EVP commissions new OB unit to cover football, motocross and more
Event Video Production (EVP) is an important service provider present in the Swiss market since 1996. An independent television production company with headquarters in Geneva, EVP has always held a dynamic approach to broadcast and video production.
EVP is extremely active in the sports field and is involved in filming motocross (dirt bike), gymnastics, football and much more. A few months ago, EVP commissioned Aret Video & Audio to engineer a new mobile OB unit, HD10, featuring a variety of innovative features.
Louis Pierre Roger, EVP CEO and owner, explains: “Our request was to have a particularly spacious unit in respect to its length; the unit already had to have a very compact design to be able to access very limited areas and historical locations downtown where the space for maneuvering is always very limited.
At the same time, though, the layout had to guarantee enough internal space to accommodate a high performance, flexible broadcast system with wide room for operation and guests.’’
These requirements triggered a special research initiative for HD10 that allowed the creation of a wide expansion side of over 7.2 meters on a total body shell of 8.9 meters and a total overall OB van length of 10.6 metres.
This layout was made possible thanks to the development of Aret coach work technology that, in its most recent release, is named ‘AR4’. This technology is said to facilitate superior structural stability, enabling wide openings for expansions and hatches.
The same construction technique has been emphasised in the latest ‘trailer’ exhibited at IBC 2013, equipped with double expansion for almost the entire length. Furthermore, the new ‘AR4’ release sports additionally improved thermal and acoustic insulation performance.
Another notable feature is that the unit has been equipped with 10 motorised cable drums for the camera cables that are fully integrated within the expansion, allowing excellent space optimisation and ease of use while having everything to hand.
The new HD10 mobile unit incorporates a section completely dedicated to production, a section dedicated to audio, one for slow motion EVS, and a section for camera control. Careful attention was given to air conditioning, yielding significant space to host machines of appropriate power and delivering ‘extra cooling’ where necessary.
Louis Pierre Roger continues: “The range of equipment onboard had to respect the tight technical requirements of our main client, the French Swiss Television (RTS), and the design, construction and system integration had to respect a very challenging delivery deadline.”
The entire unit had to be in HD, equipped with 12 Sony video cameras, one Super Slowmotion, a Grass Valley Karrera 3 mix effect video mixer, Digital Glue by Snell& Wilcox and a Clearcom intercom.
Based on a 336 x 288 matrix, managed and monitored by an Axon Cortex system, this configuration is able to handle the exchange of all information both in ‘standard’ and ‘emergency’ modes.
In addition, it is equipped with a Stagetec audio mixer and an additional audio mixer, with two rear consoles in video production and two separate desks for VTR and camera control.
Louis Pierre Roger says: “HD10 is the second unit we ordered from Aret, after the first one two years ago for which we required a very short delivery time and established a good [working relationship] between EVP and ARET engineers.
“The main reason we have decided to enter a second project with Aret is beyond the quality concept of their OB vans, it comes from the good cooperation you can have with skilled engineers who are able to understand and put [into practice] at a glance your ideas and needs.”