Calvin University Adds Blackmagic Replay to Broadcasts and Streams Brie Clayton July 2, 2025
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Replay workflow joins 14 Blackmagic Design cameras, 12 ATEM switchers and 104TBs of network storage.
Blackmagic Design today announced that Calvin University has begun using Blackmagic Replay and DaVinci Resolve Replay Editor during broadcasts and streams of the school's first football season.
Blackmagic Replay joins a huge Blackmagic Design workflow used to support a campuswide academic and broadcasting network that surpasses many other larger universities. This includes dozens of high end digital film cameras, live production switchers, DaVinci Resolve post production software, and Blackmagic Cloud Store 80TB and Blackmagic Cloud Store Max 24TB network storage solutions.
Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Calvin University is a Christian university that has been ranked as one of America's top regional colleges. The university includes more than 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students and in the last year alone, has completed 550 broadcasts.
Nate Porter is the lead video producer for Calvin University, where he works with a team of students and professionals to staff the continuously growing number of broadcasts.
He explained: At a mid sized regional school, our broadcast schedule rivals that of major networks. Our team handles a wide array of media work, including marketing, storytelling, and live production, covering everything from sports to concerts, lectures, and chapel services. We stream events for 18 athletic teams and manage productions across nine campus locations. On any given day, we might move seamlessly from a diving meet to a concert and then to a worship service, all while supporting media production classes and meeting academic needs.
To handle up to four broadcasts at one time, Porter built a fiber based broadcast, streaming and post production workflow around 85 different Blackmagic Design products. This includes the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 camera, Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K G2, and Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro, as well as Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and various Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera digital film cameras, a mix of ATEM live production switchers, more than 20 HyperDeck broadcast decks, dozens of broadcast converters, Blackmagic Universal Videohub 288 x 288 and multiple Blackmagic Videohub 12G routers, Blackmagic Camera and Studio Fiber Converters, DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor, Blackmagic Web Presenter streaming solution, and DeckLink and UltraStudio capture and playback cards and devices. Blackmagic Cloud Store 80TB and one Blackmagic Cloud Store Max 24TB provide storage and collaboration across the campus.
Our projects are powered by student workers who gain hands on experience with industry standard equipment, including a wide range of Blackmagic gear, Porter explained. We collaborate closely with the academic side, and students store all their projects on the 80TB Cloud Store. This setup ensures that when they join our team, they're already familiar with the systems we use and have a solid understanding of effective collaboration.
With the introduction of Calvin University's first football program, Porter was tasked with creating a full broadcast and streaming setup for all home games. The setup needed to be mobile as well since the school's stadium was not ready for the first season, and all 2024 home games were played at a nearby high school stadium. The addition of replay capabilities was an essential part of Porter's plan.
The games are shot on multiple URSA Broadcast G2s and Micro Studio Camera 4K G2s, with footage sent back to a campus control room for replays and the addition of graphics.
Porter explained the replay process: A spotter watches the different camera angles on a Blackmagic Multiview and tells the replay editor which cameras got the best shots. We then have a computer running DaVinci Resolve connected to Blackmagic Cloud and our Cloud Stores, and that setup is used by the highlight editor who is in charge of playback and putting together reels for social media. The highlight editor, replay editor and spotter all stay on the same page with the Resolve chat feature, which they love to use.
Replay is done using a Mac Studio with an UltraStudio 4K Mini, and highlights are then done on a Puget Systems PC. Both read off recordings from a Blackmagic Cloud Store Max, and then the replay operator opens the highlights' timeline and does the playout when necessary.
Porter continued: Everything we do is based around a Blackmagic workflow. Any camera feed is sent through an ATEM, either ATEM Constellation HDs or ATEM Mini models, for shading, tally, comms and routing. All our production venues, like the auditorium, arena, and recital hall, use some model of ATEM as input switchers for our projection inputs.
And for post, we do all of our editing in Resolve and are loving the cloud project server. It makes it really easy to hop onto any computer on campus and pick up where I left off. Also, I love being able to hop between editing, Fusion, color and Fairlight with a click of a button.
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