The Royal Shakespeare Company Streams Live with Blackmagic Design

The Royal Shakespeare Company Streams Live with Blackmagic Design

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Brie Clayton April 14, 2021

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Blackmagic Design today announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), a major theater company, implemented a live, multi-camera production based upon the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and ATEM Television Studio Pro HD switcher to keep theater-goers entertained.

Based in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, the RSC is known across the world and, before the pandemic, produced around 20 productions a year. The RSC played regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour in the UK and internationally.

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The festival opened with a celebration of The Boy in The Dress, an adaptation of David Walliams' book. The festival also features plays for public audiences and educational organizations, including adaptations of Shakespeare's work by acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo.

One of the main challenges was, how do we give those productions the same buzz and feel as live theater? explains Kendrick. We had to create a workflow that combined our existing theater knowledge and practices with the principles of broadcast.

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He continues: We decided to film each performance from the audience's perspective, which meant getting out into the stalls. Every production has been slightly different, and so we adapted the camera positions to suit. However, as a general rule, we had two operated URSA Mini Pro cameras located centrally in the stalls, and a third provided an angled shot from the stage side. We also relied on the Micro Studio Camera 4K to capture wide shots of the stage and auditorium.

Actors now play to the camera instead of the house. This has proved challenging in certain respects, explains Kendrick. As there is also an obligation to keep the cast and crew safe and socially distanced. We also found that we had to approach lighting the stage differently to ensure we still got a quality look on screen.

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