UEFA innovates at the Under-21 Championship in Italy with Global Production, VAR and 3D audio By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - 18:12
Print This Story
From 16 to 30 June, Italy was home to the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, played at stadiums in Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Cesena, San Marino, Trieste and Udine, where the final took place.
This major sporting event was produced by UEFA and the technical partner chosen for the production of all matches was the Italian OB provider Global Production, which recently joined the international Euro Media Group.
With 21 matches played over a two week period, the tournament coverage required a considerable production commitment that was entrusted to the four technical and editorial crews that took turns on the OB vans in the various stadiums.
Davide Furlan, chief executive and managing partner of Global Production observed that the definition of technical partner' is rather limiting because we have been asked to take care of the whole editorial part and in fact we have provided all the directors, assistant directors, producers, floor managers, compound managers all this army of over 200 dedicated people was managed by us.
Global Productions' OB8 truck outside the stadium in Bologna
The technical configuration included in the tournament qualifiers and in the final involved a camera plan of 14 cameras including two super slow-motion 3X, a hyper-motion 6X, two RF radio steadicams, five EVS stations, on-board OB van graphics and the VAR which for the first time was used by UEFA in a youth tournament.
The VAR set-up was provided directly by UEFA while the graphics from Global Production were based on the expertise of another Italian company.
There were four OB vans engaged, those that have just merged into the new corporate configuration that saw Global Production maintain its personal and professional profile in the new international landscape of Euro Media Group. Specifically, the vehicles used were OB6, OB7, OB8 plus a vehicle hired from Videe.
Furlan resumes: It is important to underline that this is the first Global Production engagement in the new Euro Media Group corporate configuration, for an event of great commitment that moved about 200 people in total and for each game has seen around 50 professionals lined up.
For each event, on board the vehicle was a director, assistant director, EVS master who coordinated the replays, five EVS operators, graphic designer, audio mixer, and the floor manager from UEFA who followed the entire production and applied the international running order with guaranteed editorial quality control.
We are using 3D Audio recording as a demo for some broadcasters to promote future applications in Serie A football in Italy, obviously and ideally in conjunction with 4K HDR video.
Obviously, for those matches where the Italian team was present there was higher media interest and so the mobile vehicles assigned were those with the greatest technical capabilities, namely OB8 and OB6.
The configuration of the cameras was standard and equivalent to Serie A football: it is known as Standard C for the preliminary stages and Standard B for the semi-finals and final.
The camera plan included the main cameras, 1 main and 2 close up-positioned on the 16 metres, then a high back door, two low back doors, a Steadicam radio camera configuration with Link radio links by Links and Grass Valley moving along the left side of the field in the bench area, and a central, high reverse on the other side of the field.
For the 14-camera configuration, a second Steadicam was added, covering the right side and two other cameras in line with the area of the goals,but in reverse, beyond the goal itself.
The configuration was decided in tandem between the pool of Global directors and the UEFA manager. In each stadium there was a beauty camera, with a separate video signal demanded by UEFA, and a Polecam was also involved for the final.
Wiring and audio set-up
UEFA had asked Global to take full control of the entire compound TV area and Global responded by providing a compound TV manager for each stadium. Three stadiums, where Serie A matches are normally played, are pre-wired while in the remaining three (San Marino, Cesena and Trieste) it was necessary to lay out temporary ad hoc wiring and this required the work of two dedicated teams of technicians for a fortnight.
The tight schedule forced the team at some stages to dismantle the set-up immediately after the end of an evening game and move at night to the next location to be able to set up again the next morning and be ready in the afternoon.
It was decided to produce audio in Dolby E, the audio coding system designed and optimised for the distribution of audio signals in professional environments. Surround and multichannel audio was routed via a conventional PCM channel, simplifying the wiring inside the production infrastructure.
The standard microphone configuration was provided by UEFA and configured with an additional implementation by Global sound engineers in some respects to have an even more present and engaging multi-channel Dolby.
