The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K was deployed at the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championship, held in Netanya, Israel, as part of a specialist 3D motion robotic cable system developed by DynamiCam
Blackmagic Design has today announced that its Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K was deployed at the 2015 European Short Course Swimming Championship, held in Netanya, Israel, as part of a specialist 3D motion robotic cable system developed by DynamiCam.
As the lead overhead camera for live broadcasts, the Micro Studio Camera was part of a major multi camera OB set up, devised by sports specialist Mizmor HD Productions, with a live program mix produced for more than 20 international EBU broadcast partners, including the BBC, RAI TV, MTVA, ORF, NOS, TVE and SVT.
The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K was rigged in a 3D motion robotic cable system over the Olympic size, ten lane facility, in order to deliver a ‘pool top’ view of the action, which is a broadcast prerequisite of the European Swimming Association. The solution features a 360 degree gimbal held in place by lightweight winches and cabling, together with stabilization, to deliver a greater range of camera angles than other rail rig solutions.
“The Micro Studio Camera delivered outstanding results,” reveals Ziv Bezalel, head producer at Mizmor Productions. “Not only did the solution give us a top shot of the pool, but it also gave us the flexibility to use a more dynamic range of movement to track competitors, which helped to enhance the overall excitement of the races.”
A pilot for the gimbal and camera operator worked side by side to coordinate shots, with the camera operator using the Micro Studio Camera’s CCU software over a fiber connection to control parameters including iris, shutter speed, white balance and gain control.
“Remote camera control is essential for any multi camera broadcast environment, especially when you are mixing signals from a wide variety of cameras, as we were at the Championship,” continues Ziv. “The more parameters that we have control over, the better the images we are able to produce. The ATEM CCU also allows lift, gamma and gain control for individual color control, so the team was able to ensure the same level of consistency from the Micro Studio Camera 4K that we were achieving across the rest of our OB production.”
“We recognized that a number of small HD and Ultra HD cameras offering superb image quality coming into the market, and designed our solution to place these compact units into an alternative, lightweight cable system for live events as well as stadium and venue AV installations,” explains Enosh Cassel, DynamiCam. “As soon as we saw the capabilities of the Micro Studio Camera, we knew that it would be the perfect partner for what we had in mind; combining broadcast quality images with interesting and unusual camera angles, which bring an added creative dimension to live sports broadcasting.”
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.