BroadcastPro ME November 2018

Issue 101 | NOVeMBeR 2018

Publication licensed by Dubai Production City

THE

format

specialists From talent sourcing to adapting international series, Arab Format Lab is redefining regional content

PROintRO

GROUP Managing Director Raz Islam raz.islam@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5471 Editorial Director Vijaya Cherian vijaya.cherian@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5472 EDITORIAL Editor

Welcome

Vijaya Cherian vijaya.cherian@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 55 105 3787 Assistant Editor Supriya Srinivas supriya.srinivas@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5478 Sub Editor Aelred Doyle ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Sandip Virk sandip.virk@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 50 929 1845 +44 (0) 773 444 2526 DESIGN Art Director Simon Cobon Designer Percival Manalaysay MARKETING Marketing Manager Sheena Sapsford sheena.sapsford@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0)4 375 5498 CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION Production Manager Vipin V. Vijay vipin.vijay@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0)4 375 5713 Distribution Manager Phinson Mathew George phinson.george@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0)4 375 5476 DIGITAL SERVICES Mohammad Awais Sadiq Siddiqui

From not having any cinema screens until last year, it is estimated that KSA will be able to accommodate around 2,600 by 2030 and generate $950m in box office revenues, according to a PwC report. If you throw F&B and ad revenue into the mix, PwC reckons revenue will get bumped up to $1.5bn.

This is only one of the many reasons why content producers, cinema owners, popcorn vending machine owners (that’s right! 30% of revenues in theatres are generated from selling popcorn. What am I doing in publishing?), construction specialists and tech providers attended the MENA Cinema Forum last month. They could smell the money ... and the popcorn.

With so many cinemas opening in Saudi Arabia and the opportunity to screen content that appeals to a culturally sensitive audience, we see the floodgates opening for Arabic-language content producers along with opportunities for Hollywood, Bollywood and other established international players.

Good content remains at the heart of the TV, OTT and cinema business, and this will be the keynote discussion at the ASBU BroadcastPro Summit on November 13. Creating commercially

viable Arabic content is also the focus of our cover story this month, on how a small team has gone across MENA scouting new talent to create Arabic adaptations of international formats.

Also at our summit this year, PwC will release an exclusive report: Entertainment and Media Outlook Middle East.

Of course, besides this, with streaming services and social media platforms trying to unseat traditional broadcasters from their thrones, it is time to think of new strategies to maintain the sanity of the MENA media ecosystem and keep our revenues coming in. So while these new platforms will discuss how they intend to take over mass audiences, and the tech experts will help us decipher new technologies, the CEOs will talk about the strategies that will help build a robust MENA media business.

To gain new insights into today’s MENA media market, register to attend the ASBU BroadcastPro Summit at broadcastpromeawards.com. See you at Habtoor Grand on November 13!

Vijaya Cherian, Editorial Director

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ISSUE 101 | NOVEMBER 2018

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Publication licensed by Dubai Production City

Printwell Printing Press LLC, Dubai Published by

THE

FORMAT

SPECIALISTS From crowdsourcing films to adapting international series, Khulud Abu Homos and Mustafa Alaidaroos are reshaping Arab content creation

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On this month's cover…

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Khulud Abu Homos and Mustafa Alaidaroos

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November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 1

13 November 2018 HABTOOR GR AND HOTEL / DUBAI / UAE

1 day / 1 evening / 4 panels 21 speakers / 18 awards 1 gala awards dinner BroadcastPro ME Summit & Awards is our annual flagship event to promote and celebrate excellence in the broadcast and satellite industry across the MENA region. Featuring extensive networking opportunities, seminars and awards presentations by key industry and government leaders.

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PROCONTENTS

Inside this issue 07 NEWS KSA's UTURN creates Snapchat originals, Shams crowdsources Emirati film, du inks deals with Amazon and Netflix, Zee5 launches, Fox original premieres, Image Nation launches originals and more

November 2018 uturN crEatES SNapchat coNtENt NEWS from arouNd mENa

thE format SpEcialiStS

18 NEW Studio iN dubai Transforming Atlas TV

20 thE format ExpErtS In conversation with the Arab Format Lab team on reshaping regional content

20

07

iNtEgratiNg uNrEal ENgiNE

28 iN5 - a photo tour Dubai media incubator offers kit and facility for start-ups

30 addiNg StEam With

uNrEal ENgiNE Why Zero Density, Avid and Ross have integrated Unreal Engine into their platforms

34 combatiNg piracy

30 iN5 Studio tour

The MENA anti-piracy coalition takes down more pirates

38 SaaS chaNgES thE gamE

40

lEbaNESE milEStoNE

Olivier Karra of Harmonic on the multiple benefits of SaaS

40 a lEbaNESE milEStoNE Middle East's first film to receive the 'Work in Progress' award at Karlovy Vary

46 SatEllitE buZZ Path-breaking initiatives from MBRSC, YahClick, SES, Intelsat, Newtec and IRG

28

46

SatEllitE NEWS Wrap-up

ai iS thE braiN of thE vidEo iNduStry

50 product NEWS Innovations from JVC, Zegami, IHSE and more

52 ai aNd StrEamiNg vidEo AI detects churn and more, says Marc Valdivia of NPAW

52 November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 5

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PROnews

UTURN Entertainment to create original content for Snapchatters Kaswara Al-Khatib, CEO and Chairman of Riyadh-based online content producer UTURN Entertainment, has announced the launch of new original shows on multimedia messaging app Snapchat.

Speaking to BroadcastPro ME at the UTURN offices within the In5 Media premises in Dubai Production City, Al-Khatib said: “We are creating tailormade content for Snapchat.

We are among the first in the Middle East to do that. As one of Snapchat’s Discover partners, we have been creating 10-second snackable content for Snapchat, which is not the easiest to create given the time constraints. The new format will allow us up to seven minutes to tell our story.”

UTURN Entertainment, established by Saudi nationals Kaswara and Soraka Al-Khatib, is an online entertainment

Kaswara Al-Khatib, CEO and Chairman of UTURN Entertainment.

network for Arabicspeakers. Established in 2010, it has grown from a producer of online videos to a multi-platform network with more than 35 million subscribers across its various social media platforms.

In 2016, UTURN joined eight other regional publishers – Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera, Eurosport Arabia, Layalina, MBC, Sayidaty, Sky News Arabia and Zahrat Al Khaleej – to

publish on Snapchat’s Discover channel.

Al-Khatib reveals that the UTURN content on Discover has garnered more than nine million views in the region.

“We used to publish three days a week on Discover.

We are now going to produce five days a week.”

The online content production company’s focus on Snapchat is based on its enormous popularity in Saudi Arabia, with more than nine million daily active users. To further consolidate the Kingdom’s affinity for the social media platform, parent company Snap Inc. received an investment of $250m from Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal earlier this year.

The significance of the region for Snapchat is also indicated by advertising revenues. In the first three months of Snap Ads being available for purchase via self-serve tools, Snap

Sharjah Media Council unveils AI-based smart media platform Sharjah Media Council (SMC) launched a media platform at GITEX last month. The new platform, which works through an electronic cloud, will reportedly help control media content, archive images and monitor news across various networks.

The first phase of the project

involves the provision of smart and interactive media tools by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), towards total readiness for the management of media content. The second phase addresses the dissemination of news from all institutions and government departments across the Smart Media Platform.

reportedly tripled the amount of advertiser spending in the auction – and of all the international offices, the MENA region was the top contributor to growth in Q4 2017.

We met Kaswara AlKhatib just as his team of young Arab nationals were brainstorming to produce Snapchat clips reflecting contemporary Arab youth.

Elaborating on the Snapchat Original initiative, he said: “We are excited about this.

Snapchat is probably the most active social media in KSA. Most of the youth are on Snapchat, and as an entertainment company, we need to move where the youth is rather than wait for them to come to us. With Snapchat Original, new possibilities have opened.”

UTURN has more than 33m subscribers on social media at present, and over 10bn minutes of video have been viewed since the group’s creation.

du inks deals with Amazon Prime Video and Netflix du – the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) – has signed a distribution agreement with Amazon Prime Video to offer du customers choice in video content. This announcement was made during GITEX Technology Week 2018.

In other news, EITC announced a partnership with streaming giant Netflix to enable du and Virgin Mobile customers to access Netflix across TV and mobile services. du and Virgin Mobile customers will access Netflix on ‘second screens’, paying for the service through their mobile bills.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 7

PROnews

Front Row-KNCC secures deal for Arabic version of Perfect Strangers MENA cinema distribution and entertainment partners Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC) have inked a deal with Medusa Film for the Arabic-language remake rights to 2016 box office hit Perfect Strangers (aka Perfetti Sconosciuti). The Arabic version will be a Lebanese/Egyptian coproduction in collaboration with Empire International and Egyptian production powerhouse Film Clinic.

Gianluca Chakra, Managing Director of Front Row, said: “Whether you’re a man or a woman, we all have something to hide … lying is universal. Paolo Genovese and team have delivered one of the most clever and

Perfetti Sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers) was released in 2016 and grossed $20m in Italy and $31m in worldwide box office returns.

universally adaptable scripts known to contemporary cinema. We’re extremely happy to be involved in such a proven property.”

Perfect Strangers is the story of seven long-time friends who decide to play a game over dinner by putting

all their mobile phones on the table, thus revealing every text message or phone call they receive that evening.

Hilarity ensues, proving that each has three lives: public, private and secret.

The deal was negotiated

by Gianluca Chakra and

First Fox original series for MENA premieres

The Open Road, the first Fox original production from the Middle East, is a new travel series starring two Arab women bikers riding on

their own across the UAE, Lebanon and Jordan. It premiered simultaneously on 11 channels across the region, with simulcast on Facebook and YouTube.

Stars Chantal from the UAE and Pamela from Lebanon break social and cultural barriers with a lifechanging journey that creates, tests and ultimately deepens friendships, the release stated. In Season

8 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

1, the two women ride across the UAE, Lebanon and Jordan.

Commenting on the launch of The Open Road, Sanjay Raina, GM and Senior Vice-President of Fox Networks Groups (FNG), said: “We believe that this series heralds a new era in entertainment for the Middle East. It reinforces our vision to bring world-class entertainment that is not only locally relevant, but locally produced.”

producer Faruk Alatan of Medusa. Film Clinic’s Mohamed Hefzy, Hisham Alghanim of KNCC and Empire International’s Mario Jr. Haddad will also be involved in production and financing.

Front Row President and KNCC GM Hisham Al Ghanim said: “We are also looking into more potential remake rights that could resonate well in MENA.” Front Row/KNCC and Empire will distribute the film in the Gulf and Levant. Film Clinic will handle theatrical release in Egypt, and Front Row will handle post-theatrical sales across the region.

Shooting is scheduled for Q2 2019 according to Gianluca Chakra.

Zee introduces OTT platform ZEE5 across 190 countries India-based media and entertainment firm, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has announced the launch of its over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, ZEE5, in more than 190 countries across the world. Except in markets such as China and the United States, the digital platform is present abroad across the Android, iOS and web formats. Currently, ZEE5 provides multi-genre content including news and entertainment in English, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Punjabi. The service has English subtitles and a live TV offering, along with video-on-demand content.

PROnews

Shams to crowdsource Emirati film Sharjah Media City (Shams) has partnered with Arab Format Lab to launch 'The Emirates Entertainment Experience', a new filmmaking initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing talent in the UAE. Outlining the new project, HE Dr Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Media City (Shams), said: “As part of this project, we will launch an Emirati film made by audience members. In an interactive community of UAE-based talents, a group of scriptwriters, actors, directors and people who are skilled with respect to audio, cinematography, lighting, music composition, graphics and interior

Seated from left: HE Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Shams with Khulud Abu Homos, CEO of Arab Format Lab.

design will compete. The project, which will include training and workshops, will culminate in a ceremony to recognise the winners.”

'The Entertainment Experience' is a Dutch format for which Arab Format Lab has secured

the licence for the UAE. It is a digital platform where people can register in the category they like and be part of a team that will produce a movie.

At every phase of the project, the teams will be asked to produce ten

minutes of that movie.

Fajr Kassim Ali, Media Development Director at Shams, added: “It is part of the Shams DNA to incubate and enhance talent; this is our core business.”

Khulud Abu Homos, Chairperson and CEO of Arab Format Lab, told BroadcastPro ME that this project has been implemented in many regions, including the Netherlands, China, South Korea, North Africa and Turkey, and has served as a platform to identify new talent in the filmmaking industry.

The website will be launched within a few weeks.

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PROnews

KSA's Nebras Films opens 5,500sqft post-production facility in Riyadh Key equipment • Colour grading: BASELIGHT with Blackboard 2 • Editing: 4 AVID Media Composer Workstations • Compositing: Autodesk Flame and Foundry NUKE

London-based media and entertainment technology solutions providers root6 and Jigsaw24 carried out the four-week installation process.

