Novatech reveal the magic behind Big Bash League NYE posted: 15/02/2020
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? is not a question usually posed at the cricket, but when Spongebob Squarepants turned 20, Nickelodeon teamed up with sports agency TLA Worldwide to celebrate his birthday at the now-iconic Big Bash League New Year's Eve fixture at Adelaide Oval. Since 2014, the after-game celebration has become the party to be at, with the entertainment growing more spectacular each year.
Long-term production partner Novatech Creative Event Technology (NCET) outdid themselves on Dec 31, as the Adelaide Strikers took on Sydney Thunder. Video and content gurus Campfire Content put together a spectacular video programme that sent the beloved children's character in to bat and bowl, in a massive, immersive show that completely took over Adelaide Oval just seven minutes after the game concluded.
The Oval's 360 degree boundary LED screens, two levels of parapet LED screens, and three enormous LED vision screens were unified into a vast content canvas. Not satisfied with that, Novatech designed, sourced, built, and rolled out four 30 metre by 17 metre projection surfaces onto the field itself - no mean feat for material weighing 120 kg, in seven minutes, positioned to the millimetre. Four Barco UDX32K 4K projectors were rigged at the rear of the grandstands to project onto the surfaces, using every pixel of their 4K capability to create a perfect image. The backbone of the show was NCET's disguise 4x4pro media server, which handled playback, control, screen alignment, and timecode. Keeping everything in sync, the 4x4pro sent timing, triggers, and content to the Oval's Ross Video system, to NCET's grandMA3 full-size and grandMA3 light lighting desks, and to the pyrotechnics crew who set off fireworks on cue with the video.
Some new kit in the NCET toolbox, Lightware UBEX optical scaling extenders, were used to send the 4K UHD@60Hz 4:4:4 video content latency-free across the oval's fibre network, with eight units used to get the signal to and from where it needed to be, creating an ad-hoc and completely scalable video matrix system. Lightware have really nailed it with UBEX, enthuses NCET's managing director Leko Novakovic. We managed to purchase the first units of UBEX in Australia, and I'm totally thrilled with their performance. It's become clear to our team that they're a product that you have to own if you're serious about video, and we intend to purchase another eight units.
A huge lighting rig consisting of six prebuilt trusses fitted with turf-friendly tyres were rolled out during the changeover. Each truss was 12 metres long, and sported Claypaky Sharpys and Sharpy Pluses, along with Vari-Lite VL400s fitted with custom Spongebob full-colour gobos. These were used to project into the white domes of the Oval's five roof arches, in time with the video content, providing a cost-effective alternative to full video projection. Supplementing the trusses on the ground were pre-rigged Vari-Lite VL3500 spots and washes and GLP Impression X4 Bar 20s, hidden behind LED screens and the Oval's sight screens. Art-Net distributed over the venue's converged network kept everything running smoothly.
The final pieces of the puzzle were Riedel MN Compact Pro integrated video, audio and data routers used to get signal onto the ground, while the 32 crew communicated clearly using Riedel Bolero wireless comms. And that's how six truss pods, four projection surfaces, and 16 2.4 metre wide inflatable balls that were thrown into the crowd, all hit their marks within seven minutes! Spongebob Squarepants is not the first character that comes to mind when you think of cricket, admits Leko, but the BBL, TLA Worldwide, and Nickelodeon wanted something cool and different. With some clever design and fun new tech, I think we hit the brief for six!
About Novatech Creative Event Technology
Novatech Creative Event Technology is one of Australias leading and most respected audio-visual production companies. Driven by a passion and commitment to staging exceptional events, we have the expertise, technology and resources to produce and stage truly unique conferences, gala dinners, product launches, road shows and concerts that surpass our client's expectations. Our world-class team, cutting edge technology and in-depth experience across a wide range of venues provides you with the confidence and peace of mind when staging your next event.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
09/06/2026
Last month, Spotify hosted PURE FLOWERS LIVE, a special event celebrating the re...
09/06/2026
Last month, RADAR U.K. artist Skye Newman took the stage in East London for a sp...
09/06/2026
Company to cease operating on 30 June 2026
Australian loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer Wayne Jones Audio have announced that after much consideration,...
09/06/2026
Increases low-end weight and character
The latest plug-in release from Sheffield-based fedDSP aims to offer an all-in-one solution for users in search of mo...
09/06/2026
Introduces AI Studio Assistant, Moises Studio integration & more
Fender Studio have just announced the launch a significant update that brings an array of n...
09/06/2026
The BBC has found its Hercule Poirot.
After Deadline revealed last month that t...
09/06/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Offset360 to Modernize Color Control Across Existing Pre...
09/06/2026
09 Jun 2026
VEON Appoints Serkan Ozturk as Chief of Staff & Strategy Officer Dubai and New York, June 9, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital oper...
