Digital Studio India December 2017

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EVENTS

INTER BEE 2017

THE MAKING OF TIGER ZINDA HAI

GE, A EW EN N E TH E QUE N I AT AS TH H T VES MERGE E I L , BE WILL E 8 1 OM TEXT C A I O, V D CON E C UP G, AN O R S, G BE KIN T A U V T WILL H S AN NTEN H D SU CO Published by ITP Media (India)

DECEMBER 2017 VOLUME 9 ISSUE 12 EVENTS CALENDAR 2017

BES Expo

2nd to 4th Feb The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, New Delhi, India

BVE show

Date: 28th to Feb 2nd March ExCeL London, UK

CABSAT Show

21st to 23rd March Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE

NAB Show

22nd to 27th April Las Vegas Convention Centre, US

Broadcast Asia

23rd to 25th May Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore

20 THE UBER STORYTELLER

Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, Viacom18, believes that in the new-age, content will be king, and context will emerge as the queen

12 DOMESTIC NEWS 16 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 26 IN CONVERSATION

Emmy-award winning Jonathan Wales, CEO of Sonic Magic Studios believes that

IBC Expo

15th to 19th September Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands

Digital Studio India Channel Partner Awards

13th October Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai

re-recordists need to stories interestingly, without being generic or boring

30 ROAR OF THE TIGER

YRF Films’ sound experts reveal how they created the audio landscape for the highoctane Tiger Zinda Hai

6 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

Inter BEE

15th to 17th November Tokyo, Japan

www.digitalstudioindia.com

VIEWPOINT Vol. 9 | Issue 12 | December 2017

ITP MEDIA (INDIA) PVT LTD

Stay Curious

898 Turner Road, Notan Plaza, 3rd Floor Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050, India T +91 22 6154 6000

VINITA BHATIA

Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, Viacom18 has a simple success mantra – ‘Stay curious, stay fearless’. After taking charge of the company in 2012, he initiated the acquisition of ETV’s five regional channels, and came up with the concept of sharper segmentation. This resulted in the launch of Nick Jr, Nickelodeon’s kids channel for 4 to 12 year olds. A year later, Viacom18 turned profitable, recording profit after tax (PAT) for the first time as a network.

Calling himself a storyteller, Vats emphasises it is imperative to listen keenly to changing decibels in the dynamic media and entertainment industry. That is the only way to create, and narrate, great stories. He believes as long as he can do this, he will be in business.

In our cover story this issue, we explore how Viacom18 has managed to grow its business by 40 times over the past decade. And yes, this was possible because the company kept listening to its target audience, venturing into newer domains, at the right time.

In this issue, we speak to another individual who shares Vats penchant for curiosity – the Emmy-award winning re-recordist Jonathan Wales, who is also CEO of Sonic Magic Studios. Fascinated by technology, he quit a job to start his own company that employed a completely digital, end-toend workflow. Having worked on close to 300 movies, he says that ultimately, everything boils down to telling stories interestingly, without being generic or boring, but also without being too obvious.

In yet another article, while describing how they created the audio landscape for the soon-to-be released Tiger Zinda Hai, Ganesh Gangadharan, Dileep Subramanian and Anuj Mathur of YRF Studios reveal how they innovated to add aural elements to the film. At certain places in the movie, the music was notched down discreetly to accentuate the sound effects or the other way around, depending on the story’s flow.

The central thread running through these three articles is this – content reigns supreme. While the initial glitz and the glamour could be eye-catching, ultimately audiences crave relatable and meaningful content. And those who can continue to provide this are in for the long haul, like Vats predicted.

Who’s game?

Deputy managing director S Saikumar Group publishing director Bibhor Srivastava EDITORIAL Editor Vinita Bhatia

ADVERTISING India Commercial director Manoj Sawalani M +91 98201 76965 manoj.sawalani@itp.com South India Director Sanjay Bhan M +91 98457 22377 sanjay.bhan@itp.com

STUDIO Head of design Milind Patil Senior designer Vinod Shinde Contributor Sanjay Bandre

PRODUCTION Deputy production manager Ramesh Kumar

CIRCULATION Distribution manager James D’Souza T +91 22 6154 6006 james.dsouza@itp.com

....................................................................................................................................

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.

