Motorsports project at Sky, explains, “We wanted to maximise the impact, based on what the fans asked us for in a market survey and which was at the origin of our project — experiencing F1 close-up, to the point of almost being able to touch the cars. “All this had to be obtained with a top-grade modern modus operandi: choosing a champion like Villeneuve, featuring augmented reality and using fibre optic to ensure a great band capacity, while also ensuring excellent safety margin, came almost naturally to achieve this aim.” Viewers also have an HD mosaic feature at their disposal with “nine channels to experience the races as key players”, with which they choose how to follow
Fabio Guadagnini: “We wanted to
maximise the impact … experiencing F1 close-up, to the point of almost being able to touch the cars”
each Grand Prix, customising their screens with a choice of nine video options and other features such as rankings, race calendar, viewers’ twitters, etc. This year, for the first time, Sky
Italia’s clients will also be able to follow live Sky Sport F1 Grand Prix coverage on their smartphones, tablets or PCs, thanks to Sky Go. The team behind the flyaway OB production project is led by Riccardo Botta, head of Sport Production and Operation and Technical Operations manager Tiziano Mantovani, also on-site at the circuits. Guadagnini adds, “The project
was put together by our F1 team, which includes the technical service company — Videe (of Pordenone) — which turned our ideas into a streamlined, efficient and, above all, ‘safe’ production machine, working along with our IT and broadcasting department staff.” Videe CEO Bruno Mercuri continues, “Videe has worked with Sky Italy for 10 years, covering top international sports events, and this year we are
celebrating our 25th year of providing technical broadcast services worldwide.”
Lightweight and portable An impressive package weighing in at slightly over 2,000kg, the production set-up travelling round the globe is established in just a few hours in a container at the circuits. The flight cases contain a Sony MVS-6530 video switcher (48 in/32 out), a Lawo MC²56 audio console for the 5.1 Dolby Surround sound and a Harris Platinum MX router with integrated HV-SXP multi-display management system. HD recording is via AVC Intra 100 and there’s an EVS XT3 Slow Motion system with Xtore NAS (24TB) integrated with the editing set-up, which comprises two Avid Media Composer and Adrenaline suites and a graphic production zone with Vizrt Engine and AKI hardware. The container also hosts a graphics area and an editing and journalists’ area (with two Avid Nitris suites). Videe’s 16-man team comprises a production coordinator, chief engineer, vision engineer, RF technician, two RVM/EVS ops, GFX op, audio console op, two editors, an audio assistant, three RF camera ops and three assistants. Luigi Nespolo
The portable production control room for Sky Italia Sky Sport F1
(Videe R&D) adds, “To personalise the signals fed via fibre (50Gb) from Formula One Management’s master control room, as well as adding graphics and commentary, additional
The commentary position is connected via four more Mediornet Compact Pro frames with Neutrik’s rugged OpticalCON Power Split cables, each with four pairs of optical cable plus mains power, so also providing the power supply for the terminal devices. Eight HD SDI signals are transported, plus the commentators’ audio communications. Nespolo stresses, “The Mediornet system is of key importance, as it enables us to carry out signal transport and processing without any ‘outboard’ hardware.” Sky Italia has a team of 10 at
the circuits (journalists and commentators, plus director Aurelio Astori and executive producer Mauro Ottino), so intercom is of great concern, and Riedel Artist 64 digital
Sky’s production container is connected with the commentary area (with four commentators and a remote controlled Q-Ball camera)
video coverage is provided by our ENG team, using three Panasonic AJ-HPX3100 wireless camcorders with RF VisLink L-1500 systems that ‘peep’ into paddocks, the pit lane and other hot spots. Microphones are by Italian manufacturer Wisycom.” The 19 FOM signals,
transported via fibre by means of a Riedel Mediornet ring with four Compact Pro frames, are nine on-board cameras, one on-board mixed program, one box channel, one driver track — GPS with graphics showing cars’ position in realtime, one press conference, one beauty cam/ helicopter, one highlights camera, one clean 16:9 International feed, two world feeds, and one timing.
Importance of communication As well as the link with the FOM master control room, Sky’s production container is connected with the commentary area (with four commentators and a remote controlled Q-Ball camera), EBU, the ‘Fit Point’ area where the signals to be fed to Sky’s Santa Giulia studio in Milan are delivered, and with Sky Milan.
matrix system intercom also plays a key role, linking camera ops, assistants, all the fixed workstations, commentary zone and audio, Avid and EVS positions. There is also a VOIP 8-user
intercom link in Sky’s Milan studio, so, while keeping a sat link as an emergency backup, the fibre link ensures realtime communication, without the annoying audio delay often experienced in long distance OB coverage. Concluding, regarding this
innovative modus operandi for connecting the circuits located worldwide with the home studio (including delay-free realtime intercom), Guadagnini enthused, “this format definitely contributes to improving journalistic coverage of the races, as our on-site team (which puts together 95% of the product on the weekend of the races) is efficient, rapid and streamlined — even if we have to work in sensitive areas that are definitely not spacious and are at times dangerous. So, as well as creativity and ideas, organisation and speed are fundamental!”
www.sky.it
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