Coachella Festival 2024: concert streaming with a Blackmagic workflow

Chicago-based Media Stream Wave used more than 40 URSA Broadcast G2 cameras and 14 Atem Constellation 8K mixers from Magia nera to stream online and run in-house production for the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, which were produced by Springboard Productions.

While the dynamics of work for each stage varied depending on the size and location of these, Media Stream Wave used various configurations with fiber optic connections at both festivals, always starring URSA Trasmissione G2 cameras equipped with Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converters E SMPTE cables (which allow covering long distances) that allowed to transmit audiovisual signals, feed the equipment, activate the pilot lights and communicate with other members of the team. The cameras were connected to ATEM Costellazione 8K mixers, while ATEM Camera Control Panel units were used to adjust the tonality. The production company also used two ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panels, six ATEM 2 M/E Advanced Panels and one Pannello Avanzato ATEM 1 M/E to control all the mixers.

Azuolas Sinkevicius, director of Media Stream Wave, speaks openly about the “more cinematic” result demanded by his clients, which is why they explored the use of Magia nera equipment for these events. Beyond highlighting the robustness E low latency of the Australian company’s solutions, Sinkevicius has also highlighted the extreme situations they had to overcome: “It’s amazing that I can put the Blackmagic Design gear in high intensity, mission critical situations like these festivals, where there’s 100 degree weather, they’re in the sun for 10 hours, and I still have zero dropouts. Coachella is like the Super Bowl of music with so much going on, and it’s an incredible feat to offer equipment that works as well as it does to support the amount of production that goes into these festivals.”

Sinkevicius used 96 HyperDeck units on the various stages to record all the cuts, isolated cues and checks before airing. Ten H.264 Pro Recorder devices were used for the artist- and management-specific versions. In the control room of one of Media Stream Wave’s two mobile units, Sinkevicius used DeckLink 8K Pro capture and playback cards to insert commercials and graphics triggered from the HyperDeck equipment, transmitting the background and main picture to the ATEM Constellation 8K mixers.

Media Stream Wave also used 32 SmartView 4K monitors for various applications in the mobile units and eight Blackmagic Video Assist 7″ 12G HDR devices as utility monitors in the enclosures. On the other hand, nine Smart Videohub 40×40 were used in the distribution of signals to various destinations. These were controlled by 64 Videohub Smart Control Pro devices.

In addition, 32 Blackmagic Audio Monitor 12G devices were used to monitor the audio, and 56 Teranex spento processors were used to carry out various synchronizations. To amplify the signal distribution, 40 Teranex Mini SDI Distribution 12G and 450 Mini Converters Optical Fiber 12G-SDI units were used to transmit the images between the stages and the mobile units via optical fiber.

Looking back, Sinkevicius celebrates the remarkable performance of Blackmagic solutions in such challenging contexts as the Coachella E Stagecoach festivals: “The Blackmagic Design gear not only survived the intense desert with dust everywhere for days at a time during these festivals, but on top of that, the cameras also gave us the most gorgeous images that people couldn’t believe. I love the Blackmagic Design equipment for these reasons and more. It has helped me build my business and reputation at Media Stream Wave. If I had to start all over again, I would do it the same way, because what Blackmagic Design has done is incredible.”