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TV & FILM PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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An ITP Business Publication Vol. 11 Issue 3 March 2009

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An ITP Business Publication Vol. 11 Issue 3 March 2009

UAE prod

ucers rev

up for TV

C boom

STAR ANIMATORSThe force behind The Clone Wars

DRIVENPRODU

CTION

PUT TO THE TESTDeckLink Studio receives thumbs up

TV & FILM PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST

IN SAUDI ARABIA Prayers at Holy Cities in HD

CABSAT

2009

SHOW IS

SUE

THE CUTTING ROOMWith Jordanian fi lmmaker Zaid Adham

www.digitalproductionme.com MARCH 2009 1

CONTENTS

MARCH 2009 VOLUME 11 ISSUE 03

96

52

3224

16

HOW TOChoosing the best tripod for your shooting requirements.

5 NEWSSyrian TVs production facility on schedule / Egypts Al Ahly TV kits out studio / Palestinian foundation plans lms on Arafat / AUD chooses P2 / UAE videos win awards at New York lm fest

COVER STORYDS explores why the UAE is a hotspot for TVC production.

HD IN MECCA AND MEDINAPrayers broadcast in HD from Saudi Arabias holy cities.

LIGHTING CONTROLDubai TV engineers take control with new console upgrade.

CABSATA snapshot of the hottest products on show.

112 WEBLOGThis months digitalproductionme.com round-up.

40 VIEWPOINTThe best digital audio workstations are those that fully integrate within a companys work ow.

REVIEW - DECKLINK STUDIOGiorgio Ungania puts the new card through its paces.

46

58 POST PRODUCTIONLucas lm animators introduce Star Wars to the world of 3D animation with Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

16

32

66

76

66 CASE STUDY - AL DAFRAHAbu Dhabi music channel commits to HD production.72 FACE TO FACEWith Jordanian lmmaker Zaid Adham. 76 STEREOSCOPIC HD

Ushering in a new generation of visual e ects.

90 ON LOCATION SERVICESDigital Studio takes a look at how the UAE compares to MENAs other lming locations.

80 SPECIAL REPORTDubai Cricket Stadium built for TV broadcast.

13 VOX POPProducers and freelancers debate on showreel lching.

MARCH 2009

MARCH 20092

COMMENT

Although most broadcasters still invest in standard de nition, production houses and lmmakers in the Arab world should whole-

heartedly embrace high de nition as the format of choice for production.

Broadcasters may be slower in adopting HD but they can be excused for not having invested in this format except in some areas of their work ow because the infrastructure in most viewers homes is still only SD-com-pliant and huge investments in HD infra-structure at this point cannot be justi ed.

The choice to migrate to HD, however, should be a lot easier for the production industry. Besides the easy availability of HD cameras all the way from the entry-level to the very high-end, the price dif-ferences between SD and HD cameras are not large enough to justify sticking to the older format.

Production houses also have an advan-tage in shooting everything in HD. When broadcasters eventually move to HD trans-mission, footage shot in HD will not have to be converted. In fact, the value of content produced in HD will only increase in the future as HD-compliant set top boxes and related TV screens become more common in the viewers home.

Given this, it seems important that even if media organisations do not see it t to migrate their entire work ow to HD, they must ideally move to this format within their production environment. If all new program-

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Production world must embrace HD

VIJAYA CHERIAN Editor

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ON THIS MONTHS COVERThe UAE becomes a hotspot for TVC production. Read the full story on page 16.

ming content such as drama series and documentaries are lmed in high de nition, chances are they can be broadcast even several years later, when the whole world has nally migrated to an HD environment.

At CABSAT 2009, there will be greater focus on high de nition and its many merits within the production and editing environ-ment. Several camera manufacturers such as Hitachi, JVC, Sony, Panasonic and P+S Technik will be at the show to display their wares while a substantial number of new production companies will also be there this year to o er their services in HD.

Smaller cameras and new manufacturers are not to be sni ed at. An example of this is Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars and was mainly shot on a relative newcomer, the SI-2K.

It will be worth your while to visit CABSAT and look at the vast array of HD options available in the marketplace.

On another note, Digital Studio will also celebrate its fth annual awards at the show. We will celebrate the best and the most creative in the production and broadcast industry. Watch this space next month for a full rundown of all the award winners.

BPA Worldwide Business PublicationAudit Membership Applied for September 2008.

see Hitachi at Cabsat 2009 on stand LC-1

REGIONAL UPDATE


NEWS

IN BRIEF

DUBAI STUDIO CITY CONFIDENTDubai Studio Citys executive director Jamal Al Sharif con rmed its projects were going according to schedule despite fears of the global downturn having an e ect on Dubais realty sector.

In terms of our projects, we are going ahead. The sound stages and the power substations are very much in progress. Two commercial buildings will be delivered by the end of this month while one tower will be ready at the end of May, he stated.

In fact, Al Sharif added that two of his clients are looking to expand. Last month, we were approached by a company that wanted two oors and another wanted one but I dont have any to give them just yet and they have to wait a bit.

SAUDI PRODUCTION HOUSE GETS KAEC DOCUMENTARY DEALThe CEO of SilverGrey Picture and Sound, Silvio Saade, has revealed that the production house has been awarded a $1.2 million contract to document the rst phase in the development of Saudi Arabias King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).

The video documentation and archiving project will see the company deploy six EarthCam 4K HD cameras at the site to record the development of the industrial city, according to Saade.

There are robotic cameras with a 360 degree eld of view, made especially for construction sites, he stated.

We will have the cameras on a time lapse function, and will be programmed to record one frame every minute, over the three year length of the develop-ment. The project was commissioned at the request of King Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud himself, and Emaar selected us to conduct the project from a group of about nine production houses, many of them large interna-tional companies, Saade added.

Dubai Media Inc. recently awarded a US $7 million project to Qatar-headquartered systems integrator Salam Media Cast to undertake the deployment of a news production facility at Syrian TV. The news facil-ity, which primarily includes two studios, a newsroom system, non-linear editing suites, a graphics system, video servers and a data tape archive solution, is scheduled to be commissioned later this month.

Both studios are equipped with six Sony BVP E30 standard de nition cameras although wired for eight, Sony vision mixers, Sony VTRs, Evertz mulitviewers, Miranda graphics equipment as well as solutions from Harris and Tektronix.

The bigger studio will be used for news production while the smaller news exchange studio is meant to act as a standby, stated Niaz Siddiqui, operations manager and consultant for Salam Media Cast.

The whole studio is designed to operate in a stan-

SYRIAN TVS NEWS PRODUCTION FACILITY ON SCHEDULEdard de nition environment. We stuck to this format not just for budget reasons but also because, it is still the format in which most regional broadcasters are operating today, Siddiqui added.

The work ow at the facility including ingest, playback and newsroom system will be controlled by VSN. The news centre will be connected to Syrian TVs main centre via microwave link and bre optics.

