Held every four years at the midpoint between Summer Olympics, the Winter Games is the world’s most popular and prestigious competition for sports practised on snow and ice.
The 2022 Olympic Winter games are complete where Gravity Media had the privilege to facilitate Seven Network’s coverage of the Games.Gravity Media had a team of over 280 individuals directly involved, with more than 500support staff and crewbehind the scenes, who were all integral in the success of Channel 7’s broadcast of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.
Whilst the majority ofthe crew remained in Australia and worked out of Channel 7’s Broadcast Centre and the Remote Broadcast Centre (RBC) in Melbourne, Gravity Media had our own group of elites that were deployed to Beijing and the surrounding provinces of Zhangjiakou and Yanqing.
The broadcast was delivered from the (RBC) in Melbourne where the Gravity Media team facilitated the location of the main studio, control room, off-tube commentary booths, editing facilities, media management and the supporting production infrastructure.
Across the 19 days of the competition, the content was delivered across both linear and digital channels which equated to thousands of hours of coverage readily available to viewers in Australia and abroad via the 7Plus streaming service. The ratings and viewership numbers across all platforms were impressive, reaching a national audience of 12.5 million viewers in Australia for its linear broadcast and record-breaking audiences digitally.
Over 109 events were held across the 19 days and on Sunday 20 February, the Olympic Winter Games officially ended in Beijing with the traditional closing ceremony.
The Olympic Games have always been, by far, the most complicated sporting event to broadcast.
Gravity Media’s challenge to facilitate the Seven Network’s coverage had to consider the increased diversity and volume of events run concurrently over little more than a fortnight, each requiring specialised production, channeled through a labyrinth of media platforms.
Then, when you throw in the layers of preparation required for the uncertainty of an international pandemic and Tokyo 2021, it makes the challenge that much more incredible.
Gravity Media partnered with Seven to organise the network of communications, using a combination of leased and itinerant services between all our locations across four countries, from RBC & BCM in Melbourne, IBC in Tokyo, The Production Centre in Sydney (PCS) and facilities in London. All sites were able to talk to each other using more than 136 talkback panels and 780 ports.
330 staff worked 75,000 hours across four production locations, each operating under strict compliance. But the broader situation of multiple state policies towards COVID-19, and the fluid situation in Tokyo itself, had the entire project on a knife edge, needing to pivot whichever way the outbreak turned, in Tokyo or Australia.
More than 600 hours of live coverage across two FTA HD Broadcast channels, and 13,000 hours of 7Plus HD Digital and VOD content were delivered flawlessly under these extraordinary conditions, using three studios with live hostings across two states. A three-hour highlights package was edited and played out simultaneously following 16 hours of live coverage daily. IBC Production based in Tokyo added to the Sydney and Melbourne control rooms and a DR control room. The flexibility that had to be built into this system was a credit to everyone involved in months of planning. Multiple options and back-ups had to be built into an already complicated system.
Logistically, the same flexibility had to be applied. 25,000 meals had to be served over 21 days – all under COVID protocols, with little warning as to which centre the production might have to rely on if government policy changed.
Our team of project and production managers had to provide multiple versions of floor plans and prepare for ever-changing guidelines for staff location and service capability.
In Tokyo, this required a web of connectivity to ensure a seamless blend of host and rights-holders broadcasting to provide for all those platforms. More than 90 SDI fibre feeds. Five connected venues integrating mixed zones, hosting positions, and ISO cameras.
If that’s not impressive enough, more than 80 incoming circuits and 20 outgoing video circuits at the RBC enabled OBS IP feeds, IBC/PCS and BCM SDI feeds. There were two MDS Satellite Downlinks for international signal backup and content delivery. Four Craft Edits and three Fast Edits at RBC with remote edit access at PCS, along with two Fast Edits at PCS and three Fast Digital Edits. There were four Off Tube Booths at RBC and two OTB’s at PCS with an additional VO Booth.
The stakes were high, as any breakdown in this vast network of interactivity – whether COVID-induced or technical – could compromise the integrity of the production. However, through all the up’s and downs, Gravity Media was able to deliver a flawless event, which in turn gained Seven the highest ratings and streaming numbers ever for an Olympic Games.
