Content+Technology ANZ July-August 2023

SEE IT. LOVE IT.

REPLAY IT.

REPLAY FOR EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE – EVEN IN THE CLOUD.

Simplylive SloMo and RiMotion are easy-to-install replay solutions that can be implemented almost instantly in broadcast environments of any scale. They streamline traditional and modern workflows and provide real-time performance, even when working remotely or operating in the cloud.

Cover Story... page 12.

REGULARS

02 EDITOR’S WELCOME

04 NEWS+PEOPLE ABC Radio Australia

Returns to Palau; Randwick TAFE is Australia’s First ARRI-Certified Film School; Magnite Powers Programmatic Ads on BINGE Basic; Vale Phillip Storey; People on the Move.

FEATURES

08 CAMERAS & LIGHTING

Greig Fraser on Colour and Seeking “New Vision”; ARRI CCM-1 Camera Control Monitor; Atomos Supports ProRes RAW Plug-ins; Canon PowerShot V10 Vlogging Camera; HuddleCamHD PTZ Joystick; Atomos AtomX Cast Desktop App; Salt-E Dog Sustainable Power Source; DoPchoice Softbox Mount. Streaming.

12 SPORTSCASTING

COVER STORY/Optus Sport Kicks Goals with the FIFA Women’s World Cup; LiveU has the Football Covered

15 NEWS OPERATIONS

ABC and Universities Partner to Support Regional Journalism; Sky News, NOVA in Radio Partnership; RNZ Appoints Chief News Officer; Etere Nunzio Newsroom; Avid | Stream IO; Zero Density Virtual Studio Bundle; nxtedition Integrates with DaVinci Resolve.

17 MEDIA IN THE CLOUD

Canada’s FatBelly VFX Opens in Brisbane; Disney and Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Leverages Machine Learning; Maxon Upgrades Enhance Creative Freedom; FaceCake and RealmFX Bring AI to Visual Effects; Chaos Vantage 2; New Boris FX Silhouette and Mocha Pro releases.

30 INDUSTRY FOCUS

32 CLASSIFIEDS

CONTENT+TECHNOLOGY

ISSN 1448-9554 PP:255003/06831

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20

POST-PRODUCTION

EditShare One Transforms Media Workflows; Dalet Joins AWS ISV Accelerate Programme; Manifold Cloud Tier-1 Live Production Platform; Storware Backup and Recovery; Humans Not Robots Joins AWS Network; Etere Search with AI and Facial Recognition; Vizrt Simplifies Premiere Pro Production and Asset Search.

23 AUDIO, RADIO, PODCASTING

SEN Sports Entertainment Network Monetises Regions with StreamGuys; Acast+ Access Podcast Platform for Publishers; Cinewav Powers Pocket-Sized Audio for Sydney’s Vivid Festival; In-Car DAB+ Reaching Maturity; Wireless Audio System from JTS; Wohler Baseband-Only Audio Monitors; Aaton Digital CantarX3 and CantarMini Recorders; Merging Technologies Atmos Bundle.

27 CONTENT DELIVERY

TAG Video Systems SRT-Ready and SRTPlugged; VSF Spec for RIST Relay; Bitcentral’s ViewNexa Boosts Streaming Ad Revenue; Zixi Edge Compute; Lynx Technik 4K HDMI to 12G SDI Converter; Ai-Media’s “Future of Live Automatic Captioning”; Wohler 4K & 8K Video Monitors; Inovonics Launches 541 FM Modulation Monitor.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All material in Broadcastpapers’ Content+Technology Magazine is protected under Australian Commonwealth Copyright Laws. No material may be reproduced in part or whole in any manner without prior consent of the Publisher and/or copyright holder.

DISCLAIMER: Broadcastpapers Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for omissions or mistakes made within, claims made or information provided by advertisers.

Why is Free TV Afraid of Production Quotas

on Global Streamers?

AS MANY IN Free TV Australia is the body representing the interests of the nation’s commercial, free-to-air TV broadcasters, and over the years it has made notable contributions to the industry, government policy and the viewing public, including the sports anti-siphoning list, digital switchover, the Freeview platform and prominence for local broadcasters on connected television devices.

However, 2023 has seen a couple of missteps from the industry’s peak body, one of which is opposing calls to impose local production quotas on international streaming companies (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.). Yes, the same streaming companies who compete with Australian broadcasters for eyeballs and, increasingly, advertising.

Now, the call for such quotas on the streaming giants comes from those who want to ensure Australians using those services can watch Australian stories and that such stories help sustain the local production industry, as articulated by actor/producer

Bryan Brown AM in a recent address to the National Press Club.

Free TV responded to Brown’s address with, “... if the Government is going to impose content quotas on streaming services, it needs to carefully consider the impact this will have on the Australian public who rely on free services from our local broadcasters.”

Free TV went on to quote recently released Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures showing that

over the past five years: There has been a 60% increase in production businesses created and an 83% increase in employment in the production sector – more than 12,000 jobs.

Growth in production costs by over 130% – including a 143% increase in labour costs and a doubling of rent, leasing and hiring expenses.

The statement went on to say, “Ultimately it is Australian viewers who will miss out if the skyrocketing costs of production mean that only giant subscription services can afford to buy high quality local content and Australians are forced to pay to watch it.”

However, those same ABS figures also show that while commercial free-to-air broadcasters generated $3,745.7m of total income in 2021–22, which was 5.4% (−$215.7m) lower than in 2015–16, total expenses decreased by 11.9% (−$423.5m) from 2015–16 to $3,135.5m in 2021–22 resulting in a 55.8% increase in operating profit before tax.

According to the ABS, “The decrease in total expenses was largely due to a $165.4m (−25.5%) decrease in selected broadcasting expenses and a $147.8m (−16.1%) decrease in total labour costs from 2015–16 to 2021–22.”

Indeed, compared to the end of June 2016, “total employment decreased by 1623 people (−20.3%) to 6389 people at the end of June 2022. 72.2% of total employment was permanent full-time at the end of June 2022.” Furthermore, “On-set production

‘ASIAPAC’

staff accounted for 1453 people at the end of June 2022, which was 849 fewer people (−36.9%) compared with 2302 people at the same time in 2016.”

If you were working in production, you might be forgiven for thinking Free TV was against a healthy Australian production sector and that you taking more home in your pay packet would stop Australians accessing Australian content on their TVs.

Despite Free TV’s position, the quotas will come in a form that is yet to be determined.

Responding to a question from C+T at a recent ABC Friends event in Sydney, Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland said, “This issue has been debated, subject to review for at least seven, eight years through various inquiries. We don’t need any more inquiries. We went to the election with a very clear policy. We would have requirements on streamers to increase their Australian content.

“Now, Free TV’s position is well known, as is SPA’s (Screen Producers Australia), for example, in the other corner. But, I also am very optimistic that considering we are unequivocal through our arts policy ‘Revive’ that was launched in January this year, that we are very clear that this is not a question of if, but how. And part of Prime Minister Albanese’s ethos is to be consultative. We’ll continue to do that and we do expect that we will have a bill before the Parliament before the end of the year.”

It’s clear that Free TV’s chief fear

in this issue is that quotas will drive up the cost of production in a limited pool of suppliers, but it’s equally clear this is a position that will restrict opportunities for the production sector. No doubt some new enterprising players will enter the production services market to meet the legislated demand from the streamers, but there is also an opportunity for commercial TV to take the pressure off production costs - in the form of a joint venture. There is ample precedence for commercial broadcasters coming together in the form of joint ventures to undertake functions that are not core to their operations:

There is ample precedence for commercial broadcasters coming together in the form of joint ventures to undertake functions that are not core to their operations. These include: TX Australia - the company set up to handle broadcast transmission; NPC Media - the joint venture playout centre between the Nine and Seven Networks; and Freeview - the joint digital terrestrial television platform for free-to-air broadcasters.

Perhaps the stakeholders of Free TV should consider getting back into production services - together. It might not only drive down costs, but ensure supply, and benefit the industry and the Australian public as a whole.

Keep safe, and look after each other, Phil Sandberg – Editor/Publisher papers@broadcastpapers.com

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New Hope for Community Television

A DECADE OF Liberal-National Coalition Government saw Australia’s community TV sector battered under pressure to vacate free-to-air spectrum for broadband use.

In September of 2014, the then Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, announced a “recast” of broadcasting spectrum policy. Australia’s “sixth channel” would be cleared of its community television operators. Describing the spectrum as “substantially vacant”, Mr Turnbull went on to say that “The Government believes that the best outcome for community television is that in future it uses the Internet as its distribution platform.”

The “substantially vacant” spectrum was home to C31 Melbourne and Geelong, TVS – Television Sydney, 31 Digital Queensland, Channel 44 Adelaide and WEST TV Perth. They were given just over 14 months to migrate both their distribution and businesses to an online model. Despite deadline extensions, the migration did not go well.

Of the group, there are only two

survivors – Channel 31 of Melbourne and Adelaide’s Channel 44. As well as continuing terrestrial transmission, the two operators banded together in 2021 to launch a web-based VOD option for Australian community TV viewers – CTV+.

According to current Labor Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, there is now a new approach to community broadcasting, in general, and a recognition of its place in the media landscape. Speaking to C+T at a recent ABC Friends event in Sydney, she said: “I think the unfortunate thing we saw there was that lack of stability and certainty saw so many community broadcasters just unable to keep volunteers and close their doors. My immediate priority is to support the broadcasters that we have. But we are also doing a review into

community broadcasting and how they can be better supported as well.

“They are an important part of the ecosystem and they are doing the really heavy lifting, in my view, when it comes to media diversity. I think sometimes we think about media diversity in terms of just ownership. But, it’s also in terms of geography, in terms of gender and in terms of culture and multiculturalism. So, I think they are all doing the heavy lifting. I think our community TV

broadcasters in particular continue to do an amazing job. I’ve always tried to make time as Minister in the last year or so to visit as many as I can.

“I can’t give you a definitive answer on the spectrum matter yet. I think we’ve got a bit of a way to run on future spectrum needs. But, I do want to continue to explore ways that we can help keep them sustainable, including supporting them financially.”

Australian Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland.

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Vale Phillip Storey

THE NINE NETWORK and wider Australian broadcast industry is mourning the passing of industry veteran and technical guru Phillip Storey.

Excelling in mathematics and science, Phillip graduated from Vaucluse Boys’ High in 1967 (where he may or may not have operated a pirate radio station) before undertaking studies in Law and Engineering at Sydney University and the University of NSW, respectively. He completed both his Broadcast Operator’s Certificate Of Proficiency (BOCP) and Television Operator’s Certificate Of Proficiency (TVOCP) with highest grades.

In 1968, Phillip, along with Bruce Jackson, founded entertainment technology company JANDS – Phil being the ‘S’ and Bruce the ‘J’.

Writing about Phillip on the company website, former Jands Executive Director Robert Young, said, “I sat beside him on my very first day at high school. Always ahead of the pack, [he] drove the teachers mad, convinced the headmaster he should take over the PA system and convert it to a radio station and the dimmer loft to a disco. He gave me my first job at Jands, developed all the early power amps and left the company in the mid 70s.”

Following JANDS, Phillip Storey joined the Nine Network in the area of Network Technical Planning, including satellite and TV transmission, studios and electronics across Nine’s Australian and international operations. His time at Nine saw him working alongside the Network’s Chief Engineer, the late Bruce

Magnite Powers Programmatic Ads on BINGE Basic

MAGNITE, THE OMNI-CHANNEL sell side advertising company, has been chosen by Foxtel Media to enable programmatic advertising on ad-supported streaming service, BINGE Basic. As the initial exclusive programmatic launch partner, Magnite will provide advertisers with access to BINGE Basic’s premium inventory across connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

Advertising launched in March 2023 with the introduction of ads onto the existing BINGE Basic tier, meaning there was a scaled audience for advertisers from launch. Working with Magnite will allow Foxtel Media to build on this

momentum and offer advertisers enhanced targeting capabilities along with programmatic efficiency, helping them to optimise their campaigns and maximise their return on investment.

“We are excited to be leading the way in the Australian streaming landscape by working with Magnite to unlock programmatic demand across BINGE’s Basic tier,” said Chris Oxley, National Head of Digital Sales at Foxtel Group. “This collaboration allows us to further enhance our ad offerings and provide advertisers with access to BINGE’s premium audience at scale by providing advanced and effective targeting capabilities.”

Randwick TAFE is Australia’s First ARRI-Certified

CAMERA AND LIGHTING developer ARRI has announced Randwick TAFE as Australia’s first participant in ARRI’s Certified Film School Accreditation Programme. The programme offers film schools the opportunity to have teachers trained by ARRI Academy, which they can then pass onto students through their course.

Any student who participates in a course with

Robertson, on projects such as the first live broadcast of the Australian rugby league grand final from Australia to Los Angeles in 1992, the launch of the Doordarshan/Nine Network Indian joint venture, Niine Gold, and trials of broadcast 3DTV in Australia.

In 2007, he went on to form his own consultancy, Storey Communications. An active member of the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), Phillip is survived by his wife Paula and daughter Alex.

Juliette Stead, SVP Head of JAPAC at Magnite said, “By integrating our programmatic advertising capabilities with BINGE Basic tier, we are empowering advertisers to effectively reach their target audiences with

greater efficiency. Together, we are shaping the future of programmatic advertising across the streaming landscape, and we look forward to delivering exceptional results for Foxtel Media and their valued advertisers.”

Visit https://www.magnite.com

Film School

the integrated Academy modules will receive an ARRI Academy Certificate, demonstrating that participating students have the skills and experiences to be industry ready.

Randwick TAFE has a vast range of industrystandard film equipment from ARRI, including ALEXA Mini LF cameras and a Hi-5 Wireless Focus System.

ABC Radio Australia Returns to Palau

ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA is set to be heard in the Republic of Palau for the first time in more than five years.

Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, ABC Radio Australia programmes will be carried on the Republic of Palau’s national radio broadcaster, Eco Paradise FM (EPFM).

The signing was attended by Palau Minister of State, the Hon. Gustav Aitaro and the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon. Pat Conroy.

ABC International Services Head Claire Gorman acknowledged the support of the Australian

Embassy in Koror for brokering the agreement and said, “This new partnership is a first step towards the aim of establishing a full FM radio service in Palau, an ABC initiative funded under the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy.” Gorman continued, “The ABC is proud to partner with EPFM and has a long history of engagement with Palau, including the provision of ABC Australia content on Palau National Communication Corporation’s (PNCC) television service.”

ABC Radio Australia has recently increased its Pacific-focused content and under the

All participants in the course will be taught by teachers who have participated in a ‘train the trainer’ course, and are certified by ARRI to educate students using content from the ARRI Academy course.

TAFE NSW is offering a full-time Diploma of Screen and Media for $0 for eligible NSW residents. The course duration is 12 months. Visit https://bit.ly/3KecSPU

agreement, Palau residents will have access to programming including flagship regional current affairs show Pacific Beat as well as culture, education and music shows Stories from the Pacific, Pacific Playtime and Island Music.

ABC Radio Australia is available via EPFM on FM radio at 87.9FM and on EPFM Ngerel Belau AM Radio at 1584AM.

Visit https://about.abc.net.au/

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

ANIMAL LOGIC CEO Zareh Nalbandian has announced that the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Taylor, will assume the role of Co-CEO, joining him in leading the company as he transitions to concentrate full-time on new productions.