Sami El Shafai, executive director, Salam Media Cast claims the systems integrator always seeks to provide state-of-the-art solutions as per industry standard and clients requirements. Our objective has always been to provide our clients with exible and upgradeable solutions that are state-of-the-art but also cost e ective. We couple this with our in-house competence in terms of providing the most appropriate design, work ow, engineering, training and after sales support, he said.

QATAR GETS READY FOR NEW ANIMATION SERIES, SALADIN

Saladin (top right), a 26-episode animation series on the great Arab hero, who became a legend, is being co-produced by Malaysias Multimedia Development Corporation and Al Jazeera Childrens Channel. The animation is being devel-oped in HD 720p and is scheduled for release early next year.

REGIONAL UPDATE

MARCH 2009 www.digitalproductionme.com6

NEWS

IN BRIEFDUBAI FILM MARKET BAGS DISTRIBUTION RIGHTSThe Dubai Film Market has bagged the distribution rights for a number of lms including animator Bill Plymptons Santa, the Fascist Years and Mexican Stando , after its inaugural run at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in December 2008.

The Dubai Film Market attracted sales agents, producers and studio executives to both its Cinetech library and its Market Lounge at DIFF. The Cinetech digital library had more than 200 lms from 64 countries while the Market Lounge helped facilitate meet-ings between lm buyers and sellers.

Ziad Yaghi, director of the Film Market, said: The Dubai Film Market is a natural progression towards es-tablishing Dubai as the regional centre for discovery and trade of content. It will bene t the rapidly evolving media industry, both in the Arab world and in emerging markets of Africa and Asia.

Filmmakers Rachel Gandin and Chadi Zeneddine, who are shooting a new Disney Movie in Arabic, are also reported to have used Cinetech extensively help with its production and pre-production preparation.

INTUIT TIES WITH SONNETDubai-based distributor INTUIT Technol-ogy has partnered with Sonnet to bring the manufacturers storage solutions to the Middle Easts lm, video and broad-cast markets for the rst time.

This agreement is ideal for INTUIT, which primarily deals with storage solutions in this market, commented Giri Rajan, managing director, INTUIT Technology. Sonnets storage solu-tions ll the gap for mid-level solu-tions required by small and medium sized companies in the lm and video industries. Sonnets Fusion F2 Storage and rack-mounted RAID protected storages cater to these segments.

EGYPTIAN SPORTS CHANNEL KITS OUT STUDIO WITH SD CAMSAl Ahly TV, a new channel launched by Egypts famed football club Al Ahly, recently tted out its studio at Egyptian Media Production City for the broadcast of the clubs matches. The project was undertaken by Egyptian systems integrator Systems Design.

Key to this project was the clubs investment in several standard de nition Sony and Panasonic cameras to facilitate the production of in-house programmes and commentary to complement the broadcast of the football games.

Al Ahly TV has invested in a ve-camera 400m studio that can accommodate about three or four sets, explained Ahmed Gamal, managing director for Systems Design.

We chose Sony E30 cameras for the studio because this is the highest category of SD cameras from the manufacturer. It is used by many TV chan-nels in Egypt and has a very good reputation in this market. For outdoor shots, we speci cally chose Panasonics AJHPX500 cameras because they use P2 technology. Since the footage is like a le, it can im-mediately go on the server and be ready to air. It is in keeping with the tapeless work ow we have tried to maintain at Al Ahly, he added.

The channel has also opted for Final Cut Pros SD version to enable editing at the channel.

FCP will be used for editing but the user will do direct disk editing on a Harris server before it is taken to air, explained Gamal.

Mirandas Vertigo X3D enables online graphics at the channel. The reason we went with this solution is because it has one of the best graph-ics work ows. We needed a solution that could be managed very simply and does not need a very sophisticated operator. The Miranda is very easy to manage. You just have to follow the tem-

plate and one solution from Miranda can be used to manage all the applications. This was key to choosing this solution, stated Gamal.

Typically, feeds of a match are sent to Al Ahly by state-broadcaster ERTU, which undertakes produc-tion at the venue. At Al Ahlys facility, the footage is then repackaged with special in-house commentary and analysis, on-air logos, graphics and other brand-ing elements before it is sent to air. Here, Al Ahly opted for a slo-mo server from Darim to show the highlights of the match.

The backbone of the tapeless work ow at the channel is a turnkey broadcast solution from Harris, which covers everything from production, automa-tion and signal processing to channel branding, graphics and test and measurement.

DR. WHO EMBARKS ON HD PRODUCTION IN DUBAI

The rst episode of Dr. Who to be shot in High De nition was lmed in Dubai. The episode marked a major departure for the series, which had previ-

ously been shot in standard de nition on account of production costs. The shoot was facilitated by Dubai-based production house, Central lms.

Gamal says SD is still the most popular format in Egypt.

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REGIONAL UPDATE


NEWS

IN BRIEFAUD CHOOSES P2 CAMCORDERSThe American University of Dubai recently invested US $82,000 in six Panasonic AGHVX204 handheld HD P2 cameras for outdoor shooting.

Speaking about the deal, Hassan Ali, technical sales manager of broadcast solutions at Al Futtaim Technologies, said: AUD wanted a camcorder that would support both P2 cards and tape. This camera supports both. More academic institutions are beginning to use P2 because they nd it easier to in-tegrate it with their computer networks and le transfers are a lot easier.

LIVE SHOOTS IDEX IN HDLIVE, Abu Dhabi Media Companys OB subsidiary, won the rights to broadcast the opening ceremony for the Interna-tional Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX), one of the worlds largest exhibi-tions for defence organisations.

We always apply best interna-tional practices in the eld and use HD technology, commented Abdul Hadi Al-Sheikh, managing director and CEO of LIVE. We provided full support to this exhibition with the latest HD technology and the most advanced OB vans in the region.

IRANTAJIK TV TO MAKE DEBUTA senior Tajik o cial said that an Iranian-Tajik TV will go on air on the eve of the Iranian New Year (Nowrouz) later this month. Senior advisor to the Tajik president, Saeed Morad Fattahov made the remark in a meeting with the visiting head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Ezatollah Zarghami in Dushanbe last month.

Referring to the establishment of a joint Persian language TV network in Tajikistan, the Tajik o cial added that the move will help bring the two Muslim nations closer. He urged the IRIB to help the Central Asian republic in relevant technical elds.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

LITEPANELSBarry Rubin has been appointed director of worldwide sales at Litepanels, a Vitec Group Company. Prior to this, Rubin served in sales and marketing for companies including Ikegami, Philips Broadcast, IDX and Schneider Optics. Rubin is tasked with growing the companys business for Litepanels lighting solutions.

DKTECHNOLOGIESDK-Technologies has announced the ap-pointment of Peter Harrison to the position of regional sales manager, with particular responsibility for the US and the Far East.I have known DKs audio and video monitoring and metering products for many years , commented Harrison. I look forward to developing the companys business in the USA and elsewhere.