Saudi Arabian production company Nebras Films has opened a post-production facility in Riyadh.

London-based media and entertainment technology solutions providers root6 and Jigsaw24 carried out the fourweek installation process.

The 5,500sqft facility has a centralised media control system called ContentAgent, a proprietary technology developed by root6, which provides a central hub from which to manage and automate all aspects of file-based workflow, from ingest to delivery.

Speaking to BroadcastPro ME, Cian Patrick McLysaght, Post-Production Supervisor at the new facility, said:

“ContentAgent allows for the flow of media between suites and workstations in a process that is virtually immediate.

For instance, if an editor is working on a long-form project at a lower resolution then the Flame artist or colourist can very easily pick up and conform a 4K version of that edit, virtually immediately from the original source camera media, as the metadata of that media is carried throughout the entire system via ContentAgent.”

McLysaght stressed that remote work is possible at the new facility.

“A major feature of ContentAgent allows for satellite offices, be they producers, editors and

directors, to log, view and edit material remotely and update their work in the Riyadh office.

“This is, to my knowledge, the only facility in the Middle East with this capability. We currently have eight full-time post staff and we're currently expanding the head count with talent from Europe and the Middle East.”

Parent company Nebras Films is a production house based in Riyadh that provides a range of services, including equipment, production crew, props and sets. Nebras recently co-produced Born a King, the first Western film to be partially shot in KSA, based on the early life of Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal.

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MediaKind expands EMEA sales team MediaKind has expanded its global management team with the appointment of Damien Montessuit as SVP, EMEA Sales. Montessuit will be responsible for growing short- and longterm media business while supporting the operator’s entertainment business transformation to next-gen cloud services, applications and mobile-first offerings.

10 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

PROnews

Image Nation launches slew of originals Image Nation Abu Dhabi has begun production in Saudi Arabia on No Kitchen Required – a TV series that follows five regional chefs as they learn to cook traditional food in the wilderness. Image Nation has collaborated with Emmy award-winning producer Marc Lorber. The series, which is an international BBC format to be adapted for local audiences will run on Quest Arabiya – an Arabic-language factual entertainment channel.

Image Nation has already developed a series of flagship partnerships with O3 Productions, the production arm of MBC Group. This year, it is

Image Nation Abu Dhabi will release feature film Shabab Sheyab in cinemas across the UAE on November 22.

beginning production on a feature film and spin-off of a TV series based on bestselling Saudi sci-fi romance novel HWJN. Cast and shot in Saudi Arabia, the project will reflect the pop culture

phenomenon of the novel.

Following this, Image Nation and O3 Productions will co-produce four feature films, including comedy Love above the Law, written

by Saudi YouTube star, comedian and actor Fahad

Albutairi (From A To B).

In other news, Image Nation Abu Dhabi will release feature film Shabab Sheyab in cinemas across the UAE on November 22. The trailer has been released for the familyfriendly comedy about four friends who embark on a Dubai adventure after escaping their senior citizens’ home. Image Nation is the studio behind Shabab Sheyab, and the film is produced by Rami Yasin’s Breakout Films and Starship Entertainment – a partnership between Al Yasiri and Al Feeli.

Tanweer Films is distributing the film across the MENA region.

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PROnews

34 Middle East films premiere at Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival The sixth edition of the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival (SICFF 2018), held last month, witnessed 138 movie screenings representing a diversity of genres – student-made films and 12 world premieres, six interactive panel discussions and numerous workshops, including one with Lebanese child animation coach and stop motion artist Diaa Malaeb, who dedicates his time to teaching refugee children stop motion animation techniques.

A total of 34 films had their Middle East premiere at the festival. The films were screened at Al Jawaher Reception & Convention Centre and Zero 6 Mall, Al Majaz Waterfront, Al Zora and Last Exit in Al Khawaneej, Dubai.

The Giraffe a feature film that was shot in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany was among the films screened on the first day.

On Disney’s 95th anniversary, the festival conducted two Disneyrelated sessions. One session was

Cairo Film Festival to honour female Arab directors In its 40th edition, to be held November 20-29, the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced a special Arab Female Directors' section. This showcase will celebrate eight Arab female directors, including Egyptians Hala Khalil and Hala Lotfy, Mai Masri and Annemarie Jacir from Palestine, Haifaa Al-Mansour from Saudi Arabia, Kaouther Ben Hania from Tunisia, Sofia Djama from Algeria and Nujoom Al-Ghanem from the UAE.

‘Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time’ workshop with Sebastian Reichhold, Effects Technical Director at One of Us; the second was a panel discussion with Brian Ferguson, an animator at DePaul University in the US, titled:

‘Disney Between Past and Present’.

Lending star power to the festival were Indian film actress Karishma Kapoor and 15-year-old American Indian child actor Neel Sethi who shot to fame with his portrayal of Mowgli.

An elaborate awards ceremony was organised to recognise all winning films at SICFF 2018, as well as the 40 participating filmmakers, jury members, child jurors, workshop trainers, sponsors, partner organisations (UNHCR, UNICEF and Beyond Organisation), and volunteers that contributed to the event’s success.

Jury members, including a 35-member child jury were felicitated.

Sheikha Jawaher bint Abdullah Al Qasimi, director of FUNN and SICFF, thanked all those who made the festival a success.

The festival will continue in Khorfakkan, Dibba Al Hosin, Kalba, Al Dhaid, Al Madam, Al Hamriyah and Al Batayeh, with its last activity concluding on November 22 in Al Batayeh.

MBC Group launches Farsi channel on Yahsat MBC Group launched MBC Persia, a family entertainment channel catering to the Farsi-speaking community in the MENA region, on Yahsat last month. It features a wide variety of international programming dubbed or subtitled in Farsi, including global

films, television series and other entertainment shows. Meanwhile, to coincide with its launch on Yahsat, MBC Persia is reportedly working on the production of its own exclusive original programming, to expand on its portfolio of engaging content.

Carthage Film Fest announces film grants The Carthage Film Festival (Journées cinématographiques de Carthage, or JCC), taking place in Tunis November 3-10, has shortlisted 11 African and Arab films as part of the Takmil workshop that grants post-production funds. To be held on November 5, 6 and 7, the workshop, whose

12 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

name is Arabic for ‘finish’, offers a platform for African and Arab films in post-production to be evaluated by an international jury of cinema professionals. Projects selected include films and documentaries from Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Rwanda.

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PROnews

Inaugural MENA Cinema Forum hosts 500 delegates The inaugural two-day MENA Cinema Forum, the first-ever business conference of its kind for the regional market, was held at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai last month. More than 45 speakers discussed cinema-related issues in front of an audience of 500 delegates from 45 countries.

The number of cinema screens is set to jump 38.4% to 1,800 in the MENA region in the next three to five years, up from 1,300 at present.

The keynote panel discussed the economic impact of the growing cinema market in the MENA region and the effect of the Saudi cinema market across the region, among other topics.

Fox Networks Group appoints new agency Fox Networks Group (FNG) Middle East has appointed Value Branded Content (VBC) as its new advertising sales representative agency for the National Geographic Abu Dhabi and National Geographic Kids Abu Dhabi channels in the region. The appointment of VBC follows a regional review over the last few months and will cover the whole Middle East and North Africa region.

The keynote panel.

Panellists included Mohamed Al Hashemi of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, Arturo Guillen of ComScore, Abdulaziz Almuzaini of Myrkott Animation Studio and Amer Bin Ahmed of Knauf, the main sponsor of the event.

Commenting on the industry, Leila Masinaei, MD

of GM Events, organiser of the forum, said: “The additional cinema screens will help the entertainment market to grow faster, as additional capacities will be high enough to meet the growing demand expected to come from the Saudi Arabian market.”

twofour54 marks 10-year anniversary

Facebook to revive The Real World on Watch

Abu Dhabi media zone twofour54, founded in October 2008, is marking its 10th anniversary. It is home to a mix of international brands including CNN, Red Bee Ericsson and Ubisoft, as well as local and regional companies such as Algorythma, Lamsa, and more than 580 freelancers.

In the last five years alone, more than 60 productions from Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world have been shot in the emirate.

Twofour54 recently allowed dual licensing to enable more small businesses to work from home.

Facebook is partnering with MTV Studios to relaunch The Real World on its Watch tab. The news was announced at MIPCOM in Cannes. Matthew Henick, Facebook Head of Content Planning and Strategy, said in a statement: “The Real World made history as the world’s first original reality show and trailblazing social experiment – and we’re thrilled to reboot the show for today’s audiences – representing and amplifying the real life, real people, real places and real social tensions of each country.”

14 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

Turner picks up Polly Pocket for Middle East DHX Media and Mattel’s new animated children’s series Polly Pocket has been picked up by 16 broadcasters across the globe. Turner has picked up the series for Italy, the Middle East, Turkey and Greece.

Other broadcasters include Gulli AFRICA, which has picked up the series for 22 Francophone countries across the continent.

IndiaCast restructures; regional heads move to new roles IndiaCast, the domestic, international and digital distribution arm of Viacom18 and TV18, has rejigged its revenue management structure.

Sachin Gokhale, previously responsible for developing the MEA region, will now assume the new role of heading the Americas business.

Debkumar Dasgupta, who had been spearheading the global syndication business, will take on the added responsibility of heading the MEA region. In other news, the eighth season of the flagship Colors' reality show India’s Got Talent premiered last month.

PROnews

Alamiya broadcasts KSA’s first professional boxing event in Jeddah

Alamiya provided integrated coverage along with two SNGs and a fullycrewed OB truck, for the event.

DFTC ties with Etisalat Dubai Content demos 5G Market impact on video at GITEX Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC) and Dubai International Content Market (DICM) have announced a strategic media partnership to support the content industry in the UAE and the Middle East. DICM is set to take place December 9-10 at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre.

The event will reportedly bring together content from Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and East Africa, and is set to welcome more than 350 buyers representing TV stations, OTT platforms, mobile operators and in-flight entertainment.

Etisalat showcased live download speed comparison between 4G and 5G live networks, giving visitors a chance to experience the download time difference between the two technologies by downloading a 4K HD movie/video using 4G and 5G simultaneously.

The video (more than 1GB) download time reportedly took 13 seconds using 5G and approximately two minutes using 4G. Etisalat also announced a major milestone with Expo 2020 Dubai becoming the first commercial customer in the MEASA region to access 5G services.

Saudi Arabian production house, Alamiya, broadcast the Kingdom’s first professional boxing event to more than 40 broadcasters, including MBC, KSA Sports and ESPN. Part of the World Boxing Super Series, the Muhammad Ali Trophy was held at King Abdullah Sports City Hall in Jeddah last month.

The event was organised by the General Sport Authority following an

agreement signed between HE Turki Al-Sheikh and an official from Comosa AG in London last year.

The company provided integrated coverage along with two SNGs and a fully-crewed OB truck for the event.

Alamiya also provided a Jimmy Jib crane, an ultraslow motion LDX 86 camera, 13 HD Grass Valley cameras, a robotic camera and five EVS XT3 replay systems.

TCM rebrands for younger audiences Turner MENA has announced a new brand and programming transformation for TCM (Turner Classic Movies) in the Middle East, to increase its appeal among a wider audience. TCM has now acquired a new onscreen look, documentaries

about movies, and more original and recent movies spanning comedies, drama, action thrillers, and science fiction. Titles include The Last of the Mohicans, Snatch, Finding Neverland, Gladiator, Westworld and Ben-Hur.

Dubai’s UBMS conducts ARRI Stellar lighting control workshop

Workshop underway at UBMS Academy.

United Broadcast & Media Solutions (UBMS) conducted an ARRI Stellar Lighting Control Workshop

last month at the United Broadcast Training Academy.

The three-hour hands-on workshop was conducted by Richard Lackey, Business Development Manager and Instructor at the academy.

The workshp focused on how to network ARRI Skypanel and L-Series lights and use the Stellar control app for intelligent wireless control on set. In attendance were lighting and broadcast professionals from the UAE.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 15

PROnews

Regional industry welcomes Amazon Edge launch in UAE Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has launched two Amazon CloudFront Edge locations in the UAE. Located in Dubai and Fujairah, the new Edge locations reportedly bring a suite of benefits provided

by Amazon CloudFront, including integration with computer and security services such as Lambda@Edge, AWS Shield and AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF).

Amazon CloudFront uses a global network of 138 Points of Presence (including 127 Edge Locations and 11 Regional Edge Caches) in 63 cities across 29 countries.

Dubai broadcaster MBC Group, a key user of AWS services, welcomed the launch.