“I plan to step down from my position in September this year, and Sharon will then serve as the sole CEO,” said Nalbandian. “For almost 20 years, Sharon has contributed to Animal Logic’s success, and I’m confident that her leadership will ensure the studio continues to grow and innovate in the animation space for years to come. I’m excited about my next chapter, and I look forward to continuing to support the screen sector in Australia and beyond and focusing on producing and developing compelling stories with AL Entertainment and Truant Pictures.”

Visit https://animallogic.com/

HIT METRO Group Content Director, Amanda Lee, has announced the appointment of James ‘Speedy’ Speed as Mix 94.5 Perth Content Director. The new role marks Speed’s return to SCA, having worked in numerous content roles, including SAFM Adelaide, HIT929 Perth and, most recently, at The FOX in Melbourne as Assistant Content Director, and Hit and Triple M Central Coast Content Director.

Visit https://www.southerncrossaustereo.com.au/

BEN LATIMER has joined the ABC as Head of Audio Content overseeing Capital City Networks, Sport, Audio Studios, Audio Strategy, Radio National, Music Networks including triple j, Double J, triple j Unearthed, ABC Jazz, ABC Country and ABC Classic. Latimer is the former head of programming for the Nova network. He will report to the ABC’s Chief Content Officer, Chris Oliver-Taylor.

Visit https://about.abc.net.au/

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS Television (NITV) has announced the appointment of Taryne Laffar as Commissioning Editor to support the delivery of the channel’s content. Laffar, who

descends from the Bardi and Jabbir Jabbir nations in the West Kimberley, has more than 15 years’ experience in the Australian screen industry as a writer, producer, director and in casting. She joins NITV from PiNK PEPPER, a Western Australian First Nations and femaleowned production company she started in 2020, specialising in developing and producing Indigenous-led screen content.

Visit https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv

THE SEVEN NETWORK has appointed Lucio Ribeiro to the newly-created role of Director – Digital Marketing and Innovation, effective from 1 August. Reporting to Seven’s Chief Marketing and Audience Officer, Melissa Hopkins, Mr Ribeiro will be responsible for all digital marketing and innovation, including driving new avenues for Seven to connect with audiences. He joins Seven from Optus, where he was Director of Technology, Innovation and Activation.

Visit https://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/

TECHTEL HAS APPOINTED Eddy Wong as its new Marketing Coordinator.

“It is fantastic to have Eddy join our team on his journey,” said Mal Chandler, CEO at Techtel. “His passion and curiosity will bring a breath of fresh air to our marketing initiatives. With guidance from our talented individuals, we believe Eddy has the potential to soar high and make significant contributions to the business.”

Visit https://www.techtel.com.au/

SCREEN QUEENSLAND has announced Jacqui Feeney as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ms Feeney brings more than 25 years of experience in global media and entertainment to the state screen agency, including executive leadership roles with Fox Networks Group, National Geographic and the independent sector. Visit https://screenqueensland.com.au/ SBS Audio has announced the appointment of proud Wiradjuri and Western Arrernte woman, Lowanna Grant, as the Executive Producer

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of NITV Radio. As Executive Producer, Grant will lead the editorial direction for NITV Radio, presenting the program and producing its distinctive and innovative multiplatform content sharing the diverse voices and perspectives of First Nations peoples.

Visit https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv

SEVEN WEST MEDIA has announced the appointment of Todd Dickinson as Managing Director Queensland, reporting to SWM Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton. In addition to his current role as Sales Director Brisbane, Mr Dickinson will be responsible for leading operational, commercial and digital innovation across the Queensland market while further strengthening Seven’s dominance in the region.

Greg Gabel continues in the role of National Regional Sales Director of Local Markets and will work closely with Mr Dickinson to enhance Seven’s significant opportunities in the Brisbane and broader regional Queensland markets. Visit https://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/

EXPERIENCED RADIO leader Shane Jurgens has been appointed General Manager of SCA’s Gold Coast business. He was previously General Manager of SCA Townsville and has been with SCA for 18 years.

Visit https://www.southerncrossaustereo.com.au/

SCREEN QUEENSLAND has announced Tanya Ellen as the screen agency’s new Head of Content to lead development and production funding programs to further increase the volume and diversity of local projects supported by the agency, while helping new and established Queensland screen businesses to grow. A practising lawyer, Ms Ellen’s career has ranged between the creative and commercial sides of the screen sector. She has worked as a creative producer across panel, reality, news and morning shows, as well as film and documentaries.

Visit https://screenqueensland.com.au/

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Greig Fraser on Colour and Seeking “New Vision”

GREIG FRASER is an award-winning Australian cinematographer whose artistic composition together with his flowing, immersive approach to cinematography has made him a go-to DoP for a number of high-profile directors. His most well-known work includes Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Lion (2016), Rogue One (2016), Vice (2018), Dune (2021), and The Batman (2022). Fraser also returned to the Star Wars franchise with the 2019 television series The Mandalorian.

Fraser recently joined the jury for the 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards, open to colourists working on any grading platform. He describes his relationship with colour as being much “deeper and more interesting than it has ever been”, greatly influenced by his wife.

“My wife is in the textile business, and she has taught me a lot on the nuances and subtleties of colour which I’ve been able to bring into my work,” explains Fraser. “Since starting to shoot on digital, I’ve found that colour is particularly important because we now have the opportunity to create really subtle nuanced colour that we may not have been able to find in the past with old techniques.”

Finding subtleties in colour is one of Fraser’s passions and he often finds inspiration from paintings and art works.

“I get inspiration from artists’ work in the flesh, in a gallery,” he explains. “I’m very much a supporter and a strong advocate of depth of colour. Our eyes can see millions upon millions of colours and I love it when a subject or a film presents that amplitude. It’s like a colour depth or ‘thickness’. And this doesn’t necessarily mean saturation. Saturation can sometimes be used in the same way that chefs use sugar or salt – to create a burst of emotion. The subtleties of colour are like the subtleties of fine food prepared by the right chef.”

Fraser believes that an audience uses colour as part of the menu when viewing a film and that it helps them to build the story.

“Audiences are susceptible to ideas,” he explains. “I don’t think an audience walks into a film and judges it purely on the colour. I think they use it as part of an entire dish, so to speak – to help build the world. If you have the wrong colour, but everything else is right, it’s jarring for the audience.

“If you don’t have a colourist that is in tune with the filmmakers and in tune with the story, you could end up with something that’s very incongruous to the final picture. And unfortunately, those films do exist, where the

film is not related directly into the film itself - it becomes an outlier. And I feel like this means you lose the overall success of the visuals.”

Fraser is careful to approach each individual project or film completely uniquely – making use of techniques from previous experience, but always bringing an individuality to each of his projects.

“I may take on techniques that I’ve learned from previous films. Whether shot on film or digital, or a combination of the two, I’ll aim to give each film its own distinct feel. And a big part of this is through colour. Obviously, it’s also through lensing, camera placements, camera movement and lighting, but ultimately, all films have their own colour palette.”

Fraser likes to shoot with a look in mind and doesn’t want to rely on the grade. To aid this process, he likes his relationship with the colourist to begin during preproduction, as early in the process as possible. Shooting with a look in mind is really important to him and these early discussions with the colourist will always influence his lighting and decisions on-set.

“It comes back to the subtleties again,” he explains. “Anybody can apply a grade to a movie. Anybody can apply a look to a movie. Anybody can light a movie. But it’s the fine-tuned subtleties that make all the difference, in my opinion. For the subtlety to exist, I must know what the film will look like before we start. This requires testing, backwards and forewords with the director and the colourist, and very careful supervision from the colourist.”

He explains how, to him, the colourists’ role is much more than simply applying colour at the end of a project.

“My relationship with the colourist begins from the second I start talking to the director, when I start shooting tests to work out exactly how the film needs to feel. And there’s always a stressful time at the beginning of a pre-production where the film doesn’t look the way you want it to, it’s not quite there, or you need to make some changes. This is when you need to have a very good visual partner and colourist.”

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was graded by FotoKem’s Dave Cole, who worked closely with Fraser on the look of the film. It saw Dave Cole listed as a nominee in the 2022 FilmLight Colour Awards and won Fraser his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Fraser also won, for the

same movie, the ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases and the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography.

“We worked very hard on getting the colour palette right for this film,” explains Fraser. “We could not find a film set in the desert that we liked and that was appropriate for this movie. I ended up finding some stills online with references for the colour. For example, the sky was more white than blue, and the sand was a lighter, but not a sandy yellow, colour – more a light brown with tones blended.”

Fraser and Cole worked together through the process of building a LUT that would work, utilising a skipped bleach process to find the colours they were looking for.

“We skipped bleach in the highlights to allow the sky and the whites to blow out and then used a digital LUT to allow more depth into the shadows. This is a perfect example of utilising old techniques to create a LUT that was able to help us visualise the movie.

“Dune was a very multi-layered process. It wasn’t about slapping a colour on it and walking away. It was about building a colour and constructing a world and a feel for the film.”

Fraser recently shot Dune: Part Two, which will hit the screens in November.

Visit: https://www.filmlightcolourawards.com

Greig Fraser ASC ACS.

DoPchoice Softbox Mount

DOPCHOICE HAS ANNOUNCED that its family of light control tools is ready for Astera’s new LeoFresnel. Each LeoFresnel fixture comes with an adapter, allowing instant compatibility with DoPchoice’s RabbitRounder, which mounts the range of Snapbag lighting control solutions. Rabbit-Rounder is a versatile system designed to mount DoPchoice softboxes across a range of lights. Its rugged and future-proof design expands lighting possibilities by accommodating the rectangular Snapbag Medium, 3-foot Octa 3, and Medium 50mm Lantern. Each product features metallic interior fabric for maximum efficiency. Octas and Rectangulars come with Magic Cloth. For added directional

Atomos Supports ProRes RAW Plug-ins

ATOMOS NOW SUPPORTS Apple ProRes RAW plug-ins, enabling camera manufacturers to use their own ProRes RAW processing pipeline. This allows them to maximise the unique properties of their cameras, sensors, lenses, and more.

Widely recognised as a universal RAW video format, ProRes RAW now extends to include plug-ins. Every camera maker can provide their own distinct processing, confidentially, by creating a single ProRes RAW plug-in that enhances the quality and unique

PTZ Control Joystick

looks generated by their cameras. In effect, ProRes RAW becomes the conduit for their custom processing, carrying the unique characteristics of any camera, sensor, processing, and lens combination into postproduction. ProRes RAW plug-ins will be supported in Final Cut Pro, as well as in many third-party applications that have licensed the ProRes RAW SDK, such as nonlinear editors (NLEs) and colour correction applications. The process is straightforward: simply install the camera vendor’s

control, Snapgrids can quickly be attached to the front. The line offers a customised, removable Skirt with two zip-up sides for the Lantern to reduce spillage and shape output. All Snapbags can be set up in seconds and quickly folded up into their own pouch.

The Rabbit-Rounder system is designed to fit most popular Bowensmount type lights, including Nanlux NL-Mount and Qseries Fiilex fixtures. Quick and easy to use, the LeoFresel twist-locks snugly into place on the Rabbit-Rounder to easily slip onto the front of the fixture. Visit https://www.dopchoice.com/leo-launch-rabbit-rounder/

ProRes RAW plug-in and Final Cut Pro will automatically display all the new enhanced features of the supported camera. Utilising a ProRes RAW plug-in enables camera-specific adjustments such as custom white balancing, noise reduction, demosaicing, lens distortion correction, and more.

Canon is the first camera maker to deliver a ProRes RAW Plug-in, with the EOS R5, R5 C and R6 Mark II cameras outputting RAW to an Atomos monitor-recorder. Atomos has already enabled full

ProRes RAW plug-in support for these cameras in the current release firmware for Ninja V, Ninja V+, and Shogun Connect.

Supporting over 50 camera models recording ProRes RAW from the camera’s RAW output over SDI or HDMI, Atomos says it is uniquely positioned to record this new enhanced metadata standard. The ProRes RAW plugin model has been designed to function not only with macOS but also with Windows and Linux.

Visit https://www.atomos.com

A NEW GENERATION of serial PTZ control, the HuddleCamHD HC-JOY-G4 is designed to deliver a seamless, user-friendly workflow across a wide range of working environments and demands.

Designed with the same pedigree as the award-winning PTZOptics Superjoy, the HuddleCamHD HC-JOY-G4 delivers feature-rich performance in a simple, reliable, sleek, and compact package. Its intuitive and ergonomic design features seven camera quick-select buttons for fast and easy switching between sources, with an on-screen display for instant, always-on access to settings and functions. The HC-JOY-G4’s precision three-axis joystick gives users control over each camera’s functions, and a selection of user modes including Basic, Basic

PTZ, Matrix, and more.

HuddleCamHD HC-JOY-G4 is compatible with a wide range of serial production environments and control protocols, easily and seamlessly integrating into existing production workflows, or becoming a new control centre. Its tactile, rubberised controls and pressure-sensitive multifunctional encoders give precise, real-time access to essential functions, including pan, tilt, and zoom, as well as focus and transitions between presets. Iris, shutter speed, and gain settings enable users to dial in their lighting and exposure, and red and blue gain controls help refine colour balance.

Visit https://huddlecamhd.com/

INCREDIBLE SENSOR REDESIGN IMPROVED FRAME RATES

AND SO MUCH MORE

Proudly distributed in Australia by Blonde Robot

ARRI CCM-1 Camera Control Monitor

ARRI’S CONTROL OPTION for its latest cameras: the CCM-1, is a 7″ onboard monitor providing comprehensive camera control and menu access for the ALEXA 35 and ALEXA Mini LF. Expanding camera configuration possibilities, the CCM-1 merges ARRI colour accuracy with a bright display, customisable controls and sturdy build quality.

Following requests from camera operators who favour framing and exposure judgement with an onboard monitor over a viewfinder, ARRI introduces the new Camera Control Monitor CCM-1. Jointly developed by ARRI and SmallHD, the CCM-1 provides an alternative control, menu, and image interface to the MVF-2 viewfinder, which it can either entirely replace or work in conjunction with.

The CCM-1 displays a bright, high-contrast HD image on its 7″ IPS LCD screen, easily viewable in daylight from various viewing angles. Like the reliable MVF-2, it connects via the camera’s VF connector and offers an image that faithfully replicates the accuracy and subtlety of ARRI colour management. Sensor-level monitoring functions exploit the sensor’s full resolution, for example, zooming into the image for more accurate focus checking. The false colour tool on the CCM-1 is more user-friendly than on standard SDI-connected monitors as it affects only the image from the camera, and not the status overlays.

Using the camera’s VF connector, the CCM-1 leaves both SDI outputs available for other uses. VF cables of up to 10 m in length are supported, providing operation flexibility for tight spaces, cranes, dollies, and car rigs. Alternatively, the CCM-1 can be connected via SDI like a normal onboard monitor, enabling application of

ALF-2 and ALF-4 look files, full access to the SmallHD toolset, and compatibility with thirdparty cameras. Multiple other connection options facilitate different camera configurations and use cases.

The flexible user interface of the CCM-1 is ideal for professional environments. All functions can be adjusted via the touchscreen or through buttons and a joystick that are positioned on one side of the monitor, allowing onehanded operation. The power and back buttons feature unique tactile indicators that are easily found without looking, or even when wearing gloves, while the dedicated menu button provides quick access to the familiar MVF-2 menu. Four user buttons allow personalised settings, and a lock slider disables the touchscreen and all buttons, preventing accidental triggering of functions. Interactive status overlays enable quick adjustment of settings without disrupting the live view, and a new playback screen can be accessed through the menu or assigned to a user button. The large clip list on the playback screen includes metadata display and remains visible during playback, improving the user experience for smaller crews using the CCM-1 for reviewing takes. The specially designed home screen will be familiar to ARRI users, while the SmallHD PageOS user interface allows endless customisation of live view pages.

