Vodafone Studios starts its journey supported by Blackmagic solutions

The newly opened production space Vodafone Studios has decided to bet on Blackmagic cameras, mixers and matrices to make reality productions with extended reality on a curved LED screen of 15 meters.

Sigma-AV has been the integrator responsible for shaping the new Vodafone Studios, a 400 square meter facility commissioned by Vodafone Germany so that the mobile operator could control the creation of its own content, as Lukas Loss, digital content producer for Vodafone Germany, says: “Previously, we have delivered a vast amount of video, event delivery and TVC production using external studios and partners. That production was expensive and lacked flexibility. With the building of our own studios, we could lower production costs and preparation time while simultaneously raising the scope of what our trained production team could deliver internally.”

The central component of Vodafone Studios is a 15-meter led audiovisual surface for extended reality productions and events. It also has a lounge area for conducting sit-down interviews, a main control room for eight operators and a space for servers. The second studio is smaller and includes a green backdrop, an area dedicated to product photography and a space for recording audiovisual podcasts, with capacity for up to four people.

To equip these facilities, the Vodafone Studios team opted for Blackmagic solutions, which were chosen by Loss and his team “based on our previous experience with the brand and its products at other locations,” as well as the “the single link 12G-SDI delivers on our requirement for a 2160p50 production workflow while keeping cabling requirements to a minimum.”

Capturing with Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2

The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 camera was chosen for its versatility, which allows for “4K broadcast style live production for streaming or 6K cinematic production with shallow depth of field.” in Loss’ words. The equipment is combined with Blackmagic Fiber Converter solutions, allowing the camera-facing connection to require only two cables: one for the unit and one for the tracking system. To complement this, it was decided to use the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro with a Blackmagic Studio Converter device and a 21″ screen as a teleprompter.

In the control room they also opted for Blackmagic solutions such as the ATEM Constellation 8K mixer and an ATEM 2 M/E Advanced Panel device, with a Smart Videohub 12G 40×40 matrix to distribute the signals and an ATEM Camera Control Panel that allows the cameras to be operated remotely. “The decision to implement ATEM was easy; we needed support for 4K 50p and the ability to handle 30 sources and 22 outputs during a typical production. Another great feature is the four multiview outputs; we use three for the video engineers and another as a preview for the talent on stage or in the back office,” explains Loss.

Likewise, Vodafone Germany’s virtual set workflow relies on a range of computer equipment, which features a DeckLink 8K Pro capture and playback card, to capture live camera feeds with Unreal Engine and Ventuz. Similarly, when a virtual floor is required, Vodafone relies on its studio with a green backdrop and on sets created in real time with Ultimatte 12 4K compositor.

“We can now cover a whole host of formats. The magic was in finding the right tools to unlock that creative freedom while delivering on the rich feature set and fast setup times we demanded. We’re pleased with the results,” Loss concludes.