Nina Berfelde (Freelance Journalist)
Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB, Canada (approximately 20.000 seats) unveiled most of their new technology on October 12th 2016 for the first major event: the inaugural regular season game of the Edmonton Oilers.
The Game Presentation staff had been working very hard and long hours months prior to this event to prepare. Working in a brand new facility with new and different equipment presents many challenges. Fortunately, with the support of vendors and integrators, the dedicated team of professionals rose to the challenge and was able to deliver an error free show to the fans. This was an amazing feat given that the A/V team was only granted access to the building and video production control room in early August. Within this compressed timeline, the equipment was commissioned, tested and handed over to the crew for training, show design and content loading.
In an ongoing attempt to deliver a better in-venue experience for the fans, it was decided early on to experiment with camera angles. The Oilers Entertainment Group wanted to offer something unique not seen in other venues.
Keith Hough (Manager, Production Services) says:
“A flying camera like Skycam or Spidercam offers a great angle, but isn’t practical in an NHL facility with a centre-hung video board. Other arenas have fixed PTZ cameras hung from the video board, but we wanted something unique beyond a fixed PTZ. We decided that due to the massive size of video board which extends blue line to blue line, we’d be able to mount a robotic dolly track to the underside of the clock and get a system that offered many of the benefits of a flying camera without the extra infrastructure requirements. After researching and comparing various solutions from different vendors online, a Blackcam B40 system was chosen.“
The scoreboard (14 by 14 by 11 meters) at Rogers Place is North America’s largest true 1920 x 1080 centre-hung video scoreboard in any NHL or NBA facility. A Sony HDC-P1 with a Fujinon HA14X4.5 mounted to the B40 now travels along the length of the clock which allows to vary the perspective of the angle. Adding the dolly motion of the B40 to the camera shot adds interest and a dynamic element not found in regular fixed PTZ shots.
The Blackcam B40 was an ideal solution for Rogers Place for many reasons. It’s simple to operate, it offers multiple preset positions, it is programmable and has repeatable camera moves. The fast dolly speed enables the operator to quickly reposition the camera. The simple fibre network interface makes cabling easy and reliable over long distances. The installation is compact and clean.
“We’re very excited to make use of this new, dynamic camera angle for all of our productions at Rogers Place. The team’s regional and national broadcaster Rogers Sportsnet is also taking a feed off of the camera mounted on the B40 for its production. It’s a beautiful angle that greatly augments the hockey coverage offered to our fans.
The onsite commissioning and technical support offered by Blackcam was thorough, informative and professional. And finally, the price point for the performance is exceptional” Keith Hough adds.
CAPTURING PERSPECTIVES FROM ANGLES PREVIOUSLY UNREACHED
In September Blackcam partner All Mobile Video New York supplied the Hugo Boss Fashion Show for the 4th time with a Blackcam B40 system. Regardless of the venue the show takes place at: on the 43rd floor of the World Financial Center or at the Skylight Clarkson Square, setting up the Blackcam System is easy and fast. Due to its small size and versatile setup Blackcam can be mounted into venues with very low ceilings, where other systems wouldn’t fit in.
A typical setup for a Hugo Boss Fashion Show is to have the Blackcam B40 flying above and slightly to the side of the runway. This allows the video director a unique shot; leading, or tracking the models from a profile the entire distance of the runway. For the most recent event, AMV was requested to supply 40 meters (131.2 ft) of track. However, once the team arrived on site, the needs changed. Fortunately, the Blackcam system is flexible, allowing to add or remove track sections easily. It was hardwired, with a flying cable management system, making it possible to avoid battery changes and other delays, although the Blackcam is capable of being wireless as well. The B40 was carrying a Sony HDC-P1/3 camera with a Fujinon HA13x4.5 tri-servo lens.
Regarding the Nomination for the 2016 37th Annual Sports Emmy Awards – The George Wensel Technical Achievement Award, Tom D’Angelo (AMV Director) reflects: “We’re honored anytime the broadcast/television production industry offers us recognition. Our utilization of the Blackcam B40 for basketball coverage is in many ways a first. Never before has a director been able to get a camera in motion along the court’s sideline, so close to the players. To facilitate that shot we built the track and dolly system under the parquet floor of the court! Only the pan/tilt arm and the camera were visible to the audience and athletes. This reduced distractions while increased safety to the players. Blackcam is smaller, lighter and faster than its competition allowing us to use it closer to the action!”
B10, B20 and B40 at Concert Recordings and Music Shows
Originally invented for concert recordings, Blackcam is the one of the top choice railcam system for music events and shows.
A recent project was last month’s “919 Music Fans Show” for JSBC in Beijing, which was watched by 11 million people. For this mega-show, Blackcam partner Stagetech China provided three B40 systems. One system was mounted onto the ceiling, running upside down on 50 meters of straight tracks. The other two systems were integrated into the stage, both on 12m tracks with curved segments.
A similar setup with three B40s will be used for the third time in Germany for The Voice Finals (director: Mark Achterberg), starting in November of this year. For a concert recording of a famous German folk singer at the Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena (director: Thomas Janze), where three Blackcam systems will be used as well.
After the mind blowing MTV Video Music Awards live show at Madison Square Garden (director: Hamish Hamilton), where Blackcam captured up-close shots of stars like Rihanna and Beyonce on stage, the German railcam system will also be provided for the MTV European Video Music Awards in Rotterdam in November.
For the production of nine music videos for the streaming platform DEEZER, Blackcam supplied one B10 system carrying a Blackmagic Micro Cinema 4K camera.
The French-German TV Channel ARTE is using a B20 system with a Sony A7 DLSR camera running on 15 meters straight tracks to shoot the concert show “Berlin Live” series – so far more than 30 shows were broadcast.
About Nina Berfelde
Nina Berfelde is a freelance journalist from Berlin.
Apart from theatrical documentaries about arts and culture, her work focuses on technical innovations of the Broadcast industry.
- JVC Flexes Its Muscles For Strongman Competition Livestreams - November 22, 2021
- CONNECT ramps up its NMS SaaS offer with a new cloud-powered solution - November 18, 2021
- Chulalongkorn University Uses Blackmagic Design Workflow for Online and Streaming Classes - August 25, 2020