The CCM-1 comes with an innovative sun hood that snaps onto the monitor like a smartphone

Anton/Bauer’s Salt-E Dog Sustainable Power Source

ANTON/BAUER HAS LAUNCHED Salt-E Dog, a sodium-based 9kWh mobile power source specifically designed for motion picture and television production. This power source delivers consistent and reliable energy and addresses the carbon emissions associated with traditional fossil fuel or lithium generators.

The Salt-E Dog is designed to cater to location shoots and productions that demand emission-free and noiseless power. By utilising sodium-based power, the battery creates a healthier and more pleasant environment for both production crews and talent. In contrast to gas generators, the Salt-E Dog emits no harmful CO2 or NOx, resulting in cleaner air and a safer production experience. Its near-silent operation and compact design enable closer placement to power demands, eliminating hazardous cables and reducing ADR work. The Salt-E Dog also offsets greenhouse gas emissions, allowing productions to offset 2.6 kg of CO2 and associated NOx per litre of fuel saved, contributing to a greener future.

The sodium cell is not only 100% recyclable,

but it also has a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) rating compared to lithium-ion batteries, making it the most environmentally friendly choice in the market. By using sodium cells, productions can safely place the unit near lighting, catering, craft and even on-screen talent without the risk of thermal runaway or fire. This reduces the need for fire marshals and water trucks on set and lowers insurance premiums.

The Salt-E Dog offers a variety of power output options. AC power is provided through four 20A 120V outlets or a 50A 125V Stage Pin connector. DC power comes through four 16A

protective case, eliminating the need for Velcro or straps. The sun hood’s scratch-resistant faux leather finish, with its soft yet rigid side and top flaps, are held in place with magnets and can be folded flat for easy storage and safe transportation. Also included is the two-axis MAC-1 monitor arm for rapid positioning of the CCM-1 without affecting the horizon relative to the camera. The MAC-1 features an adjustable friction system for one-handed repositioning and inserts for different mounting standards. Constructed from aluminium, the CCM-1 is durable, weather-sealed, and temperatureresistant, embodying ARRI’s reputation for rugged, set-ready equipment. Various mechanical interfaces using the new ARRI PinLock standard allow flexible mounting options. The CCM-1 is available to order now and is supported in the ALEXA 35 SUP 1.2 and ALEXA Mini LF SUP 7.3 software update packages. Visit https://www.arri.com/ccm-1

28V XLR3, four 16A 48V, as well as two 5~20V, 100W USB-C ports. With these capabilities, the Salt-E Dog can provide up to 6000W of pure sine wave power, allowing extended off-grid usage to power production equipment for hours. Users can recharge the unit from AC outlets, solar PV, and CCS Level 2 (J1772) electric vehicle charge points.

Visit https://www.antonbauer.com/saltedog

Canon PowerShot V10 Vlogging Camera

CANON HAS INTRODUCED the PowerShot V10, a lightweight and easy-to-use vlogging camera. Weighing just over 211 grams, the compact PowerShot V10 offers content creators an all-in-one solution that combines high-quality microphones with a built-in stand. It allows users to produce compelling content for their communities, thanks to 4K UHD movie recording and professional looking background blur.

The sturdy vertical body is an entirely new design for Canon – a device so portable and unobtrusive that creators can comfortably blend in when recording themselves in crowded places. Never miss spontaneous moments and candid reactions, as the centred record button is tailor-made for quick and agile one-handed camera control.

The PowerShot V10 features a large 1-inch CMOS sensor capable of delivering stunning 4K video quality, while also offering stills shooting capabilities. For added cinematic atmosphere, creators can quickly switch up the ambiance using any of the 14 included colour filter effects and Smooth Skin mode. The Movie Digital IS mode is suitable for handheld videography as it helps with reducing camera shake, offering sharper, cleaner footage with more detail and clarity.

Matching the broad specifications of various social media platforms, the PowerShot V10 can shoot in both orientations and record up to an hour of continuous video. On top of this, its auto level feature can help keep video straight

and avoid slanted clips, reducing time needed to edit content.

The PowerShot V10 is equipped with two large stereo microphones designed for narration and a third audio noise reduction microphone. Housed in a vertical body and designed with simplicity in mind, the PowerShot V10 can be operated almost completely single-handedly. Equipped with a 2.0-inch LCD touchscreen which you can flip to the front, perfect for selfvlogging or recording others, it lends itself to handheld shooting. A built-in stand gives the option to record more free-standing content like cooking tutorials, hauls or popular formats like ‘Get Ready With Me’ and ‘Unboxing’ or listicle videos.

The PowerShot V10 is fully compatible with the Canon Camera Connect app, so users can transfer videos to a smartphone or tablet over Wi-Fi with ease. Managing video workflow is achieved via built-in image.canon integration for temporary cloud storage, from which users can directly transfer to their platform of choice. It also includes both HDMI and USB ports for easy transfers to a laptop or PC, or to use as a webcam. For those who are constantly out and about, the device can be recharged on the go via USB-C.

The camera allows users to take content straight from the camera to their viewers, with simplified live streaming capabilities included in the PowerShot V10 – allowing users to go live to their followers with dedicated menu options for live streaming on YouTube and Facebook.

Atomos AtomX Cast Desktop App

ATOMOS HAS ANNOUNCED the release of the AtomX CAST desktop app. When combined with the latest firmware, AtomOS 10.93.00 for Ninja V and Ninja V+, it provides a new control panel for the company’s Ninja Cast.

Available for Mac or PC, the app gives users more screen real estate to work with and unlocks more functionality such as AI-assisted, automatic colour matching. By aligning camera inputs using one input

PowerShot

V10 features include: Compact and lightweight vertical body; Wide angle lens focal length 6.6mm (35mm equivalent focal lengths are 18mm in stills and 19mm in video mode), f/2.8 maximum aperture; Movie recording in 4K UHD at 29.97/25.00 fps and Full HD at 59.94/50.00 fps; Face-tracking AF; Movie IS Mode; Smooth Skin movie shooting mode; Large stereo microphone; Tilt-up screen; Built-in stand (easy tilt adjustment up to 30 degrees); 14 colour filters; and JPEG still image shooting, equivalent to Scene Intelligent Auto; and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Webcam [UVC/UAC] connectivity.

Visit http://www.canon.com.au/cameras/ powershot-v10

as a reference, this feature quickly and accurately fixes the problem of differently colour balanced camera feeds.

When a Ninja V/V+ is combined with AtomX Cast, it becomes the Ninja Cast, a stand-alone switcher, multiview monitor and broadcast quality recorder. All Ninja Cast’s functions are replicated in the app, and all settings and changes in the app are applied to Ninja Cast instantly.

Visit https://www.atomos.com/accessories/atomxcast

SPORTSCASTING SPORTSCASTING

Optus Sport Kicks Goals at the FIFA Women’s World Cup

Continuing its long tradition of delivering (round ball) football coverage to Australian audiences, Optus Sport is the official broadcaster of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

THE SUBSCRIPTION sports channel holds the rights for all 64 matches live from across ten stadiums with rights including live and ondemand, “mini-match” highlights, extended highlights, and social content. These are being delivered via both the Optus Sport 1 and Optus Sport 2 channels. Meanwhile, commercial freeto-air partner, the Seven Network, is carrying 15 live matches with associated on-demand viewing options.

According to Josh Hanson, Associate Director of Projects, Creative and Content Technology with Optus Sport, “It’s a long-established way of working where we basically over-index our live coverage. We go live for as long as we can. We stay live at half-time. We stay live post-game for as long as we can on every match. We join them together. Basically, we want to get the customers in, get them watching the football and staying to watch throughout.

“Some days we have two matches, some days we have four matches. They’re all back-to-back. So, we’ll be live from 8 a.m. We’ll maybe have a little bit of off-time and then some days we’re live until 1:00am the next morning. So the on-air hours are relentless for the team here.”

Europe-headquartered Host Broadcast Services (HBS) is performing host broadcaster duties for the duration of the tournament from its International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in the Sydney suburb of Homebush.

For the first time in the history of FIFA tournaments, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is implementing fully remote live match production, with five host broadcast match directors and their teams operating from an existing technical hub in Sydney. They are supported by nine stadium-based production teams, comprising camera operators and a floor manager. Also at the hub, there are four teams dedicated to additional content and four slo-mo teams producing various match feeds – the Basic International Feed (BIF), Clean International Feed (CIF), World Feed (WF) and Additional Content Channel (ACC).

The remote production model relies on a dedicated fibre Broadcast Contribution Network (BCN), which connects each stadium to the central hub in Sydney over 40G redundant links. Furthermore, the hub is connected to the IBC over 400G redundant links.

Five feeds are produced for each match, including: Basic International Feed (BIF); Clean International Feed (CIF); World Feed (WF); and Additional Content Channel (ACC). Matchday press conferences are also captured live and offered as a separate isolated feed.

The host broadcast production format is HD 1080p/50 HDR with 21 to 25 cameras in use, depending on the phase of the tournament. Speciality cameras include ultra-motions, super-

slow motions, cable cams, pole cams and helicams. Following their use at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, cine-style cameras are in operation at every single match. All feeds for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 are distributed in the following formats: HD 1080p/50 HDR format; HD 1080p/50 SDR format (Rec. 709); and HD 1080i/50. Embedded audio is SMPTE-299M format. Optus Sport encodes eight concurrent feeds from the IBC, bringing them back to its HQ in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park via geographically diverse connections where they are brought into the studio control room and incorporated into the sports channel’s wrap-around match coverage. The Optus Sport play-out facility is shared with parent company Singtel in Singapore. A dark fibre backbone connects Sydney to Singapore where commercial insertion takes place before the final programme is delivered via OTT and satellite to customers.

“The primary feed HBS puts out is the basic international feed, the BIF,” says Josh Hanson.

“It’s a standard football match feed, dressing rooms, team arrivals, bus arrivals, different lineups, the players warming up on and off the pitch. Then, at minus 50 minutes, they’ll transition to following and telling the stories of key players on both teams. We’ll pull that into our coverage - warm-ups, countdown coverage, then the actual matches themselves.

“On top of that are really useful things like the ACC, the Additional Content Channel. That’s available at the IBC, along with other ISO feeds. So, beauty cameras, camera ISOs, aerials on the matches that have aerials.

“The ACC is really important. It gives us longer form versions of the teams arriving, warm-ups, the aerial coverage, SUNY style fan colour. It gives us a lot of supplementary content that we can bring into the studio and use as part of our live coverage that you don’t get on the world feed. The world feed is very, very structured and is amazing, and FIFA do a great job, and HBS do a great job of producing the world feed, but it’s those supplementary feeds where if you’re on for minus an hour to kick off, you get a lot of the content to fill out your studio coverage.

“The studio itself is actually a managed service with Gravity Media. This is the fourth year of our partnership with Gravity Media and they basically provide most of the core studio infrastructure for us here as a managed service and that is amazing for us because it gives us access to their entire global team of experts without needing to have an entire team of global experts here in-house, and that allows us to just focus on producing the graphics, the style, the storytelling in terms of our operations.”

In addition to commentary and analysis from in-studio talent, Optus Sport has also deployed five field teams across Australia and New Zealand. Teams are typically equipped with Sony FX6 cameras with a variety of prime and zoom lenses, Sennheiser and Sony audio gear. Apple iPhones are used for Interruptible Fold Back (IFB) via the Unity intercom app which is integrated into Optus Sports’ ClearCom platform. LiveU technology will provide signal delivery for the field teams.

“We’ve also got a primarily Sydney-based community team that’ll be going to local venues and community centres and council events, and getting right in amongst the fans and telling the story of the fans, which is going to be really exciting,” says Josh Hanson. “The scale of the field operation is massive. Those five teams will be live almost every day of the tournament, multiple times a day. We basically bring together a newsroom, breakfast, television ethos in terms of our live reportage, collide it with sports production and see what happens. We might come on air and have five, six live crosses in our first segment on top of whatever content we’re getting off the world feed, so that way the coverage moves really, really quickly and it’s really dynamic.”

Meanwhile, four-camera stadium presentation coverage is delivered via a LiveU 800 5G field unit to Macquarie Park for switching.

“We’ll have the LiveView 800 running in multicamera mode and we’ll switch it back here as if it was here while still having the full studio available to us and the five field teams on other LiveViews,” says Josh Hanson. “Now, that’s not to say that we always use bonded cellular, particularly in those busy stadium environments. We will obviously where we can back up with Ethernet connectivity to make sure that we have the best quality coming back. But we will be running around the country with LiveViews everywhere.”

Josh Hanson, Associate Director of Projects, Creative and Content Technology with Optus Sport.

Action from a mini soccer pitch on the Optus campus is also covered via a LiveView 800 as part of the breakfast show.

“We just want to be in as many places as we can be and tell as many stories as we can. So the scale of that is huge. We’ll also be hosting at least four matches from the stadium, particularly Matilda’s matches. We’ll be hosting them from a presentation platform at the stadiums, and we will have a hosting team of four people on those presentation platforms plus the field teams. So, those nights are going to be extra complex for us, but from a customer perspective Optus Sport will just be everywhere.”

Featuring fibre channel connectivity, the Optus Sport control room forms a story-centric hub for post-production, social, digital, and OTT platforms. A Ross Carbonite switcher in Director mode is complemented by Ross Xpression for graphics using the FIFA host broadcast graphics package.

“We also use ROS Inception as our rundown tool,” says Josh Hanson, “That’s all connected via MOS. So, basically we’ve taken the best of news production and tied it into sports production. Literally every single graphic is a MOS template powered out of Inception that the producers can put together anywhere on the floor and then just come in here and put into the playlist.”

For post-production, feeds are recorded to on-prem storage using AWS Elemental encoders which write growing files to the storage in realtime.

“Basically, our feeds come in, they get ingested, they get written to our storage. It’s all online. There’s no proxy. Everything is online. We have 25 Adobe Premiere edit seats. We love the Adobe tools because the delta to onboard a new staff is very quick, and basically people come pre-trained. We just have to train them on how to operate here, not the tool.

“They’re creating the on-demand content for our

customers. Our team pride themselves on their VOD content that they include the important moments, but they also tell the story of the match as well, and we get it out really quickly. So, they’ll be cutting three-minute highlights of every match, nine-minute highlights of every match, 24-minute mini-matches of every match, and then our other flagship on-demand option, which is called a Mega-match or a Mega-mini. Basically, what we do is we take the 24 minutes of the mini-match and then wrap the best of the punditry and the studio coverage around it. So, if someone wants to get the flavour and the overarching storylines of the match, but in a condensed format, that services them. What we’ve found over the years is the more options we give to our customers, the more they watch. Those formats have not cannibalised the viewership on our platforms.

“Then our social operation sits on top of that. We’re servicing Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. YouTube is a very large operation for us. Those same ingests, those same growing files, are then cut by the same team in the same tool and pumped out in real time into our social media channels. Everything we do on social is about creating engagement and driving the conversation. Like most broadcasters, we really want our viewers to have their device in their hands on our social channels.

“The interesting thing about the post-production infrastructure is that basically what we’ve done is we’ve created a team that if they clip up a goal or they create a colour play-off or something for social or someone clips up an interview, one tool, one ecosystem, basically we can push that into the Studio EVS and play that out. The Studio EVS can then push back out and send something to social. So basically we’ve created a lot of efficiency in the workflow there that everything can go everywhere all at the same time.”