Printed and Published by Sai Kumar Shanmugam, Flat no 903, Building 47, NRI Colony, Phase – 2, Part -1, Sector 54, 56, 58, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400706, on behalf of ITP Media (India) Private Limited, printed at Indigo Press India Pvt. Ltd., Plot No. 1C / 716, Off Dadoji Konddeo Cross Road, Between Sussex and Retiwala Ind. Estate, Byculla

(East),

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at

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Vinita Bhatia, Editor vinita.bhatia@itp.com /ITPDigitalStudio 8 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

/DigitalStudioIn

Published by and © 2017 ITP Media (India) Pvt Ltd RNI No. MAHENG/2009/33418 MIB no. 10/50/2008

www.digitalstudioindia.com

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ADVISORY BOARD

ADVISORY BOARD DIGITAL STUDIO INDIA ADVISORY BOARD 2017 We are happy to introduce the Digital Studio India Technical Advisory Board for 2017. The board—comprising Indian television and broadcast industry veterans and thought leaders—offers insights about market happenings, ideas for features and news, thoughts on technology and trends, editorial contributions. The board also lends its knowledge and experience to help Digital Studio India continue to offer the most timely editorial features, case studies, and information relevant to the industry.

DINESH SINGH

K YEGNESHWARA IYER

Chief Technology Officer, NDTV Limited Singh has over 22 years of experience with companies like NDTV, NVL Ltd - Sony Broadcast equipments, Thomson, etc. Some of his notable projects include India’s first digital production set up with robotics camera in the Parliament, film-based project in Ramoji Film City and turnkey project of Bangladesh National Open University, Bangladesh that includes four studios with PCRs, radio audio studio, microwaves and FM transmitter.

Head Of Technology Technical & Broadcast Operations, Times Television Network Iyer has spent more than three decades setting up networks and developing business software for various broadcasting companies. A co-applicant in a patent application for real time graphics on TV, he conceptualised and delivered innovative technical processes in news broadcast television, developed mobile apps and mobile app back-end architecture.

PIYUSH GUPTA

MANAS RANJAN MATI

Group CTO, India Today With over 19 years of experience in TV and broadcast, prior to managing technology and integration within India Today Group, Gupta has been with Network 18 for almost 15 years and has headed operations and technology development for CNBC TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN-IBN, HomeShop18 and Colors.

Executive Director & Head of Technology, Walt Disney India Mati heads Walt Disney India’s technology initiatives since the last four years. Prior to that, he was responsible for information technology, business applications and media technology functions for Disney Channel and Disney Media Distribution businesses in Asia Pacific and Japan.

RAJASEKHARAN HARIKRISHNAN

AK MADHAVAN

VP and CTO, Viacom 18 Media Harikrishnan heads the technical operations of Viacom 18 Media since the last four years. He has a rich experience in broadcast TV industry, production and post-production environment and also in designing and systems integration. He earlier headed technology and operations at Neo Sports Broadcast and has also worked with NDTV.

Founder and CEO, Assemblage Entertainment AK Madhavan launched his entrepreneurial venture, Assemblage Entertainment, at 55, after spending 14 years as CEO of Crest Animation Studios. Previously, he has managed senior roles with Dalal Street Journal and with DDE-Org Systems, a information technology solutions provider, where he also began his career.

SUBASH SAHOO VP – FWICE and General Secretary –WIMPTSEA An alumnus of FTII Pune, Sahoo has been part of Bollywood for over 22 years as sound designer. He has won the National Award twice, besides bagging several state awards. Sahoo is currently the general secretary of Western India Motion Pictures & TV Sound Engineers Association, and VP of Federation of Western India Cine Employees.

10 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

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NEWS

THIS MONTH IN THE BROADCAST AND PRODUCTION INDUSTRY

DIGITAL DOMAIN STARTS INDIAN OPERATIONS HYDERABAD IS THE 10TH LOCATION FOR THE COMPANY

Amit Chopra and Sudhir Reddy of Digital Domain.

Digital Domain, a provider of visual effects and immersive experiences, opened its studio in Hyderabad. India is the latest in a string of new locations for the company, including recent openings in Beijing and Hong Kong earlier this year. Hyderabad marks the 10th location for the global studio, which includes Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Vancouver, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong.