Spacetoon TV inks deal with Egyptian agency Spacetoon TV channel, a subsidiary of Global New Age Media Group (GNAM), has partnered with Scene, an Egyptian advertising agency, to manage Spacetoon advertising sales in Egypt. This is in conjunction with new agreements between Spacetoon and companies such as Bandia, Sanrio and SEGA, for new animation series such as Cocotama, Hello Kitty and Sonic.

Adriaan Bloem, Senior Manager Online Platforms, MBC Group, commented: “We have been using AWS extensively for our digital properties, including SHAHID.net, MBC. net and GOBOZ, MBC’s video on demand service for kids.

With the availability of these local Amazon CloudFront locations, we acquire better ways to manage our costs and gain a tremendous amount of flexibility.”

Also welcoming the launch of AWS Edge locations in UAE was music platform Anghami, which boasts a repository of more than 26 million songs. Elie Habib, Anghami co-founder and CTO, said of the launch: “We are very excited by the

opportunities that the new AWS Edge locations will bring to our service, particularly being able to cope with dramatic peaks in traffic. For example, we see peaks of usage at night, in the morning, and especially when new music is released, which can mean a 300% increase in traffic. Having a local Edge location allows us to better cope with these fluctuations. .”

In addition to the new Amazon CloudFront Edge locations, AWS also launched AWS Direct Connect in Dubai.

Customers can connect to all their AWS resources in any global AWS region and transfer business-critical data directly between their premises and AWS.

Africa's AMC launches production hub

mena.tv Arabic pavilion debuts at MIPCOM 2018

African Movie Channel (AMC) has launched a production division, AMC Original Productions (AMCOP) to develop and produce original movies and TV series. The UK company, with offices in London and Lagos, hosts Nollywood films across three channels – African Movie Channel (AMC), AMC Series and Nolly Africa.

AMCOP will reportedly focus on African storytelling from home-grown talent.

AMC is currently collaborating with Nigerian producers to add around 20 movie titles to its library by the end of 2018.

Nine producers from the Arab world joined forces with mena.tv Content Hub to create a MENA pavilion at MIPCOM 2018.

The pavilion was located alongside the MIPCOM Buyers’ Club. It showcased original Arabic titles from producers such as Cedars Art, Eagle Films, Rotana, Roya and Abu Dhabi Media.

In other news, Dubai International Content Market has partnered with mena.tv Content Hub to deliver a content marketplace in Dubai. The event will take place on December 9-10 in Dubai.

16 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

AEQ appoints new CEO AEQ has appointed Iván Olmeda as CEO. AEQ, a manufacturer of audio and communications solutions for the broadcast industry, is based in Spain. Olmeda, joined the AEQ team in 2014 after the merger with Kroma Telecom, where he was Managing Director.

Harmonic expands Board of Directors Harmonic has expanded its board of directors with the appointment of Deborah Clifford.

Clifford is currently VP of Financial Planning at Autodesk.

She has recently led Autodesk’s transformation from selling perpetual licenses to becoming a SaaS provider.

PROnews

Huawei and Mediapro partner to provide AR and VR over 5G networks Huawei and Barcelonabased multimedia communications company Mediapro have signed an MoU to collaborate in the distribution of VR and AR over 5G networks.

This took place last month at the Middle East Huawei 5G Ecosystem Conference in Dubai, on Huawei Innovation Day during GITEX. 5G will provide a platform for VR and AR to live stream media through Huawei’s media cloud application, which has reportedly been deployed by more than 140m subscribers worldwide.

Commenting on the partnership, Omar Pleite Guerra, GM, Mediapro Middle East, said: “It comes at a crucial time.

iflix content to stream on Vewd-enabled devices in MENA

Netflix to launch Turkish original series The Protector

OTT software provider Vewd and OTT platform iflix have collaborated to make iflix accessible on Vewd-enabled devices. iflix has partnered with the Vewd team to certify the iflix app for the Vewd ecosystem. This allows the iflix app to be deployed across millions of connected TVs and set-top boxes without challenging technical integration, the release stated.

Netflix has released the first footage and images from its Turkish original series The Protector, which will launch later this year. Starring Cagatay Ulusoy, the 10-episode superhero fantasy follows the adventures of Hakan, a young shopkeeper whose modern world gets turned upside down when he learns he’s connected to an ancient secret order tasked with protecting Istanbul.

From left: Omar Pleite Guerra, General Manager of Mediapro Middle East with Safder Nazir, Regional Vice President from Huawei Middle East.

Telecoms consulting and research firm Analysys Mason predicts that by 2030, potential 5G revenue opportunities from new digital services in the media and entertainment industries across the GCC are expected to reach $31bn.”

Safder Nazir, Regional Vice President at Huawei

beIN to telecast Scottish league The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has announced a new broadcast deal with beIN Sports covering Australia, New Zealand and 24 MENA countries that will run until June 2020. It covers the following territories: Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Yemen, Algeria, Chad, Libya, Morocco, Somalia,

Middle East, added: “Huawei’s research and development into 5G technology is driven by our vision to bring digital to every person, home and organisation, for a fully connected and intelligent world.”

The 5G Ecosystem Conference promotes a 5G

ecosystem in the Middle East by bringing together operators, regulatory agencies, industry leaders and other stakeholders to discuss 5G from a business, policy, and industry perspective.

Huawei is one of the companies developing 5G broadband spectrum technology, which will supersede the current 4G broadband. Compared to 4G, 5G will provide much faster internet access, allowing for enhanced video streaming and gaming capabilities.

Globally, Huawei claims to be the first to unveil a full range of end-to-end 3GPP-compliant 5G product solutions, including the world’s first 5G chipset. and gaming capabilities.

Tunisia, Egypt and Djibouti.

In other news, Prime Entertainment Group has renewed a major framework agreement with beIN Media for its MENA entertainment channels. The deal includes 416 episodes from Prime’s catalogue, Zoom In (104 x 6’30), Hollywood News Feed (52 x 15’) and Hollywood on Set (52 x 26’/year).

The shows will be aired in several languages, including English, French, Farsi, Hindi and Arabic.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 17

PROstudiO

The purpose-built 1,850sqft studio has three infinity curve walls, all over nine metres in length, adjoining the equipment rental facility and office of Atlas Television in Dubai Studio City.

CREATING STUDIO SPACE AT ATLAS TELEVISION With comparable studio spaces in Dubai infamous for sound issues, the new studio at Atlas Television’s boutique office has soundproofing at the heart of its construction

Dubai-based equipment and crew rental company Atlas Television has built a studio for video and still photography within its offices in Dubai Studio City. The facility, which opened last month, has reportedly been built to fill a gap in Dubai for an affordable, high-quality studio space for mid- and small-size projects. The purpose-built 1,850sqft studio has three infinity curve walls, all over nine metres in length, adjoining the equipment rental facility and office of Atlas Television, now occupying the entire ground level of the boutique office in Dubai Studio City.

Commenting on the new studio, broadcast veteran and owner of Atlas Television, Cal Barton says: “The

18 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

new studio was set up in response to requests from our existing clients, who approach us regularly for crew and kit. We saw the opportunity when the office space adjoining our existing work space opened up. That meant we could move our equipment hire stock out of the studio space we’d been using as a warehouse.”

Underlining the advantages of creating a studio in a purpose-built space, Barton elaborates: “The boutique offices in Dubai Studio City have these spaces with very high ceilings, low-noise air conditioning and robust power supply, making it easy for us to convert the space back into a studio. You can record sound with the air conditioning on.

PROstudiO

Having operated in Dubai since 2003, Barton believes there is enough demand in the region to keep the business going at all times.

You could turn the air conditioning off as well and the place will stay cool because it is well insulated.

These are unlike the studios you see elsewhere in Dubai that are converted warehouses and are not adequately soundproofed.”

Barton’s team worked on the space in stages, starting with the construction of the infinity curve walls. He explains: “For the infinity curve walls, we used a contractor approved by TECOM that has built such walls in other studios. The walls give both photographers and videographers flexibility with what they want to shoot, and it helps with post-production as well.

“The lighting grid was standard, and for the sound baffling drapes, we worked with a company that stocks them and has a track record of installing them in other spaces.

The drapes along the lighting grid and around the periphery of the studio offer sound baffling and considerably reduce echo.”

The new studio is generating interest among Atlas Television’s existing clients, Barton says: “We

The new studio boasts sound-baffling drapes, availability of white, green and black backgrounds, low-noise air conditioning and 71kW of power, among other features.

“We saw a gap in the market for an affordable, high-quality studio that is soundproof” Cal Barton, owner, Atlas Television saw a gap in the market for an affordable, high-quality studio that is soundproof. In addition, you would not need generators with 71kW of power available. In contrast, in warehouses-turnedstudios you would need generators, especially given the requirements for lighting equipment.”

On the features of the new studio space, Barton says: “We have white, black and green backgrounds all available, so there is generally no need for any additional painting.

As always, clients can hire our camera, lighting, sound and mixing equipment that are all available on-site, along with experienced crew. Most of our clients are production companies with corporate clients. We do broadcast work for clients in the UK, US and

elsewhere – where we would shoot a segment of their show in Dubai.”

Barton has also set up adjacent production facilities allowing clients to watch proceedings in the studio from outside, and a Green Room for makeup. He also reveals that the company has approached Dubai Studio City to widen the doors by one metre, to be able to fit super cars into the studio.

Asked about the challenging economic situation and entrenched competition, Barton says: “We have been operating since 2003. I have seen the boom time and the financial crash. My experience in the UK and Dubai is that there is enough demand to keep the business going at all times. The key is to keep in touch with what clients want in terms of crew and equipment hire, and in terms of studio requirements as well. The studio presents a new income stream for us, and hopefully during summer, as business generally slows down, our air-conditioned interiors will attract business we previously didn’t have at that time of year.”

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 19

PROCOVER

Khulud Abu Homos and Mustafa Alaidaroos have joined forces to develop regional talent and create socially relevant content.

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PROCOVER

tHe format specialists

Khulud Abu Homos and Mustafa Alaidaroos are geared to experiment with every content recipe that has worked: international adaptations, content incubators, a market for pilot episodes and even crowd-funding a whole film. A conversation with the dynamic duo Rough market statistics indicate that 60% of the students that join media programmes in Middle East universities today are female, and yet we see fewer than 2% of them in the media or agencies, reckons Khulud Abu Homos, CEO and co-founder of Arab Format Lab, who is in that miniscule percentage.

Abu Homos left the comfort of a corporate media job three years ago to pursue a more challenging calling when she launched Arab Format Lab with business partner and Chief Operating Officer Mustafa Alaidaroos, a prominent Saudi producer. Their vision was to create socially relevant programmes that were entertaining and worthy of export to international markets, while simultaneously ensuring that they identified and engaged with new talent in the region.

Although this may not have sounded like a commercially viable vision at the time of launch, with three pilots to be filmed by the end of this year and a fourth in pre-production, as well as several initiatives across the region, the duo may have pulled off the first part of a very tough journey. Perhaps what has propelled them forward is that the team has first looked to create Arabic adaptations of established, strong, well-scripted and award-winning international formats.

“Our weak point in this region has been content,” explains Alaidaroos. “So we decided to work with scriptwriters, and we started with formats because

there is already a strong and good script that we can adapt in the Arab world. Our ultimate target, of course, is to make a format ourselves so that we can export that to international media.”

But how did their paths cross?

Abu Homos met Alaidaroos six years ago at the screening of the pilot for his docu-drama series Saleem, when she was working for OSN as Senior VP of Programming responsible for acquiring Arabic content. In the following four years, Alaidaroos successfully produced 120 episodes of Saleem, which ran for four years on eight Arabic channels including the MBC and OSN bouquets.

“I was impressed with the outstanding production quality and the out-of-the-box concept of Saleem, which was essentially an inspirational journey across various countries and cultures and their definition of peace,” recalls Abu Homos. “Mustafa and I discovered then that we were both passionate about talent development and socially relevant content.

One year after I created Arab Format lab, we decided to put our strengths together.”

Alaidaroos’ journey has all the makings of a film. A Saudi national, he graduated with a degree in medicine from Sharjah University back in 2005. But with no desire to spend the rest of his life in a hospital, he decided to follow his personal passion of making films.

“Saleem was an inspirational social experiment

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 21

PROCOVER

An estimated 80% of the regional talent that pitched ideas at the Arab Format Accelerator initiative with DISCOP Dubai, were from Saudi Arabia, reveals Abu Homos.

Seen here with Alaidaroos and the Arab Format Lab team.

and it appealed to our audience here. When I met with Khulud, I had already worked on several series, TVCs, and wanted to move to the next level. She also wanted to focus on social relevance but wanted to work with Hollywood studios and other international names, so we could link our production here with the rest of the world, especially in Saudi Arabia. I knew then that I had found the right business partner to take that dream forward,” he explains.