Content is also used by Optus retail stores

across the country as a showcase of the channel’s football products.

Further supplementing the live feeds is a range of file-based content made available by HBS. “Traditionally,” says Hanson. “Optus Sport on any of these tournaments is one of the highest users of all of that file-based content because we take so much of it and just put it into the app for the customers to watch. We are, I think, in the top three file-based users in the Premier League’s global service because we just take all of that content and put it in front of the customers, and then it’s up to the customers if they want to watch it, and they do watch it, so that’s why we do it.”

And with content flying everywhere, how does Optus Sport keep track of all those files? The short answer is, it doesn’t.

“It’s shocking, right?,” says Josh Hanson. “But, if you compare us to another broadcaster, we’re not producing the matches ourselves. We’re not sitting there with EVS bricks to bring back and ingest into it and then meta-tag what’s happened somewhere else. We’ve just got a web page that we can go to and pull that content in with.

“It’s global efficiency. Why do we live in a world where every broadcaster in the world in 100-plus markets archives the same world feed and then stores it and then creates the carbon around that? We don’t need to operate in that methodology anymore when you’ve got progressive governing bodies and leagues that can just take one file, put it in one cloud storage and make it available to everybody. So we genuinely have the privilege of working with these big global organisations that have these really progressive approaches like that and it does enable us to be much leaner here in our operation.”

Visit https://sport.optus.com.au/

FIFA WWC Kicks Off with LiveU

FOR MORE than 16 years, LiveU, “the pioneer of the backpacks”, has been supplying broadcasters and others with bonded-cellular video distribution technology which has become an essential part of newsgathering and sports coverage.

Since the company’s technology made its debut in 2008 on the Olympic marathon at the Beijing Summer Games, it has grown in scope and capability to include the LU800 5G production-level field unit; LU300S 5G, 4K 10-bit HDR live streaming unit; LiveU Solo 4K 5G live streaming bonding encoder; LiveU Studio cloud-native live video production solution; LiveU Matrix IP cloud video management platform; LiveU Cloud Connect platform; and LiveU 360° live video subscription service.

The company also recently acquired its longstanding Australian channel partner, Pacific Live Media (PLM), and announced a partnership with New Zealand’s Digital Video Technologies (DVT) - all in time to support broadcasters and sports organisations during the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup.

According to Ronan Aartman, VP of Marketing for LiveU, “LiveU has been part of tier one big sports events from its inception. It’s interesting to see this Women’s World Cup, which is projected to reach about 2 billion viewers worldwide. It’s almost nearly a quarter of the global population, and we are taking great pride in being part of that.

“We will support our local broadcasters, both in Australia and New Zealand. And we will definitely

support our international broadcasters and quite a lot of them that are coming over to the region to cover the games. We will provide them with our best production units, the LU800 over 5G. We will support them 24-7 support, on-site support using our LiveU Pacific in Australia and DVT in New Zealand to support those that will be travelling to the islands.

“We will give them tailored packages. And, it’s not just about the units. We will provide them units with additional production services, such as AudioConnect and DataBridge to provide them connectivity to the internet and LiveU Matrix, which is our distribution platform to take the signal from one place and distribute it all over the world, replacing conventional satellite and fibre. And, unlimited data as well which we’ve provided all over the world. So, it’s a mix of on-site services, our units, production services and distribution methods to help the broadcasters. And, we have a team, a dedicated team that is travelling to Australia and New Zealand to be on-site 24/7.” While 5G units are being supplied, these can also fall back to 4G where the higher bandwidth networks are unavailable. And while capable of operating in a 5G network slicing environment, this is a service not being offered by carriers during the event.

The company is also drawing on its local knowledge to advise on production options such as locations for stand-ups or beauty shots, and providing feeds to teams and match officials for performance analysis.

“I think, at least over 100 units will be in use during the games, including some of our clients actually travelling with their own units,” says Ronan Artman. “In Qatar, some of the [football] teams actually used LiveU to cover their own. The Australian team, for example, used LiveU units

“I think the main thing is, LiveU always takes pride in the on-site support. Teams are coming to places they are not used to. A lot of them, it’s the first time that they’re travelling with the cameramen and the teams and they need to know that there is a trusted partner out there.”

Visit https://www.liveu.tv

NEWS OPERATIONS NEWS OPERTAIONS

ABC and Universities Partner to Support Regional Journalism

IN THE FACE OF DECLINING local media coverage in regional and rural Australia, the ABC will partner with researchers at Deakin and Griffith universities to look at innovative ways in which the public broadcaster can support local news sustainability.

The three-year Australian Research Council project will determine how the ABC can best develop partnerships and collaborations with regional news outlets to support public interest journalism. The project follows a recommendation by the 2022 Parliamentary Inquiry into Regional Newspapers suggesting Australia’s public broadcasters should increase their efforts to support regional news sustainability through partnerships.

ABC News Strategy Research Lead, Dr Angela Ross, said the crisis in local news deepened during the pandemic, as hundreds of regional and rural newspaper titles closed.

“The cuts and closures have led to fewer regional issues, stories and perspectives being reported and worryingly, less accountability reporting at the local level,” explained Dr Ross.

Dr Ross said the ABC had been able to fill some of the local news gaps with around 60 additional journalist roles placed in regional locations through funding from commercial agreements signed with Google and Facebook in 2021.

“The ABC plays a critical public service role in connecting rural and regional communities and elevating regional stories and issues but it can’t fill all local news gaps,” she said.

“The ABC is keen to use this project to consider how it may help design a unique and effective partnership model targeting regional areas underserved for local news.”

The project’s lead investigator, Professor Kristy Hess of Deakin University, said rural and regional communities wanted and deserved access to reliable, original and quality local news and information.

“We need to look at what existing media infrastructure and service provisions are out there and determine whether there is an appetite to work together to support especially vulnerable areas of the ecology,” she said.

“Ultimately this is about helping to secure the long-term sustainability of a sector that has struggled in a period of digital disruption to ensure rural and regional audiences have access to genuinely local news.”

The research team will identify the challenges faced by regional broadcast, print and digital

Sky News, NOVA in Radio Partnership

SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA and NOVA

Entertainment have entered into a partnership that sees Sky News Radio, a live audio stream of the Sky News television channel, now available to listeners of the Nova Player mobile app. The Nova Player is NOVA Entertainment’s mobile, web and smart speaker app, offering all of NOVA’s radio, streaming and podcast content to an audience of almost 6.4 million Australians. It will now integrate the Sky News network’s news coverage and opinion programmes nationwide. Listeners can also access on demand audio episodes of Sky News.

Tim Love, Sky News Australia Head of Digital,

said: “We’re delighted NOVA has come on board as our new audio partner which will enable us to connect with new audiences as they are on the move, and extend the reach of our award-winning news coverage on the biggest issues facing the nation. We look forward to bringing Nova Player listeners our roster of industry-leading journalists and Australia’s best commentators.”

Adam Johnson, NOVA Entertainment’s Chief Growth Officer, said: “Sky News Radio is the perfect addition to our Player app line-up, complementing our Nova, Smooth and Star music stations and FIVEaa. We know our

RNZ Appoints Chief News Officer

RADIO NEW ZEALAND Chief Executive and Editor in Chief, Paul Thompson, has announced

Mark Stevens as RNZ’s Chief News Officer.

Mark Stevens is a former Head of News for Stuff. His 29-year-long media career has seen him rise from reporting ranks to executive management roles at Stuff, as well as sitting on the board of several media industry bodies.

“RNZ welcomes Mark to the team,” says Chief Executive and Editor in Chief Paul Thompson.

“The Chief News Officer is a pivotal role within RNZ and we are pleased to appoint someone

with such an extensive journalism career, as well as having management experience helping newsrooms adapt to new challenges.

“His leadership will help RNZ to deliver outstanding public interest journalism at a time when there is a real demand for trusted news and current affairs.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining RNZ at such an exciting time for the organisation, and in a newsroom that has long had some of the best journalism and talent in the industry,” says Mark Stevens.

The RNZ Chief Executive also acknowledged the

news providers, particularly in communities underserved by local media. It will then recommend the best ways in which the ABC can support the local news sector.

Any individuals or groups who play a role in delivering local news to regional and rural communities and are keen to be consulted as part of the project are welcome to contact Angela Ross via email at ross.angela@abc.net.au or Professor Hess at kristy.hess@deakin.edu.au.

audience are hungry for breaking stories, 24/7 rolling news and opinion and now they are able to access all of this with a simple swipe on their device. Sky News will also offer our advertising partners new, highly engaged audience segments to reach through our digital audio platforms.”

Sky News Radio is available to stream on the Nova Player, Smooth Player, Star 104.5 Player and FIVEaa Player apps, SkyNews.com.au and via the Sky News Australia App.

Visit https://SkyNews.com.au and https://www.novaentertainment.com.au/

passing of the baton from the departing Head of News Richard Sutherland.

“Richard has contributed strongly to RNZ and calmly steered RNZ news during the last four years, a time marked by especially challenging events.”

“Richard is taking an extended break with a lengthy OE scheduled, and we wish him the very best,” says Paul Thompson.

Mark Stevens starts with RNZ in September.

Visit https://www.rnz.co.nz/

Etere Nunzio Newsroom with On-Premise, Permanent Licence

ETERE IS NOW OFFERING its professional newsroom software with an on-premise, permanent licence. Unlike a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, users own the software after purchase.

Etere offers both options of a permanent licence and software as a Service (SaaS), allowing onpremise, cloud, or hybrid models

Integration with Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Etere says its platform will soon be compatible with Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve postproduction and video editing application. The Etere BMD Davinci Resolve panel will connect the Etere Nunzio database with BMD Davinci Resolve. With the seamless integration between Etere Ecosystem and BMD Davinci Resolve, content editors can access the professional editing, colour, effects, and post-production video editing software by Blackmagic directly from the Etere interface.

Additionally, all Etere users on a support contract have unlimited software updates and upgrades.

According to Etere, Nunzio Newsroom empowers users to work faster and better. With its full NRCS features, users can easily manage

Avid | Stream IO

AVID TECHNOLOGY’S AVID | Stream IO, is a subscription-based, software-based platform for production ingest and playout.

With a flexible architecture that can be configured to ingest or play out IP streams and SDI streams, Avid | Stream IO allows content producers to migrate from legacy workflows and on-premises deployment to cloud and IP workflows at their own pace.

The solution also offers flexible channel configurations, supporting popular video formats, codecs and resolutions, enabling media companies to leverage new and emerging technologies within their production workflows. Avid | Stream IO offers complete deployment flexibility, supporting both off-the-shelf certified hardware for on-premises studio environments and standard virtual machines in the cloud.

The new platform also allows media companies

the end-to-end workflow of any newsroom environment, from planning news stories to managing newsroom automation on-air playback. Furthermore, it can concurrently handle complex stories with multiple media elements, including video files, live streams, graphics, and secondary media files.

Key features include:

• MOS-compliance;

• Supports Newtek NDI;

• Insert and edit lower thirds, graphics, and news tickers without any external graphics inserter;

• Supports E-paper and website uploads;

• Flexible and scalable production workflow;

• Fully configurable data model;

• Customisable user rights, agenda, and communication tools, ready to support large teams working remotely;

• News tickers to create custom carousels;

• Supports Dante audio for superior audio quality;

• Real-time updates support a collaborative workflow;

• Supports teleprompters; and

• Add and update playlists from social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Youtube, directly from the Nunzio interface. Visit https://www.etere.com/

to increase efficiency by combining different ingest sources in a single configuration. Ideal for live entertainment and multi-camera productions, Avid | Stream IO supports all common production formats including SDI, Compressed IP streams – SRT / RTMP / NDI, with SMPTE 2110 due later this year. And as a nextgeneration product, Avid | Stream IO offers all the best capabilities of Avid’s proven hardwarebased server solutions – AirSpeed and FastServe – while expanding support for emerging IP standards and higher-precision formats, such as 4K and HDR.

Tim Claman, Avid SVP and General Manager of Video and Media Solutions, explains, “We’re very excited to announce Avid | Stream IO, our next-gen production ingest and playout solution, designed to help our customers bring their proven end-to-end Avid workflow deployments

nxtedition Integrates with DaVinci Resolve

NXTEDITION SAYS it has successfully integrated OpenAI Whisper, the speech-to-text artificial intelligence from the developers of ChatGPT, into its standard platform. Through the user-friendly nxtedition interface, OpenAI can transcribe and translate content in real-time as needed, utilising either nxtedition’s private cloud hardware or public cloud-based infrastructure. As a result, the time and cost of accessing third-party AI services for transcription and translation as an external function is removed from the workflow.

The integration provides users with access to new tools to enhance productivity. The application of AI here is diverse and includes new methods for creating and maintaining metadata, such as transcribing audio from ingested content and news stories, which is then indexed and can be found using nxtedition’s intelligent search engine. OpenAI Whisper can process not only new videos but also the entire news archive, making it a cost-effective and powerful research facility. In traditional newsroom settings, the use of AI is often inefficient,

into the future. With a flexible software architecture that supports deployment on-prem or in the cloud, Avid | Stream IO is configurable for both SDI and IP, and supports high-precision formats 1080P, UHD and HDR, all at a lower cost per channel than traditional hardware-based systems.”

Avid | Stream IO also supports Avid’s proven fast-turnaround workflows, including shotlisting, craft editing and logging – all while tightly integrating with Avid’s MediaCentral production platform.

Claman concludes, “We believe Avid | Stream IO will help production teams accelerate their content creation pipelines, both now and in the future, by delivering unparalleled speed, flexible deployment, and adaptable support for media formats.”

Visit https://www.avid.com

requiring transcoding video to audio, sending requests to thirdparty software in the cloud with no indication of when results will be returned or if they will be valuable. In contrast, nxtedition’s approach is to transcribe the original content as it comes in, bypassing the need for time-consuming transcoding and proxy transfers. This approach not only boosts indexing for search results but also generates subtitles, resulting in significant productivity gains.

Adam Leah, creative director at nxtedition, remarked, “The real significance of this integration

is that we have incorporated all the necessary hooks for OpenAI applications into our software stack. We are continuously developing innovative ways for our users to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning services into our hardware and user environment, which they already appreciate. We’re always seeking ways to reduce unnecessary steps and clicks in workflows.”

The OpenAI Whisper integration will be included in the next release of nxtedition’s core software and hardware.

Visit https://nxtedition.com/

EditShare One Transforms Media Workflows

EDITSHARE HAS ANNOUNCED the introduction of EditShare One, designed to give a single, streamlined experience across all of the company’s high performance production asset management and media storage solutions.

EditShare One boosts productivity by simplifying interactions, with an intuitive user experience at every stage of the creative process. Initial applications include Producer View, for assigning tasks and delivering comments and feedback to the production team, making collaboration simple, even across multiple locations.

The AI-integrated Transcription View is a new application that speeds up identifying the key points in large media captures. Users will

find Transcription View and other productivity improvements visible in FLOW directly as well as in the FLOW panel in the Adobe user interface, and Resolve thanks to the seamless integration.

According to EditShare, it is already transforming post-production through Universal Projects, which allows projects to be set up, linked to bins, and synchronised with whichever editing software package is chosen. IBC2023 (stand 7.A35) will also see the continuing extension of EditShare core technologies to support the modern media production industry. It is now common for content to be stored at multiple locations, in the cloud, and in remote workstations such

Dalet Joins AWS ISV Accelerate Programme

DALET HAS ANNOUNCED its integration into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Programme and completion of the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for Dalet Flex, the company’s cloud-native media logistics platform.

