Digital Studio - February 2013

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Vol. 15 Issue 2 February 2013An ITP Business Publication

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Vol. 15 Issue 2 February 2013An ITP Business Publication

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TOTAL ECLIPSE

ECLIPSE PRODUCTION IS CELEBRATING THEAWARD-WINNING SUCCESS OF DEFINITELY DUBAI

CASE STUDYBBC Arabic celebrates75 years in the region

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www.digitalproductionme.com FEBRUARY 2013 / 1

CONTENTS

7UPDATE

INTAJ-BSG SHOOT GULF CUP/ TRICASTER FOR SAUDI/RFC JOR-DAN HEAD ELECTED

AFCI PRESIDENT/BARAEM TV IS FOUR/

NEW RATINGS SYSTEM FOR INDIA/

TURNER SHEDS JOBS/NEW MAM FOR

AL JAZEERA BEIN/YAHLIVE HITS THE ROAD/SKY NEWS ARABIA GOES MO-BILE/LG LOOKS TO

THE FUTURE/OSN TIES UP WITH TADREEB/CNN GOES TO THE

RACES

18CHANNEL

ALL THE LATEST FROM THE CHANNEL

22HEAD TO HEAD

WHAT’S IN STORE AT THIS YEAR’S CABSAT?

49COMMUNITYALL THE LATEST

GOINGS ON FROM THE MIDDLE EAST’S PRODUCTION AND BROADCAST COM-

MUNITIES

55PRODUCTS

OUR PICK OF THE LATEST PRODUCT LAUNCHES FROM THE BROADCAST

AND PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES

26TOTAL ECLIPSEWe talk to Eclipse Production’s Babak Amini about the award-winning destination fi lm, Defi nitely Dubai.

30HAPPY BDAY BEEB!The BBC’s Arabic service celebrated it’s 75th anniversaryin January. We get a history lesson and a look to the future from head of news gathering Bassam Andari.

36CABSAT COMES AROUNDOur essential wrap up to thekey goings on at this year’s CABSAT, plus an interview with CABSAT project manager Andrew Ferreira.

46 MAKING LIGHT WORKLightpanels’ Spencer Newbury on the advantages of the latest LED lighting technology.

26FEBRUARY 2013

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46

36

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Digital Studio ME DPS 275x410-E indd 1-2 1/20/13 4:45 PM

www.digitalproductionme.com4 / FEBRUARY 2013

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twofour54 intaj, the media production arm of twofour54, last month carried out the TV production management of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup Tournament, the Gulf’s international football tournament, which took place in Bahrain.

twofour54 intaj and partner Broadcast Solutions Group (BSG) were awarded the broadcast production of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup and the opening and closing cer-emonies by event managers World Sport Group and the Bahrain Local Organising Committee, having successfully managed the organization and live broadcast of the previous Gulf Cup,

The twofour 54 broadcast arm teams up with Broadcast Solutions Group for 2013 competition in Bahrain

intaj brings gulf Cup to tV sCreens

everybody’s talking about...

ContinueD on page 8

7 UPDATE12 ONLINE18 CHANNEL20 EDITOR’S COLUMN22 HEAD TO HEAD

tHis MontH in tHe tv and FilM ProduCtion industry

The opening ceremony of the 2013 Gulf Cup.


NEWS UPDATE

hosted by Yemen in 2010. BSG provided the production equipment and crew, while intaj was re-sponsible for the management of broad-cast production of the event.

The production utilised 37 HD camer-as including a spider cam and ultra-slow motion cameras were installed at both the National Stadium and Khalifa Sports City Stadium, where games took place.

The team provided footage to all the regional sports broadcasters covering the event, rather than to one exclusive broad-caster, adding to the complexity of pro-duction requirements and timings.

Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of twofour54, commented: “This marks intaj’s biggest production management project outside the UAE to date. We are proud to be as-signed for our production expertise on such a large-scale project. This is yet an-other testimony to intaj’s international standards of reaching to millions of view-ers across the Arab world.”

BSG CEO Saeed Izadi added: “This is a great opportunity for BSG to showcase its capabilities and leverage its technical expertise. By providing intaj with the best equipment and crew, we look forward to providing enthusiastic fans across the Arab world coverage from the region’s most antici-pated football tournament.”

The team shipped around 20 tonnes of equipment to Bah-rain, and commenced the installa-tion on 27th December. A crew of over 80 worked on the project, including produc-ers, directors, engineers, and cameramen.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Gulf Cup history

1968: Founded during the Mexico City Olympics by Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The competition is created as a bi-annual event, although over the years the competition will also be held on a three or four yearly basis due to political or organisational problems. The 2013 event is the first since 2010, in Yemen.

1970: The first competitionis won by Kuwait, the most successful team in the competition’s history with 10 wins in 20 competitions to date.

1988: Kuwait passes the 100-goal mark, a feat since achieved by Saudi Arabia (1996), Qatar (2004) and Bahrain (2010).

1991: Iraq is banned from the competition following its invasion of Kuwait. The ban remains in place until 2003. Iraq is the competition’s second most successful team, with three wins in 14 competitions entered. How many wins could this have been without the 12-year exclusion?

2004: The cup’s popularity blooms after Al Jazeera Sports wins exclusive broadcasting rights to the 2004 and future events in a $23.5 million

deal. The channel reforms coverage with talk shows and documentaries, HD filming and high quality camerawork.

2013: Stop press: UAE wins the 2013 Gulf Cup.

twofour54 CEO Noura Al Kaabi.

New AFCI president George David.


NEWS UPDATE

mediacast busy in kingdomMediaCast has equipped IsDB, Saudi Ara-bia, with NewTek TriCaster 455. IsDB is a financial institution with interests in about 56 countries operating on the prin-ciples of Islamic financing. Its activities include recording events, lectures, courses and interviews and webcasting them to both internal and external audiences.

Saleem Qadri, senior distance learning and communications officer at IsDB, con-sulted MediaCast for a suitable broadcast-ing solution matching the requirements and budget of the organisation. He was particularly keen on having ease of use, with the necessary features to suit the re-quirements of a broadcasting studio.

MediaCast installed NewTek TriCaster 455 as it was optimum for both scope of activities and budget. In the facility the TriCaster takes the feeds from three Sony PMW 350 HD cameras, which are used as a three-point setup showing center, left and right angles. All are fed to Tricaster and processed by removing the green back-ground and replacing it with a virtual set, removing the need for expensive sets.

Qadri said: “TriCaster 455 fits in perfect-ly into our set-up. My favourite features are its flexibility to connect to various in-put/output devices, powerful streaming and the virtual sets options available in it.”

TriCasTer fiTs The bill for isDb, Ksa

The Royal Film Commission (RFC), Jordan, was in high spirits last month, when its general man-ager, George David, was elected as president of the Association of Film Commissioners Interna-tional (AFCI) – the first Arab to have ever held the post, and also the youngest president to date.

The AFCI is the professional or-ganization for film commission-ers who assist cinema, TV and

this arab’s got talentvideo production throughout the world. It has over 300 members in 45 countries. David was elect-ed by a majority of board mem-bers during a meeting of the AFCI in California. He commented: “I am honored and delighted by this nomination. Along with my fel-low board members, I will strive to enhance integration among AFCI members and improve pro-fessional development for the ad-

vancement of the work of film commissions worldwide.”

David holds a degree in Film Production from Califor-nia State University and has worked in several TV and film projects in Jordan and the US. The RFC, Jordan is a member of the AFCI and also the AFC-Net - which is the umbrella for Asian commissions - in which David holds a board seat.

neWsmaker

Xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.


NEWS UPDATE

sky spreads the wordSky News Arabia has added Tu-neIn to its portfolio of multi-media offerings, en-abling view-ers to access live audio of the channel’s broadcast while online or on the go.

TuneIn allows users to stay up-to-date with the latest news from SNA via mobile devices without sacrificing the bandwidth required for full video live streaming. The service is avail-able on a range of operating systems including iOS, Android, Palm, Black-berry and Windows Phone.

Sky ArAbiA goeS mobile

hd grows apaceYahLive has certified more than 170 satellite television dealers and instal-lation technicians in Dubai, Kuwait and Jeddah as part of its GCC road-show, following successful comple-tion of a YahLive Academy workshop and technical training in HDTV.

Mohamed Youssif, YahLive’s CEO, said: “We’re delighted by the response the GCC HD Academy has received in Dubai, Kuwait City and Jeddah, which is indicative of the growing consumer demand for HD in the region. The HD Academy is one of the building blocks that YahLive leverages to drive the HD revolution and create the network of partners, dealers and installers necessary to support the region’s HD demand.”

yAhlive trAinS inStAllerS

Upgrade for aJ global channelsbeIN SPORT, a global network of sports channels operated by Al Jazeera, has launched a Viz Media Engine-based work-flow for archiving and overall media asset management of its programming content. The system is being used for the launch of two new U.S. channels under the umbrella of beIN SPORT USA – beIN Sport HD, in English and beIN Ñ , in Spanish, both hav-ing SAP capabilities.

The Viz Media Engine is integrated with beIN’s Avid Media Composer editing sys-tem and its Grass Valley K2 video servers for both import and export. The Viz Me-dia Engine provides access to all media. Using the K2 servers, it manages all of the channel’s playout tasks. WTVision’s Channelmaker playout automation sys-tem interfaces with the Viz Media Engine, monitoring playout and triggering trans-fer request between the Viz Media Engine and K2 servers as needed.

Also critical to beIN’s selection of the Viz Media Engine was the systems’ sup-port of Sony’s XDCAM HD422 and how it handles partial restores: “The Viz Media Engine had everything we were looking for in a MAM and archive system to launch these new channels in the U.S. market,” said Marc Andreu, media manager, beIN SPORT. “The ease of integration with the other manufacturers, ease of use for our operators and ability to restore XDCAM files were all must-haves to make our fa-cility function as we envisioned. We are so excited to share this way with Vizrt.”

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NEWS UPDATE

ONLINE

1 Zee launches Arabic language station

2 Zee Alwan expands dubbed Arabic content

3 CNN fi lms Dubai endurance race

4 Most infl uential people – fi lm editors

5 Digital Studio Awards

6 Arab TV’s internet presence grows

7 ITP Broadcast confer-ence microsite

8 Jordan TV to go HD with help from Harris

9 Generator Rex joins CN Arabic team

10 intaj/BSG shoot Gulf Cup

OSN/TADREEB TRAINING TIE

ON LOCATION

CNN GOES TO THE RACESCNN was fi lming in the region in January, when the documen-tary ‘Winning Post’ showcased an unusual race of 160 km, the HH Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup, taking place at Dubai International Endurance City.

CNN’s Francesca Cumani headed to the desert to meet with the horses, riders and trainers. With 40 percent of its registered riders being female, the sport is hugely popular amongst women. ‘Winning Post’ gathered with a small group of Emirati female riders and discussed the race as well as look-ing into how they took up the chal-lenge of long distance racing.

SPOT POLLSTRICTER SAFETY

LAWS FOR THE UAE EVENTS INDUSTRY?

52.3%Yes. Precautions being taken are not enough.

34.1%Possibly. There’s always room for improvement.

13.6%No. The precautions already being taken

are suffi cient.

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OSN, the region’s leading pay TV network and twofour54 tadreeb have announced a two-year partnership to o� er a tailored Digital Fundamen-tals Training Programme to support the growth of expertise in digital multi-platform engineering and delivery in the UAE.

OSN is currently in the process of enhancing its services to viewers with the transition to high quality picture and audio broadcasting over vari-ous digital multi-platforms. This Digital Funda-mentals Training Programme has been especially tailored to upskill and support OSN engineers and sta� as the network undertakes these ongoing improvements. Training areas include: generic DVB and satellite broadcasting, picture grading,

waveform usage, audio monitoring and manage-ment and multi-platform media format manage-ment, among others.

Mike Tomlisson, training and development director, at OSN commented: “OSN is continually growing and developing its broadcast services with new and improved technologies. In making these transitions into the digital world, it’s abso-lutely vital that our engineers upgrade their skills and have access to professional training.

“We’re delighted to be working with two-four54’s tadreeb to deliver tailored Digital Funda-mentals Training Programmes. OSN will benefi t with improved internal processes and excellence and ultimately increased customer satisfaction.”

