FREMONT, CA – Blackmagic Design today announced that LA based event production company No Static AV (NSAV) used an Ultra HD live production workflow featuring URSA Broadcast cameras and ATEM switchers to deliver in house AV and IMAG for the annual Baby2Baby fundraising gala, which raises millions of dollars for the nonprofit and the children living in poverty that it serves.
More details from BMD (www.blackmagicdesign.com):
Held at the 3Labs event space in Culver City, CA, the Baby2Baby gala brings together celebrities, entrepreneurs and philanthropists, and the evening hosts the top chefs in Los Angeles, an exclusive auction and inspiring program, all while honoring this year’s Giving Tree Award winner, Chrissy Teigen. Past honorees include Amy Adams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, Kerry Washington, Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore and Jessica Alba.
With no shortage of AV deliverables, NSAV used its mobile production unit featuring a custom made flypack designed specifically with the Baby2Baby gala in mind. The unit relied on several Blackmagic Design products, including four URSA Broadcasts complete with URSA Studio Viewfinders, four Camera Fiber Converters and four Studio Fiber Converters for fiber connectivity between the cameras and switcher, an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K and ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel for live switching, and a Smart Videohub 20×20 router to distribute content throughout the venue. NSAV also used an ATEM Camera Control Panel for remote camera control and Teranex AV standards converter for on the fly conversions.
NSAV praised the image quality from the URSA Broadcasts and the ease of use of the live production gear. The URSA Broadcasts were used for IMAG and the content was also recorded in camera in 4K and in 1080 at the mobile production unit. Camera Fiber Converters and Studio Fiber Converters were necessary for fiber communication between the cameras and the switcher, giving the team real time control of all camera aspects, and the ATEM Camera Control Panel allowed NSAV to properly adjust color correction, shading and shutter speed during rehearsals and the live show.
NSAV also provided two 16×9 foot projection screens with 18K lumen laser projectors, two 70 inch LED displays, two 80 inch LED displays, four 90 inch LED displays, and another 18k laser projector shot onto a large wall in the lounge area. This year’s musical act, Paula Abdul, also brought in her own 10 mil video wall, which was used to display auction footage, logos, and to run the artist’s own content as a backdrop to the stage.
“We needed to be able to distribute any content to any screen at any time,” said Adam Beck-Slaten, vice president of production at NSAV. “All of the screens were able to receive content from IMAG, PowerPoint, PlaybackPro, or two internet streams that were tracking donations. We also needed to distribute a script to the teleprompter, while two downstage confidence monitors and an 80 inch display at front of house were showing video from the program, auction and speeches for the presenters to follow along.
The Smart Videohub 20×20 allowed NSAV to expand on the inputs and outputs of the ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K. With this particular event requiring so many inputs and discreet outputs, the team was able to hot key different areas of the event using the router to control nine inputs and 18 outputs seamlessly throughout the show.
“Using Blackmagic Design products meant we were able to make a speedy transition to 4K in a cost effective way, while keeping the level of quality our clients expect,” said Beck-Slaten. “Since we often encounter so many different requests, the Blackmagic Design line allows us to build out what we need to adapt quickly and expeditiously when last minute requests and changes are thrown our way. Blackmagic lets us build what we want and need piece by piece.”
