Given the immense talent of the athletes who competed at the XXXIII Olympiad, fans certainly witnessed many impressive feats, as records were broken. But stunning, barrier-breaking deeds were not limited to the field of competition. Those who watched the Paris Olympics on Eurosport had their experience enriched by some extraordinary behind-the-scenes breakthroughs at the Warner Bros. network’s studios.
Recently remodeled, the three Eurosport studios in Boulogne that broadcast coverage of the games blazed new paths in TV technology. Designed and installed by Arkrys, working with Georges Krystkowiak (Director of Photography), and Baptiste Arnaud-Benaïs (Gaffer), along with the TD of Eurosport France, Florent Marquer, the fully automated studios aired coverage from throughout the Olympic sites with ten commentary positions embedded in a virtual setting.
Controlling the lighting setups at the studios were the ChamSys MQ250M Stadium Console, along with two GeNetix 10Scene Gateways and two 10Scene Wall Plates. The performance of the ChamSys products made the transition to automated lighting seamless for Eurosport. The new lighting setups featured a broad array of impressive features, including easy, preprogrammed settings for greater speed, remote troubleshooting capabilities, and a media player and pixel-mapper in MagicQ.
“The ChamSys solution allowed us to benefit from a high level of interoperability and to take control of the kit at any time,” explained Baptiste Arnaud-Benaïs. “By installing MagicQ dongles on two terminals on the sets, we could take full advantage of the range of ChamSys solutions at an appreciable price/quality ratio.”
Thanks to their augmented reality features, the revamped studios are able to deliver large, immersive live broadcast images. Lighting at the larger “Set A” is 100-percent automated with 60 moving heads. All these LED projectors are remotely operated by the MQ250M Stadium Console. At the smaller B and C studios lighting is triggered in with the 10Scene Wall Plates, with preprogrammed settings. This eliminates the need for a console operator at all times. Operators use the 10Scene Wall Plates for instant access to presets with no risk of changing any settings. On set C, the media player and pixel mapper of the MagicQ console allow for pixel-by-pixel control of the light strips.
The XXXIII Olympiad was definitely exciting, with 329 medal events and two new sports, Breaking and Kayak Cross making their Olympic debut. The Eurosport broadcast was as interactive and bright as this sporting celebration.
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