This amazing achievement during such unpredictable times is a credit to all the teams across Gravity Media and the Seven Network.
To find out how Gravity Media can help you with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com.
For the massive puzzle that was the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, one component that Gravity Media provided was commentary for the Seven Network coverage.
This apparent simple connection through cables, signals, and technical equipment via Gravity Media’s studios and control rooms takes months of planning to ensure this link is not obstructed by the restrictions of time, distance, or the global pandemic.
In addition to months of setting up this technical network, Gravity Media used rehearsals and consultation to fine tune the commentary studio schedules and positions in the days leading up to the first event. Each team has their own requirements for space, vision, and data to suit their own ways of working.
To cover any situation arising from the ever-changing regulations regarding COVID-19 restrictions, commentary was provided from three primary sources: Tokyo, Melbourne, and Sydney.
However, there were even more variations due to travel restrictions. For example, cycling commentator Phil Liggett who worked from The Production Centre in Chiswick in the UK was seamlessly integrated into RBC (Remote Broadcast Centre) Off–Tube Booth’s in Melbourne, Australia.
Liggett was able to watch live feeds of the track from Tokyo, along with his co-commentators, Scott McGrory and Anna Mears who were also watching the live feeds in Melbourne. With the ability to watch the same feeds and communicate with each other from separate locations, their commentary was delivered together live on the Seven Network channel. To the viewers’ ears, they may as well have been seated side by side on location.
All throughout the games, links between Melbourne, Sydney, and Tokyo were pushing audio and vision back and forth between studio hosts, venue hosts and commentators, all operating simultaneously.
The amazing minds behind the technical expertise to set up these intricate facilities, along with the incredible management of commentary schedules across multiple locations with ever-changing event timetables is just another reason why Gravity Media is at the forefront of major broadcast solutions.
To find out how Gravity Media can help you with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com.
Wie op de hoogte wilde blijven van de Belgische olympische prestaties, heeft ongetwijfeld afgestemd op het VRT-programma “Van hier tot in Tokio”.
In de zomerbar van Karl Vannieuwkerke zetelden relevante gasten met wie een dagevaluatie werd opmaakt. Nina Derwael was al eregast in de Hippodroom.
EMG Belgium was trotse productiepartner van dit programma. In opdracht van Woestijnvis verzorgden we de volledige captatie: alle beeld en geluid waren in de ervaren handen van onze crew.
The SVG Winter Sport Summit took place online on Thursday 11 February 2021 and Gravity Media is proud to have sponsored the event.
The event included keynote interviews, case studies and panel discussions and focused on the production and distribution of sports coverage from events including skiing, biathlon and ice hockey. Also discussed was the evolution of their workflows, outlining new creative and production techniques and highlighting the tools that can transform the winter sports viewing experience.
The next Winter Olympic Games will take place in Beijing in February 2022. Held every four years at the midpoint between summer Olympics, the Winter Games is the world’s most popular and prestigious competition for sports practised on snow and ice. Gravity Media played a proud role at Beijing 2008, and we’ll soon be getting our skates on for 2022 as well.
Looking firmly to the future, the technology focus for the Winter Sports Summit was on remote production and wireless camera technology while the real-world focus was on mental health and wellbeing.
Gravity Media offers Remote Production as being a flexible, modern and durable workflow solution that reduces onsite costs. Video switching, audio mixing, graphics, replays and show production can all be done ‘at home’ at the broadcast centre.
So, the next time you are considering a Winter Sports Production, talk to Gravity Media – the power behind the screen. Email enquiries@gravitymedia.com to find out how we can help you with your next production.
Switzerland recently played host to the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, which ran from 9 to 22 January, and which saw 1,872 young athletes from 79 countries take part in 16 disciplines across eight sports.
The action took place in and around Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva and in the nearby Vaud Alps. Gravity Media was engaged by The Olympic Channel to run a remote transmission suite for the event from Madrid.
The Youth Olympic Channel covered a range of events including Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Ice Hockey, Curling, Slopestyle, Halfpipe, Big Air and Slalom Alpine Skiing.