AXONJan Eveleens (l) has joined Axon Digital Design as CEO. Jan joins Axon from Grass Valley Nederland BV. We found Jan to not only have the commercial and technical skills but also an enormous knowledge of our industry to take Axon to the next level, stated Axons current CEO, Steven Le Poole, who will continue as chairman of the supervisory board.

FOUNDATION PLANS FILMS ON ARAFAT WITH OLD FOOTAGEThe Yasser Arafat Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the memory of Palestines late leader, has invested in Sonys HDXchange server as part of its e orts to store all video and audio material produced on Arafat.

The US $200,000 installation, which also includes Final Cut Pro, ve PCs, a nearline storage server and two ingest stations, will help the foundation gather all historical footage and produce documentaries and lms on Arafat for future use.

A lot of this material exists with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, but in several di erent formats all the way from the U-matic tapes and DVCam to newer formats like the HDCam, com-mented Firas Ishaq, managing director of Palestinian systems integrator and Sony distributor Star 2000.

All of this will be brought together by the foundation and then, converted to one format. FCP is the most convenient for editing and is well supported by Sonys HDXchange. The objective is to use some of the old footage and tell Yasser Arafats story through di erent documentaries and lms.

The installation will be completed at the Founda-tion later this month by Star 2000.

The SI has also secured several other projects

in Palestine recently including a project for Holy Land Radio Sta-tion in Ramallah, which was based on Sonifex equipment. Palestinian news agency Ramattan, which has several o ces across the Mdidle East, also invested in four DXC-D55WSPH cameras and HDV editing equipment, Ishaq said.

The installation will help the foundation produce new films on Arafat from existing footage, stated Ishaq.

Sony HDXchange server.

REGIONAL UPDATE


NEWS

At the 2009 New York Film & Video Awards, a small Dubai-based production team did the UAE proud by winning two gold awards and two silvers for two of their video productions on Breast Cancer Awareness in the Middle East.

Produced by Reim El Houni and directed by So a De Fay, the campaign highlighted the im-portance of checking for signs of breast cancer early on in life. Cameraman Richard Latham and

award-winning director De Fay won a silver each for cinematography and direction. Both of the videos won gold awards in the social issues and public information categories. Dubai-based Creative Kingdom facilitated the proj-ect and post produced the videos.

This achievement is an important milestone for the local lm industry, commented producer El Houni.

As most of the corporate work goes to UK-based lm companies,

an award like this will hopefully dispel misconceptions that o shore is the way to go in this community, and give Dubai-based companies an opportunity to pitch for more substantial local work.

The campaigns focused on four breast can-cer survivors. However, after watching reams of horri c hospital videos on the subject, director De Fay was determined to present the theme poetically and aesthetically with-

out taking anything away from the essence of those stories.

This production was a tricky one because we were not doing this with models; we were doing them with actual survivors, stat-ed De Fay. We tried to maintain a di erent background and props for each of the survi-vors just to give the backdrop a nice look and feel. We got a store in Mall of the Emirates, for instance, to provide us with all the furniture we needed while Proaction provided us with the studio space. We spent a lot of time on the art direction and created creamy lighting for the videos, De Fay explained.

The team built a room within the studio and painted it several times over to give a di erent backdrop to suit the story of each survivor. We did all the house scenes within two days while the commercials were shot in the Hatta mountains as well, stated El Houni.

The videos were shot on the Sony 900 HDCAM and edited on FCP HD.

UAE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS HONOURED AT NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

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FILCHING SHOWREELS


VOX POP

IS IT FAIR TO PUT UP A SHOWREEL PRODUCED BY ANOTHER PRODUCTION HOUSE ON YOUR WEB SITE EVEN IF ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES HAS NOW JOINED YOUR COMPANY?

It depends on how much work you have done on a project. When a lm is made, there are some key people who contribute to it, such as a director, a producer, an art director and the cameraman. Without them, you cant do a lm. In this region, a lm is typically commissioned to a production house and the rm then sources talent that it thinks would be ideal for the project. Also, unlike some of the bigger rms, a lot of small production houses work with one or two people, who typically do everything from sourcing talent to directing and editing. If you have done almost 80% of the job at your employers, I believe you have the right to show your work to clients and show them what you have done. The same thing is also applicable to a production house, isnt it? When the production house shows its showreel and tells a client that it produced all this great work, will it be honest enough by the same coin to clarify to its clients that the previous person who did most of the work on these projects no longer works with them. Recently, my cameraman wanted to show footage he had shot to someone. Since he did most of it, I didnt see why not. This is a tricky subject and every person knows for himself how much work he did on a project and whether he deserved credit for it or not. Danish Mumtaz, executive producer, The Goldmine Films

It cannot be justi ed on any counts. We have been a victim of this unfortunately and lost business on this count. To take an example, we made a lm on Zorah (a big com-munity development in Ajman) and it cost me more than US $350,000 to produce the animation for this. It was produced by us and needed very sophisticated animation that was done by my team of in-house animators. One of my former employees, who worked on some parts of the project took the showreel along with him as part of his work. Fair enough! People have the right to show their work to secure employment for themselves elsewhere. However, the new company he joined decided to put up the Zorah showreel as part of their work on their companys web site. Funnily enough, my son is in one of those shots. This put us in a very embarrassing situation because some clients saw the showreel on both web sites and didnt know what to make of it and whom to trust. This kind of lching is not justi ed at all. You can use a showreel to secure yourself a job but you have no right to put up my companys intellec-tual property on someone elses showreel to secure them new business. This is especially true in a project like Zorah, where we had a big team of people working on the project. One person can only do a fraction of the work on any massive project. It is Real Image that monitors the quality of work that is produced at its facility and ensures the high standards that come out of it. We took this up with the company and told them to take it o from their show-reel. When they ignored us, we sought legal assistance and got it removed. However, we should not have to go to such measures. Aiham Ajib, general manager, Real Image

Producers, freelancers and post houses give us their take

Its happened several times. I was in Qatar and went for a meeting and showed them my showreel and apparently, someone else had also shown it to them. People dont always make it clear that they have only done a speci c portion of the work on the reel or that it was partly done by an employee, who worked on the project why they were employed elsewhere. Companies who have the copyright to a showreel should put their watermark on it to pre-vent someone else from taking it. You put a lot of money and e ort into making something that you would be proud of, and then you nd youve lost business to someone who is touting your work as his own. Bobby Dhillon, freelance director of photography