OSN’s operation is going multi-platform.

CNN GOES TO THE RACES

Endurance Cup, taking place at Dubai

women. ‘Winning Post’ gathered with

and discussed the race as well as look- CNN’s Francesca Cumani meets

up with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin

Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.

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NEWS UPDATE

Mansour, a new Emirati cartoon about a young boy with big dreams began broadcast-ing on two networks in January. Mubadala Development Company, which is funding the initial phase of Mansour, has signed collaboration agreements with Abu Dha-bi Media and Dubai Media Incorporated, awarding both organizations the rights to broadcast the first season of Mansour.

Mansour is the first Emirati production to apply high quality global animation tech-niques such as those used by international giants Disney and Nickelodeon. It empha-sizes both the importance of the Arabic lan-guage to Emirati culture and the value of a strong education and a healthy lifestyle.

Creator Rashed Al Harmoodi commented: “Collaborating with popular networks is a key element to Mansour’s success. We’ve targeted channels that mirror the show’s ar-tistic innovation and cultural identity. The objective behind the cartoon is to prepare children for technology intensive industries and advanced lifestyles. We are confident of the support both organizations will offer to promote Mansour.

“The power of the cartoon comes through the richness of the characters, the challeng-es they face, how they overcome them, and the strength of the storylines. Communicat-ing important values is something that will happen naturally throughout episodes.”

Haidar Mohamed, co-founder of Fanar Productions, the cartoon’s producers, add-ed: “This has been an inspiring project to be involved in. Through Mansour we bring to bear cutting-edge technology with powerful storylines that we believe kids will love.”

New emirati cartooN is go

rUsHes2003: The Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders (SME) takes on the initial funding of Freej. In September 2005, with around 3 million Dhs of fund provided by the SME, Lammtara Pictures is established and a team of almost 500 people is signed up to make the dream reality.

2006: Freej premiers across the GCC on Sama Dubai. It’s an instant hit, particularly with UAE nationals.

2009: Following the success of Freej and Shabiat Al Cartoon in Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) announces it is embarking on an animation project with a cartoon character called Hamdoon. The project, which is being planned in conjunction with Emirati artist Abdullah Mohammad Al Sharhan, CEO of Ajyal and creator of Hamdoon, is aimed at educating children about the cultural heritage of the country.

2010: Cartoon Network Arabia is launched, giving a springboard to animation and animators in the region. Quick off the mark are Dubai’s Blink Studios, who produce the first localised content for the new channel in the form of Skatoonies. Regional content from Jordan’s Rubicon Productions is also among the early output. The Cartoon Network Academy in Abu Dhabi opens later the same year.

2011: XPanse CGI’s Ashraf Ghori picks up a Digital Studio Award for best up and coming film maker for his Levity: Xero Error Minus One, a neat sci-fi flick that proves animation in the region is not just for kids.

2012: Freej is back in the spotlight when FlyDubai takes on the characters to host its latest in-flight safety video.

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NEWS UPDATE

india seeks better systemThe UAE may have only just introduced TV audience measurement, but in India, where a system has already been in place for three decades, the Broadcast Audience Research Council has just issued a Request For Information on the very latest methods to adapt to the multi-channel digital age.

Punit Goenka, Chairman-BARC and MD & CEO, ZEE said: “Given that BARC address-es a population of over 1 Billion, of which over 0.6 Billion have access to television in some form, I am confident that BARC will settle for nothing less than being the best.”

New ratiNgs

four years for kids channelKids’ channel Baraem TV celebrated its fourth anniversary last month. Saad Al Hu-daifi, acting channels director, commented: “The anniversary is just the start of our journey; we have many more surprises planned for our audiences including a new line-up of shows that will feature in-house and international productions.”

Some of the new shows, which seek to both enteratin and educate, on 2013’s grid include Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, Jojo’s Circus, and many more.

Happy birtHday baraem tV

tough times for emea opsTurner Broadcast System has announced it is to cut 30 per cent of jobs across its EMEA operation. The cuts, says Turner, will create “more operating power and accountability within the regions, as opposed to large cen-tral functions.” Rani Raad (pictured) remains in charge of Turner’s operations in Turkey and MEA. Turner International president Gerhard Zeiler commented: “This review required tough decisions, but they are necessary to put us in the best position for future growth.”

turNer cuts oNe tHird of staff

Inno v at i n g t he Fut ure o f G l o b a l Co mmun i c at i o n s

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CHANNEL UPDATE

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MediaCast is already an established regional distribu-tor of professional audio/video solutions from a number of in-ternational companies, ranging from post-production, music creation, broadcast, production and streaming. From its Dubai base, MediaCast serves a wider region spanning the entire ter-ritory of the Middle East and even beyond through its wide network of international part-ners, bringing technology to a variety of markets includ-ing fi lm and music studios, educational institutions, system integrators, web-streaming solution providers and live-production facilities.

Peyman Dadpanah, business director at MediaCast com-mented on the latest tie-up:

“We are very proud to associate with such a reputed company as Miller, which has long been a sought-after name among professional camera users. We realise the importance of having fl awless support systems for excellent fi lm making, and how craftsmen form a bond with their favourite gear. Miller of-ten features in the list of quite a few ingenious artists and we will be pleased to increase that in the Middle East region. With their wide portfolio of prod-ucts with zero compromise on quality suiting di� erent types of cameras and price-bands, we are looking forward to a promis-ing time ahead with Miller.”

Paul Maroni, group sales and marketing manager at Miller, added: “Our presence in the Middle East will be greatly en-hanced with this relationship. MediaCast has the expertise, passion and are customer focus, which are all attributes synony-mous with the Miller brand.”

MEDIACAST APPOINTEDMILLER ME DISTRO

SPOTLIGHT

MediaCast’s Peyman Dadpanah and the Miller Skyline 70.

CERTIFICATION SUCCESSOmnix International Kuwait has been awarded certifi cation for the new ‘Product Support and Consulting’ specialization from Autodesk, the world leader in 3D design, en-gineering and entertainment software.

“We are truly proud of this certifi cation from Autodesk, which not only acts as testa-ment to their confi dence in our partnership but also a� rms our ability to address the growing IT demands and requirements of our clients here in Kuwait,” said Omnix busi-ness development manager Abhilash Nair.

OMNIX IS AN AUTODESK CERT

2013 FOCUS ON AFRICA AND ASIAChannel suppliers looking to expand their market will be pleased to hear that CAB-SAT is this year seeking to expand its reach into the African and Asian markets. Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, DWTC, said: “We are explicitly broadening our appeal this year to include the emerging African markets and the hotspots of South Asia as well as our es-tablished MENA footprint. Our region has a fi ne reputation for innovation, and our major players are regularly catalysts for new appli-cations of the latest technology.”

CABSAT TOBROADEN REACH

Omnix’s Abhilash Nair.


CHANNEL UPDATE

BAHRAINThe Gulf Cup has been keeping broad-casters, production companies and equipment suppliers alike busy in January. We report elsewhere about the production contract, but indi-vidual broadcasters have been fl ocking to Bahrain too. Abu Dhabi Sports was pleased with the location for its broadcast coverage in the US$2.5Bn Bahrain bay devel-opment. Head of sport production and operation Khalil Al Saffar said: “I am thankful to Bahrain Bay for approving our request in broad-casting the Gulf Cup from their attractive waterfront location that meets our techni-cal and broadcast-ing standards.”

DUBAIAdvanced Media is welcoming in the new year with some great offers on the very latest Sony camera equipment. While stocks last, and for a limited time, the Dubai distributor is offering the Sony PMW F3 L, part of Sony’s Cine Alta family of digital cinema-tography products, packaged with your choice of any three Zeiss Compact Prime PL mount lenses (available in focal lengths from 18mm-85mm) for the bargain price of just AED513,000. Call into Advanced Media’s Bur Dubai showroom or visit www.amt.tv for more details, as well as to see Sony’s full camera range.

GCCThe largest security exhibition in the region, and indeed the largest security exhibition in the world outside Europe according to the organisers, came to Dubai’s World Trade Centre last month, and Oasis PPD was there, exhibiting alongside its partner JVC. The partners were at the show exhibiting the very latest cameras, lenses, recording devices, monitors, VTRs and recording devices as well as a range of signal and processing equipment for CCTV and microphones and speakers for public address and background music systems, reminding us that cameras aren’t just for TV!

AROUND THE GCC

DWTC CEO Saeed Almarri.

SAUDI ARABIAApplied Digital Media Services has opened a branch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and will be offering vo-cational training pro-grammes in a variety of fi elds of digital media throughout the year. The focus for January and February is Adobe After Effects, with courses designed for beginners, intermedi-ates and advanced students. The courses in Saudi Arabia will run alongside those offered at ADMS’ regional head offi ce in Dubai and a further branch offi ce in Doha. A new corporate passport scheme has also launched for 2013, offering members benefi ts including free training.

Advanced Media

great offers on the very latest Sony camera equipment. While stocks last, and for a limited time, the Dubai distributor is offering

AROUND THE GCC


HEAD TO HEAD

CABSAT - Any plans?

headto head

With CaBSat approaChing onCe again, do you have any Big planS you Can tell uS aBout?

We have been exhibiting for over a decade and CABSAT is crucial for any player in the broadcast industry. This year we

will be focusing on 4K production as well as our IP HD live production systems that offer high picture quality with low

latency and flexible transmission mode using IP infrastruc-ture. Visitors will have the opportunity to see Sony’s workflow

management solution – Media Backbone Conductor; our ar-chive solution – high capacity optical disc archive system, and

our latest fibre and triax camera transmission live systems.

MEA continues to be a dynamic emerging market, full of opportunity. Africa is particularly exciting as we see a lot of

investment to bring broadcast infrastructure on par with international technologies and can showcase both our tech-

nology and our SI expertise. Our ability to provide local on ground support is vital to our business through the region and we continue to invest in an extensive on-the-ground network.

laSt year’S CaBSat Seemed to have piCked up after a SloW 2011 - hoW WaS the year for BuSineSS?

and hoW do you expeCt 2013 to develop from a BuSineSS point of vieW?Every year has new opportunities as well as challenges. 2013 is not going to be very different. With the extensive range of

products we have and the growing markets we support we are positive about an exciting year ahead

What do you think Will Be the Big neW teChnologieS for 2013?

We anticipate high appeal and demand for 4K production solutions from our regional broadcasters – specifically for

sports telecast. Deloitte predicted that sports broadcasters will be one of the first to invest in 4K and that the initial

costing globally for new 4K studio and equipment will be close to AED 58 million (10 million British pounds).

Paul Wallis, sales Director,

salam meDia cast

aWaD mousa, HeaD of ProDuct marketing, sony Professional solutions

We will be making a number of announcements during the show, which will include key partnerships that recognise our business shift into an IT-centric environment.

We will be driving new media, multiscreen and OTT ap-plications.

The global economic downturn was not as dramatic in the Middle East as it was in Europe and the rest of the world. In this region, we actually saw an overall increase in RFPs and tenders as the Middle East market was still transitioning to High Definition.

This year we expect to see key opportunities in not only the traditional broadcast environment and studios, but also a big shift towards IPTV, OTT and new media applications.

We believe that high definition has to be consolidated in 2013 and the biggest new technologies we see being implemented are automated IP workflows and mass storage.

Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises T : +971 4 266 5244 F : +971 4 262 6682 E : [email protected] W : www.nmkelectronics.com

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EditoR’s CommEnt

anuary saw BBC Arabic celebrate its 75th anniversary in the region, having broadcast its first radio news way back

in 1938. The TV service may be more of a new kid on the block, launching in 2008, but there’s no doubting it has swiftly established itself as a key player in the region’s news sector. The Middle East has an appetite for news unrivalled in many parts of the world - perhaps unsurprising since the region is far from the world’s most unnewsworthy place - and the news marketplace is crowded to a degree that no other region can even aspire to. All the major international news channels have a presence in the region, while local services come in the form of the BBC, Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya, Al Sharqiya and many, many more, ensur-ing that news in the local language, about he local area is never too far away on your remote control. In fact, the region currently hosts at least 65 news channels, but I’m loathe to offer this as a definitive figure as new channels are launching all the time, and the saturation shows no sign of abating. Prince Al Waleed’s Bloomberg tie up, Alarab is just one major new player we

Jcan expect to see entering the market-place soon, and you can be sure there’ll be more where that came from. With such a saturated market, it can’t be easy for those charged with monetising the channels, especially bearing in mind that the 65 or so news channels make up just a part of the roughly 1,069 (again that’s the latest figure to hand, but it’s around six months old, so the new figure could be double that) total TV channels in the region. Of course, for some channels, moneti-sation is of little importance. In some monied circles a TV channel to call your own is seen as a must-have status symbol - you’ve got your yacht and your Bentley, so it’s the logical next step - and for those in this fortunate position a business plan is often far from their mind. Other chan-nels are government-run, and for many of these the prime purpose is to push the government line and remind the good citizens how lucky they are (though these are thinner on the ground following the Arab Spring. Probably a blessing when you consider that Egyptian state TV, for example, was screening a documentary about the River Nile while Tahrir Square burned. I know the Nile is beatiful, but surely some grounding in reality wouldn’t hurt?) For most, though, the day-to-day reali-

ties of running a successful business are central to their existence, and there have been signs recently that the harsh reali-ties of such a competitive market may be beginning to bite. You could say it started last year, when the BBC’s Arabic service was widely reported to be closing down bureaus in the region. Although, as we hear in this issue from BBC Arabic’s Bas-sam Andari, the corporation is keen to present this as a case of merging bureaus and improving operations rather than closing bureaus and cost cutting, it’s un-deniable that when two bureaus become one, some closure has taken place, and costs have presumably been cut. More recently, Turner Broadcast, home of CNN, has announced it is to shed 30 per cent of its staff in the EMEA region. Again the talk, while accepting that tough decisions have been made, is of im-proved services and greater positioning in the marketplace. While we can happily enjoy corporate jargon with the best of them, it seems clear that the regional news broadcast sector is perhaps not the happy ship it once appeared to be. We can only watch and learn how the industry responds as yet more channels come online this year.

Chris Newbould is editor of Digital Studio magazine at ITP Business Publishing.

no news is good news for the region’s news broadcasters

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CASE STUDY / ECLIPSE ProDUCTIon

www.digitalproductionme.com26 / FEBrUArY 2013

Eclipse Production’s Babak Amini.


CASE STUDY / ECLIPSE PRoDUCTIon

ToTal EclipsE of film arT

Dubai’s Eclipse Production was celebrating in December when the score for Definitely Dubai took home a Hollywood Music in Media Award. We hear about the making of the film.

clipse Production is no stranger to filming the sights and sounds of Dubai. It has worked over the years with a number of gov-ernment departments, and its relationship with Dubai Depart-

ment of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) stretches back over around 10 years.

Eclipse’s client base also includes international giants such as BMW and Microsoft, and the four full time staff at its TECOM base are regularly joined by a select list of regular freelancers, so the company can always call on exactly the right person for the job in hand. The HQ itself is a veritable film factory – all edit-ing and post takes place in-house on two linked editing stations – one HD/SD and one full HD – and the suites also offer post options including After Effects, 3D Max and Da Vinci. A full-time editor ensures that Eclipse is almost entirely self reliant. Producer/director Babak Amini adds: “We’re very compact in the sense that we have total control from the outset of a project to delivery. I’m always closely involved with the post and editing too, and the only time we really need to bring someone in is for 3D modeling or CGI work, which are more specialized and not exactly every day tasks.”

Eclipse also maintains a small equipment bay. Sony HD cams and a Canon 5D are on hand for location scouting, although on actual shoots the company tends to hire cameras in, as Amini explains: “We don’t have big cameras in house. I stopped purchasing them two or three years ago because technology is just moving so fast. Chips, sizes and prices are constantly changing;

new players like Blackmagic are coming in that no one expected a couple of years ago. I felt we needed look at our budget and ask ‘is it worth investing in a system that may be nearly obsolete in 12 months?’

“We came to the conclusion that we’re happy to wait and see what happens, while constantly following the latest developments. This way we can be sure we have the best available equipment for every job, and experi-ment with new equipment as it becomes available too. Our recent projects have all been shot on Arri Alexa. I love the camera, and the files are great to work with.”

The award-winning Definitely Dubai was the first of the recent batch of films he has shot on Alexa, and the results certainly justify Amini’s faith in the camera. He describes the genesis of the project thus: “We’ve worked with DTCM for about 10 years and produced a number of destination films and TVCs on their behalf. The last one was Vibrant Dubai a couple of years ago, and we think that really successfully covered every-thing about Dubai in a very elegant way.

“More recently, DTCM rebranded, and adopted the ‘Definitely Dubai’ theme, and wanted a new film to go with the new branding. We talked with them, and felt we wanted to emphasise the new brand, but without repeating ourselves, especially as Dubai is so popular for filming – we didn’t want to go over old ground.

“I wanted to be bold, and thought ‘Let’s be selective and create a few scenes that are almost like photogra-phy or single frames – take it back and forward a little in movement but not too much. Let’s create set piece situations that are very elegant and have depth. Let’s get away from video style and be more cinematic.’”

E



DTCM liked the idea, so Amini and his team created mood boards and ideas for art direction and lighting, and ultimately, a story board. DTCM gave the green light, and the team went to work: “Over the course of our relationship, DTCM have de-veloped a real confidence in us, and that’s a great position to be in as they have faith in leaving you to get on with your work. Of course there may be small changes to bring a piece in line with a client’s ideas, but we’ve never completely missed the target. That’s important, because when you take a brand like Dubai in your hands you have to be aware of certain parameters and re-quirements, and you have to be aware that once the message has been put out there it becomes the responsibility of Dubai and its government themselves.”

The shoot took six months, partly be-cause some scenes were of events that the team had to wait for, and Amini says it was a great experience for himself and all of the 17 crew that were involved on the project: “Projects shooting in Dubai are always an amazing experience,” he says. “There are so many amazing locations, architecture, forms and interiors. You can almost put camera anywhere with the right lens and get a nice frame! It was the first time we’d shot on Alexa too and I loved it. It was so easy to bring back and drop into the workflow, and it needed less lighting than I expected, particularly for interior work.”

Although the crew totalled 17, for the ac-tual nitty gritty of shooting this was about five, another advantage of the Alexa, Amini explains: “I don’t like too many people around me when I’m shooting and Alexa is great for that – it’s compact and light-weight, so once all the tracks are laid you just need a DoP, camera assistant, assistant camera assistant and you’re there.”

Some scenes in the film were also shot with Canon 5D – using the same Zeiss Prime lenses to get the same feel and depth as the Alexa work, while some of the sports

shots made use of a GoPro “in places where we couldn’t put another camera.” A stea-dicam system was also employed for certain shots, and Amini is clearly impressed with the finished product: “When the shots are all put together and graded properly you really can’t tell – it’s amazing. We’ve come to the point where digital cameras all share inherently the same basic signal. Some DoPs might be horrified by putting a GoPro shot in a film like this, but we’ve kept an open mind.

“The film isn’t designed for theatrical release and on a normal-sized screen you really can’t tell. Plus, so much can be done with accessible post and grading now, and when used intelligently the Steadicam can give you that shot and moment that noth-ing else can. Stephen French was the Stea-dicam operator and he’s done a great job. There’s a depth and breadth that no other camera movement would achieve. Even the shots on a yacht with the ground mov-ing underneath him came out perfectly.”

The finished film was initially shown on screens at DTCM stands at trade shows and events all around the world. DVDs were also given out to tour operators and Emirates installed the film on its ICE in-flight entertainment system, while the

likes of Vimeo and YouTube helped create further buzz around the film too.

Then, three or four months after initially handing over the film, the Eclipse team returned to the project to create a series of TVCs. At over 10 minutes long, the original was not ideal for this purpose, but from the outset it was designed so individual set pieces could be cut out and stand alone. The Eclipse team picked sections out, added extra layers through After Effects and 3D Max and a whole new product was born. In fact, just last month air time was booked on a number of international and local channels to showcase the new ads, which just about brings us up to date.

There was, however, one more chapter to be written as 2012 drew to a close: “We’d wanted to be more cinematic with the music too and score the piece as a short

“WE Don’T hAvE BIg CAmERAS In hoUSE. I SToPPED PURChASIng ThEm TWo oR ThREE YEARS Ago BECAUSE TEChnoLogY IS jUST movIng So FAST.”Babak Amini, producer, Eclipse Production

The Bastakiya shots made the most of Steadicam.

CHECK

OUT THE VIDEO

Watch the Definitely

Dubai trailer at:

http://vimeo.com/

38303174

Another day at the office.



movie,” Amini explains. “It’s hard with music. With the visual side, you can see straight away if you have a bad frame, but with music it’s abstract. For the composer to understand what I want, there has to be common ground with each other mentally.

“With Vladimir Persan, the composer of the score, I have that common ground. We gave him the first cut and he came back a week later with an amazing score – it was really subtle, simple instruments just pick-ing you up, hardly any electronics. There was some evolution from the original score – the client asked for it to be a little more dynamic, some parts were recomposed, but there were no drastic changes and everyone, including the client loved the finished version.”

Persan later asked Amini for permis-sion to enter his work in the Best Score in

a Commercial Advertisement category at the 2012 Hollywood Music in Film Awards. Amini agreed, but admits that he had virtually forgotten all about it when Persan mentioned later in the year that he was heading to LA as it had been nominated. Amini takes up the story: “”A few days later we were in the middle of a shoot,” he says.

Definitely Dubai Kit list

Arri Alexa Canon 5D GoPro Hero Steadicam support system Final Cut Pro 7 After Effects 3D Max

“And we got an SMS from Vladimir saying he was just heading down the steps with the award. It was great for Vladimir, for the film and DTCM. It was really pleasing too as this wasn’t a big budget production but we tried to create something with more value than just the spend on it, and Vladimir elevated it to a level where he could grab an award among all the biggest soundtrack composers in the world.”

The music’s success seems to have inspired Amini for his future projects. He can’t give too much away, but he does reveal that one will feature closely inter-linked music (“almost like a video clip”), a much larger format than anything he’s pre-viously worked on and 7.1 surround sound, as well as a possible link to Dubai’s 2020 World Expo bid. Intrigued? We’ll bring you more details just as soon as we can.

“whEn YoU TAkE A BRAnD LIkE DUBAI In YoUR hAnDS YoU hAvE To BE AwARE oF CERTAIn PARAmETERS AnD REqUIREmEnTS, AnD YoU hAvE To

BE AwARE ThAT onCE ThE mESSAgE hAS BEEn PUT oUT ThERE IT BEComES ThE RESPonSIBILITY oF DUBAI AnD ITS govERnmEnT ThEmSELvES.”

Babak Amini, producer, Eclipse Production


CASE STUDY / BBC ARABiC

happy birthday to you

BBC Arabic, the oldest of the BBC’s language services, celebrated its 75th Birthday in January. Digital Studio looks back on a proud broadcasting history.

he BBC Arabic service is part of the BBC’s World Service, and BBC Arabic radio first was launched in January 3rd 1938 from London. Following on from the initial radio service, bbcara-

bic.com launched in 1998 and BBC Arabic Television was launched in 2008. The channel is freely available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone with a satellite dish as well as online and on mobile devices via bbcarabic.com.

The BBC’s international services attract a weekly audience of 239 million people who tune in for broad-casts in 28 different languages. Since the beginning of the ‘Arab Spring,’ BBC Arabic’s audience has grown by 17 per cent to a record high of 25.3 million adults weekly - up from 21.6 million before the chain reaction that began in Tunisia at the end of 2010. Total weekly audiences currently stand at 7.6 million radio listeners, 20.6 million TV viewers and 1 million online users. During this pe-riod, weekly reach

across most Arab markets increased significantly with countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan doubling their weekly audience reach. The biggest increases to audiences were seen in Jordan, where the BBC Arabic TV audience doubled to a weekly reach of 25.6%, reaching 1.1 million people.