“It’s also perfect timing because Saudi Arabia has taken this big step in media and cinema with the 2030 Vision. In the next five years, I think Saudi Arabia will be the number 1 here for content and I want to contribute to that future.”

Arab Format Lab first made headlines with its debut series Red Band Society, an Arabic adaptation of a Spanish teen medical comedydrama series. It received some outstanding reviews when it debuted on Abu Dhabi TV last Ramadan, says Abu Homos, adding that it was the second most watched programme in

“In our market, there is no clear commissioning process and many broadcasters request pilots.

This is a big investment for small production companies” Khulud Abu Homos, CeO and co-founder, Arab Format Lab the 9pm slot, according to IPSOS. The plot revolves around a group of six young patients in a hospital, each suffering from a serious illness, and the positive attitude with which they approach life. The adaptation shows the lives of children and teenagers from different social backgrounds, united by their challenges but also their optimism. The first season was shot in Egypt, and the team is now looking to film the second anywhere in the Arab world, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE the primary choices.

Arab Format Lab has also been actively involved in workshops, roadshows and other initiatives

22 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

aimed at discovering new talent.

In March this year, it launched the Arab Format Accelerator with DISCOP Dubai, inviting regional talent to pitch original ideas to senior executives driving the TV business across the Middle East.

20 up-and-coming creators and established producers pitched original ideas – at least 80% of them from Saudi Arabia, reveals Abu Homos.

As a result, the team began to focus more of its initiatives on the Kingdom and launched the Saudi Format Lab in late June. It has now brought nine Saudi start-up media companies and young talents from Riyadh and Jeddah under one umbrella for content development and audio-visual production.

With so many creative talents working across different parts of the region, the company has now gathered enough steam to produce its four projects. Interestingly, all four demonstrate how content can keep in mind the cultural sensitivities of a region, while also being entertaining.

Parenthood, the first of these

PROCOVER

pilots, is the team’s first Saudi comedy drama studio format.

“Parenthood is a Universal Studios format produced in association with Universal Studios, and will be shot in Saudi Arabia. The story talks about an extended family who discover in the first episode that one child in the family is autistic. What follows is a dialogue between different generations and the challenges that parents face when dealing with autism. We will do a pilot before the end of the year,” says Alaidaroos.

“Hollywood producer James Kramer worked with our writers’ room in Jeddah to develop the Saudi adaptation of this series, combining his international experience as a Hollywood writer and producer with their young creative writing talent and knowledge of Saudi society,” adds Abu Homos.

The second pilot, Mokhtar, also being filmed this year – in Medina, Cairo and Italy – is produced in conjunction with an Italian production house. Alaidaroos, the man behind this production, explains the connection.

“The protagonist is a PhD student who has a lot of questions about religion. He approaches a scholar,

A Saudi national, Mustafa Alaidaroos has a degree in medicine from Sharjah University but decided to follow his personal passion for making films.

“We started with formats because there is already a strong and good script that we can adapt in the Arab world.

Our ultimate target, of course, is to make a format ourselves” Mustafa Alaidaroos, Chief Operating Officer, Arab Format Lab who advises him to go on a journey of self-discovery, and is challenged to live another person’s life to find the answers to his questions.

So the protagonist heads to Italy,

By September 2019, the team plans to have the first user-generated Emirati movie, having just launched the crowd-sourcing platform, Emirates Entertainment Experience, in partnership with Sharjah Media City.

where he lives with a family. What ensues is a long romantic drama and a dialogue between cultures and religions. This is the first mixed production we are undertaking, but again the concept hasn’t been tackled in this manner because, essentially, Mokhtar is a discussion between various religions cloaked in the guise of entertainment.”

A third pilot to be shot this year, Dagget Boori (Car Honk), is a Saudi comedy original being developed in-house. It revolves around a Saudi businessman who runs a driving school. With women now permitted to drive, he persuades his wife, who cannot drive and does not know how to manage a business, to open a driving school. His main aim is to control the business through her, but she surprises him with her entrepreneurial skills. Together with her team of pan-Arab female teachers, she learns how to drive and becomes a better manager than him.

On the non-scripted side, Arab Format Lab is working on the Arabic adaptation of an Emmy-winning format from Warner called Sorry about That, which also recently secured the Rose d’Or Award.

“I can’t say too much about the Arabic adaptation at this stage, except that this is a new trend in talent shows and we believe this will really be successful,” Abu Homos says, cautious not to reveal too much.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 23

PROCOVER

Following the writers' lab in Saudi Arabia, Arab Format Lab has more women than men as scriptwriters in Saudi Arabia.

“We are just in the pre-production phase. It’s a Belgian format and has done extremely well in all the countries that it has debuted in.”

While the first three pilots are being shot in Saudi Arabia, the last will be shot across different MENA countries, with three episodes in the UAE, three in KSA, three in Egypt and two in Beirut. Unlike most talent shows, where people assemble in one country to participate, Sorry about That will take the moving studio approach, with studios rented in different countries and dressed in identical fashion.

With four projects in the

bag, Abu Homos has one main concern – pilots.

“Most broadcasters in the Arab world do not invest in pilots,” she laments. In essence, a pilot becomes the yardstick to determine the pulse and reception of a programme with an audience.

“Internationally, you submit a screenplay together with the treatment. If the broadcaster likes the screenplay, they will invest in a pilot and once they see how the audience reception is, they will commission the programme. Here in our market, there is no clear commissioning process and many

Arab Format Lab's debut series Red Band Society, an Arabic adaptation of a Spanish teen medical comedydrama series was broadcast on Abu Dhabi TV last Ramadan.

24 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

broadcasters request pilots. This is a big investment for small production companies and hinders new talent and small creative companies, and contracts often go to big companies.

The only way to break this cycle may be if broadcasters announce a clear commissioning process that allows fair opportunities to new talents,” she says.

Arab Format Lab is changing that with a two-pronged approach. For the first prong, it continuously strives to convince regional broadcasters that investing or co-investing in a pilot is better than commissioning a show based on what they see on paper: “It’s better to spend a few hundred thousand [dollars] on a pilot and make a decision based on audience response, than pay millions for an entire series that you have only read about on paper.”

The second prong is to organise an annual screening of pilots in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, inviting broadcasters, advertisers, prospective investors and media partners. Although this is customary in most international markets, it has not yet been attempted in this region.

“We hope to announce a screening by mid-November. Once we shoot our pilots, we will aggregate other pilots from other content developers as well and screen them together.

This is how it is done in international

PROCOVER

markets. If a pilot is picked up, it naturally becomes episode one of a series,” says Abu Homos.

“It is important to invest in pilots.

They always cost more because they are initially a one-off show, but it’s better to invest in a pilot than a whole series. Once a show is picked up, the investor will get a proportional share of overall distribution revenue because we aim to give a percentage of the revenues earned from a show back to the investor.”

Arab Format Lab hopes to have these screenings in September in the UAE, though the inaugural edition for 2018 will be later in the year.

“Hosting such a screening is one of the primary ways to make sure new companies and writers gain the visibility they need,” says Abu Homos.

In the meantime, Arab Format

“Hollywood producer James Kramer worked with our writers ... in Jeddah to develop the Saudi adaptation of this series [Parenthood]” Mustafa Alaidaroos, Chief Operating Officer, Arab Format Lab Lab has already announced the Emirates Entertainment Experience initiative along with Sharjah Media City (Shams), to inspire Emirati talent to spread their wings here.

“This is a digital platform where cinema meets TV meets social media.

It is a crowd-sourcing platform where we invite people of different skills like acting, directing, lighting, sound design, set design, and they will be led by a dream team of nine

inspirational figures like an iconic director, producer, musician and so on,” explains Abu Homos.

“We will start with giving the platform five minutes of a movie, and in every phase – which is every four weeks – we will ask the audience to propose the next ten minutes of the movie. This will happen over a period of 36 months, when we will assess the script and ask them to make their own version of the movie. By next September, we will have a user-generated Emirati movie, and on the platform you will have various versions of the same.

“Master classes will be conducted every four weeks live on social media. The best way of training talent is on an actual project. If they are doing a movie and we are assessing their scripts and what they are doing, we will be able to direct them and train them. This

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PROCOVER

The two years since setting up Arab Format Lab has been bumpy, admits Abu Homos, but she is seeing results now.

is our commitment to genuine talent development and training.

“The platform itself is designed to connect you with others in your vicinity. For instance, when you enter your profile, location and skills, the system will propose people with the other specialties that are near to you geographically.

We will have awards at the end of the project for best direction, best acting, best production and so on. Essentially, we are creating a pool of new talent in the region.”

A soft launch of the platform is expected later this month. Arab Format Lab has also put forward a proposal in the emirate to make this entertainment experience part of the graduation project for Arab universities, so that they genuinely benefit from it.

For anyone who thinks the duo may have had it easy, Abu Homos points out that she did 26 pitches for one project before it received a positive response.

While these projects are both a passion and a commercial dream, revenue is only trickling in.

“It has been a bumpy two years, but we are seeing results now. A lot of investors like our ideas, but quality doesn’t come cheap. You want to be able to benchmark yourself against international standards, and that requires significant investment. I signed deals in Egypt and I even paid

“Quality doesn’t come cheap. You want to be able to benchmark yourself against international standards and that requires significant investment” Khulud Abu Homos, CeO and co-founder, Arab Format Lab for the rights. When the deal didn’t go through, I had to bear the financial brunt and it really impacts your morale. The biggest challenge last year was the continuous changes to

The timing has been perfect, says the team at Arab Format Lab, because Saudi Arabia has taken a big step in media and cinema with Vision 2030.

26 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

management structure across most broadcasters and media companies in the Middle East,” she points out.

But if there have been setbacks, the team has also seen rewards, with their initiatives in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Lebanon gaining momentum and nurturing young talent. One big win, Alaidaroos says, has been the ability to identify a lot of women writers in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, through their writers’ labs.

“We have more women than men in our team of scriptwriters in Saudi Arabia and they are headed by a woman,” he points out.

In the meantime, Abu Homos says gender disparity has never stopped her from ambitiously moving forward to achieve her dreams.

“Some women see themselves as victims within the work environment.

It starts with ourselves; I don’t say it’s easy. I was and am always surrounded by men, but it has never stopped me from pushing forward to achieve everything I have wanted to achieve. You need to have the perseverance to match your ambition. Like they say: ‘If you want more, you need to be willing to do more.’” - Vijaya Cherian

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PROstudiO

The voice recording studios are equipped with the Apple iMac, the Presonus Studio Live 16.0.2 audio mixer, the Tascam SS-CDR200 and MH-8 and the Sennheiser MK 4.

The facility boasts multiple green rooms to shoot sequences with special effects.

The main production studio coupled with the mini studio offer space for video production.

The studio is fitted with soundproofed walls and other equipment for production purposes. Cameras available include the Sony A7s, Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujifilm X-H1.

in5: The MeDiA iNCUbAToR

in5 Media in Dubai Production City is a creative hub offering media enthusiasts, freelancers and entrepreneurs the labs, studios and creative workspaces to build skill-sets and drive innovation in the region. in5 has partnered with UTURN, a leading Arabic entertainment network on YouTube and other social media platforms, to offer guidance, industry training and workshops focused on technical skills and digital content development. We take you on a photo-tour of the facility 28 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

PROstudiO

Students, entrepreneurs and start-ups, and media content creators such as sound engineers, musicians and scriptwriters, can use this equipment to develop their ideas and produce engaging content.

The editing suites include10 Apple iMacs and two Sony LMD-A170 CD monitors, as well as the Adobe Premiere editing platform.

A 28-seat, purpose-built screening room offers an engaging cinema-like experience to view finished work.

The lounge area is customisable for medium to large meetings, workshops and presentations.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 29

PROtech

invEnting REAl woRlDS with Unreal engine

From having a fleet of sports cars in the studio to placing the presenter at the heart of a raging tornado, studios are not restricted by space or geography. Solutions providers, Avid, Ross and Zero Density explain how gaming software Unreal Engine has redefined studio broadcasts The video game Unreal was released by Epic Games to rave reviews in 1998. Reviewers described the single-shooter as reinvigorating “a tired genre".

Debuting along with it was Unreal Engine 1, which in the words of Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney was to "build up a base of code that could be extended and improved through many generations of games".

30 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

Today, its fourth iteration is reinvigorating sports broadcasts, weather forecasts and election analyses.

“Avid added support for Epic Unreal in September of 2017 and it was announced for the first time at IBC2017,” reveals Ray Thompson, Director of Broadcast and Media Solutions Marketing at Avid, explaining that it was adopted in order to enhance photorealism in rendered graphics.

