
Fifty Frames Pushes the Boundaries of Live Event Production with Help from AJA Gear
Brie Clayton December 6, 2024
0 Comments
Trained to expect the unexpected, Fifty Frames (GmbH) Founder Christian Heinzel sees every live event production or installation as an opportunity to embrace emerging techniques and confront challenges head on. It's something he puts into practice nearly every day as owner of a boutique shop that's trailblazing 4K HDR and IP live event production and video streaming workflows for luxury car brands, bands, and major corporations across Europe. While his team is unafraid of a challenge, they've come to depend on AJA gear to provide a level of certainty in high pressure environments. It's one of many reasons, Heinzel says, they regularly employ technology like AJA Ki Pro Ultra 12G recorders, FS-HDR real-time HDR/WCG converters, and KUMO 3232-12G SDI routers across projects.
Capturing the unseen: A secret UltraHD HDR recording Fifty Frames recently covertly produced an UltraHD HDR concert for a German punk band, designed to prevent performance anxiety the band previously felt when made aware of concert recordings. The three-day event took place on a former airfield in Berlin and drew in an audience of more than 150,000 fans. Upon receiving the first stage and LED screen drawings, Heinzel realized the event's massive scale. Recognizing the nontraditional nature of the concept and use of UltraHD screens, he opted to produce in UltraHD and tap into HDR to ensure more striking visuals.
The lighting situation was quite complex, and we knew it would include changes from bright to dark and a lot of effects that you normally don't see. SDR wasn't an option because we'd need camera shaders all the time, whereas, with HDR, we knew that we'd get a bigger dynamic range so we could see all the light, but it wouldn't come across as overexposed, he explained.
Due to the clandestine nature of the recording, his team strategically placed the ten remote and broadcast grade cameras out of the band's sight lines. Over the course of the three-day production, the team collectively captured 75 terabytes of footage from the cameras using 14 AJA Ki Pro Ultra 12Gs. The Ki Pro Ultra 12G was an easy choice, Heinzel recalled. It's reliable, affordable, and flexible. I can record eight HD camera feeds with just two units, saving rack space. Plus, I don't need a specialist to operate it.
Heinzel's team then color matched the mix of remote and broadcast grade cameras using AJA FS-HDR. Heinzel noted, FS-HDR is an absolutely brilliant tool for color matching cameras; it's truly a Swiss Army knife for color conversion.
Finding unique solutions to unique challenges Heinzel and his team have tackled many other outside-the-box productions as well. While previously working on an HDR live event project for a major car brand in Frankfurt, they realized their media servers only had HDMI and display port outputs, so they couldn't transport the HDR signal. Together, Heinzel and his colleague Oliver Derynck came up with a solution: if they could convert the signals of the media server to 12G-SDI and run it through an FS-HDR, they could then tell the signal it was HDR and run it through the switcher. We tested it out, and it worked, so we were able to retain the HDR metadata, Heinzel explained. FS-HDR helped provide a simple solution to a really complex challenge.
For the occasional augmented reality (AR) project Heinzel's team encounters, he's built custom real-time rendering machines with integrated AJA Corvid 44 12G cards for I/O. We've done a few AR projects with Zero Density, and they're a lot of fun, even though the workflow is different, he explained. Our systems for these are presently baseband SDI, but the goal is to move them to SMPTE ST 2110.
Marching toward an IP future As Fifty Frames continues to innovate across client productions and studio installs, Heinzel is looking to SMPTE ST 2110 to simplify the transport of uncompressed media. He noted, SMPTE ST 2110 will enable us to work with high bandwidth media as we would with SDI, with no compression, while introducing many benefits, from a reduction in equipment to substantial power and performance gains. Less equipment means a lighter load for travel, and with the right IP router, I can easily get 400 UltraHD signals using a 1RU device, which is amazing. Next year, I think we're going to see a lot more SMPTE ST 2110 products surface.
For the time being, he plans to continue maximizing his KUMO 3232-12G SDI routers to support routing needs across projects. Heinzel concluded, KUMO 3232-12G provides an affordable way for us to get signals where they need to go, whether to the shaders or for monitoring needs; it does what it's supposed to do well, and it's reliable. The usability is also perfect. You don't have to study the manual in-depth to operate it. That's important because my team doesn't have time to fiddle around with equipment. We need our gear to work.
December 10, 2024Cromorama Simplifies Color Management and Quality Control for Live Productions with the ORION-CONVERT Pipeline and AJA ColorBoxWell-executed productions come off seamlessly to audiences, regardless of the delivery format,
November 11, 2024AJA Corvid Powers I/O for RT Software's Live Broadcast Graphics SolutionsCatamaran racing is an elite sport that uniquely happens in open water.