BBC Arabic has a number of offices around the Arab region, as well as in countries outside that are relevant to Arab populations, as head of news gathering, Bassam Andari, explains: “We have a presence in most Arab countries and some outside – our big-gest


CASE STUDY / BBC ARABiC


CASE STUDY / BBC ARABIC

operations are in Beirut, Jerusalem, Gaza, Ramallah and Cairo. Outside the Arab region we also have a presence in Turkey, Washington, London and Pakistan in the form of either our own staff or freelancers we use regularly.”

Andari also reveals that BBC Arabic is in the process of streamlining its operations, but despite press reports last year claiming that the service was closing its regional bureaus, he is adamant that the latest stage in BBC Arabic’s evolution is very much one of improving the service, not restricting it. He explains: “We’re not closing bureaus, but in areas where the BBC has more than one place of operation we’re combining them. It simply doesn’t make sense, when BBC’s UK operation has moved all its foreign language and English services into one location on Oxford Circus, to continue having separate operations in the Middle East. We’re trying to use our resources bet-ter and our policy now is to try and recruit or deploy from London bilingual reporters who can report for both the Arabic and English services at the same time.

“One of our strongest operations in this regard is the Baghdad office where BBC Arabic correspondents cover for both the Arabic and English services. We’re working on developing this further, and its proved useful on many occasions, so scaling down

bbc arabic in Figures

7.6MTotal weekly radio listeners.

20.6MTotal weekly television viewers.

1M Total weekly online users.

Al Sharqiya’s control room is a

hive of activity.

Presenter Sami Hada in 1967.

BBC Arabic’s former home,

Bush House.



the number of offices and buildings actu-ally leads to a bigger service.”

BBC Arabic’s editor-in-chief, Faris Couri, agrees, commenting following the merger of the Baghdad bureaus (the first to merge) in 2012: “For a long time we were kind of a standalone operation, but now we are no more. It started as a cost-cutting measure. But … it will enhance coopera-tion. Editorially, it makes a lot of sense to have a correspondent talking in both languages from the same location.”

Each BBC Arabic team in the region consists of a cameraman and a reporter, and such teams are currently in place in Beirut, Jerusalem, Gaza, Ramallah, Cairo, Damascus, Yemen, Islamabad, Turkey, Washington and France, with a team due to start in Sudan soon, and Andari adds that regular freelancers are in place in every

other country in the region. Unlike some news services, he says, the report-ers are closely involved with the production and editing of their own stories: “At some news organizations the producer will maybe work on a story, then the reporter will add his voice piece to camera, but our reporters are quite involved with choosing shots and editing. They send the story back to London almost complete. There’s no time for sending stories to Lon-don and letting the team there put them together, news travels too fast – particular-ly in the Middle East. The reporters have their own editing equipment and they send their stories in either over the internet, or by satellite in countries where we have a bigger operation as that’s quicker. All that

Regional opinions on BBC aRaBiC

“I am one of so many who always listen to the BBC

news bulletins. I do have my observations of course. But indeed, there are key and clear editorial guidelines that

the BBC Arabic is always fully committed to”.

Amr moussA – former secretAry of the ArAb LeAgue

“I would like to congratulate the BBC on this occasion. The BBC consti-tutes a school of journal-ism in every meaning of the word, whether on the international or the Arab levels. The BBC has been a much-needed outlet for the Arab, Islamic and Middle Eastern audi-ence to find news which never covered in their state-run media”. hoshyAr ZebAri - minister of foreign AffAirs of irAq

“May be one of the most important achievements for the BBC

is that it has trained a generation of Arab and Palestinian journal-ists, some of them are now icons of the Arab media”. “But like many

international outlets, the BBC also gives too much

space for the Israeli voice, on the expense of the Palestinian one. I wish this could be changed in the future”. mustAfA bArghouthi – PALestiniAn democrAcy Activist And secretAry generAL of the PALestiniAn nAtionAL initiAtive

“ThERE’S no TImE FoR SEnDIng SToRIES To LonDon AnD LETTIng ThE TEAm ThERE pUT ThEm TogEThER, nEwS

TRAvELS Too FAST – pARTICULARLY In ThE mIDDLE EAST.” Bassam Andari, head of news gathering, BBC Arabic

Ahmed Kamal Srour read the first

ever BBC Arabic news cast in 1938.



then needs adding in London is bits of CG or graphics and it’s ready for broadcast.”

At the same time as BBC Arabic is seeking to streamline its bureaus, it is also in the process of rolling a uniform approach to the technology used across the corporation, another area where its foreign language services previously acted as stand-alone operations and made their own way: “We used to work separately and Arabic and English services would use dif-ferent gear and not feed into each other so much. Historically language services have had less budget than the BBC’s domes-

Washington offices, which are suitable for one-on-one interviews and the like, while any of its bureaus in the region can be linked to the London HQ. It’s a cut throat world in the current Arabic news market. Established players such as BBC Arabic, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera are part of a rapidly expanding sector, with Sky News Arabia one recent big name launch, and Alarab set for an imminent launch in Bahrain, but the team at BBC Arabic seem convinced that the operation’s reputation for quality jour-nalism along with its ongoing efficiency drive, will ensure it remains at the top table of the region’s news broadcasters. Indeed, Couri is convinced the competition is a good thing, and seems unconcerned by the new kids on the block, concluding: “There are 538 Arabic TV channels, including [many] other news channels. And so an ad-ditional two won’t make a lot of difference. If there are others who would like to join, the more the merrier.”

Kit List – BBC ArABiC news teAms use:

Sony PMW 500 (tapeless) Sony PMW EX1R (tapeless) Sony DSR 450 (Mini DV Tapes – in the process of being replaced with tapeless cameras

Mac Book Pro with Final Cut Pro 7 for editing

tic ones, partly because of the different funding model with language services funded by the Foreign Office rather than the licence fee, but that’s in the process of changing too and the corporation is trying to bring all its operations in line with the same technology.

“This is rolled out gradually, partly because of training – we may need to bring people to London to train and it can be hard to take a few days off to go to London when so much is happening in the Middle East. The BBC technology department looks after the needs of programmes and news gathering and they advise us on the equipment we should use, then we roll it when it becomes available. This can take time too as the equipment needs to be loaded with BBC-licensed software, so it all comes from one source and is gradually rolled out to where it needs to be.”

The service also has small produc-tion facilities in its Cairo, Jerusalem and

BBC Arabic’s London team.

“WE’RE TRYIng To USE oUR RESoURCES BETTER AnD oUR polICY noW IS To TRY AnD RECRUIT oR DEploY FRom lonDon BIlIngUAl REpoRTERS Who CAn REpoRT FoR BoTh ThE ARABIC AnD EnglISh SERvICES AT ThE SAmE TImE.”Bassam Andari, head of news gathering, BBC Arabic

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Mediasys

#32172 - Convert DSME 1 07/01/2013 13:45

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Get the show

www.digitalproductionme.com FEBRUARY 2013 37

Get the show started! CABSAT returns to Dubai World Trade Centre in a slightly later March slot this year. here’s our guide to the fun that awaits.


PREVIEW / CABSAT 2013

ABSAT 2012 welcomed nearly 12,000 visi-tors from 110 countries to Dubai’s World Trade Centre, where they were able to check out the latest news and products from some 840 exhibitors representing 55 differ-ent countries. A poll of last year’s visitors

revealed that 91 per cent consider CABSAT to be the region’s leading event for the digital media industry, and this year’s show promises to be every bit as big, brash and essential as last year’s.

Among 2012’s highlights were Harris Broadcast’s launch of the HView SX multiserver, the first time it had given an inter-national debut to a major new product at CABSAT and a clear sign of the show’s growing international status, and Sony’s fully functioning news studio, which was installed, integrated and operational in a matter of just hours before the show. We’ll be talking to some of this year’s key exhibitors about what surprises to expect this year in March’s show issue, so until then, here’s some highlights of what CABSAT will be offering this year.

The CABSATBroAdCAST ConferenCe

C

2.00PM TO 2.30PMGerman Case study: transitioninG from analoGue to diGital terrestrial television broadCastinGThe switch off of the analogue signal could result in a large increase in the supply of television channels available to viewers and/or bandwidth being freed up for other uses. Politicians and policy makers claim that this will gain spectrum that will be sold to mobile broadband companies. Announcements to this effect have already been made in the UAE, and this policy is likely to be GCC-and region-wide.

However, the Content Production Industry is set to suffer as the density in the remaining spectrum rises and with it the risk of in-terference. The higher density of users in the remaining spectrum needs appropriate frequency planning to ensure interference free productions. This session reports about the experiences made in Germany where the switchover has already been completed.

2.50PM TO 3.20PMutilisinG ‘data CentriC’ storaGe teChnolo-Gies to simplify and speed up workflowsThis session will share real-world scenarios to help plan for, and implement, storage ecosystems that not only coexist with one

dAY 1: 12 MArCh 2013

This two day event is a must-attend for broadcast professionals visiting the show.

www.digitalproductionme.com FEBRUARY 2013 39


another, but interoperate in a wide variety of workflows. Case studies on how the most current storage and data management technologies simplify and speed up workflows will be shared, including how to maximize efficiencies out of the storage you have today, and how to plan for the future when capacity and performance requirements continue to increase. From small Post Production workflows to large broadcast integrations, don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to utilize data management to your advantage.

3.40PM TO 4.10PMNoNliNear sports productioN for a multi-screeN worldThe concept of Nonlinear Production (combining production, post-production, and distribution onto a single, unified platform) is new. Of all of the broadcasting market segments, live sports pro-duction — with its terrestrial, cable, satellite, Internet and mobile distribution channels — is poised to benefit the most from a Non-linear Production platform. This session will discuss how this new workflow provides live sports producers the flexibility to create more, richer content and distribute it across multiple platforms.

4.10PM TO 4.40PMGeariNG up for Qatar world cup 2022: what did broadcasters learN from loNdoN 2012?Big sporting events have traditionally been a catalyst for change in broadcasting - from the advent of colour TV to the introduction of HD. London 2012 is currently billed as the “Digital Olympics” with more than 20 sports simultaneously broadcasted in SD, HD and 3D via traditional, interactive and OTT outlets. What lessons can Qatar learn from this for its moment in the global spotlight?

DAY 2: 13 MARCH 201311.30AM TO 12.00PMleveraGiNG the cloud: achieviNG a seamless flow of coNteNt by usiNG public, private, aNd hybrid cloud iNfrastructuresIn the broadcast, studio and entertainment industries consum-er need is a clear driver for cloud adoption. As viewing habits change constantly, and delivery methods have to constantly maintain the pace, more broadcasters are seriously looking at the value of cloud-based services. This session tackles head-on the issues of security, bandwidth, storage technology, and cost of moving to the cloud, and will provide attendees with success-ful real-life examples.

2.00PM TO 2.30PMreachiNG New audieNces iN africa: how satellite techNoloGy caN help accelerate diGital coNNectivity iN the reGioNOf the whopping 82 million homes in Africa, only seven per cent have access to digital TV. And as younger generations

meNasat @ cabsat

Satellite professionals won’t be disap-pointed with the show’s offerings either

The MENASAT @ CABSAT Satellite Summit, presented by GVF in cooperation with DWTC as part of the CABSAT exhibi-tion, has developed a reputation for in-depth and invaluable discussions covering the current hot topics for the satellite industry. This year’s programme, is no exception, and aims to update the industry on important recent developments.

The GVF MENASAT Summit @ CABSAT 2013 – ‘The High-Capacity Satellite Summit’ will take place on 13 March. The programme will provide the satellite, and wider communica-tions industry, an opportunity to engage on advanced satel-lite system topics including:

The Technology & Regional Market Context of High-Capaci-ty/Throughput Satellites

Global & Regional Satellite Operators and High-Capacity Satellites

Markets & Verticals: Leveraging the High-Capacity Solution OEMs & Ground Infrastructure: The High- Capacity Equip-ment Manufacture Context

Networking Applications in the High-Capacity Environment Regional Regulation & Licensing for High-Capacity Satellite

On 14 March GVF MENASAT Summit @ CABSAT 2013 turns its attention to ‘The Satellite Interference Prevention Sum-mit’, held in collaboration with IRG (the satellite Interference Reduction Group), where delegates will learn about the chal-lenges of satellite interference specific to the MENA region, and better understand both the causes and possible solutions, as well as contributing to the discussions. It will cover:

Intentional Jamming: Sources & Responses Improper Installations and Training & Certification

Network with the whole iNdustryBecause trade shows aren’t just about looking at the latest equipment!