Showreels are funny things. At what point are you allowed to take it. If youre looking to generate business for a new company, then, thats wrong. Its ne to show your stu to secure yourself employment but not for a new company to promote itself. The way pitching for a lot of jobs here works is what I call the green cheese, blue cheese syndrome. The story board is for green cheese and youve done blue cheese in the past as director or producer. But in order to secure this job, you need to show the client or the

agency a green cheese spot. Obviously, if you can create blue cheese, you can create green cheese but you havent done any green cheese jobs. Thats the problem. Clients and agencies are sometimes less informed about what job is done by whom so a lot of people are willing to take that chance and say, we need the job so lets pretend we did it. This is what I feel. Its sort of impossible to stop your showreel from showing up on someone elses web site and you cant really monitor it. I maintain that anyone associated with a project is entitled to use it for his own promotion but not to secure business for his new employer. Shane Martin, executive producer/director, Boomtown Productions

INTERNATIONAL UPDATE


NEWS

SOUND DESIGN STREAMLINES WORKFLOW WITH FAIRLIGHT XYNERGI TECHNOLOGY

Digital post production facility Sound Design

Corporation, which is located on the historic

100-year-old Hollywood Centre Studios lot and

specialises in all types of programming includ-

ing variety and award shows, documentaries,

dramas etc, recently purchased a Fairlight

Xynergi desktop media production centre. The

technology helps organise and deliver all the

tools needed for high-end audio for video pro-

duction in all widely used surround formats.

The system harnesses the green processing

power of Fairlights CC-1 digital media engine

and incorporates integrated PyxisTrack video.

Speaking about the project, facility owner

Paul Sandweiss stated: Sound quality and

ease of le transfer were the main reasons we

decided to invest in Xynergi. There is a lot to

learn with the new system but the Fairlight

team has assisted us in addressing some of our

application issues. We believe the new system

will help us integrate easily into the coming

work ow, where we will be doing less tape-

based delivery, and more le based delivery.

The Xynergi Media Production Centre

features the Xynergi controller, a desktop user

interface that allows engineers to access all

features and functions of the Fairlight CC-1 as

well as commonly used Windows applications

such as e-mail, Word and Excel.

A Xynergi system can be speci ed as a con-

troller-only system (MPC 96/144) or delivered

with a Xynergi 12 fader sidecar (MPC-144F and

MPC230F), which can be standalone or sunk

into custom furniture to provide an integrated

working environment harmonious with the

studios aesthetics.

Sound Design has ordered two more Xynergi

systems and plans to replace its remaining

three QDC machines with Xynergi.

GLADIATORS TAKES EXTREME SPORT TO NEW HEIGHTS WITH CAMERA CORPS

Camera Corps equipped Gladiators contestants

with body-worn cameras and solid-state video

recorders to capture their manoeuvres while

playing Rocket Ball 30 feet above ground level.

Four Camera Corps helmet-cameras and

personal video recorders were supplied to Shine

for use in the latest series of Gladiators, produced

early this year at Stage C almost opposite Camera

Corps Shepperton Studios HQ.

Camera Corps worked with us on the rst series

as well, commented Nick Badham of the London-

based production company Shine. A new feature

introduced in the latest series gives contestants the

opportunity to play what amounts to basketball

on steroids, launching themselves into the air on a

motorised line attached to their harnessThey then

try and pitch the ball into baskets defended by

other players. Solid-state video capture was ideal

as it is far more resistant than video tape against

the bumps, thumps and fast acceleration to which

sports contestants subject themselves. Individual

Rocket Ball games in Gladiator last 90 seconds and

were captured to Quicktime video les which were

later forwarded to the programme editors.

Speaking about the project, Camera Corps MD

Laurie Frost added that after researching various

available recorders, it opted for the Fast Forward

Video Mini DV Pro. This delivers excellent signal

quality onto single or dual Compact Flash cards

and yet is small enough to t into a padded

pouch which each attacker or defender can

wear on a waist-belt. The results overall were

gratifying and prove the bene ts of solid-state

video capture. Each recorder was fed by a mini

cam worn as part of a safety helmet. We also

supplied two of our own-design HD MiniZoom

robotic cameras. These have integral 10 times

optical zoom providing wide-angle or close-up

shots from above the baskets.

THE SWITCH ENHANCES SERVICES WITH VENTURA

The Switch, a leading video switching service

provider, has deployed Ventura equipment to

enhance services it delivers to its clients. The new

Network Electronics / VPG equipment provides

JPEG-2000 compression of HD-SDI signals sent

between Los Angeles and New York, and bidirec-

tional 270 SDI transport services across the Atlantic.

The transatlantic bre connection expands The

Switchs US network to The London Switch in the

UK. The London Switch is a joint service agreement

between The Switch and Arqiva.

Another Ventura product, the VS901-Tx-27, has been

deployed on The Switchs Los Angeles New York

network tributary. It uses JPEG 2000 to compress HD-

SDI for transport over 270Mbps network connections,

delivering artifact-free HD images with no blocking,

tiling or motion dependence.

According to Dave Anderson, chief technology o cer

at The Switch, the Network/VPG modules proved the

most appropriate due to the number of HD formats

they could handle, their ability to operate without

a separate sync reference, their ability to control

network management with a Web browser and the

best nancial value of all the products evaluated.

Extremely low latency also played a pivotal factor in

the decision process.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATE


NEWS

RUMBLEFISH MANAGES POST PRODUCTION FOR VIVALDI

Italian pre- and post-production management

company Rumble sh is handling post-pro-

duction for Vivaldi, the Red Priest, a Liana

Marabini lm. Rumble shs managing direc-

tor Massimo Germoglio edited the lm, which

presents a rich new portrait of the famous and

proli c Baroque composer from Venice.

Vivaldi was a true star of the Baroque

era, and the details that Marabini brings to

life in her new lm illustrate his genius and

charisma, and his su ering, said Germoglio.

Its a pleasure for us to apply our creative and

technical skills to the nishing of a lm that

blends a beautiful landscape with inspiring

music and the life of an intriguing and very

important Italian artist.

Based on a recently discovered 1711

manuscript that sheds new light on the life

of Antonio Vivaldi, the lm speculates on a

previously untold story about the Red Priest,

as the red-headed composer and ordained

Catholic priest was known. The 5 million lm,

written and directed by Marabini, recounts

Vivaldis relationship with a female doctor

from Venice, the birth of their son, and the

unexpected end of their a air.

Shot in HD at locations in Turin, Piedmont,

Emilia-Romagna, Vienna, and Paris, the lm

is being processed in DI, color corrected in 2K

and nished with special e ects by Rumble-

sh in anticipation of a March 2009 airing as a

television series.

MALAYSIAS TIGERTIGER POST ROARS ONTO THE SCENE WITH DA VINCIS R250 SUITE

Malaysias rst fully data-centric post house,

TIGERTIGER POST, is relying on the da Vinci

Resolve R-250 system for colour grading and

digital intermediate (DI) nishing.

We selected the da Vinci R-250 because

we wanted its comprehensive set of features

including object-tracking and unlimited

PowerWindows, commented Al Isaac,

managing director at TIGERTIGER POST. Its

also important to us that with the Resolve

suite, we can conform material for grading

in-context, enabling the colourist to recognise

where adjustments need to be made. Another

selling point for us was da Vincis support in

our region. Going with the most reliable and

reputable company means we will always be

able to upgrade to the latest technology, which

is critical to keeping a competitive edge.