PROtech

“Designed originally for use by game companies to render graphics in real time, the Unreal Engine is now being used to render virtual sets and augmented reality with the same level of realism, which gives broadcasters a tremendous amount of flexibility when branding and changing the look and feel of a broadcast.”

Canadian firm Ross Video has been active in virtual studio and AR technologies for a number of years. Director of Virtual Solutions Gideon Ferber recalls: “We became aware that a couple of the gaming engine companies were making their engines available to thirdparty developers and we could see a nice synergy here – a chance to bring the intense realism of gaming graphics into the world of broadcast. The desire to pursue that goal led us to work with Future Group [the Norwegian company that created the world’s first mixed-reality game show, Lost in Time] and the development of the Frontier product. Frontier was launched at NAB 2017 and we just announced version 2.0 at IBC in September this year.”

Describing the early forays into the virtual studio as less than pleasing, Ferber elaborates: “Historically, it was a challenge to make virtual studios look realistic.

Certain materials – wood and metal, for example – were difficult to render and viewers wanted to see realistic shadows on the floor when objects or people moved around in the studio. Previous technologies did cause some surfaces and textures to look too shiny or plasticky.

“Incorporating Unreal into Frontier has given us photo-realistic results that are very natural, and that’s a big step forward. We can now render graphics in a much more believable manner and create incredibly lifelike effects.

In one of our demos, we show rain hitting glass windows outside a

virtual studio, and it’s really amazing to watch the droplets run, merge together and separate again.”

One of the early adopters of Unreal Engine was Turkish firm Zero Density. “We incorporated Unreal Engine technology first in 2014, following a vigorous search for the right game engine that fits our vision and product,” says Aydemir Sahin, VP of Product and Support.

Citing the way the photo-realistic rendering capabilities of Unreal

“Designed originally for use by game companies ... Unreal Engine is now being used to render virtual sets ... changing the look and feel of a broadcast” Ray thompson, Director of Broadcast and Media Solutions Marketing, Avid

Engine enhance its solution, Zero Density provided a built-in keying technology and compositing tools for broadcasters, such as Fox Sports, Ziggo Sport and Canadian broadcaster TFO, that adopted the solution for live production.

Conceding that almost every company offering virtual studio solutions in this industry has now integrated Unreal into its products, Ferber of Ross Video highlights the aspects that differentiate their solution: “At Ross, we believe that where the engines are all the same, configuration and control therefore become critically important, and that’s where we really add value.

We have a product for virtual studio control called UX that’s highly flexible and customisable, with an easy-to-use intuitive touchscreen graphical user interface. It comes installed on a touchscreen PC and can handle camera calibration,

The Avid implementation of Unreal allows users to deliver a virtual set and data-driven AR graphics in real time at the same time, says Ray Thompson of Avid.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 31

PROtech

"For virtual studio control, we have a product called UX that’s highly flexible and customisable, with an easy-to-use intuitive touchscreen graphical user interface," says Gideon Ferber of Ross Video.

scene manipulation, media replacement, event triggering, animation control and robotic camera movement control.”

Highlighting the uniqueness Avid brings, Thompson says: “Avid runs Unreal on its Maestro l Engine hardware (as well as our legacy HDVG hardware), with the ability to run the Maestro l Render Engine at the same time as running the Epic Unreal Engine, which means you can deliver a virtual set and datadriven AR graphics in real time at the same time. It’s unique to the Avid implementation of Unreal.”

Underscoring early adoption, Sahin of Zero Density says: “Zero Density’s Reality Engine is on-air since 2016. We have developed real-time node-based compositor on top of Unreal Engine, which enables postproduction-style visual effects in the domain of live video production.

The main differentiation is that our solution is not an integration with legacy systems, which is the most popular way of using UE in the industry. We provide an Unreal Engine native solution and develop

"We provide an Unreal Engine native solution and develop keying technology that is built-in, called Reality Keyer," says Aydemir Sahin of Zero Density.

“We believe that where the engines are all the same, configuration and control therefore become critically important, and that’s where we really add value” gideon Ferber, Director of virtual Solutions, Ross video keying technology that is built-in, called Reality Keyer, which is the world’s first real-time image-based keyer.”

One reason Zero Density opted for UE and not rival game engine Unity is related to the path it adopted.

Sahin explains: “They are both great game engines. UE was a better fit for us because source code access was fundamental for our development, as we needed to change the core of the engine code. Moreover, Unreal Editor is the best editing tool, allowing users to utilise any compatible content as a new virtual environment with the full feature set of the Reality Engine, in only a matter of minutes.”

When solutions providers integrate

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graphics engines into broadcast systems, it is a collaborative process to ensure that aspects such as camera trackers work with the systems in place. We ask solutions providers how simple it is for the crew to use their systems.

Sahin of Zero Density clarifies that there are multiple user profiles. “As we are Unreal Engine native solution providers, content developers must be knowledgeable on how to utilise Unreal Engine. On the other hand, the end user (TV channels, for instance) does not need specific UE skills to execute productions.”

On the need for training, Thompson of Avid says: “Users need to learn how to use Maestro l Designer in order to author the graphics or work with a graphics production company to produce these graphics. In either case, once the elements are created, users can run Unreal Engine on the same hardware platform (Maestro l Engine) as the Maestro render engine, which supports video and graphics elements all delivered in real time.”

PROtech

While reiterating that the design team needs to learn Unreal, Ferber of Ross highlights the many userfriendly options for operators: “From an operator perspective, Frontier (which obviously includes Unreal) can be controlled by something called UX that can manage every element of preproduction and calibration, as well as on-air production. That said, it’s worth mentioning that users can also manage on-air production using an open-platform control solution we offer called DashBoard.

When broadcasters decide to move to a virtual studio set-up from a physical studio, we’re obviously on hand to help with training and commissioning, and we’ll very often help run the first few productions to make sure customers are happy and comfortable with the system.”

On future trends, Thompson of Avid highlights cloud and 5G

“We incorporated Unreal Engine technology first in 2014, following a vigorous search for the right game engine that fits our vision and product” Aydemir Sahin, vP of Product and Support, Zero Density as drivers: “Cloud-based end-to-end workflows can take advantage of enhanced rendering techniques to enable news, sports, weather and live production in a single- or multi-cloud environment. As 5G becomes more widespread and devices that support 5G become more widely available, the increasing use of AR in news, sports, weather and live entertainment will immerse viewers in any environment, to provide a new level of storytelling not yet realised on traditional OTA

and even digital platforms.“ Urging the broadcast industry to ride the wave of innovation, Sahin of Zero Density says: “There is enough evidence in the industry that game engines have started replacing graphics-related engines.

The vast potential of utilising this ecosystem of game engines will revolutionise broadcasting.”

While he sees technology becoming more powerful and graphics even better, Ferber of Ross sounds a cautionary note.

“Good content has to serve the consumer. I think well-designed virtual sets, AR elements and onscreen graphics can be powerful complements to the storytelling, but they shouldn’t dominate or distract from the core content, and they rarely work well if the core content is weak. Complexity for the sake of it is never helpful.” - Supriya Srinivas

Previous technologies caused some surfaces and textures to look too shiny or plasticky. With Unreal Engine, studios can now render graphics in a much more believable manner.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 33

PROantiPiRaCY

MENA CoAlITIoN fights piracy The progress report presented at the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-piracy Coalition meeting, held in Amsterdam during IBC2018, indicates growing collaboration between governments, regulators, industry and advertisers

At the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-piracy Coalition meeting held in Dubai in April 2018, it was announced that 18 illegal channels had been taken down.

A total of 242 channels have been taken off-air across MENA from 2014 to 2018, 47 so far in 2018 alone.

Of the 47, 39 were Arabic channels and eight were Western. These figures were presented at the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-piracy Coalition meeting, held in Amsterdam on the sidelines of IBC2018.

In April 2018, when the coalition met in Dubai, some of the television channels illegally broadcasting Western and Arabic content were named. They included Top Movies on Yahsat and HOGAR, Misr Elbalad and Josat on Eutelsat, all of which were broadcasting foreign content. In terms of illegal Arabic channels, those shut down recently include Egypt Life, 2M Comedy and 2M Film on Yahsat, as well as A Cinema, Wave Cinema, Egypt Life, Misr Al Balad, Beirut Cinema, Cinema B,

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T-Film, T-Cinema, T-Taxi and T-Comedy on Eutelsat Moon.

With regard to digital content, the coalition had earlier revealed that there were 2.71bn downloads of pirated content in 2017 alone. In this context, action in terms of taking down websites dramatically increased between Q2 2017 and Q2 2018.

The figures for 2018 show that 122 websites streaming illegal MBC content were blocked in the UAE by telcos du and Etisalat. The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Saudi Arabia similarly blocked 45 websites illegally featuring MBC-owned content.

In addition, 205 websites illegally streaming OSN content were blocked in the UAE, KSA and Kuwait in Q2 2018.

There has been a 38% increase in the removal of Arabic

PROantiPiRaCY

Reported blocked websites per country – status Reported

Blocked

300 250 200 150 100 50 UAE

Kuwait

URLs compared with Q2 2017.

There was a whopping 84% rise in the removal of illegal advertisement (e-commerce) URLs, compared to the previous year. The critical role of advertisers in providing oxygen to pirated websites is recognised by the coalition’s charter. The charter states that advertisers should ensure their advertising appears on broadcast channels that respect the ownership of intellectual property.

A total of 552 advertisements were removed from four global e-commerce services. Wide-ranging action covering 200 websites saw 72,000 infringements removed for

KSA

Oman

Jordan

124 Arabic titles. Similarly, 80,000 infringements were reported and removed for 278 Western titles.

Recognising that everyone trying to deliver quality content to the public is threatened by the inundation of ISD boxes and apps from commercial piracy syndicates, more than 20 ISDs were monitored, with eight disrupted; and at least 32 apps were monitored, with 17 disrupted by OSN teams.

Individual members of the coalition have demonstrated creativity in fighting piracy, recognising the social and cultural mindsets that need to be shifted

Bahrain

Egypt

as much as enforcing the letter of the law. In October 2017, OSN and Dubai Customs launched a content protection virtual reality (VR) game at KidZania Dubai, to boost awareness of the threats of content theft. The 60-second game, Copycat Combat, is aimed at children between the ages of five and 12, to raise awareness of the importance of protecting IPR. The figures for 2018 indicate robust collaboration between coalition members and enforcement agencies across MENA. Enforcement action from January 1 to September 3, 2018, saw Saudi

Q2 2018 results Arabic/Western Infringements Reported/Removed

72,000

Websites Blocked

ISD/APP Disruption

Websites blocked during Q2 2018

ISD monitored, 8 disrupted

Live Streaming Removed

APP monitored, 17 disrupted

205

Arabic infringements

removed for 124 titles

80,000 Western infringements reported for 278 titles

200

Websites/services covered

2041 35

OSN live streams removed

Smart cards disconnected

20+ 32+

E-commerce Adverts Removed

552

Advertisements removed from 4 global e-commerce services

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 35

PROantiPiRaCY

Arabia topping the list with a total of 84 raids in which 102,471 STBs were confiscated. 54 raids were conducted by the General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) and 30 raids by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment (MOCI). The UAE, Egypt and Bahrain followed with 60, 27 and 23 raids respectively.

The raids, conducted by local authorities, yielded wildly varying results. The 60 raids in the UAE, for instance, saw just 186 STBs confiscated, whereas the 23 raids in Egypt yielded 5,019 STBs. Across MENA, countrywide breakdown for online action showed the UAE, Kuwait and KSA blocking reported websites. Action from Kuwait was the most encouraging, with 79 out of 82 reported websites blocked. Close cooperation with local authorities in Oman, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt is ongoing.

With OSN online, the range of action taken highlights the role of multiple governments, regulatory authorities and telcos.

For instance, the MK Pro IPTV box, popular with expatriates in the UAE, had streaming blocked by a leading UAE telco operator for a few days in August 2018.

Additionally, the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) in Kuwait has instructed telcos to block 77 pirated websites this year. Similarly, 29 websites have been reported to Jordan’s Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC), with the assurance that they will be blocked in the coming days.

Apart from regulation, a workshop on fighting piracy which was hosted by Jordan’s National Library in July 2018 was attended by the customs and cyber crime units. As a result, a laboratory was set up in the National Library. A workshop and laboratory were also set up for the Saudi Ministry

The charter for the MENA Broadcast Satellite Anti-piracy Coalition • Broadcasters and distributors make reasonable endeavours to establish the ownership of intellectual property and pay the owners for the use of the intellectual property • Advertisers ensure their advertising appears on broadcast channels that respect the ownership of intellectual property • Satellite operators write contracts that set out clear obligations on their clients to respect property rights and to provide clear and unequivocal proof of intellectual property rights upon request • Studios and distributors protect their intellectual property by helping to clearly identify ownership quickly and clearly when requested by coalition members battling pirates, by notifying relevant industry players of property rights abuse and pursuing legal action against pirates where possible.