Our Madrid team (Director, PA, EVS operator and GFX op) looked after four feeds, relayed from Lausanne to Madrid where commentary was implemented. The broadcast went live between 09:30 and 10:00 each day with a mixture of live and pre-recorded material, with Gravity Media overseeing the edits and ensuring smooth transition between events.
Our thanks go to everyone at The Olympic Channel for making it such an enjoyable project to work on. We were all made to feel very welcome, and we’ve all come away delighted to have contributed to the most successful Winter Youth Olympics ever.
*Photos supplied by the Seven Olympic Unit – @7olympics, #7Olympics
This month saw the Seven Olympic Unit take over Gravity Media’s Production Centre in Sydney, Australia for their Athlete Profiles for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paralympics.
With two production studios and one photography studio set up at The Production Centre, the Seven Olympic Unit was able to cover all of their requirements with the athletes.
Featuring current Olympic 100m Freestyle Gold Medallist Kyle Chalmers, 4 x100m Freestyle Relay Gold Medallists Bronte and Cate Campbell, three time Paralympics Gold Medallist Dylan Alcott and seven time World Surfing Champion to the new Olympic Sport Stephanie Gilmore the two day shoot was a topic of who from Australia’s sporting talent will be heading to Tokyo next year.
With the Opening Ceremony on Friday 24 July, the clock is now ticking for both the athletes and production teams. Bring on Tokyo 2020!
7,500 athletes from 190 countries competed across 24 Olympic-style sports at this year’s World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi. The Special Olympics is the world’s largest humanitarian sporting event – part of a global movement that focuses on empowering people with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport. 2019 marks the first time the Games have been hosted in the Middle East since the movement was founded over 50 years ago.
With a singular focus on celebrating the achievements of all the athletes who took part, the special games doesn’t maintain a medals table. In fact, Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics International, made it clear that the Games were not about medals at all: “It’s about people; it’s not about one nation defeating another nation.” How refreshing.
HyperActive shipped a large consignment of EVS hardware to Abu Dhabi to help NEP cover the event, including two EVS ChannelMAX XT3s with the newly released Multicam 16; four EVS XTAccess; three IPDirectors; two EVS Database Servers; and three EVS Ingest Funnel Lite systems.
Gearhouse acquires 14 Alchemist HD SDI standards converters to answer broadcasters’ demands for HD coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the UEFA Euro 2016 Football Championships.
Building upon its longstanding relationship with SAM, global rental house, SI and OB provider Gearhouse Broadcast has announced the purchase and availability of 14 Alchemist HD SDI converters for its customers. These are in strong demand by broadcasters for HD coverage of the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil this summer and the UEFA Euro 2016 football championships being held in France in June. This recent purchase adds to Gearhouse’s existing fleet of nine Alchemist units, which now total 23.
Headquartered in the UK, Gearhouse Broadcast has been serving the broadcast market for 20 years with offices in Paris, Qatar, Australia and the United States. The Alchemist converter delivers unrivaled quality that puts Gearhouse ahead of its competition and gives its customers the best possible options within their HD productions. This is hugely impactful in a live sports production context.
Edward Tischler, Head of Projects at Gearhouse Broadcast commented: “We’ve used Alchemist for several years and we’re continually impressed with its clean and detailed format and framerate conversions. We’re delighted to continue our relationship with SAM. We’ve had a significant number of broadcasters contact us to rent Alchemist, and we expect that interest to grow as these two major sporting events draw closer.”
Alchemist Ph.C-HD provides broadcasters with a complete, one-box system solution that seamlessly converts between 1080p, HD, and SD broadcast standards and formats. It relies on SAM’s proprietary Ph.C motion estimation technology to deliver the best possible quality in a live broadcast environment.
Neil Maycock, EVP Marketing at SAM commented: “A great standards converter is essential to a live sports broadcast because the quality of the final broadcast output needs to be perfect. The fact that broadcasters around the world are entrusting their content to SAM’s Alchemist for HD coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the UEFA Euro 2016 football championships is a testament to the product’s performance and the stunning picture quality it generates. We’re delighted that working with Gearhouse ensures they are able to satisfy the demands of their customers and provide them with the high level of service their customers have come to rely on.”