Each camera showed stereo microphones that followed the shooting plans and then a multi-capsule microphone was placed in the main cameras area, responsible for capturing ambient sounds, the empathic reaction of the public, and to recreate the typical spatiality made possible by the Dolby system.
First live sports use for 3D immersive audio
Moreover, very importantly, for the first time during a live sports production an immersive sound recording and processing system was used, otherwise known as 3D Audio.
This philosophy of shooting, which allows the sound to be positioned in three-dimensional space in a very precise way, even at different heights than the viewer, was used
North America Stories
24/04/2024
ATLANTA Mundo Hispano Digital has launched a new advertising product, MundoNow Connect, that is designed to help advertisers reach Hispanic audiences on connect...
24/04/2024
Epic Games has released a major new version of Unreal Engine, which has become a mainstay in virtual production, that includes new features and improvements to ...
24/04/2024
The National Association of Broadcasters welcomed the industry to its annual extravaganza last month in Las Vegas. The sights and sounds were similar to previou...
24/04/2024
NEW YORK Chptr and Gray Television have announced that they are introducing a new video solution for funeral homes and communities that will allow funeral direc...
24/04/2024
Adobe Charts the Future of Creativity and AI at MAX London
Brie Clayton April 24, 2024
0 Comments
Adobe is taking MAX, the world's largest creativ...
24/04/2024
National Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that keeps him at the trade association's helm throu...
24/04/2024
Jo Ann Ross, the long-running queen of television advertising sales, is stepping down from her role as chairman of Paramount Advertising at the end of the month...
24/04/2024
E.W. Scripps said it named James Galindo as station manager for KERO, the ABC affiliate in Bakersfield, California....
24/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video's Fallout topped TVision's Power Score rankings of shows on connected TV for the week of April 15....
24/04/2024
DoubleVerify said that it received accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its measurement of video viewable impressions and related metrics for connect...
24/04/2024
PlayBox Neo reports a successful and well attended 2024 NAB Show, held in mid April at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Now in its 101st year, the event attract...
24/04/2024
MPEG-5 LCEVC ecosystem support continues to grow and includes TVs and set-top boxes, gearing up for the deployment of TV3.0 in Brazil
New, never-before-seen ...
24/04/2024
At Integrate Middle East 2024 in Booth AR-F45, where the company is exhibiting along with its partner NOVO, Black Box will feature IP-based KVM and AV solution...
24/04/2024
FRANKFURT, Germany Software solutions provider manifold technologies has announced that its manifold CLOUD was selected by NEP Belgium to provide a signal proce...
24/04/2024
NEW YORK Integral Ad Science has announced that it has earned Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) filtration f...
24/04/2024
LOS GATOS, Calif. Streaming media company Plex has announced a partnership with the National Football League that will add the NFL Channel, the NFLs 24/7 free l...
24/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him at the helm of NAB through 2029, according to NAB Joi...
24/04/2024
GENEVA, Switzerland Software-defined video network (SDVN) platform specialist GlobalM and broadcast-quality content distribution expert scoopa have formed a str...
24/04/2024
Berklee Online to Hold 2024 Berklee Onsite Music Conference May 31-June 1 The in-person conference is open to Berklee Online students and the music community ...
24/04/2024
Kargo said it has launched a new product that gives advertisers more details about the connected TV campaigns they are buying....
24/04/2024
Mundo Hispano Digital said it has launched MundoNow Connect, which is designed to use first-party audience data to help advertisers reach Latino connected-TV vi...
24/04/2024
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who spent 10 months in a Russian prison, sits with Robin Roberts for a primetime special on ABC Wednesday, May 1. The 20/20 speci...
24/04/2024
To give its subscribers more content to pick from, DirecTV Stream is making deals to carry streaming channels from Cineverse and additional digital multicast ch...