• Subject to applicable laws, companies endeavour not to sell to, buy from or otherwise deal with companies or individuals identified by the coalition as committing wilful acts of piracy • We do not rely solely upon judgements in local courts in order to take action against piracy. As established and international companies, we take responsibility for who we do business with and how we do business. We look to established international norms, and the actions and behaviour of the established legitimate market players including studios, major distributors and broadcasters to help us identify acts of piracy and pirate operations.

Members agree that all actions they undertake with respect to or in the furtherance of this Code of Conduct must be in accordance with the law

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of Commerce and Industry.

A meeting was held with the head of the legislative committee of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). When it was clarified that website blocking requires court orders, the coalition started to work with relevant officials to process the blocking requests.

The coalition was set up in 2014, bringing together major broadcast satellite providers (Eutelsat, Arabsat, Nilesat, Noorsat, Gulfsat, Viewsat, STN, Es’hailSat, JMC); content production, distribution and telecommunication companies (MBC, OSN, Rotana, ART, CNE, du, Etisalat, Mediagates, BeIN, My HD, Paramount, Rdatv, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal, Front Row, WWE, Sound and Light and Cinema Company, the International Advertising Association, Cedars Art, Eagle Films, Almassa Art Production, the Egyptian Chamber of Cinema Industry, Media Production City, Misr International Films, Spot 2000, the MPA); and anti-piracy firms (AAA, Muso, TMG) to fight the battle against piracy.

One of the key topics of discussion at the coalition was BeoutQ, which is currently considered the largest piracy operation in the region. beIN Media Group, a member of the coalition, alleged that another member was involved in the piracy and was severely impacting its revenues. With a key principle of the coalition being that members will support each other’s requests to take down pirate channels or services should there be sufficient proof, the coalition is reported to have agreed to draft a letter to the accused member with the aim of finding out more.

The next meeting will be hosted by NBC Studios in London in January 2019.

The Easyrig Collection The original backsaver since 1994

Authorized Representative:

maranthine M OTION P ICTURE & B ROADCASTING E QUIPMENT

Amaranthine Trading LLC Motion Picture & Broadcasting Equipment M-39, The Curve Building, 63 Sheikh Zayed Road Al Quoz 3, P.O. Box 124137 Dubai - UAE

Tel.: +971 4 339 0944 / 339 0945 Fax: +971 4 339 0922 info@amaranthine.ae www.amaranthine.tv

PROTECH

Software aS a Service: A gAme-chAnger for broAdcAst Broadcasters and service providers can dramatically speed up the time to market for new services, lower their media processing and delivery costs, and deliver better video quality on every screen using SaaS, writes Olivier Karra of Harmonic

Cloud technology is maturing. In the broadcast industry, this has paved the way for SaaS models to be deployed on a wider scale for media processing. Today’s SaaS supports the entire workflow chain, from ingest to playout and delivery, enabling operators to quickly and easily deploy new channels. This is especially advantageous in the OTT environment, where technologies, formats and devices are rapidly changing.

With a cloud-native media processing and delivery approach, broadcasters can be much more agile, scalable and efficient, delivering exceptional quality of experience (QoE) to subscribers, up to UHD HDR, with low latency across all screens. Let’s look into the key benefits of using SaaS for media processing, highlighting the value of intelligent function integration, pre-integrated ecosystems and new business model opportunities, such as teleport as a service.

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Key benefits of SaaS For broadcasters looking to increase business agility, SaaS is the way to go. Generally, in the broadcast market, workflow changes happen slowly. With a cloudnative service, operators can launch new services in a matter of hours as opposed to weeks or months.

SaaS is also more scalable. Broadcasters can turn channels and services on and off almost instantaneously, which is perfect for supporting event or sports channels with a limited air time. As consumer demand changes, computer resources can be adjusted to address peaks and dips in viewership.

SaaS is also cost-effective. Rather than making a significant up-front investment in equipment, broadcasters can pay for resources as they grow. There are no hidden charges or surprises. What’s especially amazing is that broadcasters

PROTECH

can deliver amazing video quality with SaaS, up to UHD HDR, at low bitrates, with low latency.

SaaS that supports a wide range of formats, codecs and encoding schemes, including next-generation specifications such as the Common Media Application Format (CMAF), is particularly well-suited to delivering OTT video with the same latency as broadcast.

SaaS with intelligent function integration While early SaaS offerings were focused on specific media processing functions, market expectations are now migrating toward workflow-centric SaaS. Operators regularly face big decisions such as infrastructure renewal cycles. The ability to know whether they will be able to handle their workflow is driving the adoption of SaaS. As the functional scope of SaaS expands, in many cases the full on-premises media processing platform can be moved to the cloud without having to maintain a cumbersome hybrid architecture.

In fact, once a functional layer of support is reached, some operators realise there is no point trying to keep some elements of media processing on-premise. This is one of the reasons why SaaS with intelligent function integration is gaining increased attention and is unique compared with other solutions that only address a subset for the required workflows.

Managing comprehensive workflows and delivering broadcastgrade video quality with high availability using SaaS has become a game changer. Handling live and file-based ingest and playout with multi-layered graphics, transcoding, packaging, encryption, storage, origin and delivery from the same SaaS – this is not only a possibility, it is a real-world solution already being used by major broadcasters and media service providers.

“The full on-premises media processing platform can be moved to the cloud without having to maintain a cumbersome hybrid architecture” olivier Karra, Director for ott & iPtv solutions, Harmonic From a business agility standpoint, media companies can use SaaS to expand their traditional service offering overnight. For example, service providers can leverage the channel origination capabilities of SaaS to create additional selfbranded offerings on top of their standard package. In addition, they can also launch a white-label service offering to other business partners.

Ecosystem integration While certain workflows, such as linear video transcoding, are relatively static and self-defined, others require a certain level of integration. Typical examples include non-linear OTT delivery applications, which require integration with content protection (i.e., DRM), content management systems (CMS) and cloud storage, among other services. Similarly, SaaS that supports dynamic ad insertion (DAI) requires interfacing to upper layer control plane components, such as ad decision services.

From this standpoint, the value of SaaS also lies in its level of pre-integration with ecosystem components through open APIs. Certain integration points depend on constantly evolving protocols (e.g., CMAF and HTTP chunking for low latency, VAST for DAI). Choosing SaaS that stays up to date with these new protocols is important.

Business model consistency Stepping back and looking at the end-to-end delivery chain, one can argue that some of the edge devices

or enabling links might slow down the transition to the cloud. It is fair to say that many workflows require uplinks, or downlinks in the case of broadcast distribution. The notion of teleport as a service is becoming a perfect fit with the SaaS business model, allowing operators to achieve a consistent offering, leverage a simpler and more predictable ROI and lower the investment risk on an end-to-end basis.

Broadcasters, operators and service providers can then leverage the pay-as-you-grow model on a global basis, without having to worry about making an up-front investment. Over time, this type of business model is becoming the norm, whether usage- or term-based. In fact, it transforms the way media processing and delivery platform investments are being made, into a smoother, more agile cycle.

Conclusion Cloud technology, specifically SaaS for media processing, is changing the face of OTT, broadcast and next-generation video delivery, enabling media companies to be more agile and adaptive to changing requirements. Broadcasters and service providers can dramatically speed up the time to market for new services, lower their media processing and delivery costs, and deliver better video quality on every screen.

olivier Karra is Director for ott & iPtv solutions at Harmonic.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 39

PROPRODUCTION

A forGoTTEn wAr And a resurgent cinema industry

Ahmad Ghossein’s first feature film, All This Victory, is as much about the July 2006 war and a universal human story as it is about a Middle East film that has won a significant award at Europe's oldest film festival In a small village in southern Lebanon, during the last days of the July War of 2006, five people try to escape the bombing: a young woman with her older husband, two old men, and Marwan, a young man recently arrived from Beirut who is looking for his father. They decide to hide in the basement, but Israeli soldiers enter the house above them. They are trapped in their location and by their own fears, and the situation soon spirals out of control.

Ahmad Ghossein’s first feature-length film, All This Victory is inspired by a true story of two men trapped in their home during the war. His “obsession” with the story has personal moorings as well. His mother’s home was destroyed in that war and the protagonist’s quest for his father mirrors his own generation growing up with ‘missing’ fathers working outside Lebanon.

However, as a filmmaker and visual artist who has had art installations exhibited in major galleries around the world, the drama unfolding in a single room must also have been a compelling draw.

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It is debatable whether Ghossein found it more difficult to maintain continuity with five actors over 26 days of intense shooting, than to endure the long years it has taken his film to finally see the light of day. When Broadcastpro ME spoke to the filmmaker after his film won the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary ‘Work In Progress’ award, there was little doubt what he found more invigorating.

“I enjoy directing actors,” he says. “As a director, my challenge during the shoot was to keep actors in the same frame of mind. We had conducted a lot of workshops, and while rehearsing we allowed for improvisation, which helps because the movie is not dialogue-heavy. The shots that had the five actors in the frame were particularly difficult, since they were not shot in sequence. For 10 whole days, they also had to be wet and covered in dust, and if the shots had to be repeated, the process would have to be redone. My actors were extremely patient and professional.”

A prominent theatre actor, two professors from the acting school Ghossein attended and

PROPRODUCTION

“It is primarily a human story and the enemy on the floor above could be anyone�

Ahmad Ghossein, Scriptwriter and director for All This Victory

With production companies such as Abbout Productions working with not just commercial but independent films, and private investors willing to fund films, Ahmad Ghossein is optimistic about the Lebanese film industry.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 41

PROPRODUCTION

Ghossein conducted a number of workshops prior to the shoot, and while rehearsing, he allowed for improvisation.

That helped because the movie is not dialogue-heavy.

several newcomers made up the cast. While there was complete faith in LA-based Lebanese DoP Shadi Chabaan, Ghossein is a perfectionist: “I don’t move to another take until I am satisfied. Sometimes I will repeat a shot 10 to 12 times and then move to the next.”

With post-production, Ghossein is similarly involved in ensuring every frame meets his standards.

The Karlovy Vary award gave Ghossein’s team post-production services valued at $116,362, including services at production houses UPP and Soundsquare, and a $11,636 award from Barrandov Studio – all in the Czech Republic.

While sound mixing and colour grading is currently in progress at the Soundsquare studio in the Czech Republic, VFX is being done at the HeCAT studio in Paris.

Apart from two visits to Paris, the process is now long-distance, says Ghossein. He says finishing a film is as exhausting as delivering a child, and the most energy-sapping process was putting together the

“For 10 whole days, [the actors] had to be wet and covered in dust, and if the shots had to be repeated, the process would have to be redone” Ahmad Ghossein, Scriptwriter and director for All This Victory finances. Ghossein unequivocally thanks Beirut production company Abbout Productions.

“When All This Victory won the prize at Karlovy Vary, it was a validation of our belief in Ahmad’s vision. In fact, this year was the first time that Karlovy Vary included films from the Middle East, so winning was huge for the Lebanese film industry as well,” says producer Myriam Sassine, who spoke to BroadcastPro ME following the presentation at the festival.

Established in 1998, Abbout Productions has a mission to help build Lebanese and Arab cinema

42 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

into an industry. While Ghossein was planning a low-budget first feature film, it was apparent that All This Victory would need extensive VFX and sound mixing in post-production.

“We had built the expenses into our initial budgets,” reveals Myriam.

As an independent art-house film with a unique setting, Myriam says All This Victory was not easy to produce. “We started in 2011. A number of funds such as the Doha Film Institute, the Arab Culture Fund – AFAC, Swiss fund visions sud est and French fund Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) offered funding. We have a pre-sales deal with a TV channel for the MENA region. Most importantly, we had private investors who gave us enough money to produce the film.

The post-production process is being helped with awards such as the one from Karlovy Vary. It has been a long process, and now we are happy we are almost at the finishing line.”

Conversations with both Ghossein and Myriam make it clear that they share the urgency to tell the human

PROPRODUCTION

stories around the forgotten war of 2006. However, when asked about the inclusion of Israeli characters (who you don’t see but hear speaking Hebrew on the upper floor) and the political travails that Ziad Doueiri, director of The Insult, overcame on the way to a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination, Myriam stressed that they made sure not to transgress any laws.

For Ghossein, politics is incidental.

“It is primarily a human story and the enemy on the floor above could be anyone.” Helping him with the treatment of the film in pre-production was Abla Khoury, a theatre director and film producer who Ghossein says is good with character and dialogue. Greek director and actor Syllas Tzoumerkas collaborated towards creating an international structure for the film.

