Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Novatech reveal the magic behind Big Bash League NYE

15/02/2020

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.
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/novatech-reveal-magic-behind...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

14/07/2026

Bowling Green State Upgrades Doyt Perry Stadium With New Daktronics LED Display

South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...

14/07/2026

Mizzou Athletics Launches Connected Digital Platform

Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...

14/07/2026

DePaul Athletics, Playfly Sports Agree to Multimedia Rights Partnership

Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...

14/07/2026

American Association Expands Broadcast Reach Through FanDuel Sports Network Partnership

Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...

14/07/2026

Euroleague Basketball Introduces Euroleague Basketball+ Digital Ecosystem Initiative

New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...

14/07/2026

Professional Fighters League, ESPN Reach Multi-Year Media Rights Deal for Brazil

ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...

14/07/2026

TEGNA Names Scott Gill VP of Technology and Operations

Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...

14/07/2026

Guest Post: Dynamic Media Facilities Could Reshape the Future of Broadcast Workflows

Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) As broadcasters con...

14/07/2026

Bayerischer Rundfunk Debuts Fully Software-Defined SMPTE ST 2110 Radio OB Van Built Around Lawo Technology

Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...

14/07/2026

Scripps Sports, ION Secure U.S. Rights to 2027 FIVB Womens Volleyball World Cup

Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...

14/07/2026

FloSports Lands Exclusive U.S. Rights to IIHF Mens World Championship Beginning in 2027

FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...

14/07/2026

Minnesota Lynx Add Three Games to KARE 11s Over-the-Air Schedule

Victory+ telecasts to be simulcast on TEGNA-owned station, expanding free local distribution...

14/07/2026

Avalanche Tones debut with Chainsaw Suite

Plug-ins for heavy music Avalanche Tones is the brainchild of Ava Toton, a 17-year-old musician and developer who says her goal is to make the lives of gui...

14/07/2026

IK Multimedia introduce ReSing Voices Brazilian Pack

Launched alongside new Singer Showcase purchase model IK Multimedia's innovative vocal-synthesis software has just gained its latest voice add-on, the R...

14/07/2026

MIDI Innovations Awards 2026

Registration open until 1 September 2026 The MIDI Association have revealed that the registration deadline for this year's MIDI Innovation Awards has no...

14/07/2026

Launchkey MK4 88 joins Novation line-up

88-note model completes MK4 range Novation have just introduced the final model in their flagship MIDI controller keyboard range, the Launchkey MK4 88. Roun...

14/07/2026

CBS Atlanta Adds a Noon Newscast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Tegna Names Scott Gill VP, Technology and Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Colorado Wildfires Bring Close Call for Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

IBC2026 sets conference agenda

IBC2026 has unveiled a powerful Conference programme bringing together global media leaders, technology innovators, creators, sports organisations, broadcasters...

14/07/2026

Nominations for Best of Show Awards at IBC2026 Now Open

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Broadcast Solutions delivers industry-first software-defi...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, has delivered two highly capable outsid...

14/07/2026

UPDATED: Scripps, DirecTV End Blackout, Ink New Retrans Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

12 States Sue to Block $110 Billion Warner Bros./Paramount Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Heidi Raphael to Head N.Y. State Broadcasters Association

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

CBS Atlanta Expands Live Local News Programming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/07/2026

Techtel Successfully Relocates AICD Broadcast Studio to New Sydney Headquarters

Techtel Successfully Relocates AICD Broadcast Studio to New Sydney Headquarters BroadcastBroadcast EquipmentLive StreamingBroadcast Studio2026 14 July Writ...

14/07/2026

First look revealed for Friday the 13th prequel, Crystal Lake, from A24 coming to Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland this October

Tuesday 14 July 2026 First look revealed for Friday the 13th prequel, Crystal ...

14/07/2026

Surround Is Still the Standard

When immersive audio dominates industry headlines, it's easy to assume that every broadcaster is preparing for an Atmos future. The reality is quite differ...

14/07/2026

Fresh Thinking from MAD//Fest London 2026

Emma and Sophie from ICG's marketing team joined thousands of fellow marketers, brands and agencies at MAD//Fest London 2026, one of the UK's biggest ma...

14/07/2026

Seven paradoxes shaping the next era of media production - Episode 3

Why Trusted and Secure Media Operations Matter In this series, we explore the technologies, architectures and operational realities shaping modern media operati...

14/07/2026

How Merchants Can Prepare for the Next Evolution in Digital Commerce

Pilot Project Shows How Retailers Are Prepared for the Next Step in the Evolution of Digital Commerce Arvato Systems Drives Agentic Commerce Forward G terslo...

14/07/2026

Building a more sustainable future - Our commitment to climate action

As part of this commitment, weve joined the SME Climate Hub, publicly pledging to: measure our greenhouse gas emissions reduce them in line with a net zero p...

14/07/2026

Why Performance per Watt Is the Ultimate Metric for AI Infrastructure Efficiency

Power is AI infrastructure's inescapable constraint. How many tokens an AI factory can generate within a fixed power budget determines its revenue and profi...

13/07/2026

BravesVision GM Jeff Cravens on Launching MLB's Newest Team-Owned Network in 35 Days

The Braves opted to keep production in-house rather than hand it off to MLB...

13/07/2026

Behind The Mic: Adam Schefter Signs Multi-Year Extension with ESPN

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...

13/07/2026

Eurovision Sport and European Athletics Bring Live Athletics to More Fans with Multilingual AI Commentary Initiative

Eurovision Sport is making live athletics more accessible to fans than ever befo...

13/07/2026

Milwaukee Bucks Return to Full-Season Over-the-Air Television for First Time in 31 Years

The Milwaukee Bucks will return to full-season over-the-air television for the 2...

13/07/2026

SMPTE Expands Education Offerings with Connected Learning Path for IP Media Workflows

SMPTE has announced an expanded education pathway for media technology professio...

13/07/2026

Vizrt Graphics Power Netflix MVP MMA Event at Intuit Dome

Vizrt has announced that its graphics technology was used by broadcast design agency Girraphic for Netflix's debut MVP MMA event, broadcast live from the In...

13/07/2026

ARRI To Sell Global Rental Business to H2 Equity Partners in Management Buyout

ARRI has announced an agreement to sell its global rental activities in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America to H2 Equity Partners through a management...

13/07/2026

DAZN and Premier Boxing Champions Announce Global Broadcasting Partnership

DAZN has announced a partnership with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to bring PBC fight nights to DAZN subscribers globally. The partnership begins Saturday, Ju...

13/07/2026

TikTok and WSC Sports Partner To Connect Sports Rightsholders With Content Creators

TikTok and WSC Sports have announced a strategic partnership that gives sports r...

13/07/2026

Ross Video Powers MLB All-Star In-Venue Production for Seventh Consecutive Year

Two new Ross products -Brushback: Full Count and CapGo - are debuting at Citizens Bank Park All-Star festivities...

13/07/2026

MSG Networks Jackie Lyons on Knicks Title Run Coverage, XR Studio Launch, and RSN Production Strategy

MSG Networks' was given exclusive access during the Knicks' unforgettabl...

13/07/2026

Sundance Institute Announces 2026 Producers Labs Fellows

LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2026 - Sundance Institute today announced the 10 producers selected to participate in its annual Producers Labs taking place July 13-18 fo...