24/04/2024
Jenny Padura has been promoted to co-anchor on the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts at WLTV Miami, known as Univision 23. She starts April 25 and will anchor with Ambros...
24/04/2024
Paris Schutz has joined WFLD Chicago, known as Fox 32, as a political reporter. He starts April 29 and will handle all political coverage for the station, repor...
24/04/2024
Plex has made a deal with the National Football League that will let users watch the NFL Channel, the league's free ad-supported streaming television (FAST)...
24/04/2024
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone sit for a chat when TMZ Presents: Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons debuts on Fox Tuesday, April 23. The pair di...
24/04/2024
Lionsgate Television said it signed a new multiyear employment agreement with executive VP, worldwide production, Gary Goodman....
24/04/2024
Miguelangel Lopez, WTMO Orlando (Florida) VP of news, has been named regional VP of news and content for WTMO, WRMD Tampa and WWDT Fort Myers, effective immedia...
24/04/2024
Howie Schwab - Beloved ESPN Researcher, Producer, and Trivia Star - Dies at 63 By SVG Staff
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 - 6:46 am
Print This Story | Subscri...
24/04/2024
Miss the SVG Venue Summit at Allegiant Stadium? All Panel Recordings Now Availab...
24/04/2024
Back to All News
My Oni Girl' Trailer Unveils a World Where Suppressed Emo...
24/04/2024
Editor's note: This post is part of the AI Decoded series, which demystifies AI by making the technology more accessible, and which showcases new hardware, ...
24/04/2024
Can machine learning help predict extreme weather events and climate change? Chr...
24/04/2024
To help customers make more efficient use of their AI computing resources, NVIDIA today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Run:ai, ...
24/04/2024
To address the shift to electric vehicles, increased semiconductor demand, manufacturing onshoring, and ambitions for greater sustainability, manufacturers are ...
23/04/2024
IN ADDITION TO FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY FEATURES, THE SELECTION INCLUDES:
PRO...
23/04/2024
LONDON IBC is now accepting nominations for its IBC2024 Innovation Awards, which honor achievements in technological innovation and social impact media & entert...
23/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. In response to the introduction of the Broadcast VOICES Act that seeks to encourage more diversity in the ownership of TV and radio stations, t...
23/04/2024
MIAMI, Fla. As part of a push to expand its FAST channel and streaming operations, Hemisphere Media Group has launched its free ad supported television (FAST) c...
23/04/2024
LOS ANGELES DirecTV is adding seven new channels to its rapidly expanding streaming lineup through new licensing agreements with Cineverse Corp. and Scripps Net...
23/04/2024
IBC is preparing to honour the highest achievements in technological innovation and social impact with the launch of its prestigious IBC2024 Innovation Awards, ...
23/04/2024
BREA, Calif. Bolin Technology is integrating Network Device Interface (NDI) across its product line, bringing support for the latest NDI technologies to its PTZ...
23/04/2024
WYOMISSING, Pa. PENN Entertainment has announced that longtime Disney and ESPN executive Aaron LaBerge has been named chief technology officer effective July 1,...
23/04/2024
In response to an FCC ruling in March proposing a $1.2 million fine against Nexstar and a ruling that Mission Broadcasting sell WPIX, Nexstar has filled a respo...
23/04/2024
Sony has announced new details about how the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is using Sony's Ci Media Cloud platform to streamline its workflows and spe...
23/04/2024
Esports' rapid rise to popularity can be attributed to many factors, from technological advancements that have enhanced the quality of modern gaming experie...
23/04/2024
OpenDrives, Inc., the global provider of software-defined media workflow solutions and data management capabilities, has been selected as a winner in the 2024 N...
23/04/2024
BCNEXXT is pleased to announce that Vpe has won the 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year Award in the Asset Management, Automation and Playout category. The offici...
UEFA innovates at the Under-21 Championship in Italy with Global Production, VAR and 3D audio By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent 