At TIGERTIGER POST, images scanned on The

Director from Lasergraphics are uploaded to a

BrightDrive SAN for access by the R-250 for color

grading, and by Autodesk Flame 2009 system

for e ects. TIGERTIGER POST has also deployed

Apple Final Cut Pro and Apple Shake for editing.

Based on an innovative use of graphics-based

processing for optimised power and speed, the

da Vinci Resolve R-series includes the R-100,

R-200, R-250, R-250x, R-300, and R-350. The

R-series was introduced in early 2008, and sys-

tems have already shipped around the world.

TIGERTIGER POSTs R-250 system features one

processor and two transformer boards, which

can be used either in parallel or sequentially.

GMTV UPDATES VIDEO OPERATIONS WITH AVID WORKFLOW

UK broadcaster GMTV has invested in a com-

prehensive end-to-end digital work ow from

Avid for its newsroom and video production

operations. The solution has replaced legacy

systems and has allowed GMTV to redesign

and optimise its work ow, while providing

scalability for future expansion.

GMTV produces a diverse mix of content

including, news, sport, fashion, current a airs,

entertainment, travel and childrens program-

ming on multiple channels including the

broadcasters website. Its existing production

infrastructure was out of date and had dic-

tated a work ow that was ine cient. GMTVs

technology team began researching a new

system that could handle the dynamic nature

of its programming and provide le sharing

capabilities and expandable storage and ar-

chive facilities. They also wanted to automate

time-consuming background processes like

ingest, to focus on creative work.

GMTV chose Avid because it was the only

one that truly integrated with the entire

companys work ow.

SPAINS UVEAUVE GROUP USES KAHUNA FOR HD OB VAN

Uveauve Group has integrated the Kahuna SD/HD

multiformat production switcher into its newest OB

van to enable e ortless handling of various SD and

HD inputs and delivery of client broadcasts in SD or

HD as required. Kahunas yields seamless internal

conversion of inputs, providing Uveauve with a

powerful solution for multiformat sports and live

event production.

Uveauves new OB van boasts a combination

of RF HD cameras and triax HD cameras, a mixed

solution optimised to overcome the physical and

environmental demands of outdoor broadcasting.

The van and the switcher will be used primarily

for sports coverage, including broadcast of snow

sports, sailing, and other events for which the use

of both RF and triax cameras is essential. We chose

to integrate the Kahuna into our OB van because of

its versatility in SD and HD production, said Jorge

Rubirosa, UveTechs director. Our OB van takes a

new approach to using RF and triax HD cameras in

live production and the Kahuna provides all that

we need to maintain exibility in this environment.

Our directors and technicians are also familiar with

the switcher.

Uveauve provides a variety of production services

including indoor studio production of TV movies,

shows, and concerts for local broadcasters as well

as outdoor production of sports events.

TVC PRODUCTION


COVER STORY

Over the last two years, the num-ber of car commercials shot in the UAE, has gone up substantially. Besides the beautiful sand dunes

and mountainous terrain that this country o ers, the availability of skilled technical crew and sophisticated lming equipment locally has made the UAE increasingly appealing to TVC producers.

In the last couple of years, it has been a lot easier to execute what the director wants mainly because of the type of equipment that is available to us in the region, con rms cameraman and DoP, Anthony Smythe, who is also MD of the UAEs largest equipment rental rm, Filmquip Media.

Years ago, it used to be really di cult to get speci c kinds of shots where cameras needed to be mounted on a car and driven through rough terrain. However, with the availability of several sophisticated equip-ment like the gyro-stabilised remote head, which is mounted on tracking vehicles and keeps the camera absolutely steady, production of car commercials has shot up in this region, adds Smythe, who was involved in more than 25 car shoots last year.

Ian Ross, executive producer of Central Films, which has facilitated several car shoots in Dubai including recent ones

for the Mohave and Toyota, seconds this. The local availability of equipment has been

crucial to the growth of the car commercials business in the region. The gyro-stabilised head is a good example. Previously, we used to have to bring this in from Europe but now, theres one here and it has been used on a lot of shoots that we facilitated. You can go on a dirt road at a 100km/h with a camera on a long lens and it looks like youre standing still. Its unbelievably sophisticated and is a military technology that was tradition-ally used to keep guns steady on armoured vehicles irrespective of the terrain in which they drove.

Likewise, the availability of a Technocrane and the ability to make rigs locally has also helped grow the business.

For one of our recent car shoots, we used a rig that could be mounted on any part of the car and no matter how fast it moved, the camera was locked in and completely steady. You always get a bit of the steel structure in the foreground of your shot but because it does not move in relation to the camera or the car, you can easily paint it out in post and put the road back in, says Ross.

Filmquip agrees that developing these rigs used to be a big challenge in the past but now, it claims it is well placed to meet this thanks to the presence of skilled in-house technicians.

It is the people who are mounting this equipment and working with it that is way more important. We have a very strong crew

PRODUCTION

DRIVENWith the availability of specialised crew, exotic locales and

sophisticated kit, the UAE has become a hotspot for big-budget car commercials, writes Vijaya Cherian

DoP Anthony Smythe is well known in the UAE for shooting car commercials.

TVC PRODUCTION

17

COVER STORY

www.digitalproductionme.com MARCH 2009

In the last couple of years,

it has been a lot easier to

execute what the director

wants mainly because of

the type of equipment

that is available to us in the

region Anthony Smythe

TVC PRODUCTION


COVER STORY

The fact that the UAEs beautiful desert landscape is only a short drive from Dubai city makes the locale even more appealing for producers of car commercials.

based here who can literally with rubber bands and tooth picks put car mounts together and place a camera anywhere in the car. That kind of expertise has increased greatly in recent years. As a result, we are able to custom-build rigs for each project. Some rigs are standard like door rigs but thereon, because each car is di erent, the place where we can attach the rigs is di erent, and because the cast, the storyboard and the directors also di er for each TVC, we have to custom design the rigs, explains Smythe.

The availability of sophisticated equip-ment either in-house or through partner-ships with international players also gives the production crew in the region more creative options. For instance, a high-speed 35mm camera was brought in from Germany along with an operator to shoot some of the se-quences for a Toyota TVC that was facilitated by Central Films.

This TVC was very demanding because we were working around the Rubiks cube concept, where di erent models of the Toyota were brought together. This obvi-

ously demanded very precise shooting, explains Ross.

Generally speaking, car commercials place a lot of demand on the production crew, and the challenges are many. The good thing, however, according to Ross is that most car commercials have high budgets to execute the project to the satisfaction of the director. They generally have very good budgets but the clients also, therefore, expect an incred-ibly high standard of work, explains Ross.