Besides keeping up with industry trends, CABSAT allows industry professionals to network and discuss key elements of their trade. It allows companies to meet with new and po-tential clients, as well as interact with existing key clients and business partners. CABSAT is the perfect platform to build and maintain business relationships, whether in the exhibition halls themselves or at the many social and informal events that also take place around the show.

Sub-Standard Equipment and Type Ap-provals, PQA & Earth Station Design (for “Comms on the Move” - Auto-Deploy Systems - Ka-band Ultra-Small Aperture VSAT - Maritime Stabilized VSAT Plat-forms - Aeronautical VSAT Systems)

Wireless Interference and the Spectrum Initiative

Unidentified Carriers and Carrier ID Dysfunctional Networks and Network Validation



demand more channels, more technology and more digital connectivity, this number is expected to grow significantly and TV delivered by satellite, and free-to-air (FTA) in particular, is poised for rapid escalation.

The ITU has set June 2015 as the deadline for global digital migration and most African countries are not expected to meet this deadline. One of the main challenges of digital migration is that digital terrestrial television (DTT) cannot provide the required reach and bandwidth on its own.

In this session, SES will talk about the recent work it’s been carrying out with broadcasters and manufacturers to maxi-mise television take-up via satellite. They will also share what they’re doing to overcome the challenges of high costs and remote terrain.

2.50PM TO 3.20PMMaxiMising your systeM flexibility and operational siMplicity to reduce costs and on-air errorsProtecting and maximising investments in broadcast hardware, along with optimizing operational workflows

are key concerns of any broadcast facility. This session is tailored for Broadcast Engineering Managers, System Inte-

grators, and Production staff, and will highlight the challenges of modern system design and integration, and will illustrate how a single ‘umbrella’ control system can bring huge benefits to both engineers and operational staff .

3.20PM TO 3.50PMnew ways to Monetise content: what will the future of tV look like and why is ott a gaMe changer?Aimed at broadcasters, content owners and advertising agen-cies, this session presents a case study of an innovative OTT delivery of TV content to a UK digital-terrestrial platform (Freeview) glossing over Mheg. It will also discuss how old fashioned digital terrestrial platforms glossing over Mheg can be adapted for other platforms, the compatibility of the new devices the complexity of the technology, and most importantly the opportunities to adapt in other markets.

4.10 TO 4.40PMsecuring your content distribution and eliMinating reVenue threatsProtecting your content and your revenue is more than just protecting your conditional access. It also means protecting the very weakest link of the distribution chain - typically the evry end of the chain: consumer devices. This presentation will give a good and understandable overview of the challenges any operator faces in order to secure their revenue in the complex modern distribution environment. It will also educate opera-tors on the possibility of giving consumer devices a security rating and what this means.

ask the experts Don’t take our word for it – here’s what some of last year’s exhibitors said about the show

“A combination of the stand location, the support and the marketing campaign, which has brought the visitors to the show, has made a big contribution to a very successful participation in CABSAT 2012.”PaDDy Roache, DiRectoR &

GeneRal ManaGeR, hitachi BRoaDcast in eMea, UK

“CABSAT is an ideal platform for showcasing latest technologies in the broadcasting landscape. Key regional and international brands participated in the event to gauge market trends and explore business opportunities.”MohaMMaD aBDUllah, ManaGinG DiRectoR, tecoM, Uae

“CABSAT is an important event which provides a wonderful networking platform to explore new business opportunities, formulate strategies and strengthen part-nerships with key industry players.”taReq aBDUl RaheeM al hosani,

ceo, yahsat, Uae

“This is the second year we are participating in CABSAT and it has been a great experience. We have taken a much bigger space and we have seen a lot more traffic at CABSAT 2012. The visitors are very knowledgeable and aware of what they are looking for.”RoMit shah, PRoDUct ManaGeR - caMcoRDeRs, canon Me

digital studio awards

the most anticipated date in the calendar?

The Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards is now in its ninth year, and acknowledges the efforts of individuals, organ-isations and companies that have contributed to the growth of the broadcast and production industry in the region.

Held in partnership with CABSAT on the show’s 2nd night.


pREviEw / cABsAt 2013

take it from mecABsAt project manager Andrew Ferreira gives his thoughts on this year’s show and the industry in general to Digital Studio’s readers.

whY shoUld pEoplE ExhiBit And visit cABsAt?CABSAT is the premier platform for any-one wishing to explore business opportu-nities, raise brand awareness, formulate strategies and create partnerships in this rapidly evolving market. CABSAT is the driving force for broadcast, digital media and satellite across the regions. It is where visitors can see the latest technology, prod-ucts, knowledge exchange from industry leaders. The exhibitor will have access to over 11,000 trade visitors who are decision makers from 110 countries.

which indUstRY pRoFEssionAls comE to cABsAt?Breakdown from CABSAT 2012:

Advertising Cable & Satellite Distribution Central & Local Government Construction Education & Training Financial Installation Military Oil & Gas Radio broadcasting Retail & wholesale

System Integrators Telecos & ISP TV Broadcasting Video & Audio production/post

how hAs thE FEEdBAck BEEn in tERms oF stAnd Bookings? An overwhelming positive feedback can simply be illustrated by the 100% sold-out exhibitor stands. CABSAT, in line with its commitment in providing the premier platform to explore business opportunities and partnerships, has shown 15% growth in stand bookings as compared to last year.


pREviEw / cABsAt 2013

has moved strongly to recover. The most recent report was from Lucintel, which predicted global growth at 4.5% for the next five years.

In MENA the growth is greater than this, as new channels come on air to service an increasingly sophisticated market. These channels are now provided in the region as audiences expect local content, advertisers demand local commercials, and entrepre-neurs see strong business in owning and managing channels.

So there is continued growth in produc-tion facilities and playout centres in the region. These are built to world-class stan-dards, with companies such as Twofour54 in Abu Dhabi attracting production from outside the region because of the quality of its capabilities. The region is also host to ever-more prestigious events and sports, and a strong local post production industry has grown up to service this, with one Abu Dhabi outside broadcast truck actually travelling to London in 2012 to provide Olympic Broadcasting Services coverage. And of course the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is already on the horizon.

whAt ARE thE AdvAntAgEs oF cAB-sAt compAREd to othER shows?CABSAT showcases new industry sectors and interactive features, demonstrating technology in action. These include great networking platforms such as The CAB-SAT Academy, where comprehensive con-ference streams, tutorials and interactive workshops offer new knowledge exchange opportunities on all aspects of the industry.

Now firmly established as the premier platform for anyone wishing to explore business opportunities, raise brand aware-ness, formulate strategies and create part-nerships in this rapidly evolving market, CABSAT is the driving force for broadcast, digital media and satellite across the region.

CABSAT continues to extend its global reach and is the dominant technology platform for anyone wishing to target broadcasters, production houses, anima-tion houses, professional photographers and videographers, oil and gas technology companies, content owners and creators, software developers, systems integrators, Pro A/V installation companies and distri-bution channels in the vast MEASA region.

In short, CABSAT is tailored for the specific needs of the region’s broadcasters and media specialists. It is the convenient way to invest in knowledge.

CABSAT In nUMBERS

19Years running.

11,483Visitors in 2012.

15%Anticipated increase from last year’s

how mAnY visitoRs ARE YoU ExpEcting At thE show?Reinforcing its commitment to attract key international visitors and delegates. CABSAT which will be run over a period of three days is expecting to draw a 10 per cent increase in the volume of visitors as compared to last year.

how hAs thE REcEssion ARoUnd thE woRld AFFEctEd cABsAt?Five years ago the global economic crisis affected the broadcast industry dramati-cally and swiftly. Since then, the industry

“in shoRt, cABsAt is tAiloREd FoR thE spEciFic nEEds oF thE REgion’s BRoAdcAstERs

And mEdiA spEciAlists. it is thE convEniEnt wAY to invEst in knowlEdgE.”

Andrew Ferreira, Project Manager, CABSAT


digitAl stUdio AwARds

ow in its 9th year, the Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards acknowl-edges the efforts of individuals, organisa-

tions and companies that have contrib-uted to the growth of the broadcast and production industry in the region.

N

NomiNate to accumulate

the digital studio Awards return for a ninth year during CABsAt this March.Here’s the lowdown.

This year’s awards will once again take place in partnership with CABSAT – the region’s largest exhibition for the broad-cast and production industries – and will be held on the second night of the three-day event in March. The gala eve-ning will play host to the region’s leading professionals in the broadcast, TV and film production and post-production

industries as well as vendors, systems integrators, consultants and other high profile guests.

The Digital Studio Awards recognises and rewards those local, regional and international players that have gone above and beyond in terms of their industry contribution. The Digital Studio 2013 ceremony will include 13 catego-


digitAl stUdio AwARds

Key factsHow long have the Digital Studio awards been running? Launched in 2005, this is the 9th year of the Digital Studio awards. When are the awards? The Digital Studio awards will take place on Wednesday 13th March, 2013.

Where are the awards? The Digital Studio awards will take place at a 5 star hotel in Dubai, exact venue to be confirmed.

Who can I nominate? If the entry criteria are met for a particular category, you may nominate: your own company, a supplier, a busi-ness partner, or even a client. 3rd party nominations as well as self nominations are accepted.

What is the agenda/programme of the night?

7:15 – 7:30pm: guest arrival 7:30 – 8:30pm: networking reception

8:30 – 9:45pm: awards ceremony 9:45pm: gala dinner and networking 11:00pm: guest departure

Please note that the above timings are approximate and subject to change, slightly, on the night. Is there a dress code? The dress code is business attire/national dress. Evening formals are optional.

I have been shortlisted for an award do I need to book a ticket? How? All attendees must book and pay for their tickets in order to attend the awards. Table bookings and individual seat bookings can be made online on the awards website.

How many people does a table seat and do I have to purchase a full table? A full table seats 10 people. It is not nec-essary to purchase a full table, individual bookings are also accepted.

awards categories

Best Animation of 2012

(Show reel required with submission in DVD format)

Best Production of 2012

(Non-commercial work – movies, TV series, documentaries etc. Show reel required with submission in DVD format)

Best Post Production House


Studio of the Year

Technology Implementation of the

Year

Systems Integrator of the Year

Distributor/Reseller of the Year

Manufacturer of the Year

Best up and coming filmmaker


Content Creation of the Year

(Commercial work – TVCs, corporate films etc – DVD show reel required)

Content Delivery of the Year

Satellite Services/Provider of the Year

Innovation of the Year

For each nomination you will need to describe in 200 words or less why you deserve to win

confirmed judges

Nick Barratt

senior broadcast manager, MBC Group

Clyde De Souza

stereographer, partner at Real Vision

Nick Grande

consultant, MD at Channel Sculptor

John Ive

director, business development and

technology, International Association

of Broadcast Manufacturers

Mike Purnell

director of business development,

Argosy Components

ries covering the broadcast and pro-

duction industries.Nominations are now

open online.For more information, as well as nomi-

nation criteria, and online nominations and bookings, visit www.digitalproduc-tionme.com/dsawards.

don’tmiss out!Nominate your work before 15 February at:www.digital productionme.com /dsawards

TECHNOLOGY / LED LIGHTING


Light of my Life

High quality LEDs have led to a new revolution in studio lighting, helping broadcasters to save energy, cut costs and reduce CO2 emissions, says

Spencer Newbury, Applications Manager, Litepanels

he latest advanced, low-energy lighting technologies enhance picture quality and increase creative op-tions, improving the

efficiency of studio operations. Tradition-al tungsten fixtures have dominated the broadcast lighting world for more than 50 years and many lighting directors and studio managers remain convinced that the historical investment in these lights has already been recouped. However, one of the real shocks to studio owners and operators is just how much this older lighting actually costs them on an annual basis. In reality, the older lights pose a bigger financial burden to both the broad-caster and the environment in the form of hidden, on-going expenses and higher levels of energy use.