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, vid
North America Stories
11/12/2025
ESPN's Aims for Spectacular With Heisman Trophy ShowEvent firsts include 1080p HDR production airing on both national broadcast and cableBy Dan Daley, Audio...
11/12/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Frankie Patton, University of ColoradoThe 2025 grad is hitting the ground running as a PA on national broadcastsBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 3By SVG Staff
Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 7:24 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2...
11/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: What Makes Gen Z, X, and Y Fans Tick? Dave Gavant of WSC Sports Go...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: 5G, MXL, Spectrum Loss, and Outerspace on Tap for Tues...
11/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: David Levy, Turner Titan and Master of Al...
11/12/2025
SVG Launches Follow the Money' Podcast: Go Inside the Sports Media Biz with...
11/12/2025
A Deep Dive Inside Game Creek Video's Bird and Magic Mobile Units, Home to A...
11/12/2025
How Sound Effects for Monsters Funday Football' Emulated the Sonic Soul of ...
11/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CSP Mobile Productions' Len Chase on Upgrading Tr...
11/12/2025
New satellites for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking program in production at L3Harris&...
11/12/2025
The Meadowlands system, a compact and mobile version of the CCS, uses ground-based radio frequency units to disrupt satellite communications....
11/12/2025
The L3Harris demonstration united tactical communications devices, counter-UAS c...
11/12/2025
Throughout 2025, L3Harris delivered innovative solutions to U.S. and allied warfighters across every domain.
With an unrelenting commitment to excellence, our...
11/12/2025
A Majority of the World's Population (51%) Identify As Soccer Fans
The 2025 MLB postseason notched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up +24% from the prior y...
11/12/2025
WALTHAM, Mass. Video-over-IP software provider Zixi said Roi Sasson has joined the company as vice president, engineering....
11/12/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. In a move that highlights the growing competition between broadcasters and CTV platforms for local advertising, LG Ad Solutions has announ...
11/12/2025
Boston Conservatory Earns Several Best of Accolades in 2025 Highlights include a faculty Grammy win, a seventh consecutive year on Playbill's list of co...
11/12/2025
RASTATT, Germany Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive ...
11/12/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcasts Xfinity operating brand has announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing that the operator said will provide custo...
11/12/2025
After eight years of declines, MoffettNathansons new Cord Cutting Monitor for Q3 2025 shows that pay TV subscribers to linear TV packages rose by 303,000, the f...
11/12/2025
Happy Holidays from Berklee Enjoy this years holiday student-performance video.
December 10, 2025
By
Office of the President
Dear Berklee community,
As w...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
Meet the Most Relatable Hero This Holiday: Main Trailer and Po...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
High Tides: Netflix Shares Release Date Final Season
Credit: Netflix / Thomas Nolf
Entertainment
11 December 2025
GlobalNetherlandsBelgium...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
Made in Texas: How Netflix House Dallas Is Leaving a Lasting Footprint
From left to right: America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerl...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
The Second Part of One Hundred Years of Solitude Will Arrive i...
11/12/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced additional programm...
11/12/2025
Hunters, saddle up - adventure awaits in the cloud.
Journey into the world of M...
10/12/2025
Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
10/12/2025
Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednes...
10/12/2025
The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, De...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
10/12/2025
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
10/12/2025
Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27
Print This Story
Although wor...
10/12/2025
Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...
10/12/2025
Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy
C...
10/12/2025
L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...
10/12/2025
L3Harris Meadowlands system has been designed with an open architecture software system that allows for more flexible and efficient software updates. This capab...
10/12/2025
During this interval, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (46.4%...
10/12/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Bitcentral, a provider of production, asset management, playout and streaming workflow solutions, has named technology veteran Rick Arnold...
10/12/2025
TV Tech is delighted to reveal the winners of the 2025 Media & Entertainment: Best in Market Awards....
10/12/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broad...
10/12/2025
In a notable example of how pay TV operators are integrating streaming services into their lineup and using those services to retain or attract subscribers, Dir...
10/12/2025
Today, Chaos builds instant feedback into the viewport, connecting Maya and Houdini to Chaos Vantage's real-time path tracer. Artists can now assess 3D asse...
10/12/2025
Smeup, a key partner for companies engaged in digital transformation, today announced the expansion of its adoption of Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud s...
10/12/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced two significant milestones...
10/12/2025
BEAVERTON, Ore. HDR10+ Technologies, LLC has announced that they will soon begin the licensing and certification of devices, content, and services that support ...
10/12/2025
SMPTE has joined forces with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to publish an updated report on AI and its impact o...
10/12/2025
Clear-Com is pleased to announce the appointment of Kris Koch as Director of Sales - North & South America. In this expanded leadership role, Kris will oversee...