This is something that Dubai is now well placed to provide. Morocco and Tunisia were options in the past but increasingly, clients prefer the UAE even if it is a bit more expen-sive because of the quality of work, he adds.

Plus, as Smythe points out, there are very dynamic locations for car commercials here in Dubai within close proximity of the city. We have great sandy roads, rough terrains, mountain roads and rocky roads. This envi-ronment is ideal for car commercials.

Traditionally, car shoots have been com-pleted over a period of two or three days. We always have to wait to take the beauty

In ... Australia, you have beautiful landscapes but they are way

out and this means enormous travel time for crew [and are

consequently, more expensive] ... while here, your best sand

dunes are 45 minutes from Dubai and the mountains are an

hour-and-a-half away Ian Ross, Central Films

Leading the way

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VISIT US AT CABSAT EXHIBITION BOOTH ZE-4

TVC PRODUCTION


COVER STORY

shots, which can only be shot before the sun hits the car or after the sun is set o the car, explains Ross. So you have a window of about 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening for which you need to be completely prepped and ready because once the sun hits the car, it is nished.

What we often do, therefore, is rehearse in the dark before the sun rises. We use a programme called sunPath, which essentially tells us exactly where the sun will rise at any time of the day or year in relation to any road or sand. During the day, we do close-ups like spinning wheels, gear sticks, inside panel, steering and so on. In the afternoon, we rehearse for a couple of hours to make sure we are absolutely ready for those 30 minutes of light before it gets dark.

Ross says this is one reason why areas around the Hatta mountains in the UAE are especially ideal for shooting cars.

Near the Hatta mountains, where the sun goes behind the mountains, you get a bit more time to shoot, explains Ross. One reason why the UAE is also perhaps becoming increasingly attractive is because the sand dunes and the mountains are not very far away from the urban centre.

In places like Australia, you have beautiful landscapes but they are way out and this means enormous travel time for crew and what you pay for in lmmaking is primarily crew and travel time. On a four-day shoot, that can be quite expensive while here, your best sand dunes are 45 minutes from Dubai and the mountains are about an hour-and-a-half away. Its a lot cheaper to y in a foreign director, have a Dubai-based cameraman, the ad agency and the crew.

As a production facilitator, Ross biggest challenge is that he has to continuously keep a tab on costs as clients often change their minds.

If it costs more than you have quoted at the rst instance, we have to dip into our own pocket. Clients often change their minds so you need to keep sitting with them and reminding them what the change will cost them. I sit down with the producers and go through

Ian Ross of Central Films on the set of Dr. Who, which was filmed recently in Dubai, facilitates a lot of car shoots in the UAE.

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TVC PRODUCTION


COVER STORY

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every penny of the budget and if there is something that has gone up or down, I let them know that, he says.

As a cameraman, Smythe battles with a di erent set of challenges. For one, its always easier to work with two cameras than one, he says.

On car commercials, I prefer to work with two or three cameras all the time so that while one is being rigged we can shoot with the other. However, we cant always have two cameras because the more number of cameras you have, the more personnel and crew you need and this can slow you down sometimes.

Ross puts this down to budget. Car com-mercials have to be shot on lm just like food and skin care products. They just dont look good on video. But lm cameras cost a fortune to lease. It costs one dollar 12 cents a second to run 35mm lm at normal speed. If you wind it up to 30 times speed, at 600 frames a second, it costs nearly $30 a second. That is terrifying for any lm producer, which

is why most go with one lm camera, he explains.

Smythe also adds that two cars are always preferred on any car shoot. The biggest challenge in this region is when the client only supplies with you with one car and that happens a lot. If they do supply you with two cars, the interiors are di erent and this becomes really problematic. If you are working with only one car and you damage that car, what do you do? This is probably the

biggest drawback. You just have to work with what youve got. Also, if you need to take the back door of one car to put the rig on, ideally, you should be able to shoot with one car while the other is being rigged. On one shoot, we damaged the front of the car in the sand on helicopter day and we had to make do with it because we had only one car to work with.

Ross agrees. On the Mohave, the crew had

TVC PRODUCTION


COVER STORY

Mr. Khalid Al-Aamiri

Gulf Media Co. is achieving serious milestones in accomplish-ing the restoration and archiving of Kuwait TV film library. The project is one of the leading projects in the GCC in the restora-tion and archiving fields; our motto is to move digital. Said Mr. Khalid Al-Aamiri Gulf Media Vice Chairman & Managing Director. Moreover, he added that Gulf Media is copying the approach to other GCC countries such as Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. Gulf Me-dia Company is one of the largest providers of integrated turnkey media solutions in the Gulf Region for establishing, generating, managing, and allocating high-end media related affairs. Mr. Al-Aamiri added Our market segments are divided among govern-mental ministries of information, private channels and studios, broadcasting networks, producers, gigantic private media librar-ies and high-tech advertising agencies. With Harris Broadcast-ing Corporation as an exclusive strategic partner, Gulf Media slowly but surely is dominating the Gulf market in the field of film restoration and archiving due to its tactical planning and its high expertise effort in this field of interest. With a battery of pro-fessionals Gulf Media is planning insistently to expand through the MENA Region in the soon future. Said Mr.Al- Aamiri. Gulf

Medias main concern is to unleash the power of innovation in order to circle the customer with the integrated media solutions appropriate for their strategic growth. Mr. Al-Amiri is revealing that CabSat 2009 in Dubai is an excellent opportunity for Gulf Media to announce major tactical moves through signing solid partnership agreement with a leading Turkish company provid-ing turnkey solutions for Audio-Video-Data Transmission serv-ices. In addition to this, Gulf Media will sign an agreement with a major US company providing LED indoors & outdoors products and lightning luminaries solutions. Mr. Al-Aamiri emphasis on the importance of this B2B relationship At the foundation of new era of digital media, Gulf Media sees the necessity to provide the regional market with high-end solutions that would satisfy the business and customer needs. This would take us to a com-plete act of media integration, as Gulf Media is signing another strategic agreement with a strategic partner for escalator hand-rail advertising during CabSat Dubai, 2009. I believe that this vertical would integrate perfectly with our high-end advertising solutions. mentioned Mr.AL- Aamiri.

Talking Heads

www.gulfmedcom.com

With a battery of professionals Gulf Media is planning insistently to expand through the MENA Region in the soon future.

The Power of M e d i a

three cars to play with and two were dam-aged on the shoot, he confesses.

The rst one, we jumped o the sand dune too high and bent the chassis. The second one, we mounted the camera on the front and the driver was driving it too fast so he hit a rock. The car ew up, came down bonnet rst into the sand. The camera was not broken but the car was. You always have to have spare cars. We dont drive these cars on the road. On the Toyota shoot, we had

10 cars, ve of which were on the recovery vehicle and they just sat there because luck-ily, we didnt damage any.