To successfully complete the AWS FTR, AWS Partners must adopt specific best practices around security, reliability and operational excellence as defined by the AWS Well-Architected

Framework. To this end, Dalet has focused on security, ISO/IEC 27001 certification, and building a global cloud operations team recognised for best practice.

As members of the AWS ISV Accelerate Programme, a co-sell programme for AWS Partners that provides software solutions running on, or integrating with, AWS, Dalet meets AWS best practices and standards that are designed to produce better customer outcomes.

Dalet Flex powers collaborative

as editors working on site or even at home. A single instance of FLOW maps all the content in every location and ensures it is ready. Automated proxy creation and integrated file acceleration ensure that the right media is always to hand.

Part of the IBC demonstration will be the integration of Cinedeck and EditShare FLOW to provide live logging for reality television, sports and other metadata-rich applications. This is a practical solution to the need to capture large amounts of media and information across multiple content streams.

https://www.editshare.com/

workflows for a broad range of media-centric organisations, including customers Fox Sports Australia, STARZ, Sony Pictures International, and Peloton. Dalet Flex offers users elasticity and scalability to cover a wide range of workflows including:

• Archive Management and Monetisation – Cost-effectively and quickly migrate ageing archives into a modern content library for collaborative use and monetisation opportunities.

Manifold Cloud Tier-1 Live Production Platform

ARKONA TECHNOLOGIES GmbH

and Manifold Technologies, providers of IP core infrastructure solutions for broadcast production, have partnered to provide a Tier-1 live production core infrastructure service-based ecosystem built on private cloud COTS infrastructure. Called Manifold Cloud, its core architectural concept is that of an on-demand configurable pool of shared resources allocated within a private cloud environment.

Manifold Cloud, is a 100% software solution which runs on COTS FPGA accelerators.

Designed for Tier-1 clients, Manifold Cloud is capable of handling demanding live sports, entertainment and news productions while providing the benefits of scalability, resiliency, quick deployment and unified control.

The capacity and performance

of Manifold Cloud scales linearly depending on how much compute is allocated and utilises COTS FPGA accelerators which take advantage of the fast development cycles of chip and server manufacturers while at the same time lowering the capex investment required. Manifold Cloud benefits include:

• COTS hardware – 100% software solution utilising FPGA accelerators from multiple COTS vendors.

• Scalability – Manifold Cloud scales with the total aggregated bandwidth of all the accelerators in a cluster. As of the current generation COTS FPGAs reaching 1.6 Tbps per RU Manifold Cloud can for example handle up to 512 x 3G multiviewer sources in one RU and continues to scale linearly as more compute is added.

• Service-based architecture

– Each service is dynamically allocated to one of the available hardware accelerators and operators, using a single-sign-on web UI, operators simply request the functionality needed which is then created in Manifold Cloud and presented to the user.

• Resiliency – Manifold Cloud services are virtualised on top of the underlying compute hardware and are automatically restored in case of failure.

• Integration of legacy systems – Manifold Cloud services can also run on top of arkona AT300 PACs which provide easy ingress/egress to legacy SDI systems while at the same time performing processing services such as multi-viewing or up/ down/cross conversion. No need for dedicated SDI gateways that only perform SDI/IP conversion.

• Media Supply Chain and Distribution – Orchestrate, automate, scale and analyse content packaging and global distribution.

• Streamlined Production Asset Management – Integrate and orchestrate production and media asset management to eliminate production silos and processing friction that bogs down collaboration.

Visit: https://www.dalet.com/

• Unified control – Simple control through centralised web UI and RESTful API.

• Quick deployment with Infrastructure as Code – Easily create Manifold Cloud clusters and create services specific to the demands of a particular production. Save and Load complete cluster configurations to set up complete core infrastructure chains in minutes.

• Secure – Rigid security and authentication based on proven IT standards.

• With current COTS FPGA processors capable of up to 1.6Tbps per RU Manifold Cloud offers up to 128 UHD services in a single RU and scales linearly across a private cloud infrastructure.

Contact Magna Systems & Engineering on +61 2 9417 1111 or email sales@magnasys.tv

Storware Backup and Recovery

STORWARE, a provider of data protection solutions,has introduced Storware Backup and Recovery 6.0, the latest release of its advanced data protection software.

Storware Backup and Recovery 6.0 introduces OS agent support for Linux and Windows. While Storware has primarily embraced an agent-less approach, the inclusion of OS agents allows users to protect their systems at the file level, offering enhanced flexibility and control over

data backup operations.

The release includes a technical preview of tape support. Storware Backup and Recovery 6.0 introduces a Tape Manager component, designed to streamline and simplify tape-related operations.

The release also includes OpenShift Virtualisation support allowing users to protect virtual machines in their OpenShift environment like in any other platform; support for Stateful

Humans Not Robots Joins AWS Network

HUMANS NOT ROBOTS is a data analytics platform that enables media and broadcast organisations to manage a cleaner, cheaper and faster media supply chain. It automatically analyses current media operations at a granular level, leveraging machine learning techniques that identify optimisations and savings on energy consumption, carbon footprint, cost and

time.

The company has announced it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN), having successfully completed the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) of its AWS-hosted digital supply chain analytics and optimisation platform.

The APN is a global community of AWS Partners

Etere Search with AI and Facial Recognition

WITH ALL-NEW AI-powered facial recognition, Etere MAM now enables automatic metadata indexing and expanded search parameters. Users can now launch a search based on a subject’s profile image in personal data. This new facial recognition licence is available as an add-on purchase for all Etere MAM users, and the number of licences needed corresponds to the number of files you need to scan concurrently. It is available as an on-premise solution and does not require additional hardware to run.

The new AI-driven technology uses facial recognition to analyse individual scenes in the media library and produce a list of matches in seconds. The advanced facial recognition technology works even for media files with low lighting and obscure angles. The technology

gives users greater control over a large media library.

Furthermore, it makes it easier for broadcasters to search for and repurpose media files to create better content for their audiences. The new integration expands the list of smart features available in Etere MAM, including those that allow users to automate tasks, gain insights, improve operational efficiency and media quality.

Etere Native Object Oriented MAM

The Etere platform now also features Native Object Oriented MAM. Eschewing UNC paths and geographical storage, Etere MAM is now an object storage native system that transforms any storage into an Object Archive. Identifying and integrating an effective and cost-efficient method to store unstructured

Sets, support for OpenNebula; and Microsoft 365 data support.

Other enhancements include additional RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) objects, a new wizard for DD Boost backup destination creation, support for Keycloak integration, and automatic clean-up of virtual machines after an instant restore mount is no longer necessary.

Visit https://www.meltwater.com/

that leverages programs, expertise, and resources to build, market, and sell customer offerings. The FTR provides product-specific guidelines to adopt a subset of AWS best practices to reduce risks around security, reliability, and operational excellence, as defined by the AWS Well-Architected Framework.

Visit https://www.humansnotrobots.com/

data can be a challenging task. With content distributed and monetised across various channels, effective Media Asset Management with Native Object Store (NOS) is essential. NOS enables Business Analysts, System Administrators, and Database Administrators to perform read-only searches and query CSV, JSON, and Parquet format datasets located on external S3-compatible object storage platforms using standard Teradata SQL and APIs.

Etere MAM allows the use of any storage; it can integrate and connect with various technical formats, such as the NOS. Now, content can be managed and monetised from the same interface to any location.

Visit https://www.etere.com/

Vizrt Simplifies Premiere Pro Production and Asset Search

VIZRT, RECENTLY ANNOUNCED that its suite of products is now aligned with Adobe Premiere Pro to better coordinate an efficient production pipeline.

While Vizrt integrates with Adobe across multiple workflows in Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Photoshop, one particularly strong integration with Premiere Pro is the enhanced capabilities with Viz One, Vizrt’s flagship Media Asset Management (MAM) solution.

The new version allows for Edit Decision Lists (EDLs) made in Viz One to be dragged and dropped straight into Premiere Pro via Vizrt’s Adobe Assistant panel, creating a new sequence. Similarly, users of Vizrt’s browserbased editing tool, Viz Story, can import their timelines into Premiere Pro, including video and graphics when a craft edit is required.

Now, searching assets in a Viz One system from Adobe Premiere Pro is up to three times faster, and it provides greater detail when working directly from the Assistant panel. Users can identify and work with both archive content and incoming media shortly after the Viz One import begins.

Recent updates to Viz One Studio also bring new editing capabilities to the web browser, replacing the need to use Viz One’s legacy PreCut and EasyCut applications, further streamlining users’ editing experience and improving the workflow between Viz One, Viz Story, and Premiere Pro.

Users can also leverage Vizrt and Adobe across the production process, facilitating easier workflows for designers, journalists, and editors. Designers using Vizrt’s powerful real-time 3D design application, Viz Artist,

have greater flexibility due to the integrations with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.

Viz Artist includes a multi-layer composition import tool for working with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects compositions. Additionally, control text and control image plugins are automatically assigned, providing a faster transition from Adobe After Effects composition to a template ready for on-air use in Viz Artist.

Vizrt’s Meta-Graphics workflow enables graphics and video to be continually edited using the Viz Pilot Edge HTML-based template editor, up until the moment when the content goes on-air. This non-burnt-in graphics workflow integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro. Visit https://www.vizrt.com/products/viz-one

Supporting the Next Generation of VFX Pipelines

The convergence of the Visual Effects (VFX) and gaming industries is transforming the media and entertainment landscape. In addition to enhancing the cinematic experience, this paradigm shift is also increasing workflow efficiency. Producers desire the speed and convenience of real-time creation, distribution, and management of content that game engines enable for VFX, but this innovative amalgamation of technologies introduces important infrastructure considerations. In a recent interview, we sat down with Alex Timbs, Dell Technologies media and entertainment expert, and film studio veteran.

His industry background, combined with his work in the tech space, provide him with an insider’s perspective on this topic and he was happy to share his thoughts on nextgeneration VFX workflows.

The demand for real-time content creation accelerated during the COVID-19 lockdowns when remote collaboration and the use of game engines flourished. During the pandemic, game engines played a crucial role in producing content in restricted spaces, enhancing lighting accuracy, and providing actors and directors with more context than a green screen. In addition, it opened the door to better creative decision-making for all, especially for the director. According to Timbs, the convergence of VFX and gaming has enabled more than just creative advancements; it is also reshaping workflows and culture. In the past, VFX and gaming had separate pipelines, applications, and disciplines, but this fusion has broken down those barriers.

On the topic of workflows, perhaps one of the most exciting implications of real-time production is the pipeline optimization, increased efficiency, and the rapid iterations it enables. Some businesses have witnessed staggering improvements in efficiency and performance, with one VFX shop experiencing a 20x efficiency boost and expecting up to 50x performance gains over traditional approaches by incorporating AI and generative AI into their

real-time workflows. The future of this blended approach has other exciting possibilities. For example, real-time content creation at the edge, where media is consumed. These technologies offer the ability to dynamically create content based on consumer input or direction, transforming the audience experience.

Broadcasters are already exploring realtime creation for sports content, allowing viewers to not only choose from different camera streams, but also custom overlays and player statistics. There is even an opportunity to explore photorealistic possibilities with full character replacement and interaction. This personalized and interactive approach to content consumption is reminiscent of gaming, where players have control over what they see on their screens.

To realize these new high-throughput workflows and consumer experiences, a robust infrastructure is crucial. Timbs highlights Dell’s array of solutions including end-user computing, featuring top-of-the-line CPUs and GPUs, colouraccurate displays, and scalable networking solutions. Additionally, Dell’s storage solutions, such as the Emmy® awardwinning PowerScale (previously Dell Isilon), offer proven reliability, hierarchical storage management, and a variety of options to suit different environments.

And let’s not forget cloud. While the cloud has become an essential part of enterprise infrastructure, Alex Timbs advises VFX companies to get ‘Cloud Smart’ and consider whether it is the right fit for their workloads. For perpetual workloads, onpremises storage and management are often far more cost-effective. However, for burst workloads in media and entertainment, cloud solutions can offer significant advantages. If the driver for the cloud is a consumption model, that is easily addressed with Dell APEX, an end-to-end portfolio of as-a-Service and subscription solutions, including multi-cloud.

As the convergence of VFX, gaming,

and artificial intelligence continues to evolve, emphasis is on the need for a strategic approach.

Media companies should carefully assess their motivations and drivers for adopting these technologies, avoiding a “me too” mindset. Evolving workflows demand greater collaboration among teams, including directors, art directors, and VFX supervisors, all of whom must be trained to understand the nuances of the new processes, which generally require a much clearer creative vision early in the process than traditional approaches. Planning and envisioning the desired outcomes are essential before making significant investments.

There is no doubt that we are witnessing media and entertainment history in the making. Real-time content creation and technological advancements are not just transforming the landscape, they are elevating the audience experience. To succeed in this dynamic environment, media companies must be proactive, strategic, and willing to adapt to the changing demands of the industry. With the right solutions and enablement, the future of VFX and gaming convergence promises exciting possibilities for personalized, interactive content consumption

Alex Timbs, Media and Entertainment Expert at Dell Technologies

Canada’s FatBelly VFX Opens in Brisbane

CANADA’S FATBELLY VFX has officially launched an Australian studio in Brisbane with part of its mission being to elevate women working within VFX.

Established in Vancouver, Canada, in 2020, FatBelly is owned and operated by Shannan Louis, an Australian Canadian. FatBelly says it has created a studio that breaks the industry mould by taking a holistic approach that aims to foster an environment that empowers its team, builds social consciousness, and a culture of giving back. Something that Louis says is very necessary in Australian VFX.

Although new to the Australian market, FatBelly Canada has worked on some of Hollywood’s biggest projects in feature and episodic including Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Fate: The Winx Saga, Upload, Creed III and more.

“The decision to open in Australia was actually quite simple. FatBelly

Canada has established itself as a quality boutique studio, our reel speaks for itself. The beautiful thing about Australia is that it produces so much of its own incredible content. The stories coming out of Australia are world class and the production values are getting bigger and bigger. As an Australian, I feel passionate about being a part of the journey to bring our Australian stories to life,” Louis commented.

Louis says she has a unique way of running her studio and the vision for Australia is on par with how the company operates in Canada where they have created a company culture that empowers and engages its employees, as well as gives back to their community.

“It’s a smart business move too,” she says, “By creating an environment where people can do their best work, it means that employees are happy and clients are satisfied. It’s a win/win.”

The visual effects industry is particularly known for gruelling schedules and high burn-out rates. Instead, FatBelly is set up to allow more opportunities for remote work, giving parents a chance to work from home either permanently or just a few days per week. This greater flexibility also means that women, who’d often be forced to leave the industry after having children, could remain engaged. “We need to be adaptable and open to new ways,” she says. A hybrid between in-person work and team culture building, combined with flexible remote working is the way forward.

To make this process streamlined FatBelly uses Arch Platform Technologies for its pipeline. It’s highly secure, scalable and completely cloud based. With FatBelly VFX, Louis has also been keen to elevate women working within VFX into creative

Disney and Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Leverages Machine Learning

EMBER AND WADE, the principal characters in Disney and Pixar’s ‘Elemental’, are visual effects in their own right – one is Fire, the other, Water. Director Peter Sohn, from the onset, accentuated that Ember is made of fire (not on fire), and Wade is made of water (not a container of water), while also challenging his crew to find a balance between realism and stylisation.