Digital Domain offer visual effects expertise with innovations in virtual, mixed, augmented realities and technology aiming to bring premium content experiences to its customers. Venkatesh Roddam joined as senior strategic advisor for Digital Domain. He was CEO of Reliance MediaWorks, a leading media and entertainment companies in India, with a presence across several businesses including theatrical exhibition of films, film and media services and television content production and distribution. Sudhir Reddy, who has come on board as Head of Digital Studio, used to work

12 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

with Reliance MediaWorks. He has close to 20 years of industry experience across creative, production and managerial roles.

“The world class infrastructure and start up ecosystem in Hyderabad make it an extremely desirable location for innovative companies like Digital Domain,” added Daniel Seah, global CEO, Digital Domain. “Combined with the recent projections for smartphone growth and mobile bandwidth expansion in the region, the people of India are primed to demand and expect premium content, and we are ready to deliver on that need.”

“India is, and will continue to be, an integral part of Digital Domain’s global expansion plans, as we foresee the region to be a leading consumer of premium content,” added Amit Chopra, COO of Digital Domain. “The escalating demand for premium film and digital experiences in India combined with a highly skilled local talent pool and Digital Domain’s prowess in the visual effects and the interactive content space will prove unstoppable.”

www.digitalstudioindia.com

The all new Ultimatte 12 features one touch keying, incredible new image and color processing for realistic composites, plus 12G-SDI for Ultra HD. Ultimatte 12 is more than the world’s best keyer, it’s an advanced real time compositing processor designed for next generation broadcast graphics.

Ultimatte 12 features new algorithms and color science for incredible edge handling, greater color separation, amazing color fidelity and better spill suppression than ever before. You get real time cinematic quality keying in a 12G-SDI design that works in both HD and Ultra HD.

Incredible Color Fidelity Now you can faithfully reproduce bright colors that were impossible before!

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Ultimatte’s one touch keying technology analyzes and automatically sets over 100 diff erent parameters. The first step is to properly light the scene and white balance your cameras, then let Ultimatte do the rest! Plus, you can connect a Smart Remote 4 via Ethernet to remote control up to eight Ultimatte units at once and fine tune your settings.

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DOMESTIC NEWS

SUN DIRECT DEPLOYS ALL-IP DELIVERY WORKFLOW HARMONIC’S HEVC SOLUTION HELPS IT DELIVER 80 HD CHANNELS AT LOW BITRATES Sun Direct, a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television provider with more than 12 million subscribers, has deployed Harmonic’s software-based HEVC media processing solution within its all-IP workflow in order to expand its HD service offering. Harmonic’s Electra X2 encoder and ProStream multiplexer enable Sun Direct to deliver an additional 80 HD channels from four transponders to subscribers, with clear video quality at the lowest possible bitrates.

“When we looked into expanding our HD service offering, we needed to partner with an expert in satellite deployments and encoding efficiency,” said S Kannan, group CTO, at Sun Group. “Harmonic enables us to deliver more channels using the same amount of transponder space.”

Tony Berthaud, VP, sales, APAC, at Harmonic.

Harmonic’s Electra X2 system maximises the efficiency and flexibility of statistical multiplexing through tight integration with its ProStream video stream processor, allowing Sun Direct to increase bandwidth efficiency and broaden its channel count. The ProStream processor maximises transponder savings, supporting up to 100 statmux services per platform. Sun Direct’s entire system workflow is IP-based and controlled by Harmonic’s NMX network management system.

“Sun Direct plans to roll out additional HD STBs this year, and Harmonic is leading the way in helping the operator capitalize on the associated higher subscription rates,” said Tony Berthaud, VP, sales, APAC, at Harmonic.

SONYLIV, RIOT GAMES LIVE STREAM ‘LEAGUE OF LEGENDS’ game that blends the speed and intensity of a RTS with RPG elements and helped define the popular ‘MOBA’ (multiplayer online battle arena) genre.

Through SonyLIV’s association with Riot Games, viewers got access to the live stream of ‘League of Legends’ World Championship finals, an annual event with a massive global audience.

Committed to bringing novelty to the mobile screen and giving users a top-notch experience, SonyLIV streamed the championship live on November 4, 2017 at 12:30 pm IST. With this association SonyLIV users got access to watch the two teams, Samsung Galaxy and SK Telecom T1, fight their battle to win the Summoner’s Cup. ‘League of Legends’ is a fast-paced, competitive online game that blends the speed and intensity of a RTS with RPG elements.