One car shoot that Smythe remembers fondly is the shoot for the Kia. We had all of the toys for that shoot including helicopters, tracking cars, car mounts and gyro-stabilised heads plus we shot in the desert, the subur-bia and the city. We had a rig that had to do a 360-degree turn with the camera. Imagine the amount of pressure that may have been

applied to this rig. It was a good shoot.Smythe adds that Filmquips deal with Arri

Media to bring specialised equipment and skills to the region two years ago has helped the company do more TVCs on cars as well. We struck a deal with Arri Media two years ago, by which they provided their cameras, lenses and other equipment to us on a loan basis. What this partnership essentially did was give us access to a lot more newer and more specialised equipment that is not based in Dubai like the Russian arms. Addi-tionally, the backup support is instantaneous and if you need more equipment, they send it to us. This has helped us bring specialised equipment to the market. We are also look-ing at bringing some other equipment into the market like the smaller technocrane and a helicopter ball mount. Most are used to the Tyler mount and what it can do. The ball mounts will be more expensive but give exceptional results. Slowly but steadily, this region will have all of the kit that is available internationally, adds Smythe.

HD IN THE HOLY CITIES

24

IN SAUDI ARABIA

High definition Hitachi cameras were deployed at Mecca and Medina to broadcast prayers from the holy cities in HD. Vijaya Cherian brings you an exclusive report

HD IN MECCA AND MEDINA

MARCH 2009 www.digitalproductionme.com


MARCH 2009 25

IN SAUDI ARABIA


More than a whopping two mil-lion people gather annually at the Holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to

perform the Hajj, which is thought to be one of the most important pilgrimages undertaken by Muslims all over the world. Wanting to cover the prayers held at these two cities in the most be tting manner and in keeping with the desire to be fully HD-ready in the coming years, Saudi Arabias Ministry of Culture and Informa-tion (MOCI) decided to upgrade the cameras at the two places to HD. Saudi Arabian systems integrator First Gulf Company (FGC) undertook the US $11million project.

A combination of 36 dedicated 720p/50 versions of Hitachis SK-3200 range, including studio, portable and robotic versions have

been installed at the holy cities as part of this project. 26 HD cameras have been installed at Mecca while 10 SD cameras at Medina have been replaced thus far with new HD cams. The rest are slated to be replaced in the second phase of the project.

The clients requirement was to have cameras that could shoot in 720p/50, says Walid AlMoukhtar, chairman and general manager, FGC. The only camera that t these speci cations accurately came from Hitachi. None of the other competing brands had a product that was speci c for this use and would have had to be modi ed. The Hitachi SK 32B was lower in weight and came with high-end studio speci cations while also providing broadcast-quality imagery. It was the perfect t.

Paddy Roache, director and general manager of Hitachi Europe sheds light on the birth of the SK 32B camera.

The Hitachi model which was chosen for the holy cities was the SK 32B. This camera was originally designed for a project for NHK in Japan, where there was a requirement for high-quality studio camera functionality but with the comfort of robotic control, he says.

Many newsrooms and TV stations today are reducing the manpower involved in production and looking for solutions that can enable one person to control and operate all the cameras in a production environment.

The design requirements for the NHK project speci ed that no studio functional-ity and performance should be sacri ced. This camera was, therefore, developed from a full studio camera but with a completely new body shape that was stripped down, of course, with no view nder and no handles. It also has a lighter weight body construc-tion. Our engineers dramatically reduced the power consumption for this camera. This proved very bene cial given the hot weather in Mecca. Everything you can do to reduce heat in the camera has operational ben-e ts. It was just very good timing that our company had developed this camera when the tenders came through for Mecca and Medina. The SK 32 B was an instant winner for this project, he adds.

One other big demand at Mecca, according to Roache, was the need for extremely long cable runs from the studios to the cameras

INSTALLATION SITES

MECCA & MEDINA

PROJECT WORTH

US $11 MILLIONSYSTEMS INTEGRATO

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FIRST GULF COMPANY


MARCH 200926

IN SAUDI ARABIA


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and the ability to control them. Our camera o ered superb performance despite the long cable runs and that again made it a worthy investment for the MOCI, he claims.

The HD cameras have mainly been placed in the same positions as the SD cameras they have replaced at Mecca and Medina. However, the mosque at Mecca has been ex-tended with further extensions planned for the future. Cameras have also been installed at the extension.

These cameras are basically in boxes. They weigh less than four kgs and are positioned on top of minarets on 31 Vinten Radamec robotic pan and tilt heads. These are very du-rable and high capacity heads, and can carry more weight than most such tripod systems, explains Al Moukhtar.

A combination of wide angle and zoom lenses from Canon have been employed for this project.

Two engineers and six technicians from FGC were assigned to undertake the installa-tion at each of the holy cities.

The control room at Mecca has been de-signed to accommodate 25 cameras or more in the future. Harris solutions have been used through out the control room right from the Nexio server, its multi-viewing system, graphics, routers and glue equipment. Other essential kit include the Kahuna switcher from Snell and Wilcox as well as the Studer Vista 5 for audio.

All through the year, especially during Hajj and Ramadan, Muslim pilgrims ock to Mecca and Medina. Saudi TV broadcasts the prayers held at each of these cities on sepa-rate channels ve times a day. During Hajj, however, the prayers and events at the cities are continuously aired live on the channels.

Very little editing is actually done at the control room as they are transmitted directly to Riyadh. Most of it is aired as is although we do have a team that helps them with the production, explains Al Moukhtar.

FGC was able to complete the installation at Mecca in time for Hajj in December 2008 while the installation at Medina is slated for Naim Saidi claims that First Gulf Company has bagged all of the HD projects in KSA.


MARCH 2009 29

IN SAUDI ARABIA


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commissioning this month. The whole instal-lation was done in time to showcase the project to members of Arab States Broad-casting Union (ASBU), which gathered in Jeddah last year for their annual meeting.

From Mecca, we uplinked directly with the images and they were able to see ev-erything in HD. It was a moment of triumph for Saudi Arabia and is only a small taste of the plans the Kingdom has to undertake full- edged migration to HD across Saudi TV. We are working on several projects across the Kingdom to bring this dream to fruition, adds Al Moukhtar.

FGC CEO Naim Saidi adds that in the new era of HD in KSA, so far all the projects have come to FGC. All of our projects in the King-dom are being done in HD. What makes us special is that we are able to do everything in house. We do the systems integration at our workshop in Riyadh and test everything before it is shipped out to its destination and we have good calibre engineers, he claims.

Although this project was awarded to FGC The Hitachi installation at the holy cities and their performance at the sites has strengthened the manufacturers position in KSA, says Paddy Roache of Hitachi.

Al Moukhtar says the HD installation at Mecca and Medina gives a taste of the plans KSA has to undertake full-fledged migration to HD across the Kingdom.


MARCH 200930

IN SAUDI ARABIA


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early last year, work inside the holy cities was not permitted until a few weeks before Hajj in December 2008.