“Pete was adamant that Ember should be composed of fire, and her movements should mimic the characteristics of fire, without adhering to a rigid, skeletal structure,” visual effects supervisor, Sanjay Bakshi, explains. “For instance, when she reaches for an object, her arm can elongate and become very slender, just like fire. We not only wanted to portray Ember’s anger through her posture, eyebrows, and facial expression, but we also intended to alter the characteristics of the fire when she became angry.”

This is where effects supervisor Stephen Marshall and his team came into the picture.

“A major part of our task was to figure out how to portray Fire and Water as sentient characters

that exhibit relatable emotions without being overly distracting,” Marshall states. “We had to develop a lot of that technology at the initial stages and it required ample resources. This included technologies we hadn’t utilised before, like machine learning. A large part of it involved deconstructing our previous knowledge about our effects pipeline and constructing a new pipeline around it.”

In order to bring Ember and Wade to life, along with a complex backdrop, an additional phase of production was implemented to run simulations on the characters in every frame of the film. Marshall points out that the filmmakers adjusted their pipeline to allow more time after animation to tackle the massive effects and intricate lighting needs. Every effort was made in the service of the story with artists, storytellers, and technicians collaborating. To accomplish Ember and the other Fire characters’ unique, stylised look, Pixar tapped into resources at Disney Research Studios in Zurich, Switzerland. Bakshi explains that this allowed them to “organise the flames into

more stylised shapes using a machine learning technique called Volumetric Neural Style Transfer, something we’ve never done before.”

If the flames were “too realistic,” he adds, it would have been “distracting and not as illustrative as we would have liked.”

He further adds, “Utilising techniques developed by crowds technical supervisor Paul Kanyuk and the Disney Research Studios team, it organises the flames into much more appealing shapes. This really unlocked a lot for us – like a magic trick!”

positions. “VFX is still very much a male-dominated industry and in order for it to change we have to create opportunities for women to have equality.”

“It’s so easy to get very focused on VFX and forget about the world around us,” explains Louis, “It’s such an all-encompassing industry that it’s important for us to remember about other people and also remain connected to our community, which is why we implement company initiatives.”

Visit https://www.fatbellyvfx.com/

Throughout the production, Marshall adds, “There was a dialogue between the technology and art department to discover what was working and what wasn’t. It involved gathering a bunch of experts – a fire expert, a shading expert, an animation expert, a rigging expert, and a lighting expert – in the same room and iterating until we found the right balance. It was about assembling different technologies and teaching them to work together.”

Visit bit.ly/3rKf6A6

Maxon Upgrades Enhance Creative Freedom

MAXON, THE DEVELOPER OF professional software solutions for editors, filmmakers, motion designers, visual effects artists and creators, has announced significant updates to several products included in the company’s Maxon One subscription offering. The updates include:

Redshift 3.5.17

Redshift 3.5.17 allows for easier randomisation of materials, takes the first step towards non-photoreal materials and improves performance when using Redshift CPU mode and continues to extend DCC support.

A new Jitter Node lets users automatically apply colour variation across a large number of objects with the same material applied. Suitable for creating foliage, rocks, a mason jar full of gumballs or a crate of delicious avocados of varying degrees of ripeness. The Jitter Node is currently available for most DCCs (Cinema 4D, ZBrush, 3ds Max, Maya, Houdini, Katana).

A new MatCap Shader Node allows users to quickly create simple stylised materials by mapping an image onto a mesh relative to the render camera. This lays the foundation for non-photo-real materials in Redshift.

Redshift is now available for the latest version of Maya on macOS systems.

Redshift CPU rendering performance now scales better with additional CPU cores or even multiple CPUs in one system, resulting in faster render times for users of Redshift CPU.

Texture Memory Optimisations provide overall performance improvements when handling textures in Redshift.

Trapcode 2023.4

Trapcode 2023.4 aims to ease users’ workflows. A new built-in Bounce Ground Plane serves as an additional bounce surface with its own height and rotation controls. It allows VFX and motion graphics artists to set up an infinite bounce plane with just a couple of clicks. This new Bounce plane comes with several pre-designed setups and allows users to create and save their own Bounce presets. Child systems can now inherit the Particle Type, Size and Opacity values from their parent system at the time of their birth.

Trapcode now features three new gradient interpolation models in addition to the existing RGB model. This allows for a wider array of creative choices and possibilities for crafting transitions.

Thanks to a new Curve Mirror Mode, users can create perfectly symmetrical curves. Just click “Mirror” in the menu and enjoy perfectly mirrored curves along the horizontal axis. No more fussing to mirror any curve by hand!

Particular Designer now calls the After Effects colour picker instead of the operating system’s default colour picker.

3D Stroke and Sound Keys now benefit from the same color and curve UI updates previously implemented in Particular.

Forger

The latest update to Forger includes a Sketch Sculpt Brush which allows users to create new shapes, new Area and IES Lights complement the existing types of lights, and a new Action Point camera navigation makes it more intuitive to rotate your camera around the area of interest.

A new Lighting toolset now includes Area and IES lights. New Sweep and Lathe tools add new modelling capabilities to Forger: Use the Sweep tool to create pipes or horns or turn a complex profile using the Lathe tool.

Set Flow is a tool for rounding out harsh bevels by adjusting the curvature on a selection of edges based on surrounding geometry. The Fit Circle tool allows users to model round details. Simply select a group of polygons and use interactive handles to adjust the size of the circle. Thanks to the flatten option, the surface can be averaged at the same time. Forger now offers complete hierarchy support, making it easy to organise users’ creations, group elements and manipulate groups together.

Capsules

The latest additions to Capsules, Maxon’s collection of tailor-made assets to enhance artists projects, include a collection of Redshift materials created by visualisation

FaceCake and RealmFX Bring AI to Visual Effects

FACECAKE, the developer of a AI-Driven Augmented Reality

Visual Commerce platform, is leveraging its proprietary Artificial Intelligence engine in a strategic partnership with Vancouver-based Visual Effects company RealmFX. The partnership introduces new ways to access, utilise, and maximise VFX tools by harnessing AI and Augmented Reality (AR) to produce cutting-edge visual effects methods for movies, television, and other visual entertainment mediums.

According to FaceCake, its

adaptable AI applied to visual effects creates a forum for the integration of AI into Visual Effects. This can unlock capabilities that make the process faster, more accurate, and customisable, with “off the shelf” ease of use. By utilising AI and AR in combination, RealmFX will provide innovative solutions with fewer limitations. This addresses industry standard challenges while implementing new ways of filming, producing and executing visual effects for any scene with better results.

“This is the magic that VFX

artists have been waiting for,” said Rony Soussan, RealmFX Co-Founder. “Our collaboration with FaceCake bridges the gap between creatives and AI through easy-to-use tools and accessibility, shifting VFX to the planning stage rather than post production.”

“FaceCake’s AI and AR expertise combined with RealmFX’s extensive experience in visual effects will offer a flexible, highly-realistic solution for art-directed AI, allowing for enhanced creativity while saving valuable time and money,” said

experts Fuchs & Vogel and a new set of Laubwerk plants:

26 new Redshift glass materials perfect for architectural visualisation, product shots and motion graphics. These materials include a collection of condensation materials that make it easy to add rain on windows or water droplets on ice cold beverages. In addition to basic “perfect” glass Maxon has included a collection of smoked, distorted, dirty and smudged variations perfect for visualising downtown lofts or creating VFX shots. Half of these materials are available to customers with active Cinema 4D subscriptions while the other half are an exclusive benefit for Maxon One subscribers.

In addition, Maxon has unveiled the second pack of Laubwerk plants, featuring 51 high-quality plant models suitable for architectural visualisation, visual effects shots and illustration.

Visit https://www.maxon.net/en/

From focused AI-driven effects to crowd generation and highend facial work, the collaboration places the power of FaceCake’s AI into the hands of professional VFX artists.

Pieter Van Houte, RealmFX CoFounder, added, “I’ve dreamt of a time when the promise of AI could be truly harnessed as a tool for creativity and by creatives everywhere. Today, dreams become reality.”

Visit https://www.facecake.com/ and https://www.realmfx.com/

Linda Smith, Founder and CEO of FaceCake.

Artist Credit: Roland Hartmann.

Chaos Vantage 2 Standalone Real-Time Ray Tracer

CHAOS HAS ANNOUNCED the release of Chaos Vantage 2, an upgrade to its real-time visualisation. With nearly 20 major new features, Vantage has become as powerful for VFX as it is for architectural visualisation, providing easy access to photorealistic animations, previs and scene explorations at lightning speeds.

“In 3D, you tend to wait for quality and people accept this, even when it disrupts their whole flow,” said Simeon Balabanov, Senior Product Manager at Chaos. “With Vantage 2, we are giving them quality, speed and flexibility in one place, so they can respond to any creative idea or client request.”

Representing years of proprietary R&D, Vantage was designed to help users instantly explore massive 3D scenes in a fully ray-traced, real-time environment. Unlike traditional real-time methods, the import process is simple — no geometry to optimise, UVs to unwrap or lighting to bake. Users simply drag and drop a V-Ray scene, or Live-Link to Vantage while working within their favourite 3D creation tool.

Vantage 2 builds on this simplicity, adding new features that make it even more attuned to overthe-shoulder reviews and look development. With Scene States, artists can easily respond to both needs, using non-destructive variations to explore different styles, moods and camera angles. Each state can easily be saved and cycled through with a click, making it easier for teams to determine which lighting, materials or postprocessing effects will appeal most to their intended viewers.

To enhance realism, Vantage 2 now features a host of new animation capabilities, including support for deforming meshes, AXYZ’s anima 4D people and eye-catching .vrscene effects that have only

been available in V-Ray. Deforming Meshes will be particularly striking for artists, as they’ll open up the type of natural movements you often see in human bodies, which bend and contort as different parts move. VFX artists will also be delighted to finally have access to real-time Playblasts, packed with all the detailed lighting and shader information that usually gets left out of their director/supervisor reviews.

The addition of Render Elements (aka AOVs) has also prepared Vantage for the world of production rendering, which requires careful composites to achieve the best look. Rendered output can now be split into their back-to-beauty components for real-time editing in post, enabling more artistic effects and quick integration with live-action footage.

Vantage 2’s many new features, including:

Chaos Scatter: Distribute millions of 3D objects in just a few clicks, easily creating forests, fields and crowds without slowing down the scene.

NVIDIA AI Denoiser with Upscaling:

Quickly denoise high-quality images or upscale them from HD to 4K without increasing render time. New Animation Effects: All animated materials, textures and lights within .vrscenes work seamlessly in Vantage.

Light Creation and Placement: Different light types can now be efficiently created directly within Vantage.

Scattering Fog: Set the mood for your scenes with realistic environmental effects.

Quality Presets: Set the quality and interaction speed of their visualisation with a single slider.

NVIDIA RTXDI: Pack scenes with dynamic lights without worrying about performance or resource constraints.

HDR Monitor Support: Pick up every colour and detail of a project thanks to new HDR monitor support.

Nested Scenes: .vrscenes referenced within other .vrscenes are now supported.

Orthographic Cameras: Easily create plan, elevation or axonometric renderings with orthographic camera projection.

Boris FX Advanced Paint, Rotoscoping, and Motion Tracking

THE LATEST SILHOUETTE and Mocha Pro releases from Boris FX offer powerful, innovative features to artists working on VFX-heavy films and streaming/broadcast projects. The Academy and Emmy Award-winning tools are now available as a plugin to popular video software platforms or as a standalone application.

“We understand that visual effects artists, paint/roto artists, and compositors across the

globe face increased workloads with shorter turnarounds and higher production values,” says Boris Yamnitsky, founder and CEO of Boris FX. “One of the main goals of Silhouette 2023 and Mocha Pro 2023 is to provide artists with the most efficient workflows possible. We’re thrilled to introduce our first internallydeveloped ML technology inside Silhouette to aid in that pursuit. Additionally, users of Mocha

Pro 2023 will benefit greatly from new tools that slash time spent tracking complicated shots and produce more organic rotoscoping results.”

Silhouette continues to excel in roto, paint, and tracking – and is raising the bar even higher with the 2023 new features. Expressions can now be used, and with that, a new Motion Blur Controller Expression Action will now control the motion

Mesh Lights: Full and efficient support for Mesh Lights has been added to .vrscenes.

Camera Grouping with States

Override: Vantage 2 offers better and more structured grouping cameras and assigned states.

Multiple UV Channel Support: Sophisticated materials, such as stacking labels and decals, are now supported via multiple UV channels.

Refined UI: Vantage 2’s UI now has a more modern look that makes it easier to access key tools and features.

AMD GPU Support: Vantage can now run on DXR-compatible AMD graphics cards, providing more hardware flexibility.

Vantage 2 is available now for Windows 10 (version 2004 or newer) and is designed for DXRcompatible NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. Current V-Ray users that already have a Premium or Enterprise subscription will have full access to Vantage 2 until the end of their current subscription. New Vantage licences will include both Vantage 1.x and 2.

Visit https://www.chaos.com/

blur parameters for all of the roto nodes in a session. With the introduction of a machine learning Denoiser, as well as the Regrain nodes, it has never been easier to manage the grain workflow, it can now be done in one project file. A new Stability AI node with a user-friendly interface is also included.

Visit https://borisfx.com/

SEN Sports Entertainment Network Monetises Regions with StreamGuys

LIVE AND ON-DEMAND streaming services provider StreamGuys has announced that Australia’s Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) is regionalising and monetising its rapidly growing global streaming radio footprint with the help of its streaming and podcast solutions. StreamGuys’ SGcontrol solution, part of a custom SaaS-based package, aids content regionalisation within Australia and facilitates access to premium content worldwide through SGcontrol’s tokenisation feature. To monetise live streams through pre-rolls and mid-rolls, StreamGuys is also providing server-side dynamic ad insertions, bolstered by StreamGuys’ programmatic ad marketplace service for filling out-of-region ad inventory.

SEN, a multi-platform content and entertainment group, operates a radio broadcast network with 70 stations in Australia and New Zealand, along with several TV programmes and a publishing business. Accessible globally via the SEN App and the company’s official website, SEN’s digital platforms have experienced substantial growth in recent years, reporting 2.1 million monthly audio streams and 5.2 million monthly podcast listens in 2022.

Simon Chapman, SEN’s Digital Director, aimed to find a new partner to help SEN commercialise their live streaming platforms better, which required a more effective geographical structure for content delivery and consumer access.

StreamGuys’ in-country partner, Agile Broadcast, connected the two companies to assist the SEN

team with their vision.

“Localised sport is very important for the communities of the different cities and states we serve,” said Chapman. “As a rights holder to the AFL (Australian Football League), NRL (National Rugby League) and other professional sports leagues, we target specific matches to the appropriate communities. In addition, Australia has seven states, each of which has different regional wagering laws which makes geographical targeting a legal requirement. We are also careful about what we provide globally both in terms of content and advertising structures since audiences outside Australia can’t act on these wagerers.”

A regional point of presence was also important to Chapman for stream reliability and redundancy, which StreamGuys provides to the ANZ region through their Oceania data centres. StreamGuys’ local CDN presence also provided a seamless and accelerated on-ramp for SEN, which were up and running with SGcontrol’s geo-targeting and geo-location services throughout ANZ within weeks. StreamGuys later turned on SGcontrol’s tokenisation feature for subscription-based access outside the ANZ region, and is now up and running with serverside dynamic ad insertions for all live streams.