Uday Sodhi, EVP and head, digital business, SonyLIV, said, “SonyLIV is all about going beyond With the world going increasingly digital, there has been a tranregular content and giving our audience a never seen before exsitional shift in the way sports is being viewed. The concept of perience. Keeping this in mind and bringing our brand ethos ‘We esports is evolving slowly. Keeping up with this trend, SonyLIV LIV to entertain’ alive, we associated with Riot Games to bring livestreamed the year’s biggest esports event, Riot Games’ esports for the first time to Indian audience on the OTT platLeague of Legends World Championship, this event was at the form.” Anurag Khurana, country manager, India of Riot Games Beijing National Stadium, also known as ‘The Birds Nest’. added, “We were excited to partner with SonyLIV to bring the Known for its unrelenting focus on putting players first, Riot global finals of our premier esports event to an Indian audience.

Games is one of the world’s premier game developers. Their iniRiot is committed to bring the highest levels of player focused tial title, ‘League of Legends’ is a fast-paced, competitive online gaming entertainment to our Indian fans.”

14 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

www.digitalstudioindia.com

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

CINEGY PARTNERS WITH TOKYO’S ITOCHU CABLE

More than 20,000 participants from 16 countries participated in the Shenyang International Marathon.

SHENYANG INTERNATIONAL MARATHON IS LIVE STREAMED CHINA’S CCTV USES AVIWEST’S PRO180-RA FOR LIVE BROADCAST OF THE EVENT CCTV, the state television broadcaster in China, provided full live coverage of the 2017 Shenyang International Marathon using AVIWEST’s PRO180-RA 4G video uplink solution. Featuring real-time video mobile wireless bonded cellular technology, AVIWEST’s PRO180-RA solution provided CCTV with a portable, cost-effective and reliable transmission method for delivering high-definition footage of the event to different cities around China.

The Shenyang International Marathon is a world-class event, and CCTV needed a high-performance, flexible, and durable video streaming solution to deliver live coverage of the marathon. A key reason CCTV chose AVIWEST’s PRO180-RA video uplink system is its adaptability in terms of enabling the live broadcasts from anywhere.

The broadcaster used AVIWEST’s solution to transmit live coverage of the marathon from a motorcycle, ensuring that its viewers never missed a second of the action.

More than 20,000 participants from 16 countries and regions were involved in the marathon. The tournament uses a

rare dedicated marathon track to show the urban landmarks on both sides of the Hun River in Shenyang, giving competitors a unique running experience. During the live event, CCTV used a motion-shooting camera to capture each of the participants and then transferred the signal to AVIWEST PRO180-RA 4G video uplink solutions for live transmission. Three separate video uplink systems were used simultaneously to provide viewers with different perspectives of the marathon.

With the video uplink solution, CCTV could set up the device and connect to a camera to quickly live stream. Weighing about 1 kilogram, the portable PRO180-RA can be easily connected to any professional camera (for e.g., SD/HD-SDI, analog [BNC] and HDMI) and mounted via V-Mount and Gold Mount. By providing CCTV with a video uplink system that is easy to transport and use, AVIWEST helped CCTV speed up its newsgathering operation. The PRO180RA allowed CCTV to aggregate all SIM card data traffic to optimize bandwidth during live video transmission.

THE PRO180-RA SUPPORTED ALL THREE MAJOR TELECOM OPERATORS IN THE COUNTRY — CHINA MOBILE, CHINA UNICOM, AND CHINA TELECOM.

16 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

Cinegy announces partnership with Itochu Cable Systems, Tokyo

Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital video processing, asset management, video compression and automation and playout announced a new distribution partnership with Tokyo-based Itochu Cable Systems Corporation. The latter provides system integration services for data, video, and telecommunications.

Cinegy’s MD, Daniella Weigner said, “Itochu’s primary focus with Cinegy at present is in our production and post-production solutions. They have many major customers in Japan, including large animation studios, who need to digitize, store, and repurpose content. Cinegy Capture PRO provides VTR control, batch ingest, proxying, multiple SDI board support plus the ability to effortlessly handle all major formats.”

Itochu Cable Systems’ General Manager, Hoei Division, Hidetaka Osuga said, “We have been very impressed with Cinegy capabilities and have championed their solutions. So we are delighted to formalise our sales and support partnership. We were delighted to represent them at Inter BEE 2017, showcasing Cinegy Capture PRO and a selection of their other excellent products.” www.digitalstudioindia.com

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

GLOBECAST SELECTS MEDIAPROXY’S BROADCAST MONITORING SOFTWARE Mediaproxy, a provider of software-based IP broadcast solutions for compliance, monitoring and analysis, announced that Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, has chosen its LogServer software solution for its London and Singapore facilities.