We had only two weeks to do this. One week to commission and one week for hand-ing over, explains Al Moukhtar.

Access to the site was a big challenge because of security reasons, he explains. Added to this, the nature of the place demanded that FGC had only fully-trained Muslim sta on site.

In the meantime, the performance of the Hitachi cameras at Mecca and Medinah have set the stage for the manufacturer to sell even more cameras into the Kingdom for Saudi TV as part of the state-owned broad-casters gradual migration to a complete HD setup. Hitachi believes this project is one of its biggest success stories in the region and may spur other broadcasters in the GCC to adopt its products.

Although we have been hugely successful in Egypt and with Saudi TV on several proj-ects, we have not made many inroads into

other parts of the GCC, says Roache. We hope to change this situation by

partnering with FGC, which recently opened an o ce in Ras Al Khaimah. Our company was not ready to invest in Middle East activity when we rst came here seven years ago and the alliances we built were not as suc-cessful for various reasons. We hope we can replicate the success we have had in Saudi Arabia in other parts of the Middle East as well, explains Roache.

Mecca and Medina, however, are not the only places of worship that have under-taken high-pro le camera installations to air prayers. Last year, the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi undertook a huge broadcast installation. Prior to that, UK-based sys-tems integrator MHz was commissioned to handle the installation of a six-camera serial digital production facility within the Sultan Grand Mosque in Oman. With prayers being broadcast often on several local channels within the region, more such installations are likely to be seen in the future.

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DUBAI TV

32

LIGHTING

TOTAL CONTROLHaving the best lights in the business is one thing, but having the ability to make those lights obey your every command is the key to a successful studio lighting system, according to Dubai Media Incorporateds senior lighting engineer, Ziad Haddad. Patrick Elligett reports.

MARCH 2009 www.digitalproductionme.com

DUBAI TV

33

LIGHTING

Many elements comprise the creation of the perfect digital studio. Aesthetically, however, none is more important than

correctly deployed lighting, and the ability to control, adjust and redeploy that technology as needed.

Lighting engineers at Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) are well-versed on this subject, and well-practiced in providing accurate, controlled and creative lighting for countless sets, studios and television stations, each with their own speci c visual requirements.

The most recent DMI station to bene t from a lighting upgrade, along with a revamp of its AV system, is the Dubai Racing Channel. The refurbished studio went operational in January 2009, providing a new look and feel for some of the stations local and international content.

Dubai Racing Channels new lighting control system was installed in DMIs studio A by local ETC provider, Oasis Enterprises, as part of the upgrade, which commenced in late September.

Ziad Haddad, DMIs senior lighting engineer, is unable to hide his excitement over the stations lighting control system while sitting proudly at the studios new ETC Ion lighting console. Although it is comparatively smaller than most lighting control desks at a width of 19 inches, it is most de nitely the centerpiece of the upgraded studios lighting arsenal.

Haddad gives several reasons for the selection of the console, from which the studios array of conventional and moving light e ects are directed, with its ability to

back up essential con gurations for certain programs one of the primary elements behind its selection.

The rst time I played around with the system, I found that it was quite user-friendly, and because the DMI lighting crew is already familiar with ETC products, I assumed that the majority of them would have no problem using it, he explains.

We chose the Ion console because in a small studio, you can use it to control both conventional lighting and moving light e ects at the same time.

Our old system also included an ETC console which we have now shifted to another studio. It is the same console essentially, but this new model is much more conducive to the operation of moving lights.

DMI chose to acquire the 1024 output

We chose the Ion console because in a small studio,

you can use it to control both conventional lighting and

moving light effects at the same time.

Ziad Haddad, lighting engineering section head, DMI

www.digitalproductionme.com MARCH 2009

Haddad demonstrates the capabilities of DMIs new ETC Ion console.

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con guration Ion model against the alternative 1536, 2048 output con guration options. The console also contains various additional bene ts such as touch screen DVI monitor compatibility, and most importantly, the ability to backup essential information and con gurations in the event of an on-air crisis.

The after-sales support provided by local ETC representative Oasis Enterprises was also a key factor in selecting much of the new lighting equipment for the upgrade, according to Haddad.

The Oasis team came and gave the crew a few training sessions post-installation, and

later, our crew asked them to come back and clarify one or two issues they were experiencing with the new technology, so they returned and gave our crew the missing information that they needed, he explains.

It is all working ne now. Management, operators, technicians and the designers are all happy with it.

Karim Abdel Massih, lighting project manager for Oasis, says the exibility of lighting control o ered by the Ion was one of the key reasons for its selection.

The Ion console was perfect for this job as it allows for accurate control of both conventional and dynamic light, suggests Massih. Flexibility of the console is one of the most important aspects to an installation such as this.

Another is the exibility of the lighting installation in the ceiling itself. Without adequate exibility of movement, you wont be able to get the equipment into the position that the lighting designer requires.

ETC lighting consoles are quite obviously a favorite amongst DMIs lighting sta . The companys Congo console is used in one of DMIs largest studios (studio F) to operate lighting on several sets used for a variety of di erent stations.

The Congo console was the rst of its kind in Dubai when it arrived in 2006, with an expert being brought in from Germany to train sta in its use. Studio As Ion console was

OASIS SUPPLIED:Studio A :

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Studio B: 1xETC sensor + ESR48 dimming 48xETC ED15AF - dual 3kW module 225us 1xETC Ion control desk 1024 outputs (Max. 2 x 19 Acer TFT-LCD DVI monitor 1xETC Universal fader wing 2x20, Ion black

Studio F: 1xETC sensor+ ESR48 dimming

1xETC sensor CE ESR48 - 48 module enclosure 12xDesisti DE-LUX 230V 2x55 MO phase control 12xDesisti base light uorescent video luminaries Manual operated stirrup, for lamps 55W. Light intensity control through a

standard dimmer output, colour frame 12xDesisti egg-crate for DE-LUX 2x55W units, 1/2 12xDesisti eighth leaf barn door for DE-LUX 2x55 12xDesisti MAGIS 650 W 1xETC Congo console 1024 DMX channels 1xWRC for Congo (wireless remote control)

Flexibility of the console is one of the most important

aspects to an installation such as this.

Karim Abdel Massih, lighting product manager, Oasis Enterprises

DUBAI TV


LIGHTING

also the rst such control system in the UAE, according to Oasis management.

But despite the engineering departments satisfaction with the Ion and its control capabilities, it wasnt all smooth sailing during the upgrade of the studio. Both the Oasis installation crew and the DMI team had to come up with some innovative tactics in order

to proceed with the upgrade while broadcasts continued from studio A.

Haddad says the implementation of the studios dimmers presented some di culties.

We had some external power cables running from the main power system to some IES touring rack dimmers on the studio oor, and we kept the studio operational until the new dimmers were completely installed, he said.

We were forced to do some of our editing externally which was a little bit di cult because of the way the cabling had to be ar

digital studio

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