“We hadn’t gone down the dynamic ad insertion path before StreamGuys,” said Chapman. “We have a very large global audience of Australians that live in Hong Kong, North America, the UAE and the UK. While they want

Acast+ Access Podcast Platform for Publishers

ACAST, the provider of hosting, monetisation and growth support for podcasts, and podcast advertising solutions for brands and media agencies, has announced the launch of Acast+ Access.

Acast+ Access allows companies to upgrade their current subscription offering with various podcast benefits, such as ad-free listening, exclusive content (e.g. paywalled episodes, extended episodes, full series), personalised intros and outros, archived content, early access to content, and more. Subscribers can then access those benefits on their podcast app or listening platform of choice, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, the web, and any other platform that supports private RSS feeds.

Companies adopting Acast+ Access manage their own subscriber base and control the

sign-up page, checkout, and onboarding experience for their subscription offering, simplifying the process for their subscribers. The scalable solution also provides valuable reporting and analytics tools, giving companies valuable insights into how their premium podcasts are performing.

According to Acast Senior Product Manager, Yasmin Bassi: “Acast+ Access is a gamechanger for companies that want to increase their overall subscription revenue and make their offering even more attractive to consumers.

“With Acast+ Access, Acast gives publishers and other companies the most powerful, centralised solution for all their podcast needs — allowing them to manage podcast advertising, distribution, and subscriptions seamlessly in one single, easyto-use platform. It isn’t only a great thing for publishers, but

access to the games that are meaningful to their home communities, it doesn’t make sense to serve them ads for local Australian businesses. StreamGuys allows us to tap into their programmatic inventories so that we can fill slots with ads that are meaningful to where listeners live today. That goes hand in hand with how we personalise content for each individual that subscribes using the tokenisation feature. We can create a set of preferences for each listener and provide a true market-facing commercial offering based on demographic, location and more.”

SEN is now evaluating the same services for its audio podcasts.

“StreamGuys has delivered as advertised on their live stream services, but what impresses us most is how fast they onboarded us along with the level of technical support they bring to our localised live streams,” said Chapman. “They put localised servers in their data centres as we requested, which improved stream redundancies and reduced our operational costs. They have gone above and beyond that from a customer service level, and we are anticipating doing more with them in the near future.”

Visit https://www.streamguys.com

for their audiences, who can sign up to a company’s subscription effortlessly and immediately access subscriber-only podcasts on their app of choice.”

The company also recently announced the launch of https:// apply.selfserve.acast.com/apply which enables any advertiser globally to book sponsorship campaigns read by podcast hosts themselves across the entire Acast Marketplace using a selfserve platform.

By leveraging AI, the platform also enables advertisers to discover podcasts they may never have considered before, effectively reducing bias in media buying and enabling advertisers to connect with the most relevant audiences for their message and budget. Additionally, advertisers using the platform are given transparency into each buy that will enable them to make the most informed, data-driven

decisions based on pricing, audience insights, and more.

Acast Product Manager Niklas Lagerberg said: “This is a real moment for us. Host-read sponsorships are what makes podcast advertising so special and they’re the ultimate personal endorsement for advertisers because podcast listeners have such a deep, intimate connection with the creators they love and truly value their recommendations.

“By opening up sponsorships in our self-serve advertising platform, Acast has created even more opportunities for advertisers of all sizes to reach high-value podcast audiences in the way that our medium has become so famous for.”

Visit https://www.acast.com/ and https://go.acast.com/access

In-Car DAB+ Reaching Maturity

“IN-VEHICLE DAB+ is now reaching maturity”, said WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon as he opened WorldDAB Automotive 2023 in Paris recently.

Hannon cited figures showing that 96 percent of new cars sold within the European Union came with DAB+, meaning 10 million new vehicles on the road in Europe with DAB+ in 2022. He described this level of DAB+ in-car penetration as “completely transforming the radio landscape,” adding: “this change is clearly illustrated by listening figures in the UK, where, for the first time, DAB now accounts for more than 50 percent of all radio listening in cars.”

Over 500 delegates from 60 countries gathered at Maison de la Radio, home of Radio France in Paris, and online for the annual conference, which brings together the broadcast and automotive sectors. All the major automotive OEMs, along with many key suppliers, attended the event, which was organised by WorldDAB, the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio. There was strong commitment to DAB+ from major European

markets, with Sibyle Veil, CEO of Radio France, using a keynote address to reiterate her call for one-button access to radio in the dashboard, citing this as a question of cultural sovereignty. Veil noted that France had started on the DAB+ journey later than some but was now ‘accelerating’ to bring benefits such as more stations and more choice to listeners.

The event also saw the launch of the ‘Dashboard Dialogue’ research study, commissioned by WorldDAB and undertaken by Edison Research, which includes in-vehicle interviews with new car buyers in the UK, France and Germany. Megan Lazovick, Vice President, Edison Research highlighted the key findings, including that radio remains the most listened-to audio platform in the car. Delegates saw videos of the interviews, which underlined the findings that drivers believe radio is essential in-car, with one driver saying: “a car without a radio is like a shopping trolley without wheels.”

The annual WorldDAB Summit will be held in Munich, Germany on the 8th of November 2023. Visit https://www.worlddab.org/

Cinewav Powers Pocket-Sized Audio for Sydney’s Vivid Festival

CINEWAV IS A PLATFORM and mobile app that allows users to watch visuals on a big public screen and listen to the audio in perfect synchronicity on their own mobile phones giving users a high quality, immersive and personal experience.

The Singapore-based company is looking to expand its presence in the live events, sports and broadcast sector following deployment at outdoor cinema events and festivals, including Vivid Sydney 2023 where Cinewav enriched dozens of immersive, super-sized light, drone shows and animations with personalised soundtracks. Cinewav also recently provided a synchronised audio soundtrack for Vietnam’s Danang International Fireworks Festival 2023 (DIFF2023).

“The Cinewav app allows the downloading of an audio file for specific movie (or other audio-visual content) to watch the movie visuals on a big public screen while listening to the audio on your personal smartphone or earbuds/ headphones to scale audio, eliminate noise pollution and enable big-screen magic anywhere,” said Jason Chan, Co-Founder at Cinewav. The disruptive audio technology can scale to as many users as needed. Responding to customer feedback, the company has added a live broadcast function.

Behind Cinewav is a team of seasoned film makers and support engineers with a passion for making audio a superior experience for events. Cinewav Co-Founder, Christian Lee said, “Having proved the power of Cinewav as a means of engaging audiences at scale

in immersive storytelling we aim to bring the experience to live events around the world. For instance, the broadcast of a major sports event could offer live commentary from a commentator on site at the match and in a preferred language. Just imagine getting live commentary at the stadium of a football match or being able to switch to your favourite commentator!”

“There are clear gains for designers and event producers looking to unlock creativity and imagination but also reduce the carbon footprint (and financial cost) of power-hungry loudspeakers. The technology also eliminates noise pollution allowing the use of novel event spaces and is a low-cost way to monetise audio-visual events in open public spaces.”

Available on the Apple and Google Play App Stores, Cinewav is also a contactless event ticketing platform with a ticket scanning app for access control and redemption of presold products. Event holders only need the Cinewav player on their laptop.

Cinewav has a growing library of blockbuster and classic films protected by Hollywood grade encryption making it a turnkey solution for screenings.

Visit

Wireless Audio System from JTS

JTS HAS LAUNCHED the JTS Wireless Audio System, eliminating the need for speaker cabling and resolving audio latency without any compromise in sound quality. It has been designed to address the challenges faced by professionals in live performances, presentations, and vocal applications, while delivering exceptional performance.

The JTS Wireless Audio System boasts a range of innovative features and specifications for delivering the way sound is transmitted and received with its dual-channel, ultra-high frequency (UHF) transmission providing stereo or two mono channels for versatile audio configuration options. With a simple one-button press sync between the receiver (JP-SPT1R) and transmitter (JP-SPT1T), cable runs are eliminated, providing effortless setup and teardown making this compact-sized design excellent for installation flexibility. One of the features of the JTS Wireless

Audio System is its 272-metre transmission distance, empowering performers and presenters to move freely while maintaining impressive audio quality. With UHF true diversity technology, a wide 36 MHz switching bandwidth, and six preset groups of up to 1,441 selectable channels, the JTS Wireless Audio System ensures reliable and interference-free audio transmission, even in mission-critical applications.

Empowering users with independent audio channel control, the JTS Wireless Audio System offers complete command over their sound, resulting in optimal audio production. Additionally, this state-of-theart system eliminates audio delay/latency, delivering a seamless and synchronised sound experience. By combining advanced technology and exceptional sound quality, JTS continues to empower professionals to deliver captivating performances and presentations without the limitations of traditional audio systems.

Merging Technologies Launches Atmos Bundle

JMERGING TECHNOLOGIES has announced the launch of the Merging Technologies Atmos Bundle, offering monitoring and calibration facilities in a compact footprint.

Sold for the first time as a complete hardware and software solution package, the bundle offers an efficient Dolby Atmos solution across a variety of applications. The bundle includes a Hapi MkII interface with DA8 cards, Anubis Pro SPS and Sonarworks SoundID Reference for multichannel including microphone, providing the fastest route to calibrate a room for Dolby Atmos.

SoundID Reference guides the user through an automated measurement to identify room issues and build various correction profiles for different workflows. The corrections are then exported to run inside Anubis for the lowest latency, consistency and convenience.

For acousticians or Dolby consultants calibrating systems manually, Anubis provides trims, delays and 336 EQs – enough for the most challenging room!

Anubis is a comprehensive monitoring engine. With 128 inputs, it can handle sources, stems,

speaker sets and cues in a huge variety of formats with full control. Whether mixing with the mouse or with faders, Anubis compact size makes it fit nicely along any controller.

With two mastering-grade headphones outputs, Anubis can feed individual cue mixes, perfect when monitoring Atmos binaural mixes with a client or feeding a low-latency cue mix to an actor for ADR or a musician for tracking.

The Hapi MKII headphones output extends this same functionality.

The Merging Atmos bundle is in fact a complete system including Merging Technologies acclaimed Mic Pres and converters, as well as a talkback mic and circuits.

The bundle also showcases Merging VAD which can be used to build mac based Dolby Atmos renderers for the most powerful and simple

Wohler Baseband-Only Audio Monitors

WOHLER TECHNOLOGIES, the manufacturer of video, audio, and data monitoring solutions, has announced the re-design and release of its DA and MDA line of audio monitors in both 8 and 16 channel configurations for end users who only require baseband monitoring (3G-SDI, AES3 and analogue).

The 1U e AMP product line was designed to be easier to operate than the retired S8’s and include a wide 7-inch LCD touchscreen

display providing fast access to input sources, meters and menus, all augmented by hardware controls. Currently, three units are available, an e AMP1-S8-MDA (8 channels), an e AMP1-S16-MDA (16 channels) and an e AMP1-S8-DA (analogue and AES only, 8 channels). SDI includes a looped output. The base models allow source selection with sum, mute and solo operations (no presets or loudness) with the usual headphone, speakers and analogue XLR outputs that come with all

Key features:

• UHF band PLL frequency oscillation mode for stability

• Broadband 36MHz line design with six groups and 1,441 selectable channels

• SPT-1T transmitter with 2.4GHz REMOSET wireless technology for easy synchronisation

• BNC dual antenna receiver terminal for extended range and reduced interference

• Compact, cable-free SPT-1R receiver attaches directly to the speaker

• Audio delay compensation for precise signal performance

• Wireless transmission system eliminates complex cable runs

• Fast set up/teardown with great installation flexibility

• Independent audio channel control for customisable sound experience

Visit https://www.ambertech.com.au/ and http://www.jts.com.tw/

setups: atmos metadata and audio can use the same network.VAD also provides an extremely compact and simple solution for connecting the DAW to the renderer and monitoring system.

Merging’s Hapi MkII can be added to provide additional I/Os such as MADI, AES, analogue, or even digilink for connectivity to Avid HDX systems at a competitive price.

Visit https://www.merging.com/

Wohler products.

For those who want to bring the functionality of these eAMP units closer to their current iSeries offerings, a software upgrade package is available that includes loudness monitoring, presets, web meters/monitoring/ configuration and customised output routing. Dolby D and Dolby E processing are also available for upgraded units.

Visit https://www.wohler.com/

TAG Video Systems Now SRT-Ready and SRT-Plugged

TAG VIDEO SYSTEMS, the provider of software-based IP end-toend monitoring, deep probing, logging, and real-time visualisation solutions, has announced its recent participation in the 2023 SRT InterOp Plugfest. This virtual event was for developers to test interoperability and compatibility between different technologies using the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) open source video streaming protocol. This year’s event, hosted by Haivision and special guest YouTube in May, showcased interaction and engagement between vendors for an entire week.

TAG received both SRT READY and SRT PLUGGED status resulting from its participation in the pivotal event that optimised extensive device-to-device testing to foster the continued growth of the SRT protocol. SRT READY status is reserved exclusively for SRT Alliance members who have integrated open-source SRT from GitHub into their solutions. SRT

PLUGGED status is only granted to SRT Alliance members who have validated interoperability of their products with third-party SRT READY devices and solutions within an SRT Alliance sponsored SRT InterOp Plugfest event. SRT is an open-source transport protocol originally developed by Haivision that allows for robust transmission of high-quality highbandwidth video signals over public internet, unmanaged networks and WANs, and similar networks with unpredictable performance without loss or impairments. With minimal latency, SRT can ensure the transport of signals across these networks with no loss of quality while also providing encryption to protect content during transit.

TAG added support for the SRT protocol to its flagship Realtime Media Performance platform as a means to dramatically increase connectivity and signal transport options and open the door to

greater collaboration and creativity. Support for SRT strengthens TAG’s customers’ ability to acquire signals from distant sources and transmit multiviewer mosaics to distant viewers. SRT plugins also empower at-home remote workers with desktop monitoring. The company’s support for SRT reflects TAG’s continuous platform enhancement initiative that focuses on providing customers with the quickest possible access to emerging technologies for future-proof workflows.

This year’s Plugfest included

numerous milestones including the introduction of YouTube’s “Live Verified Encoder” programme, designed to ensure the production hardware of vendors seamlessly interfaces with YouTube Live using SRT. 2023 SRT InterOp Plugfest also saw a significant increase in participants with 32 vendors providing 55 devices and software solutions for testing with other community members, and a total of 2257 individual device-to-device tests conducted.

Visit https://www.tagvs.com/

VSF Releases Specification for RIST Relay Bitcentral’s ViewNexa Boosts Streaming Ad Revenue with Google DAI

THE VIDEO SERVICES FORUM (VSF) has enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a RIST Relay function to address the issue of firewall traversal for RIST devices. This feature, detailed in TR-06-4 Part 3, is the third release in a series of ancillary features for RIST specifications.

The RIST Relay provides a connection service to RIST devices using the RIST Advanced Profile. RIST devices connect to the RIST Relay as a rendezvous point, and the RIST Relay either facilitates a direct connection between the RIST devices, or relays the traffic between them.

The RIST Relay is also capable of supporting group operation (many-to-many communication).

Developed jointly by a group of experts using a standards-based approach, the RIST protocol is designed to reliably transport video over unmanaged networks such as the Internet. It provides an open, interoperable and technically robust solution for low latency video contribution.

It can be used for any use case where video needs to be transported over the Internet, but is typically used for professional media workflows, such as news and sports contribution, remote production, affiliate distribution and primary distribution.