Globecast helps customers to manage their content and make it available wherever required, by anyone required. The company provides seamless content acquisition, media management, VOD logistics, OTT and distribution services globally, constantly investing in new technologies to create customer-centric new services. With points of presence in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa content around the world rely on Globecast for their needs.

The company’s facilities can ingest broadcast feeds from satellite, digital terrestrial television, and IP networks for aggregating, processing, and delivering live and file-based content around the world.

LogServer, Mediaproxy’s software-based broadcast and IP monitoring solution, provides real-time compliance monitoring, reporting, and incidence management. Using Mediaproxy’s LogServer software suite, Globecast is able to ensure full compliance with local broadcast regulations including loudness, subtitling, and closed captioning. The LogServer solution was installed at Globecast’s London facilities by

Mediaproxy’s UK based partner, Polar Graphics.

“With Mediaproxy we can ensure the highest level of regulatory compliance and quality control possible for our customer,” said Sylvain Merle, CTO, Globecast. “As content delivery and consumption becomes increasingly multi-screen and multi-format, the agility provided by the LogServer software suite will allow us to stay one step ahead of evolving viewer trends.”

IMAGINE’S PLATINUM IP3 POWERS CINEVIDEO IMAGINE’S SIGNAL ROUTING IS AT CORE OF ITALIAN PRODUCTION COMPANY’S OB TRUCK

The new 12-meters, triple-expanding unit provides up to 60 square metres of internal space.

Imagine Communications has supplied the core infrastructure, including a multi-format router, for a new outside broadcast truck built

by Italian production company Cinevideo. The new 12-meters, tripleexpanding unit provides up to 60 square metres of internal space. It accommodates two production and two audio control rooms, giving

www.digitalstudioindia.com

Cinevideo the flexibility to provide multiple versions of an event, or to provide both coverage of a sporting event and the commentary from one truck. To deliver optimum flexibility and versatility, Cinevideo required that its new truck handle HD and 4k/UHD resolutions, as well as standard and high dynamic range signals, simultaneously.

Monitoring large numbers of sources in different formats led to a requirement for 24 monitors, both full HD and 4k, which can each be configured as HD mosaic, quad splits or single 4k displays. This level of flexibility demanded an advanced multi-viewer system, which is a standard, integrated feature of the Platinum IP3 15RU router from Imagine Communications.

“Dolphin-7 has been designed to be as flexible as possible, to accommodate a variety of events and to meet all customer requirements,” said Andrea Buonomo, executive sales manager at Cinevideo.

“Versatility is a key function in live production and the quick configurability of the IP3 helps us seamlessly move from different productions – or even to different clients for the same production – without the downtime normally required to prepare a mobile production unit.

We chose the IP3 router to empower our operators with the ability to switch configurations at will and handle native 4k along with 3G or HD signals simultaneously.”

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 17

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM GROUP’S 4K TV STB IN GERMANY THE ‘ENTERTAIN TV’ BOX IS POWERED BY ZENTERIO OS

Deutsche Telekom Group launches first 4K TV STB in Germany With Zenterio OS

TDG Germany, owned by Deutsche Telekom Group, has deployed a second set-top box (STB) powered by Zenterio OS as part of the Deutsche Telekom Group’s strategy to harmonise STB client software across all of its operations in Germany, Hungary, Greece, Romania, and Croatia.

Powered by Zenterio OS, the high-end 4K Entertain TV STB supports various features, including 4K, YouTube, and Netflix video content. Zenterio OS’ highly scalable software architecture reduces integration time, lowers costs, and enables the Deutsche Telekom Group to unify all STB deployments around a single middleware.

With Zenterio OS powering its new Entertain TV STBs, TDG Germany can offer the latest advanced services, including 4K TV, to subscribers quickly.

The Entertain TV STBs support a state-of-the-art feature set that includes live IPTV up to 4K resolution; VOD; YouTube, Netflix, and other third-party apps; advanced bandwidth and resource management; advanced parental control; interactivity with companion devices; and advanced data collection and monitoring capabilities.