The biggest culprit of energy consump-tion in every studio production is by far the traditional lighting fixtures. These lights draw and consume a tremendous amount of electrical power, most of which is wasted by turning directly into heat that can only be removed by using air con-ditioning to cool the surrounding space.

This is obviously both energy-sapping and expensive, and significantly increases the studio’s operating costs. Coupled with the expense of regular maintenance and replacement bulbs, the older lights are a much heavier financial millstone than LED lighting fixtures.

One of the obvious advantages of LED as a technology platform for lighting is its meagre power consumption, which can be as much as 80-90 per cent less than traditional tungsten fixtures. Litepanels LED lights are also cool running so the requirement for air conditioning in a stu-dio environment is dramatically reduced, helping to provide further energy and cost savings.

The maintenance requirements are almost non-existent as the lamp life of the higher quality LEDs last for tens of thousands of hours compared to a couple

hundred hours for incandescent bulbs. Also, LEDs contain none of the heavy met-als found in fluorescent and HMI lighting products, making them truly environmen-tally friendly. This long life comes from proper management of thermal dynamics, as well as a constant current control, in many cases giving the equivalent of more than ten years of normal studio use.

However well-documented the financial and energy savings are, it is still debated in the broadcast industry whether the per-formance pros of the traditional lights out-weigh the cost cons. Although the long life of LEDs is attractive, the primary concern is focused on the quality and consistency of light. When lighting directors are deciding which products to use, they are driven by the need to create attractive images so LED fixtures need to produce a light that is both practical yet flattering. Unfortunately

“THERE IS DEFINITELY AN AppETITE IN THE MARkETpLACE FOR ENERGY SAvING FIxTURES wITH THE ABILITY TO pRODUCE GREATER AMOUNTS OF LIGHT THAT CAN BE pROjECTED OvER LONGER DISTANCES.”Spencer Newbury, Applications Manager, Litepanels

FEBRUARY 2013 / 47 www.digitalproductionme.com


many of them fall short.Litepanels uses its unique patented

light-emitting diode technology to produce the higher quality of light that is especially important for today’s world of high-sensi-tivity cameras and camera chips. We have worked hard to provide the benefits of cost and energy savings to broadcasters without sacrificing the look of the lighting and the quality of the images.

Although LED technology has been around since the early 1900s its popular-ity has really only developed in the last decade. Litepanels first introduced LED lighting to the broadcast and motion picture industries about 12 years ago. We became interested in LED because it was so energy efficient, but for a long time its major shortcoming was the inability to project light over large distances. Through a number of innovations we have been able to overcome that issue with some of our newest products, including the Hilio high output LED panel fixture and the Sola 12 and Inca 12 LED Fresnel fixtures.

Another obstacle to overcome was the inconsistent colour temperature of industrial LEDs. Historically, several of the products on the market were fairly

unstable in terms of color temperature. Manufacturers do have the ability to create LED lights which produce quality illumi-nation. Our engineers have spent years perfecting the LEDs we use to produce an excellent full spectrum white light that creates pleasing skin tones and accurate colour rendition. The broadcast and mo-tion picture industries live and die by the images they create and the LED fixtures need to match that exacting requirement.

Litepanels now offers two lines of LED Fresnel fixtures, the daylight balanced Sola Series and the tungsten balanced Inca Series. They come in various sizes (12-inch, 6-inch and 4-inch lenses) and produce a slightly harder light source than the origi-nal flat panel LED fixtures, while providing much more control and adjustable focus. The biggest advantage of these LED Fres-nel lights is their versatility, which includes

two channel DMX, one channel for inten-sity and the second channel to control the fixtures focus capabilities from the lighting console itself. They can now be used as key lights in a studio environment rather than just as fill lights.

Manufacturers can produce the quality illumination that matches, or even ex-ceeds, the tungsten lights. The Inca Series fixtures produce a tungsten balanced illumination that is indistinguishable from the light produced by traditional incandescent fixtures. This allows studios with existing tungsten fixtures to begin realising the cost-saving benefits of LED lighting by gradually replacing legacy fixtures without changing their entire lighting installation at once.

More and more broadcasters have started to foster and embrace LED lighting technologies and techniques in a bid to

“ONE OF THE OBvIOUs ADvANTAGEs OF LED As A TECHNOLOGY pLATFORm FOR LIGHTING Is ITs mEAGRE

pOwER CONsUmpTION, wHICH CAN BE As mUCH As 80-90 pER CENT LEss THAN TRADITIONAL TUNGsTEN FIxTUREs.”

Spencer Newbury, Applications Manager, Litepanels



make their studios more cost-effective and sustainable. Some of the major broad-cast studios have been given targets to reduce their energy consumption and are overhauling their lighting strategies. High quality LED lighting fixtures offer proven operational and environmental savings, and can provide an average return on in-vestment period of less than three years. Illumination in a studio can be enhanced, and broadcasters no longer need to com-promise on the quality of output.

In terms of future industry trends, the technology is still developing and the market will soon see larger LED Fresnel fixtures which will replace the much big-ger fixtures found in some studios and on movie sets. Our goal is to ensure that all lighting needs can be fulfilled using the advantages of white light LED fixtures. There is definitely an appetite in the mar-ketplace for energy saving fixtures with the ability to produce greater amounts of light that can be projected over longer distances.

Film maker Sebastien Devaud is a dedicated Litepanels fan.


COMMUNITY

The Egyptian feature 1/2 Revolution has been travelling the world netting bagfuls of awards at international film festivals since its premiere in the 8th Dubai Inter-national Film Festival in December 2011. It’s most recent success was the audience award for Best Feature Documentary in the 3rd Karama Human Rights Film Festi-val (KHRFF) in the Jordanian capital Am-man. Karama Human Rights Film Festival showcased forty films from twenty coun-tries which were shortlisted from 250 shorts, documentaries and feature films.

The film is co-directed by Omar Shar-gawi and director of photography Karim El Hakim, and is co-produced by Proph-ecy Films and Danish Globus Film. The 71-minute film showcases a personal, intimate story from the Arab Spring: A group of friends living in downtown Cairo struggle to stay together during the first chaotic days of the Egyptian Revolution. Seeing dem-onstrators heading to the middle of Tahrir Square, Shargawi and El Ha-kim grabbed their cam-eras and set out to record the historic events as they unfold-ed around them.

NiNth DiFF closes ThE FINAl CREdITs ROllEd ON ThE 9Th dUBAI INTERNA-TIONAl FIlM FEsTIvAl (dIFF) jUsT AFTER lAsT MONTh’s IssUE wENT TO pREss. ABdUlhA-MId jUMA, dIFF ChAIRMAN, COMMENTEd: “AFTER MONThs OF CURATION, pREpARA-TION ANd COORdI-NATION, dIFF hAs dElIvEREd A TRUE spECTAClE OF CIN-EMATIC dIvERsITY ANd A shOwCAsE OF UNBRIdlEd TAl-ENT. wE hAvE NOT ONlY sCREENEd 158 FIlMs BUT OFFEREd NETwORkINg plATFORMs TO OvER 1,700 INdUsTRY pRO-FEssIONAls, shOw-CAsEd 330 FIlMs IN OUR FIlMMART ANd hOsTEd 24 FORUMs ANd wORkshOps FOR FIlMMAkERs OF ThE FUTURE.”

RUshes

2013 Festival oN the waySubmissions are open for the 2013 Gulf Film Festival (GFF). The Fes-tival welcomes entries across three categories: Gulf Films, Gulf Students’ Shorts and International Shorts.

Masoud Amralla Al Ali, GFF Festival Director, said: “The key suc-cess factor for GFF lies in the quality and diversity of films submitted and showcased from around the region.”

GFF open For submissions

½ RevolUtioN sUcceeDs iN JoRDaN

awaRDs FoR DiFF DebUtaNt Film

DUbai hosts tRavelliNg iNteRNatioNal aRts FestThe Tiger Translates festival of art, music and cinema launched in Dubai last month with a glittering event fea-turing The Narcicyst, former “dfa/LCD Soundsystem” alumni, Pat Ma-honey, ‘Bugz in the Attic’ founding member Paul ‘Seiji’ Dolby, Kuwaiti dj and music producer Zahed Sultan and Singaporean beatboxer Dharni.

TiGer TranslaTes launches

communityall the latest FRom the RegioNal pRoDUctioN aND bRoaDcast commUNity


COMMUNITY

Light House Studio hosted an intensive three-day video and fi lm workshop in January. The course covered training on video and fi lm equipment as well as lighting and post-production. Partici-pants explored editing workfl ows, au-dio in post-production, study on creat-ing the perfect ambience and analysis of clips from shooting exercises.

Bloom himself is considered a lead-ing light of the new school of low-bud-get fi lm making, and is well-known for his work with DSLRs, although the fi lm maker hasn’t used one professionally for 18 months. He explains: “The joy of the DSLRs when they came out was that they brought large sensors to the video market and made it a� ordable, but they still had their issues. They did, however prompt the market to change and manufacturers brought out a� ord-able large sensor camcorders like the FS100 and the Panasonic AF100. With these cameras they took the large sen-sor and put it into a proper video cam-era, which gave us proper connections, audio, monitoring – all the things that were missing from DSLRs.

“There’s still a big place for DSLRs. Take Canon’s 1DC – there’s no other 4K camera that small, though since I’m

WORKSHOP LATEST

Light House Studio welcomes British fi lm maker Phillip BloomBLOOMING MARVELOUS

EVENTS

30 JANUARYITP Broadcast ConferenceThe Broadcast Conference 2013 brings together over

150 fi lm and television broadcast industry leaders

to discuss the biggest challenges and

opportunities in the region. www.digitalproductionme.

com

3 FEBRUARYNew Horizons Citrix

trainingBecome an expert in the

cloud, remote access and virtualisation with full training in Dubai. New Horizons Dubai offers

authorized training in live classroom environments as well as online instructor-led

training. www.newhorizons.com/dubai

13 MARCHDigital Studio Awards

2013The Digital Studio Awards

return for their ninth edition, acknowledging the efforts of individuals,

organisations and companies that have

contributed to the growth of the broadcast and

production industry in the region.

www.digitalproductionme.

com/dsawards

12-14 MARCHCABSAT 2013

CABSAT comes a little late this year, but it remains the established and

respected trade platform for the broadcast, digital

media and satellite sectors across the Middle East,

Africa and Southern Asian regions.

www.cabsat.com

unlikely to shoot 4K on a documenta-ry, and I usually work alone so I don’t have a soundman, I may be unlikely to use it personally.”

Nonetheless, DSLR fi lm making still played a large part in the workshops, alongside using cameras such as the FS100, the Canon C300 and the re-cently-launched slow motion FS700.

COMMUNITY

WORKSHOP LATEST

TRAINER’S OPINION

“This is my fi rst workshop in Dubai, though I’ve fi lmed here before. I’ve done workshops from LA to the Dominican Republic and other, technically, third world countries. What I love is wherever you go you get a real mix of experienced fi lm makers who’ve been shooting 35mm all their life and those who have never touched a camera. Even in LA I’ve had groups ranging from ASC members to 12-year old kids, and I always try to fi nd a way to ensure everybody gets value from

the workshop – some people are coming here for three days, so it’s important ev-erybody has that.”

PHILLIP BLOOM,

FILM MAKER


COMMUNITY

SCENE CHANGE

BOSCHJay Cresswell has accepted the position of Permanent In-stallation Consultant at the ProSound division of Bosch Security Systems UK. “Electro-Voice and DYNACORD deserv-edly enjoy a high reputation in the industry”, says Cresswell. “In combination with Bosch’s own products, I look forward to o� ering our customers com-plete, customised audio solu-tions of the highest quality.”

PIXEL POWERImad Albaja’a has joined Pixel Power as technical and sales support manager for the Middle East, based in the company’s Dubai o� ce. He has held recent project roles at dB Broadcast, Red Bee Media and Astro. James Gilbert, MD, says, “The range and depth of skills Imad brings to Pixel Power o� ers customers access to a tremendous range of ex-pertise and experience.”