Adi Rozenberg, CTO and Cofounder, Alvalinks and RIST Forum Director, says, “The RIST Relay function allows devices to connect simply and securely across firewalls, without needing to open ports in advance. Using a proxy device that is external to the organisation and a SIP like mechanism to connect peers and organisations, RIST Relay massively simplifies connectivity, solving many real-life broadcast problems.

The RIST Relay is an exciting development that brings muchneeded functionality to the market, enabling many new user applications.”

Visit https://www.rist.tv

BITCENTRAL INC., a provider of media workflows for broadcast and digital video, has integrated Google DAI into its ViewNexa linear streaming service to provide more monetisation opportunities in linear and live streaming. The integration provides ViewNexa customers with access to Google’s advertising features that are specific to Google’s IMA DAI SDK. With streaming services facing increased competition and economic factors affecting audience demand for multiple paid subscriptions, streaming services are looking at broadening their options for generating revenue. It is essential to business success that they maximise the potential average revenue per user (ARPU) and offering hybrid subscription/ advertising or free, ad-based viewing are becoming increasingly popular options. Through ViewNexa’s integration with Google DAI, customers can access new and untapped monetisation opportunities to help drive their businesses forward.

Google DAI stitches video content and ads into a single stream, removing the ad request and response process from the

client-side SDK. As a result, it produces a high-quality TV-like experience without latency or buffering between content and ads. It is built directly into Google Ad Manager, which helps ViewNexa customers take advantage of advanced monetisation software and machine learning to maximise their revenue across devices, for live and linear. With this integration, ViewNexa continues to provide their customers with even more options for monetisation and ad insertion.

Greg Morrow, General Manager, Streaming Media Group, Bitcentral, commented, “Monetisation is such an important factor for our customers, and ViewNexa is built with these needs in mind. Every streaming service and every audience has its own nuances, so flexibility is essential. And now we offer access to the most prominent advertising marketplace available via Google DAI. ViewNexa is removing the headaches of advertising, giving customers the tools to maximise revenue opportunities that would otherwise be beyond their reach.”

Visit https://www.viewnexa.com/

Lynx Technik Launches 4K HDMI to 12G SDI Converter

LYNX TECHNIK, the provider of modular signal processing interfaces, has announced the addition of a new HDMI to SDI converter (model: CHD 1402) to its yellobrik line.

The CHD 1402 is designed for any AV, Broadcast, Production, or Post application that requires signal conversion from up to 4K HDMI to up to 12G SDI. It is the successor of the popular CHD 1802, which supports up to 3G SDI.

A typical use case would be when a facility needs to convert an HDMI output from an external source, such as a video camera, into an SDI format. All audio present in the HDMI stream is passed transparently. With the SDI fiber output and SFP transmitter options, the SDI signal can then be transmitted over fiber to

a remote location. In addition, a complementary yellobrik, the CDH 1411 SDI to HDMI converter could be used to provide the SDI output and an HDMI monitoring output in the remote location, including displaying audio, metadata, and timecode overlays.

As with all yellobriks, the new CHD 1402 is compatible with the yelloGUI and LynxCentraal central software applications. When connected to the software, additional internal settings and functions can be accessed and controlled. The CDH 1402 is rack-mountable, it can be used as a standalone module, or in larger yellobrik system applications.

Visit https://www.lynx-technik.com/

Ai-Media Launches “Future of Live Automatic Captioning”

AI-MEDIA, THE PROVIDER of professional captioning solutions, has announced the launch of LEXI 3.0, an improved version of its flagship live automatic captioning solution. With cutting-edge enhancements and new features, LEXI 3.0 is currently the world’s most accurate and advanced automatic captioning solution, delivering results that rival human captions at a fraction of the cost. Independent audits confirm that LEXI 3.0 consistently delivers results with 35% fewer recognition, formatting, and punctuation errors than the previous version.

Critically, LEXI 3.0 introduces new automated

features, including speaker identification and AI-powered caption placement to avoid onscreen interference. Average quality results have significantly increased from 98.2% to 98.7% NER with this release. LEXI 3.0 is an affordable on-demand solution ideal for live captioning a wide range of content types –from linear TV broadcast, OTT, Live Sports and live streams, to meetings, events, lectures and more.

Ai-Media’s Co-Founder and CEO, Tony Abrahams, said: “We’ve finally cracked the holy grail of making live automatic captioning a reality after 20 years. LEXI 3.0 is a game-

Zixi Releases Next Generation Zixi Edge Compute

ZIXI, THE ENABLER of scalable live broadcastquality video over any IP network or protocol and provider of the Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP), has announced the release of Zixi Edge Compute (ZEC) that brings high performance connectivity to the network edge, unlocking the full benefits of the SDVP. Designed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of live video distribution and supporting diverse delivery workflows with higher performance and greater uptime, ZEC is an edge video streaming system that is installed on-premises as a Zixi endpoint, replacing legacy Zixi Feeder and Zixi Receiver software.

ZEC is installed on infrastructure at the network edge, facilitating a high-performance connection to Zixi Broadcaster, managing connections in and out. With ZEC, all sources and target destinations are connected with the market-leading Zixi Protocol, continuously and dynamically optimising video delivery to achieve ultra-low latency, reliability and security, dramatically more compute efficient than any alternative market solution and providing an average 50% reduction in transport stream egress costs. For users who need the highest level of performance, resilience, security and visibility, ZEC connects any industry edge device with dedicated monitoring and mission critical reliability.

The next generation ZEC software offers a

robust feature set and can be configured to function as a Zixi Feeder for contribution, as a Zixi Receiver for distribution, or as both a Feeder and Receiver. Additional local protocol support is available for workflows where you might otherwise use HLS, RTMP, RTSP, etc., to contribute from the local network over the public internet to the cloud. ZEC can ingest those streams on the local network and use the much more reliable and efficient Zixi protocol to contribute to the cloud. Similarly, if another protocol is needed on the receive side ZEC allows you to use the Zixi protocol to pull the stream down from the cloud, saving on egress cost, and then make the stream available in the other protocol on the local network. ZEC also provides protocol diversity along with richer API options for interoperable integrations and advanced telemetry and analytics with Zixi ZEN Master.

ZEC licensing can be upgraded to enable fixed or temporary provisioning for additional normalisation and curation with the SDVP Broadcaster platform. Programmatic REST APIs allow for schedulable cloud infrastructure provisioning and ZEC provides agility to be commercially upgraded to a fully functional SDVP and allows Zixi Broadcaster to serve as an IPTV/OTT packager with transmuxing to HLS, LL DASH and RTMP to customer CDN origins for

changer. We’re seeing accelerating adoption of automatic captioning driven by significant increase in quality, reduction in latency and release of new AI features that previously required manual intervention, such as speaker changes and placement of captions to not obscure important visuals. LEXI 3.0 is available immediately for existing AiMedia customers at no additional cost and is delivered with any iCap Encoder connected to Ai-Media’s iCap Cloud Network.”

Visit https://www.ai-media.tv/

distribution. ZEC also future proofs any need for SCTE to out-cues and vice versa with any of the aforementioned protocols.

Features include:

• Communication with the Zixi Broadcaster using the Zixi Protocol, delivering unmatched performance and reliability

• Interface with a broad range of hardware/ software encoders, cameras, IRDs and protocols

• Mediation of high performance, bandwidth optimised connectivity

• Content aware dynamic forward error correction

• ARM based processor support with multithreaded compute optimised high density throughput

• Easy to use graphical interface and programmatic REST API

• Deployable on supported hardware at no charge, enabling unrivalled connection performance when sending and receiving live video

Visit https://zixi.com/

Inovonics Launches 541 FM Modulation Monitor

INOVONICS HAS ANNOUNCED the shipping of its fourth generation 541 FM Modulation Monitor. The all-digital 541 integrates detailed DSP signal analysis with a menu-driven touchscreen display, plus a Webserver providing total access for remote operation, including measurements, graphical data and direct Web-browser audio monitoring of the off-air programme.

The 541 offers off-air reception of analogue-FM broadcasts with highly-accurate displays of total modulation and other measurements, even in the presence of on-channel or adjacent-channel HD Radio carriers at any level. The graphic frontpanel on the 541 and remote Web interface display level metering; FFT spectrum analysis of IF passband, MPX baseband and programme audio; oscilloscope display of programme audio and stereo XY.

Wohler 4K & 8K Video Monitors

COMPLEMENTING ITS EXISTING range of RM video monitors, Wohler Technologies, a leading manufacturer of video, audio, and data monitoring solutions, has introduced a new line of high-quality 4K and 8K video monitors known as vMON. All units include SDI and HDMI inputs. Available in 17″, 27″ and 32″ sizes and in both 4K and 8K formats, this premium range of video monitors has been designed to address multiple applications ranging from EFP, studio, shooting, play out, post-production, OBs, and events. The vMON range supports a variety of professional

Other features on the 541 include alarms for a range of signal faults, with tallies and SMS/ text or email messaging; FM BandScanner; StationRotation mode for sequential station monitoring; and Audio Outputs in Analogue, AESdigital, Dante AoIP, HTTP/UDP Web-streaming, and FM composite/MPX baseband.

Ben Barber, President & CEO of Inovonics, said, “After an extensive R&D schedule and comprehensive Beta testing, we are excited to introduce the Model 541 to the Broadcast Community. This DSP-based FM Modulation Monitor is truly amazing! With the number of preorders both domestically and abroad, it is fulfilling to be ahead of schedule with our delivery time.”

The 541 FM Modulation Monitor is now available. Visit https://www.inovonicsbroadcast.com/

production and processing features including support for 3840 x 2160 4K to 8192×4320 8K resolutions, HDR indication, QUAD View, various video scopes, markers and quality aids including darkness check and focus assist. This combination of features makes the vMON range suitable for the most demanding 4K and 8K workflows.

Other benefits include 2SI and SQD 4K/8K signal support, 16ch embedded audio level meters, built-in speakers, Rack mount (17″ only), or Vesa Mount, support for 608/708 CC closed captions,

picture flip. The quad display can simultaneously support 4 different formats of 4K/HD/SD signals on different windows, making the range ideal for 4K, 8K studio, high-end colour grading and film production.

“Our customers have been asking us to round out our offering of video monitors with 4K and 8K offerings and we believe these units do that nicely,” says Kim Templeman-Holmes, VP of Sales & Marketing.

https://www.wohler.com

POSITIONS VACANT

CLASSIFIED + EVENTS

• In consultation with the National Sales Manager, identify key target opportunities representing significant opportunities for growth for Amber’s products/brands.

• Accurately maintain all of your opportunities and key communications with clients in the CRM

Exciting Business Development Manager Opportunity in Sydney!

Are you ready to take your career to the next level and embrace an exhilarating challenge? We are a forward-thinking ASX-listed distributor of premium Audio-Visual products and right now, we have an incredible opportunity for a Business Development Manager to join our growing Media Systems team here in Sydney.

Join our team as a dynamic Business Development Manager, where no two days are the same. Collaborate with vendors, stakeholders, and customers in a communicationfocused environment. With a growth mindset and goal-oriented approach, you’ll work alongside a dedicated team to deliver our mission. Engage with cutting edge Broadcast Technology brands and drive growth in an exciting and ever-changing AV solutions landscape. Be part of a team that embraces challenges and revolutionises the industry.

Why join us?

• Experience the thrill of working in a dynamic and progressive organisation.

• Join a reputable and established business with an impressive 36-year history.

• Be part of a dynamic team that values your autonomy and flexibility.

• Enjoy an attractive salary package and a range of exciting benefits.

The Role

As our Business Development Manager, you will play a pivotal role as a member of our Media Systems team, reporting directly to the National Sales Manager. Your primary focus will be on our Broadcast Communications requirements for major network television and postproduction industries, enabling us to enhance our sales and brand offerings in the Australian and New Zealand marketplaces. Here’s an overview of your key responsibilities:

• Assess and explore new market opportunities appropriate to the Media Systems Group

• New channels, new applications

• Meet regularly with the National Sales Manager to discuss progress

• Prepare a monthly summary/update of all opportunities

• Manage and increase the sales of all products in your territories.

• Meet and exceed projected Sales and GP targets for your products and territories. These may be varied at any time by mutual agreement

• Maximise profitability of Amber Technology in your region by exercising prudent cost control and efficiency measures

• Maintain a continuous call cycle for key clients

Your Background

To excel in this role, the ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated sales (business development) skills in the Media Systems market (preferably 5 years or more)

• High level of general problem solving skills

• Excellent English language, written and verbal communications skills. Ability to interact appropriately with staff at all levels (technical staff, senior managers, industry leaders)

• Strong time management and planning skills, especially the ability to manage multiple activities with varying time lines

• High degree of competency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)

• High level of presentation skills, including proposal writing and ability to speak to both small and large groups.

• In addition to your expertise, we’re seeking a dynamic, confident individual with exceptional communication skills.

When you join us, you’ll enjoy an attractive salary package and a clearly defined commission scheme. Our company boasts a stable, friendly, and dedicated workforce, with a management team committed to supporting your success in this role. To seize this incredible opportunity, please submit your cover letter and CV to dave@mullowayrec.com

Exciting Business Development Manager Opportunity in Sydney!

Are you ready to take your career to the next level and embrace an exhilarating challenge? We are a forward-thinking ASX-listed distributor of premium Audio-Visual products and right now, we have an incredible opportunity for an Account Manager to join a growing Media Systems Team here in Sydney. Join our team as a dynamic Account Manager, where no two days are the same. Collaborate with vendors, stakeholders, and customers in a communication-focused environment. With a growth mindset and goal-oriented approach, you’ll work alongside a dedicated team to deliver our mission. Engage with cutting edge Broadcast Technology brands and drive growth in an exciting and ever-changing AV solutions landscape. Be part of a team that embraces challenges and revolutionises the Media industry. Why join us?

• Experience the thrill of working in a dynamic and progressive organisation.

• Join a reputable and established business with an impressive 36year history.

• Be part of a dynamic team that values your autonomy and flexibility.

• Enjoy an attractive salary package and a range of exciting benefits.

The Role

As our Account Manager, you will play a pivotal role as a member of our Media Systems team, reporting directly to the National Sales Manager. Your primary focus will be on our Broadcast Communications requirements for major network television and post-production industries, enabling us to enhance our sales and brand offerings in the Australian and New Zealand marketplaces. Here’s an overview of your key responsibilities:

• Manage and increase the sales of all products in your allocated territories

• Accurately maintain all of your opportunities and key communications with clients in our CRM

• Meet and exceed projected Net Sales targets for your products and territories

• Report on competitor market intelligence to the National Sales Manager

• Visit every area in your regions on a regular basis

• Maintain a continuous call cycle for key clients

• Assess and explore new business opportunities appropriate to the Media Systems group, across all product lines

• Maximise profitability of Amber Technology by exercising prudent cost control and efficiency measures

Your Background

To excel in this role, the ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• High level of proven customer service and sales skills of 5 years or more within an appropriate environment

• High degree of commercial acumen and negotiating skills

• General problem solving and analytical skills

• Computer literate (Microsoft Office Intermediate to Advanced level)

• Able to self manage as well as work within a team environment, must be a self-starter

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral

• High level of presentation skills, including proposal writing and ability to speak to both small and large groups.

• In addition to your expertise, we’re seeking a dynamic, confident individual with exceptional communication skills.

When you join us, you’ll enjoy an attractive salary package and a clearly defined commission scheme. Our company boasts a stable, friendly, and dedicated workforce, with a management team committed to supporting your success in this role. To seize this incredible opportunity, please submit your cover letter and CV to phil@interlogic.com.au