Hitachi HD cameras equipped with Gearhouse Actis RF systems provide wireless venue coverage.
Gearhouse Broadcast a worldwide broadcast services specialist, has delivered HD production facilities for the 2014 Asian Games (XVII Asiad), which recently took place in Incheon, South Korea.
Working with Mito, for Incheon Host Broadcasting Management, Gearhouse provided complete coverage with 65 cameras across five venues hosting a number of sports including athletics, cricket and badminton. It also supplied 31 super slow-mo camera channels and 50 specialist and radio cameras, and sent out a 60-strong team of experts to provide on-site technical support.
This is the first major event that Gearhouse has been able to call on the services of its new in-house specialist RF business, Gearhouse Actis, following its acquisition of the respected French company Actis HF, in July 2014 and subsequent rebranding. Through Gearhouse’s unique partnership with Hitachi, the Gearhouse Actis team were able to develop a solution prior to the Games so that the Hitachi SK-HD1200 production camera could be used wirelessly.
“Having Gearhouse Actis on board is a huge help to us both during the build-up to the Asian Games, and while on-site in Incheon,” said Edward Tischler, head of projects at Gearhouse Broadcast. “It proved a valuable resource for my projects team, and our customers at major events in the future. With their expertise on hand, we can now be much more flexible in meeting the usual RF challenges we face at events like this like the inevitable frequency changes.”
With a large amount of equipment returning from this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, Gearhouse shipped a total of 68 tons of kit to South Korea. This included 65 Hitachi cameras, 25 newly upgraded EVS systems, eight Sony MVS vision mixers, as well as multiple Snell routers and Lawo V_pro8 video processors.
Sang Ho Park, president of Mito Corpotation said, “Gearhouse has a proven track record of performing at the biggest events, and has been able to deliver various solutions to meet our broadcast needs, so it was a logical choice for us to work with them. Thanks to its relationship with Hitachi, as well as its new in-house RF offering, Gearhouse Actis, we were able to reduce the number of vendors we had to deal with, which has simplified things from our perspective.”
The Asian Games is a multi-sport event held every four years, hosting 13,000 athletes and officials from 45 Asian nations and around 7,000 media professionals. The XVII Asiad ran from 19 September to 4 October.
Gearhouse Broadcast has been selected by the BBC to provide their News service with the systems integration of a Master Control Room and three studios twenty three floors up on the roof of the Lund Point building in Stratford in East London.
The broadcast facility is a joint venture between the BBC and Gearhouse Broadcast, which sees theBBC providing the communications and control systems.
The broadcast facility will be transmitting the 1.00pm, 6.00pm and 10.00pm News as well contributions to the Breakfast News program. Gearhouse Broadcast will also be providing studio facilities for World and local London News
The Master Control Areas for engineering and quality control comprised of test and measurement equipment from Tektronix and Panasonic Vision Mixers. Routers selected for the project include the Pro-bel Sirius 800 video router. Imagine Communications equipment was selected for the HD distribution and glue products. Equipment selected for the studios includes Sony HDC 1500 Cameras and Canon lenses.
Simon Atkinson, Technical Director at Gearhouse Broadcast explains, “The project has been a huge undertaking for Gearhouse Broadcast with the equipment installation taking place from the start of June for a six week build using six Gearhouse broadcast crew”.
“The equipment has been selected on the basis of its quality, reliability, compatibility, equipment everyone understands and the fact that it has proven itself on previous large scale sporting events.”
Gearhouse Broadcast is also providing ancillary services for the Games consisting of Project and Logistics Management and Technical Support. Operational crew members will include Engineers, Audio Engineers, Communication Engineers, Vision Controllers and Riggers, some of which will be permanently on site for the duration of the event.
The Olympic Games started on 27 July and end 12 August 2012. The facility will be kept in place to broadcast the Paralympic Games which start 29 August, ending 17th September 2012.
Gearhouse Broadcast has provided broadcast solutions for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008™, FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010™, iRB Rugby World Cup 2011™ and UEFA EURO 2012™.