EXSET BVRahul Agarwal has joined Exset as a product manager for set-top boxes (STB) focus-ing on Asian and African mar-kets. Alex Borland, CEO, said, “We are pleased to welcome [Agarwal] as the company con-tinues to expand its business in emerging markets. [His] experience is invaluable, help-ing Exset’s customers to take advantage of digitisation and monetise pay-TV networks.”

SALAM MEDIA CASTA busy month for SMC with two key appointments in the region. Joining the company as sales manager is Roger Barton, and Janez Žigon joins as head of technical ser-vices. Paul Hennessy, SMC CEO, said: “SMC is strength-ening its businesses locally and internationally. We are delighted to welcome Roger and Janez to the team at this exciting time.”

FOR PROFESSIONAL CAMERA NEEDSHarmony meaning in Studio Build-Up Unit

Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different Hard working conditions. PROTECH HDS-300 Studio Build-Up Unit in brief : 1- Professional Studio design & Looks for Handy & Shoulder Camcorders. 2- Interface to PROTECH Camera Transmission Systems. 3- For Handy Camcorders can be built up, same as studio camera. 4- Steady for big type View Finder Mount. 5- Complete Studio set up with PROTECH Professional Peripheral 6- Safety and well organized

wiring that avoid LIVE or ONAIR accidents. 7- easy to handle camera transfer.

For inquiries please contact SYSTEC INTERNATIONAL Exclusive Distributer Middle East For PROTECH, Libec, I.D.X, AZDEN, TAMGA:For farther information about our products, we invite you to visit our Cabasat ‘2013 (12-14th Mar 2013) Booth at Hall 6 Stand Number: E6-32.

Tel: +971-(0)4-8835057, Email: [email protected], Website: www.systecintl.com

Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different

Full studio build –up unit

(HDS-300) from back side

Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different Always, you are seeking for new broadcasting equipment that can Support your broadcasting plan to be implemented smoothly in different

Side View of HDS - 300

Front and side view of full studio build-up unit (HDS-300)

Front View of HDS-300


THE WRAP

A RUN DOWN OF THE LATEST UPGRADES AND INSTALLATIONS IN THE REGIONTHE WRAP

24 TV Turkey chose Orad’s on-air graphics and studio solutions to create two news studios. With Orad’s solu-tions, 24 TV can provide the illusion of a large studio environment where the presenter can use every square inch to present the news show. According to 24 TV’s Creative Director Sertac Gegin, “With its easy-to-use yet powerful in-terfaces, Orad proved to be an excellent choice for creating the spectacular look for our new studios.

24 TV CHOOSES ORAD

LOCATIONTURKEY

TECHNOLOGYORAD ON-AIR GRAPHICS/STUDIO SOLUTIONS -16 VIDEO OUTPUTS AND 16 VIDEO INPUTS WITHIN A SINGLE BOX, COMBINED WITH A POWERFUL GRAPHICS ENGINE

MediaCast has supplied Pakistan’s Iqra University with a new TriCaster installation through its Pakistani partner MediaLinks. Hussain Bukhari, brand representative at MediaCast said “When MediaLinks consulted us for this requirement, I didn’t have to think twice to recommend NewTek TriCaster. The students and faculties are excited and MediaCast is looking forward to helping develop more TriCaster installations in the region.”

MEDIA CAST KITS OUT PAKISTAN

LOCATIONDUBAI/PAKISTAN

TECHNOLOGYTRICASTER INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SOLUTION FOR A PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIO

Yemen TODAY has purchased a UTAH-100 HD compact router for its SNG truck, which it commissioned from Istanbul-based manufacturer and systems integrator PALS, one of the few companies in the region to deliver SNG vehicles that are certifi ed to meet the ASBU-MENOS OpenDSNG standard.

“Reliability is key in this area of the world,” said Fikret Güzel of PALS. “The Utah Scientifi c router delivers high quality and reliability at a good price.”

UTAH ROUTERFOR YEMEN

LOCATIONYEMEN

TECHNOLOGYUTAH-100 HD COMPACT ROUTER


THE WRAP

Qatar TV made a little bit of history last month when it took delivery of the 555th OB van manufactured by BTS broadcast technology solutions in its factory at Weiterstadt, Germany. BTS claims to be the world’s oldest continuously operat-ing systems integration specialist having restarted production in 1951 after a break during World War 2, and had displayed the new van to visitors at IBC before it made the journey to Qatar.

New OB vaN fOr Qatar tv

LOCATIONQatar

TeChNOLOgy7x Grass Valley lDK 8000 cameras, 1x GV lDK 8300 super slomo cam, 1x GV wireless transmission cam, GV KayaK anD much more

Qatar’s TV Support and Development Committee has installed a digital workflow in its new, three-studio facil-ity to enable the re-launch of two QTV channels.

The facility, which is due to go on air later this year in time for Qatar National Day, will produce and playout mate-rial in-house for the channels. SGL’s FlashNet archive sits between an Avid Interplay MAM and a SpectraLogic T950 library with LTO tape for storage.

New Qatari studiOs

LOCATIONQatar

TeChNOLOgysGl Flashnet ar-chiVe, aViD interplay mam, spectraloGic t950 library, aViD eDit suites, eVs serV-ers/playout, pebble beach automation

PRODUCTS


Canon EoS500When? NowWhy? Takes Canon’s nascent cinecamera range to the next level.Sensor? 15.1mp, CMOSResolution? 4KList price? US$30,000

GraSS VallEy lDX SEriESWhen? NowWhy? Business flexibility, operational excel-lence and outstanding image performance.Sensor? Grass Valley’s Xensium-FT CMOSResolution? Full HDList price? US$60k-100k

BlaCkmaGiC CinECamEraWhen? Limited quantities nowWhy? Unrivalled performance for its afford-able price band.Sensor? 15.6mm x 8.8mm activeResolution? 2.5kList Price? US$2,995 (not a misprint!)

LOOking FOR ALTERnATivES?

CaBSaT Toy wE likE

Sony F65When? nowWhy? Highest fidelity currently on the market.Sensor? 20mp, 35mmResolution? Up to 8k RAWList price? US$65,000

This month, we take a look at some of the new cameras you can expect to see at next month’s CABSAT, starting with Sony’s much praised F65. Says Sony: “DPs gave Sony a wish list. Higher reso-lution than any previous digital motion picture camera. Even greater exposure latitude, dynamic range and wider color gamut than Sony’s previous best. Plus file-based SR Codec recording for fast, efficient episodic TV production work-flow. Plus 16-bit linear RAW to support the most demanding feature films.”

Rotary shutter option eliminates rolling shutter artifacts and supports various shutter angles.

Sony Super 35 image sensorseeks to “surpass the limits of human vision.”

Designed to work with the docking SR-R4 SRMASTER field recorder, which captures your work to solid-state SRMemory cards.

Adopted by Overbrook Entertainment and director M. Night Shyamalan to shoot “After Earth.”


CABSAT PRODUCTS / MANUFACTURERS

SNELL: HOST OF SOLUTIONS ON DISPLAY

Evertz will be showcasing its playout & content management solutions at CABSAT 2013. The solutions high-light the new features of Evertz’ award winning Mediator and OvertureRT LIVE platforms. Evertz will showcase solutions that scale from a small single-channel application to a large multi-channel playout facility. Evertz Playout & Content Management Solutions allow content providers to increase e� ciency

and reduce operating costs by simplify-ing workfl ows and publishing to both linear and non-linear platforms.

Evertz will also be showing o� its full range of live production solutions, including showcasing new features for MAGNUM, VUE and VisaLINK such as integrated tally, advanced event script-ing, timer control, and new widgets for the VUE customizable user interface. www.evertz.com

EVERTZ BRINGS NEW FEATURES TO PLAYOUT AND PRODUCTION

Argosy will be displaying the fi rst products o� the production line of its own range of hardware at this year’s CABSAT. The fi rst product from the initiative, a media converter, will be shown for the fi rst time at the show.

The new media converter is designed for applications where it is impractical to run co-ax cables such as between suites and the central apparatus room in a post

facility. The device converts multipleHD signals from electrical to optical,allowing up to 12 video signals to be car-ried over single mode fi bre cabling.

Josh Simons, Technical Director of Argosy, says: “When there is a clear need that the market does not already meet, we now have the resources to develop and build products ourselves.www.argosycable.com

ARGOSY MOVES INTO MANUFACTURE

SONY: BRINGING 4K TO THE FOREVisit the Sony stand at CABSAT to understand the 4K workfl ow right from capturing an image using a large format sensor camera like the F65, F5, and F55 right up to viewing it in its na-tive resolution on the new PVM-X300 4K professional monitor. Awad Mousa, head of product , marketing – content creation at Sony Professional Solu-tions MEA comments: “We leveraged the use of digital platforms to create

the 4K production experience and at CABSAT we will showcase how we’ve broadened and extended our line-up of 4K-capable equipment to simplify the production process for broadcast professionals.”

Sony will also be showcasing its IP HD live production system, next-gen-eration archive system and live system at the show.www.pro.sony.eu

Snell will be showcasing its range of production and broadcast solutions at CABSAT 2013, including its rout-ing, channel-in-a-box and automa-tion solutions. Andy Giles, head of sales, Middle East and Africa at Snell, explains: “At Snell, we’re committed to delivering solutions that solve our customers’ most complex challenges in today’s digital media and multi-screen operations. At CABSAT 2013,

we’ll show how our uniquely fl exible solutions — such as ICE channel-in-a-box, Morpheus automation, and Kahuna 360 — can transform broad-cast operations of all sizes. We’ll also feature our high-performance and fl exible routing solutions, including the Vega fl exible asymmetric router and Sirius 800 range with Advanced Hybrid Processing.”www.snellgroup.com

56 / FEBRUARY 2013

SONY: BRINGING 4K TO THE FOREVisit the Sony stand at CABSAT to understand the 4K workfl ow right from capturing an image using a large format sensor camera like the F65, F5,

tive resolution on the new PVM-X300 4K professional monitor. Awad Mousa, head of product , marketing – content creation at Sony Professional Solu-tions MEA comments: “We leveraged the use of digital platforms to create


CABSAT PRODUCTS / MANUFACTURERS

RTW AND QVEST KEEP IN TOUCH

Pixel Power will be using CABSAT 2013 as the launch pad for its Gallium integrated scheduling, asset manage-ment and automation system. Gal-lium provides automated control of Pixel Power’s transmission devices for graphics or complete channel playout, including ChannelMaster. Gallium goes beyond what many expect from channel-in-a-box automation, providing enterprise-standard, scalable automated

transmission. With the ability to manage multi-format content delivery, Gallium maximises sharing across multiple chan-nels, reducing workload and resource requirements while enhancing delivery and consistency with a single operator.

Pixel Power will also be displaying its full range of ChannelMaster, Brand-master and Clarity Create products at this year’s show.www.pixelpower.com

PIXEL POWER TO LAUNCH GALLIUM AT CABSAT

Following the success of the display of its end-to-end broadcast capabilities at last year’s CABSAT, Harris Broadcast will once again showcase a complete integrated workfl ow on its stand at CABSAT 2013.

“We are excited to showcase some of our latest o� erings, including for the fi rst showing in the Middle East of our new Versio integrated playout solution for

channel-in-a-box workfl ows,” said Said Bacho, VP sales and service, MESA. “We understand the core costs and investment needed to deliver premium quality chan-nels reliably and e� ciently. This knowl-edge and expertise has allowed us to evolve the channel-in-a-box concept beyond the current market o� erings and bring a more relevant solution to our customers.”www.broadcast.harris.com

HARRIS HAS IT COVERED END-TO-END

VISLINK FOCUSES ON PORTABILITYVislink will focus on the latest devel-opments of the company’s Advent Mantis MSAT Portable Data Terminal at CABSAT, designed to address Ka-Band satellite newsgathering requirements of broadcasters around the world.

The Mantis MSAT is a 12.5Kg go-any-where satellite terminal that can be set-up and start transmitting data and video in as little as fi ve minutes. It supports X-, Ku- and now Ka-Band confi gurations.