Abla Khoury and Lara Karam

Ghossein says connecting individua l human experiences and shared historical and political realities, drives him as an artist and filmmaker.

Who is Ahmad Ghossein?

Ahmad Ghossein is a Lebanese filmmaker and video artist. He has directed several documentaries, short films and videos.

His work has been screened in different museums, galleries and film festivals around the world – to mention a few: MoMa in New York, Kunsthallen In Oslo and the Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin. His shorts My Father is Still a Communist and The Fourth Stage screened at a number of film festivals. In 2017, Ghossein was selected from among four Lebanese filmmakers from the Lebanon Factory and co-directed White Noise with Lucie La Chimia, which opened the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival 2017.

Chekerdjian, co-founders of Ginger Beirut Productions, were line producers for All This Victory. On choosing the company, Myriam says: “Abla and Lara had worked on The Insult. We knew we were in good hands when they were on the set every day ensuring the director had everything he needed. While we are closely involved in pre- and postproduction, the actual shoot is a time when the director needs to have space with his creative process.”

Equipped with ARRI’s Alexa camera and ARRIFLEX handgrip, and Cooke S4 lenses, the filmmaker embarked on a challenging shoot.

“The ceiling of the room where most of the shoot took place was low, so all the light had to come in from the sides. I worked with the art director to create a certain look before the soldiers come in and a different look after they enter. The

The ceiling of the room where most of the shoot took place was low, so all the light had to come in from the sides. Ghossein worked with the art director to vary the look before and after the soldiers enter.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 43

PROPRODUCTION

camera was selected because it is the best, and the latter half of the film called for handheld shots.”

With not too much dialogue, the film relies heavily on light and music. Ghossein worked with Khyam Allami, who mainly used electronic music (even an electronic oud) to create the ambience for the film.

It took six minutes and three shots to impress the international jury at Karlovy Vary. Myriam elaborates: “The first footage we showed depicts the arrival of the main character as he discovers his house destroyed.

The second scene depicts the moment the civilians realise that the enemy soldiers have barged into the first floor. The third clip depicts the moment the civilians start to get delusional, imagining there are tunnels to escape and so on.”

Even before the award was announced, jury members and representatives of the twenty shortlisted films (from hundreds that reportedly applied) approached the duo to laud the film. The film was also shortlisted for the prestigious Venice Production Bridge (VPB), with more

Funding for the film came from sources such as the Arab Culture Fund and other film funds to pre-sales with a MENA TV channel and private investors, says Producer Myriam Sassine.

“This year was the first time that Karlovy Vary included films from the Middle East, so winning was huge for the Lebanese film industry as well” Myriam Sassine, Producer, All This Victory and co-owner of Abbout Productions than 2,200 industry professionals in attendance at the 2018 edition.

“The final ambition for the film, and for any independent filmmaker, is to be accepted in an A-grade festival – Venice, Berlin, Cannes – and to be distributed worldwide,” says Ghossein. “We are also hoping for a wider commercial release in Lebanon and the region. It is a pity

that the Dubai International Film Festival has been cancelled; it was an excellent regional platform.”

On the film industry in Lebanon, Ghossein sounds an optimistic note: “I believe the industry is transforming in Lebanon, and Abbout Productions has played a critical role in that process. Earlier, we had individuals outside of Egypt trying to make a difference. Today, we have production companies that are looking not just at commercial films, but also independent films like mine. Their vision is to have Lebanese cinema on the map. While it has always been difficult for Arab films to get funding, we now have private investors in the fray, which makes a big difference.”

No stranger to the big stage, Ghossein has seen his works (shorts and video installations) exhibited in Berlin, New York and Cannes.

However, All This Victory is the first feature-length expression of his primary motivation as an artist – “to find the connection between individual human experiences and shared historical and political realities”.

While sound mixing and colour grading is currently in progress at the Soundsquare studio in the Czech Republic, VFX is being done at the HeCAT studio in Paris.

44 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2018

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YahClick launches in Zimbabwe broadband

YahClick, the satellite broadband service of UAE global satellite operator Yahsat, has launched in Zimbabwe. The service was unveiled in Harare, where the company also announced its partnership with official service partner Utande, a subsidiary of Dandemutande Investments. With YahClick, Zimbabwe’s broadband users will have access to affordable, uninterrupted, high-speed broadband connectivity.

Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered substantial economic losses in recent years due to frequent internet breakdowns that directly affect fixed, wireless and mobile internet connectivity. Underdeveloped ICT infrastructure is among the factors that reduce economic growth by two percentage points every year, while cutting business productivity across the continent by as much as 40%.

In Zimbabwe, the ICT sector has been underserved for

Farhad Khan says YahClick's broadband service will facilitate economic progress in Zimbabwe.

many years due to several challenges. In urban areas, access to reliable internet services is expensive, while internet penetration remains at approximately 51.9%.

YahClick uses Ka-band powered by HTS spot beam technology to deliver high-performance satellite broadband services via smaller dishes. This significantly reduces the CAPEX required to build satellite-based connectivity infrastructure, enabling YahClick to elevate the digital offering in Zimbabwe and support the

country in unlocking its full economic and social potential.

“Yahsat is the first operator to introduce Ka-band satellite broadband in Africa, and we aim to continuously increase YahClick’s adoption across the continent. We strongly believe that highspeed, reliable broadband connectivity is one of the key facilitators of economic and social progress for African nations,” commented Farhad Khan, Chief Commercial Officer, Yahsat.

“YahClick is ideally placed to bring the transformational

benefits of reliable, alwayson broadband within reach of all businesses and communities to help advance the country’s ICT sector.

We are excited with the prospect of playing a role in empowering the country socially and economically and look forward to doing so with our local service partner Dandemutande,” he added.

The Zimbabwe launch follows the successful rollout of YahClick in Ghana, the DRC, Ivory Coast and Cameroon in September, after also arriving in Burundi earlier this year.

“YahClick’s technology through Ka-band works seamlessly across all levels of the telecommunications infrastructure,” commented Dandemutande CEO Never Ncube. “By introducing YahClick, with its exceptional track record on the continent, Utande is playing its part in spreading dependable internet connectivity further across the country.”

4KUNIVERSE launches on HOTBIRD over Europe and MENA Channel launCh

4KUNIVERSE, a 24/7 4K HDR general entertainment TV channel airing original TV series, movies, documentaries, sports and primetime programming, launched on HOTBIRD on November 1. The announcement was made at MIPCOM last month.

Once positioned on HOTBIRD, the

channel will be capable of reaching key cable and IPTV networks, reaching millions of subscribers. 4KUNIVERSE is encrypted and encoded with wide colour gamut at 50 frames per second (50p), with HLG HDR and colour space enabling 1.07bn colours.

“We are very pleased to welcome 4KUNIVERSE on board our UHD platform in the HOTBIRD

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neighbourhood.

Their range of UHD series, movies and documentaries, as well as a burgeoning live sports offering, promises to delight new audiences across Europe, Middle East and North Africa,” stated Gerry O’Sullivan, Eutelsat Executive Vice President Global TV and Video.

“4KUNIVERSE will enjoy rapid growth across

Europe, Middle East and North Africa thanks to our long-term agreement with Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellite. It’s exciting to be at the forefront of TV technology and together with HOTBIRD, we’ll be able to fulfill customer demand of wanting the highest quality picture on television: 4K HDR,” added 4KUNIVERSE founder and CEO Matthew Mancinelli.

intelsat invests in amn to connect ultra-rural sub-saharan africa ConneCtivitY

Intelsat has made a strategic investment in Africa Mobile Networks (AMN).

The investment will help accelerate the deployment of mobile connectivity to unserved communities across multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Given the economic and geographic complexities of expanding mobile connectivity to the ultrarural areas of Africa, many mobile network operators (MNOs) face barriers when trying to deploy their networks to these areas.

AMN provides MNOs with a network-as-a-service (NaaS) solution in which AMN will fund, build and operate the ultra-rural network for the operators.

As a result, African mobile operators will be able to extend their coverage with minimal OPEX and CAPEX risk, enabling them to grow their subscriber and revenue base and better serve all their customers.

At the core of AMN’s solution is a low-cost, small-

cell solution powered by a highly reliable solar-based system which can be rapidly deployed and installed in less than six hours. As part of the long-term agreement, AMN will leverage the power, performance and efficiencies generated by Intelsat’s next-generation Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellites (HTS), as well as the 23 Intelsat satellites covering the continent to provide the optimal balance between coverage and high throughput for the enabled sites.

Once installed, the sites will connect over the Intelsat fleet to the core of the mobile network operator and deliver 2G mobile services such as GSM voice, SMS and GPRS/

EDGE packet data, with the ability to upgrade the base stations to 3G and 4G as data demands allow.

“The high performance, redundancy and flexibility of Intelsat’s satellite fleet over Africa made them an ideal partner for us,” said Michael Darcy, AMN’s CEO. “Intelsat shares our view that mobile coverage is not spreading quickly enough and as such invested in AMN’s vision of installing a cell site in every African village. Together, we can accelerate the deployment of mobile connectivity and work to ensure that communities, wherever they are located, have equal access to high-quality sustainable and affordable broadband connectivity.”

Satellite Vu to address MENA maritime litter satellite imagerY

Satellite Vu, an Earth observation company, was at GITEX to demo how it can enable organisations to take on the challenge of plastic pollution detrimentally affecting our maritime environment.

“The level of plastic pollution has reached epic proportions,” said CEO Anthony Baker. “The Earth Day Network found that the amount of plastic produced in a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity.

This plastic is killing our wildlife and it has entered the food chain. We were

at GITEX to seek partners and investors to tackle this problem in the region using Satellite Vu’s technology.”

Current available techniques are ineffective, do not deliver data frequently enough and can’t track the movement of plastics. Satellite Vu promises a sustainable and cost-effective solution to address customers’ requirements through a new breed of satellites that will revisit a target site every hour and produce imagery regardless of weather conditions, so that constant near-real-time monitoring is possible.

CEO Anthony Baker says this satellite technology can benefit countries signfiicantly.

“This level of information is unprecedented. If you can see where the plastic is originating from, how it circulates and where it ends up, you have

the information to do something about it. That is why this technology is so important to the conservation of our maritime environment."

Satellite Vu aims to launch seven multifunctional satellites that will produce high-res infrared imagery at less than 5m, interpreted and converted into timely data using algorithms that end users can readily access. Data produced by Satellite Vu can also be overlaid onto other forms of data such as social media, mobile phone and proprietary information.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 47

First uae satellite built by emirati engineers launches successfully satellite launCh

KhalifaSat, the first satellite designed, tested and manufactured in the UAE

by Emirati engineers, was launched successfully from Japan in what is considered a significant milestone in the country’s space programme.

The UAE leadership called the launch "an unprecedented achievement" for the UAE as the country heads in a month’s time to celebrate its 47th National Day on 2 December.

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council took to LinkedIn and other social platforms to laud the work of the Emirati engineering team and called the launch “a true reflection of the aspirations of our youth and our nation”. “[We are] proud of the

talented Emirati personnel at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MRSC). They are the heroes behind this important project that carries the name of our President,” he stated on LinkedIn. KhalifaSat was designed and built at the Space Technology Laboratories at MBRSC in Dubai. The satellite was transported to Japan and loaded onto a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rocket – H-IIA. When placed into a Low Earth Orbit of approximately 613km, the satellite will proceed to capture detailed imagery capable of competing with the highest industry standards, a spokesperson for the MBRSC said in previous reports.

The UAE is now working towards sending its first Emirati astronaut to the International Space Station next year.

The MBRSC team in Japan.

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Newtec tests modems successfully with Telesat’s first LEO satellite ConneCtivitY

Newtec’s modems have become the first to be successfully tested over the air on Telesat’s inaugural LEO satellite. With the LEO deployment, Telesat hopes to revolutionise broadband communications around the world.

Testing of the Ka-band payload is ongoing and Newtec’s technology is being used to demonstrate different service scenarios. The latest trials saw test user traffic successfully passed over the satellite via Newtec modems, showing that flawless operation without packet loss can be achieved on LEO constellations.

Newtec modems were installed for the project at Telesat’s Allan Park facility in September, and Telesat expects to conduct live phase 1 LEO testing with customers in the coming weeks. Telesat’s LEO constellation will combine the company’s global spectrum rights in Ka-band with Telesat’s proprietary LEO architecture, to transform global communications.

IRG rebrands as Satcoms Innovation Group rebranding

As part of its efforts to include all aspects of the satellite communications industry, the Interference Reduction Group (IRG) has rebranded as the Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG). SIG aims to promote innovation in the satellite communications industry, to improve operational efficiency, reduce the risk of service-impacting events and improve quality of service. A significant part of that remit remains innovation to minimise satellite interference, through both prevention and quicker resolution.