09/06/2026
Tuesday 9 June 2026
Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a candid and unfiltered accou...
09/06/2026
Enni Continues to Rely on Arvato Systems - And Will Be Using AEP.EnerS4 Billing Solution
Arvato Systems to implement transformation project for SAP S/4HANA Ut...
09/06/2026
These special programmes will highlight RT 's connection with the Irish diaspora
This year, RT is marking 100 years of public broadcasting in Ireland with...
08/06/2026
At Spotify, our commitment to the LGBTQIA community is year-round. Through GLOW, our global music program, we celebrate and amplify the contributions of queer ...
08/06/2026
Get Hands-on With Keyboard & Synth Brands
GearExpo UK wouldn't be complete without some synth action, and we've got some of the industry's most ...
08/06/2026
50 popular in-ear monitoring system profiles added
The latest update for IK Multimedia's headphone-correction system has just arrived, and introduces ca...
08/06/2026
Manny Marroquin signature cans upgraded with SLAM Technology
The flagship model in Audeze's Manny Marroquin Signature Series has just been treated to an...
08/06/2026
Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directiona...
08/06/2026
he BBC and BritBox have announced that Edward Bluemel (We Might Regret This, My ...
08/06/2026
Plus, 20% off TVs ahead of kick-offMonday 8 June 2026
Sky introduces Real Time...
08/06/2026
FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026 Agreement Features Thursday Night Football, Sunday Games Package, Thanksgiving Day Games, al...
08/06/2026
FOX One, FOX Sports and Indeed Name Austin Franklin and Kevin Akoto as FOX One C...
08/06/2026
Meet us on the show floor
Stand #286310 Discover Nara, the media management tool used by major facilities including Harbor and Molinare.
Nara v2 introduces re...
08/06/2026
L'art de l'Image dans Reflet dans un diamant mort' Une conversation avec le directeur de la photographie Manuel Dacosse, SBC et l' talonneur Pe...
08/06/2026
Embracing today's modern media workflows: FilmLight presents Nara 2.0, with FilmLight API Designed to support the growing demands of today's production ...
08/06/2026
Moderated by Andy Minuth, FilmLight's Colour Workflow Specialist
Wednesday 18 February
6:00pm / Doors open
7:00pm / Presentation in German
8:00pm / Drin...
08/06/2026
Join us on April 14 at 10:00am for a technical roundtable with the Filmlight dev...
08/06/2026
You're invited to FLAPI Classroom The fundamentals of coding and machine-assisted development
These sessions will help you build the skills needed to cre...
08/06/2026
With Sylvain Canaux (St Louis, Paris) and J r me Cloutier (MELS, Montreal)
Wednesday 6 May
Pick your time: 1:00PM / 5:00PM
Note: The presentation will be hel...
08/06/2026
FilmLight, 1107 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles
Doors open at 3:30pm
Join the FilmLight team on June 9th at 4pm to learn how FilmLight products and APIs can stre...
08/06/2026
The Creators List launched to Help Brands Connect With Top Creators In CannesThe curated directory launched by Tubefilter, Comscore, Whalar Group and Gospel Sta...
08/06/2026
Irish YouTube star DavidMC joins Aisling O'Reilly to tackle all things socce...
07/06/2026
Company introduce 21 new protective covers
Decksaver have just announced their Sping 2026 Drop, which sees a total of 21 new models added to their ever-grow...
07/06/2026
Sunday 7 June 2026
Dynamo Vs Houdini comes to Sky later this year
The last time the world saw Dynamo, he buried himself alive. This weekend, he returned.
Mom...
06/06/2026
Check Out Leading Monitor Brands
We'll have monitors of all shapes and sizes at GearExpo UK, so whether you're looking to upgrade or expand your set...
06/06/2026
Two Originals offerings join MPC line-up
Following on from their partnership announcement at NAMM 2026, Spitfire Audio and Akai Pro have announced the relea...
05/06/2026
Built from the same recordings as flagship library
Sonuscore's LUX Orchestral Strings has been met with widespread praise since its launch in late 2025,...
05/06/2026
High-end converter, interface & headphone amp upgraded
Said to represent the next evolution of RME's all-in-one reference converter concept, the all-new...
05/06/2026
Win a Soundgas Type 636P & Type G preamps
Soundgas, one of the UK's leading vintage and boutique audio equipment specialists have just announced the lau...
05/06/2026
New leadership of Technology Systems Division at Rohde & Schwarz On July 1, 2026, Hansj rg Herrbold and Andreas H gele will take over as Executive Vice Presid...
05/06/2026
Hitachi and Intel announced a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities t...
05/06/2026
05 Jun 2026
VEON's Kyivstar to Expand Digital Mobility Ecosystem with Acqui...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
03/06/2026
Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed
Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...
Novatech reveal the magic behind Big Bash League NYE posted: 15/02/2020 