Also on show will be Vislink wireless camera transmitters, including the Clip-On 4 transmitter, designed for use with HD and SD cameras for electronic newsgathering, outside broadcasts and studio applications. With one-frame latency (33ms) and the latest H.264 or MPEG-2 encoding, the ClipOn-4 o� ers exceptional picture quality and multiple capabilities.www.vislink.com

RTW will exhibit its entire line of TouchMonitor audio metering products at the QvestMedia stand during the 2013 CABSAT show. Included in the product family are the company’s TM3-3G, TM3, TM7 and TM9 TouchMonitors.

RTW’s TouchMonitor series o� ers a cutting-edge approach to metering and monitoring. The newest member of the family, the TM3-3G, is a compact yet versatile solution for metering, de-

embedding and monitoring 3G SDI audio. It features a 4.3-inch touchscreen for horizontal as well as vertical orientation that can display any of the eight audio channels contained in a 3G SDI stream. Also on show will be the TM7, featuring a seven-inch touch screen, and the TM9, with a nine-inch touch screen, combine unprecedented fl exibility and modularity with an intuitive user interface. www.rtw.de

10-BIT HD/SD-SDI SMART PRODUCTION WEAPONFIELD RECORDER, MONITOR & PLAYBACK+PLAYOUT DEVICE

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FIELD RECORDER, MONITOR, PLAYBACK & PLAYOUT DEVICE

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Award winning


PRODUCTS

Tedial To debuT Tarsys

Sonnet has an-nounced the Echo Express II, the newest member of the Echo family of Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards. Featuring two PCIe slots, the new Thunderbolt-to-PCIe expansion chas-

sis enables the use of a wide variety of high-per-formance PCI Express cards — originally designed for use in desktop computers — with any computer equipped with a Thunderbolt port.

The Express II was designed for users needing a compact solution to connect two PCIe cards to their computers, and supports the majority of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe cards. The Express II adds a second slot to support two half-length, full-height, single-width PCIe 2.0 x16 cards.

sonneT launches new echo

www.sonnettech.com

www.tedial.com

JVC. has announced the release of a firmware upgrade for the new-to-market GY-HM600, boost-ing the performance and features of this versatile, next-generation handheld ProHD camera.

This improved firmware version will be included on all new GY-HM600 camcorders in the UK and Europe. Any customers already in possession of a first release GY-HM600 can download the update from the JVC support site. It includes new profes-sional features that build upon the selection already

included with the new 600 series camcorders and improves ease of use in all conditions.

JVc launches cam updaTe

www.pro.jvc.com

Tmd flexes iTs muscles

www.tmd.tv

Tedial is already looking ahead to March’s CABSAT, where it will give a Middle East debut to the latest enhanced technology for its MAM component Tar-sys, which now features a powerful web-based in-terface. Casual or expert operators can easily locate and initiate workflows in order to process content, for instance editing, or transcoding. Furthermore, Tarsys supports multiple data models and is designed to work in many languages and character sets making it suitable for multilingual use.

Mybest kit

OCOnnOr O-Grips

“Shooting an episode

in seven days with a

large cast and plenty

of extra coverage

involving stunts and

pyro can always be

problematic. You have

to be on your toes and

centered to the mis-

sion. You lean heavily

on your crew and gear

to make the day.

Because Sons of

Anarchy is 70 per

cent handheld using

ARRI Alexa cameras

and often includes

long lenses, I needed

a solution to make the

camera less of a bur-

den on the shoulder.

The O-Grips allow

me more flexibility

and creative freedom

in making the shot

and less hesitation in

pushing for long lens

moments. In almost

every set up on Sons,

the hope is to grab

and tag the details

avoiding any special

insert shots,”

JAmES REID, CAm-

ERA OPERATOR,

SOnS OF AnARChY

TMD has added new functionality to its Mediaflex platform. The new Mediaflex CI module creates the most powerful business process management

solution available for organisa-tions that create, produce, manage, archive and publish content.

Mediaflex CI

– for content intelligence – delivers intelligent pro-cess automation and business analytics, together with workflow development tools, which can be used by any organisation. Previously the realm of only the largest enterprises, this adds the capability to understand and monetise the underlying content flows in an organisation to efficiently manage the whole media lifecycle, in a way which is both readily understood and readily appreciated by all modern media businesses.


PRODUCTS

LYNX from Front Porch Digital is the industry’s first en-terprise-scale cloud imple-menta-tion of content storage manage-

ment (CSM). LYNX delivers adaptable on-demand scalability, reduces capital and operational costs, and revolutionizes the way media organizations manage assets. Front Porch’s LYNXdr is a hosted disaster recovery (DR) service that allows global media enterprises to centralize critical assets and consolidate operations, and LYNXlocal is a simple extension to LYNX that operates locally as an appliance, caching cloud content and provid-ing integration to specialist systems if needed.

Make soMe noise with iMpakt

Front porch has good Lynx

www.fpdigital.com

www.noiseindustries.com

Cobham will demonstrate the latest generation of its mesh networking at Cabsat 2013. This is the technology behind MediaMesh, the lightweight, fast set-up field newsroom.

IP mesh wireless communications create a self-healing Wifi network which can be expanded to cover any area. The latest modules from Cobham are light and efficient, weighing just 350g and con-suming 10W. Added to a camera, it gives full video and audio access to the network. Using the open

internet or Ka-band satellites, the network can then connect to the newsroom from wherever the story is hap-pening, carrying a full range of video, telephony and computer connections.

cobhaM is on the Move

www.cobham.com

tiFFen keeps its head

www.tiffen.com

The Tiffen Company has announced that the new Davis & Sanford Pro Elite Tripod and Head models 5075-15 and 5100-25 are now shipping.The latest Davis & Sanford Pro Elite Series two-in-one spreader features include snap-in centre support brace with boots for uneven ground plus adjustable ground spreader for maximum rigidity and a true fluid head design, providing shooters a system that performs flawlessly on both flat and uneven surfaces. The ergonomically designed lever offers shooters incredibly smooth pan, scan and tilt

Noise Industries, developer of visual effects tools for the post-production and broadcast markets, has in-troduced Impackt from Luca Visual FX to FxFactory. A plugin pack designed exclusively for Final Cut Pro X, Impackt is a collection of over 30 stylish transitions that provide editors with a wide range of dynamic and striking effects. Transitions come with a multitude of simple-to-use parameters, allowing editors to create unique effects to fit virtually any type of project.

Impackt Transitions Include Abstraction, which allows the user to create an unusual wipe by custom-

izing abstract round shapes that gradu-ally reveal the incoming clip; Chroma Spin, to create beautiful spinning chromatic effects and rotating shapes and digital TV Glitch, which emulates the digital glitches in modern TV sets when the signal is weak.

Sell it to me

oConnor 2575

“We average 50 to 60

setups per day. One

day I’ll be shooting a

football game, and the

next a rock-and-roll

concert. Because of

the amount and range

of set ups, my support

is crucial. There is no

room for error. That’s

why I chose OConnor’s

2575 – and no gear

heads. [I’ve never seen

a shot that I can’t do

with the 2575], but I’ve

seen a lot of shots that a

gear head couldn’t do.

Sure, there’s a place

for both but with a

large package like ours

(four ALEXAs), I have

no room for excess, so

the 2575 fluid heads

were it.

It’s very intuitive. No

restrictions, even when

we point almost 90-de-

grees up and down.

My A-camera operator,

Steve Andrich, shoots

for the NFL so he knows

how to follow a passed

football with a 500mm

lens and fill the frame.

He never loses it with

the OConnor. Try it

with a gear head. Not

possible.”

BILL WAgES, ASC.

with counter balance control capabilities that support a wide range of camera weights. The variable quick release lets us-ers easily fine-tune the camera balance, handy in the field where speed is essential.

AWA R D S 2 0 1 3

9 t h A N N U A L

W E D N E S D A Y 13th MARCH 2013DUBA I , U AE

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN BEINVOLVED TODAY

To submit your nominations,w w w . d i g i t a l p r o d u c t i o n m e . c o m / d s a w a r d s

EXHIBITION PARTNER

For nomination enquiriesplease contact:Chris NewbouldEditor, Digital StudioTel: +971 4 444 3596Email: [email protected]

For table bookings and further informationplease contact:Michelle MeyrickEvents Manager, ITP BusinessTel: +971 4 444 3328Email: [email protected]

For sponsorship opportunitiesplease contact:Peter DavisSales DirectorTel: +971 4 444 3741E-mail: [email protected]

Napoleon EstampadorSales ManagerTel: +971 4 444 3381E-mail: [email protected]

CATEGORY SPONSOR CATEGORY SPONSOR

NOMINATION DEADLINE

EXTENDED

Tuesday 12th February, 2013AWARDS CATEGORIES: Best Animation of 2012

Best Production of 2012

Best Post Production House

Studio of the Year

Technology Implementation of the Year

Systems Integrator of the Year

Distributor/Reseller of the Year

Manufacturer of the Year

Best Up and Coming Filmmaker

Content Creation of the Year

Content Delivery of the Year

Satellite Services/Provider of the Year

Innovation of the Year

The most celebrated event for the Middle East broadcast and production industry

5 MINUTES WITH...


0:00WHAT FIRST INSPIREDYOU TO WORK IN THE TV AND FILM INDUSTRY?Actually photography was my initial love as a kid, but I was advised by a very good photographer that the writing was on the wall and the days of the successful photographer were very much numbered as digital photography began to take o� , so I was asked if there was anything else in that sphere I could make a career of. I had a video camera and really enjoyed shooting with it, but had never really thought I could make a career of it. I went out with a crew shooting news for a couple of days and absolutely loved it, and next thing I was at Sky News where I spent 17 years. Of course now we’re going through he same thing as digital video cameras too become more a� ordable and better quality and the amount of competition out there grows as a result.

BOX SET OF YOUR FAVOU-RITE TV SHOW BEFORE YOU WERE MAROONED THERE. WHAT’S ON YOUR HAST-ILY ASSEMBLED PALM TREE SHELF, AND WHY?The Indiana Jones trilogy are fi lms you can watch again and again, so that’d be the fi lm. TV box set – you’d want to have as long running a show as possible if you were stuck on a desert island and a lot of my favourites haven’t fi nished yet! Maybe something like Bu� y the Vampire Slayer – it was great story telling, great writ-ing, Joss Whedon is a great director. That said I’ve not watched it for years so maybe it doesn’t stand up – can I wait till Game of Thrones fi nishes and have that?

5:00FINALLY, DIGITAL STUDIO’S READERS SHOULD USE ME ON THEIR NEXT FILM BECAUSE…?I bring my eyes, my abili-ties and my skills and a fresh approach. I think I can bring something unique, and I work fast – there won’t be a lot of sitting around which kills everybody. Plus I’m very af-fordable, and everybody likes to come in under budget!

1:00WHAT ONE PIECE OFKIT COULD YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?My iPhone. It’s got everything. Camera, internet, I can check my email, talk to people. It’s an all in one device. It’s all very well taking my favourite cam-era out with me, but I can’t put the footage anywhere. What am I going to do? Look at it on the back of my screen?

2:003D – FAD OR FUTURE?

I’ve never liked it, though I’ve always been curious about it for many years.

I think it can work on a theme park in Orlando that lasts three minutes and you go ‘wow,’ but once you get into fi lms that last two and a half hours like Avatar, it’s beautiful but hard to watch. Then all the post processed ones came out which were atrocious to watch. I still see 3D but it’s not my fi rst choice. I’d still go and watch it if it was shot in 3D by somebody I respected – I saw Prometheus and Hugo in 3D and still found them hard to watch. I saw The Hobbit in 2D because of the 48 frames thing, then went again to see

it in 3D. I hadn’t particularly enjoyed the fi lm in 2D, and it was awful!

I know very few people who like 3D, it costs more to make and more to watch, yet every new TV is 3D as standard and nobody really uses it. I don’t think it’ll go anywhere, espe-cially as we move to 4K TVs which will make it look better, but it’s not true 3D anyway – it’s a pop up book. If we ever get to true hologram 3D it would be amazing, like theatre.

5:00 MINUTESWITH...FILM MAKER AND DOP PHILIP BLOOM

4:00YOU’RE MAROONED ONA DESERT ISLAND. BY A LUCKY TWIST OF FATE YOU HAD CHANCE TO PICK UP A DVD PLAYER AND YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE, AND A

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Digital Studio - February 2013