It also now covers other areas where innovation can improve performance and make the industry more competitive.

SIG Executive Director Martin Coleman commented: “Satellite interference remains an important challenge for the industry. At the same time, much of the innovation and improved processes we have been working towards also enable overall efficiency savings, which may also lead to cost savings for operators.

Widening our remit is therefore a natural progression to enable us to support more than just interference resolution.”

Q-Kon expands broadband connectivity in africa with intelsat broadband

African telecom services provider Q-KON will introduce new, multiple highspeed broadband services powered by the IntelsatOne Flex for Enterprise platform, thanks to a new partnership between the two companies.

Combining a cloud-based management platform with Intelsat’s global satellite and terrestrial networks, the IntelsatOne Flex platform will enable Q-KON to rapidly deploy high-quality broadband that enables new services and applications for smaller businesses throughout Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Many private business and individuals at the metro edge remain unconnected.

By pairing the improved

throughput delivered by Intelsat’s globalised network with smaller, more capable hardware, network operators are able to cost-efficiently and profitably expand their networks beyond the cities.

As a result, small businesses, schools at the metro edge, farmers and hospitality businesses in more remote areas can receive the high-quality,

affordable connectivity needed to support and grow their businesses and social programmes.

Q-KON’s offering will incorporate services from Intelsat 33e, one of Intelsat’s next-generation high-throughput satellites, and use IntelsatOne Flex for Enterprise, a managed wholesale service that removes the complexities

and improves the economics of network expansion.

Intelsat and Q-KON will partner on marketing the new services, while Q-KON will work with small regional and wireless ISPs and field partners for the installation and support of end-user equipment.

IntelsatOne Flex for Enterprise enables Q-KON to improve the efficiency and robustness of its network and offer customised services.

This means Q-KON’s partners can differentiate their services and value propositions to meet the varied needs of end users.

In addition, it will enable Q-KON to close the business case and enable network expansion in regions previously uneconomical to serve, while maintaining full control of its network.

Nigerian network uses SES to launch new FTA bouquet Channel launCh

AfricaXP, an independent African channel network, content distributor and producer which owns and operates more than 20 channels supplied to African broadcasters and African diaspora platforms worldwide, has launched PREMIUM. FREE, a bouquet of 13 channels delivered using SES satellites at 28.2 degrees East.

“By choosing to work with SES, PREMIUM. FREE offers our channels

full regional coverage for multinational language channels like Hausa. SES also offers verified reach in dynamic markets like Nigeria,” said Craig Kelly, CEO of AfricaXP. “AfricaXP is well known for its Nollywood catalogue and ties with prominent West African producers.

We are confident that localisation, coupled with our fresh international rights, will provide the kind of content blend that modern West African

audiences demand.

Transmitted free to air, this is obviously a great offer at a price point that can’t be beaten.”

In addition to hosting these TV channels on the ASTRA 2G satellite, SES media subsidiary MX1 is providing necessary ground services such as uplinking, encoding, playout servers and ad-insertion.

“The Nigerian FTA market in particular offers great opportunities for growth, and we are proud

to have engaged with PREMIUM.FREE to deliver a differentiated content package for Nigeria and offer more choice for viewers,” said Clint Brown, Vice President of Sales and Market Development, Africa for SES Video.

“New initiatives like this, which focus on delivering local and international content that is attractive for the end consumer and is offered in high picture quality, will further develop consumer choice in Nigeria.”

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 49

PROPRODUCTS

Verifying your views with Triveni Digital

Sound solutions from Audio-Technica

Triveni Digital has announced the latest member of its StreamScope product line, the StreamScope XM Verifier.

Billed as an entry-level device, Verifier is a Windows-based software visualisation tool that allows station engineers and field staff to get a comprehensive view of their ATSC 3.0 service at a glance.

Commenting on the launch, Ralph Bachofen, VP of Sales and Marketing at Triveni Digital, said: “As the broadcast ecosystem

Audio-Technica is offering four new bundles that cater to content creators, including podcasters, videographers, live-streamers and YouTubers.

Developed in direct response to customer input and touted as being highly cost-effective, these bundles provide turnkey microphone/ headphone solutions for all aspects of content creation.

Two bundles feature USB outputs to directly connect with computers, while two feature XLR outputs for flexibility to connect with professional mixers or digital interfaces. All bundles feature a microphone with mount, ATH-

becomes more complex with the introduction of ATSC 3.0, there is a greater chance for errors that can degrade audio and video quality, or interrupt services.”

Verifier uses the same 3.0 analysis engine as the company’s StreamScope XM MT professional workgroup analyser. Verifier runs on Windows 10 laptops. It is compatible with many thirdparty 3.0 input devices, reducing the number of tools an engineer needs to take to a site.

IHSE debuts two-port KVM switching solution Addressing market demand for increased security conditions when connecting multiple computers to a single workstation area, IHSE now offers a compact two-port KVM switching solution for extendeddistance connections between computer sources and user stations.

The new 2x1 system makes it possible to leverage multiple computers or servers at one desk by using a single keyboard, mouse and display. This

new two-port package from IHSE offers convenience, enhanced security and performance superior to that afforded by fixed-box solutions, a release stated.

The TX units include HDMI and USB HID for connection to computer sources, while the RX unit includes two input data connection links and ports for a display, keyboard and mouse.

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M20x Professional Monitor headphones and a new custom boom arm with desk mount.

The boom arms are prethreaded with the appropriate USB or XLR microphone cable compatible with the included microphone, for a sleek, clutter-free appearance.

JVC dockable bridge boosts HD streaming JVC has launched the SFE-CAM dockable bridge, a dual-link bonded LTE uplink that connects directly to its 800 and 900 Series cameras.

It supports live HD streaming from multiple JVC cameras to HD-SDI decoders or IP video server at the station, as well as Facebook Live or other CDNs. Featuring Peplink’s patented SpeedFusion VPN Bonding technology, the SFECAM – an upgraded version of the ProHD dockable bridge introduced last year – combines multiple cellular, wired and WiFi connections to create a robust and secure VPN connection.

The self-contained SFE-CAM dockable bridge, positioned between the battery and ProHD GY-HM850/890 or connected CAM GY-HC900 camera body, plugs into the camera’s USB or LAN port. It can also be detached and used with other IP-enabled connected CAM, 4KCAM, ProHD and JVC PTZ camera models. Plus, the SFE-CAM dockable bridge functions as a secure, batterypowered hotspot in the field.

The dockable bridge includes internal MIMO antennas, two RJ-45 connectors for wired LAN connections and a built-in GPS receiver that provides the unit’s location to a central server.

PROPRODUCTS

IPV and ROOT6 technology automate workflows

Media technology specialist IPV has partnered with ROOT6 Technology to automate workflows. The partnership sees Curator asset management software integrated with the automation specialist’s ContentAgent workflow management tool.

The combined technology automates a range of functionality during both content input and output to unlock faster post-production workflows.

Curator’s flexible design

means it can integrate with a range of tools that complement its workflowenhancing functionality, and ROOT6 Technology’s ContentAgent is an example, the release stated. The API integration helps consolidate workflow processes by letting users complete multiple tasks at once. This lets editors make the best use of Curator by focusing on the creative elements of their projects.

Curator works with ROOT6 Technology’s CardAgent to enable editors to automatically select and preview clips, add inand out-points, and add custom metadata where required.

Zegami’s visual exploration platform launched

Sam Conway, CEO, Zegami.

Visual data exploration company Zegami has launched its visual exploration technology in the broadcast industry.

The Zegami platform reportedly makes content more discoverable and quickly accessible for monetisation.

Elaborating on the platform, CEO Sam Conway said: “Not only does the platform save on guesswork

and pre-planning, it enables producers and editors within a broadcast operation to make smarter decisions around their collective data and better engage audiences.”

Using a unique algorithm, Zegami draws all the information from a broadcaster’s structural database, media asset management (MAM) system, metadata, API, statistics, social media and live data platforms into a single visual user interface (UI), using proxys and webhooks. By combining AI and human sentiment to optimise data and give emotional context to live audience consumption, Zegami is also an engagement tool.

Ross unveils EVO Signature Series solution

Fujinon enhances convertible Cabrio

Ross Video has announced a partnership with Studio Network Solutions (SNS) and unveiled an exclusive line of storage products.

The Ross EVO Signature Series is designed and built by SNS exclusively for Ross Video, and will be integrated into Ross news, live event, playout and asset management solutions.

The EVO Signature Series is a flexible and scalable storage solution offering multiple form factors, storage capacities and I/O options that can scale up to the largest and most demanding workloads, from a simple and highly portable

Fujinon has introduced a new version of its XK6x20 zoom (better known as the Cabrio 20120mm) without the servo drive motor, making it operable as a fully manual, parfocal, cinema zoom lens.

The servo drive on other Cabrio Series lenses is interchangeable on the 20-120mm, if it is purchased without a drive unit.

Designed to be convertible between the video production and cinema markets, the Cabrio 20-120 features a flat T3.5 from end to end, with no ramping. It covers an S35-sized

desktop storage solution – suited for trucks and field editors – all the way up to large 16-bay storage units peered together to a maximum capacity of 960TB in a single storage node. It includes options supporting direct connect 1GbE ports to multiple 10Gb copper and fibre options, and even 25Gb and 50Gb solutions for more demanding playout requirements. The EVO Signature Series also includes the option for nearline storage, which is suited for media asset management solutions such as Ross Streamline.

sensor (Super 35 format). Without the servo drive, it can accept industry-standard cine motors and matte boxes.

Just as third-party manufacturers developed accessories for Fujinon MK lenses, camera and lens support providers are offering solutions to benefit users of the Cabrio 20-120mm without a servo. Chrosziel and Heden have designed lighter weight servo zoom motor solutions.

On the mount side, Duclos Lenses and IBE (Germany) offer EF mount and multi-mount kits.

November 2018 | www.broadcastprome.com | 51

PROGUEST

“Neural networks … allow the identification of the most important variables related to churn and [are] doing a very good job in pattern detection”

AI: The new brain of the video industry Artificial intelligence (AI) has been ever present in the technical departments of leading companies since it became a sensation in the ‘90s. It’s important to know that the function of AI that offers the best results is known as machine learning. Machine learning is the ability of computer systems to constantly learn by themselves.

The only two things missing are data and computational capacity.

The importance of data and the power of calculation are fundamental to understanding the success of AI in the previous twenty years.

This allows us not only to obtain information from users who make use of online platforms, but also to know the nature of their experience, the problems they experience and the navigation they perform on their devices, in order to build 360-degree, engaging end-user experiences.

Intelligent anomaly detection Data allows us to find common patterns that trigger an action – such as user churn – or in the detection of anomalies, which occur when a particular behaviour is not within the expected pattern.

Precisely segmented content recommendation Moreover, recommendation systems can be built to detect correlations between users (user-

based recommendations) or use a person's own previous experience to offer content (contentbased recommendations).

Churn detection and prediction The detection and prevention of user churn is the number one concern of video services, as it directly affects their income. For this, it is interesting to identify the main causes or influencers for churn, such as poor streaming quality, inefficient customer service, an unappealing content catalogue, unrelated content recommendations, advertising overload and unfriendly UI. It is also possible to predict and identify users at risk of unsubscribing from a video platform by analysing their behaviour and frequency of visits and then comparing it with the previous behaviours of users who left the platform.

Neural networks solve these types of problems and they do a very good job in pattern detection. For an isolated set of data, for example a single visualisation, one would advise using a simple neural network. For a sequence of events, one would opt for an RNN (recurrent neural network) which has a temporary memory of past events, such as a user’s visiting pattern.

Intelligent alert system Anomaly detection services allow content and technical teams to detect when any of the quality

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metrics are not in their confidence values and which combination of dimensions is causing such failure.

For example, if a particular combination of city and CDN gets a local buffer value that is too high, the confidence values for each metric and dimension cannot be fixed – they are variable in time and the system must adapt (note that a constant problem is not an anomaly). In addition, each possible combination must be treated independently. So-called autoencoders are a type of neural network proving to be very useful in solving these problems, despite existing for a different purpose.

They consist of two parts: the first stage of coding and the second stage of decoding. When encoding and decoding ‘normal’ values, the result is the same, but when an anomaly is introduced, the decoding varies with respect to the initial input. There we have an alert.

The future The market trend is towards incorporating artificial intelligence in more areas of the business, creating automatic marketing campaigns customised for each user, or even models that regulate traffic on platforms so that errors and waiting times are reduced.

Exciting new AI applications are to follow in the video sphere, and anyone with a video service will experience them.

Marc Valdivia is a Data Engineer at NPAW (Nice People At Work).