Oxygen DCT takes production anywhere
Featuring Cinedeck recorders and Final Cut Pro editing, this custom-built Land Rover Discovery has been launched by Oxygen DCT and is designed for a one or two-person team who can record and edit material instantly on set or on a mountain road.
The result of a close collaboration with Broadcast Networks, who had a similar vehicle on the Sony stand back at IBC, this approach allows (small) crews to drive into a studio or location connect their cameras up and record without the rigmarole of unloading numerous flight cases and cabling up a plethora of equipment. According to the company, this ‘ready-to-go’ approach saves time, reduces cost and dramatically improves reliability as everything is set up in the Discovery.
The backbone of this mobile production facility consists of Cinedeck RX dual channel recorders that can record and instantly playback up to 4 camera chains. This application of tapeless workflow means that the recorded material is immediately ready to edit on the Final Cut Pro edit system in the vehicle.
This collaborative network-editing environment means that material can be ingested stored and edited on the fly. It allows a number of cameras to be linked to Cinedeck RX recording systems that captures their output without the need for a large production team. The live ingest system also enables a single operator to monitor multiple cameras and even create a simple ‘cut edit’ list whilst the camera feeds are being recorded, effectively reducing overall editing time. Once the production content is recorded, the data is transferred onto the main post production server for final editing. As the Cinedeck recorders record edit ready material in a variety of Apple ProRes formats, the whole production process is quick to set up and easy to operate, thus also reducing training and operational costs.
Inside the vehicle is a central working area that can be utilised by a one or two-person production team. The rear interior has been stripped and fitted with a sliding custom-built rack (for ease of use and servicing) and features a 5KVA 240V generator.
The vehicle was designed and built by Broadcast Networks and Tom Haye, Managing Director says: “With a smaller equipment footprint and reduced power requirements, our vehicle platform is ideal for any media company involved in the rapid generation, editing and content delivery for TV and Film production companies. It is also well suited to content providers in emerging markets where there is minimal broadcast infrastructure, but where efficient fuel consumption and reliability in extreme terrains is essential.”
Steve Hathaway, Managing Director of Oxygen DCT adds “Before Cinedeck’s tapeless workflow, VTR decks would have been required for recording productions and the space required for this alone would have precluded the possibility of such a system in a relatively small vehicle. What’s more, the efficiency of operation and operating costs are scaled back considerably by using Cinedeck’s ready-to-edit tapeless workflow and this is well proven and extremely attractive proposition for TV and Film Directors, Producers and Production companies.”
Oxygen DCT has in place an agreed worldwide support deal with Land Rover to offer full vehicle warranty for DSNG and Live Production vehicles.