Jörgen Nilsson, CEO of Zenterio said, “Our common software platform was the key to the success of this service launch and two other major service launches for Deutsche Telekom Group recently, in Germany and Croatia.”

18 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

MARJAN TELEVISION NETWORK UPGRADES STUDIOS WITH LED LIGHTING RIGS of tuneable white LED luminaires suitable for the studio lighting. ProLights colour changing LED effects lighting were used for more dynamic productions.

These included LumiPix linear battens and a range of moving heads including Ruby beam lights, Stark400 pixel-mappable wash lights, Other associated equipment supplied included and StarkBlade8 moving aluminium truss, TV spigots and black safety wire. battens.

AC-ET’s in-house London-based Marjan Television Network Tourflex cabling custom cable assembly serhas just completed a major refurbishment of vice manufactured to custom order lengths its four-studio complex to new LED lighting and connector choices, nearly 900 metres rigs featuring Chroma-Q, Spotlight, ProLights of various power, lighting data, and hybrid and Quasar Science fixtures, supplied, along power/data cabling. This included over 500m with all associated cabling, by A.C. Entertainof Tourflex Datasafe Ultra lighting data signal ment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd. cabling; over 250m of power cabling, custom Marjan broadcasts a wide range of enterassembled with Tourmate and Neutrik tainment programmes to 25 million viewers powerCON connectors; and nearly 100m of globally. These include Persian-language powerCON and Socapex extension cabling. versions of British favourites such as The X Muir said, “Marjan are a great example of Factor, Come Dine With Me and Spitting Imthe new breed of broadcaster, at the forefront age, as well as producing several hours per day of using new technology to reach widely of live output programming from its studios. dispersed audiences. Being located in London Designed so that all four of the studios can provides them easy access, not just to the be controlled from a single gallery, Marjan’s equipment, technology and technical skills, brief was multifaceted from both a technical but also to the creative designers and producand aesthetic perspective. The facility needed tion skills that are so essential to make high to be flexible to accommodate the wide range quality programmes.” of productions, whilst maintaining a conJean Luc Neale, lighting and vision engitemporary feel. Inherent within this was the neer for Marjan commented, “We have high requirement for the installation to be energyproduction values and make a wide range efficient with, at its core, a lighting package programmes, which are broadcast to audiwhich was multi-purpose and delivered good ences all over the world from these four stucolour rendition on camera. dios. Because content ranges from news and Ian Muir, who heads up AC-ET’s specialist interviews to dynamic entertainment shows, Film and TV sales division, worked closely it’s really important that the new lighting rigs with Marjan to ensure that the equipment are flexible, easy to set up and control, whilst met these requirements. He specified a also being reliable, low maintenance and with variety of LED lighting solutions, including low operating costs. AC-ET presented an 22 Chroma-Q Space Force soft light fixtures; integrated solution that didn’t just include the over 100 Spotlight Fresnels; and Quasar Scilighting fixtures themselves, but the accessoence Q-LED linear lamps – to provide a range ries, cabling and support that we needed.”

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COVER STORY

THE UBER STORYTELLER

Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, Viacom18, believes that in the newage, content will be king, while context will emerge as the queen

BY VINITA BHATIA hen Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 talks about his company, his passion for three things stands out – technology, content and people, though not necessarily in that order. The technology part is understandable, equipped as he is with a B Tech degree and a PGDM from Ahmedabad’s Indian Institute of Management.

To understand the content bit, you have to step back to 2012, when he joined Viacom18 and initiated the acquisition of ETV’s regional channels and launched Nick Jr, Nickelodeon’s kids channel for 4 to 12 year olds. A year later, Viacom18 turned profitable, recording PAT for the first time as a network.

Believing that talent is at the core of the company’s business, Vats has encouraged various initiatives at Viacom18 over the past five years. He wants to drive synergies to harness Viacom18’s 1500-strong talent pool and has started an ongoing transformation programme called Evolve, so that the organisation can keep getting better at what they are. Want an example about its open work culture? Try this. When Viacom18 was considering a name for its OTT platform 18 months ago, employees were encouraged to recommend names and one of their suggestions was chosen as the title – VOOT! So, how does Vats juggle so many balls in the air while walking a tightrope? Well, try another one for measure – he also happens to be a fervent marathon runner!

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20 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

Here is how one can sum up Vats – a methodical, analytical, yet soft-spoken, person, who works hard at being successful.

He believes that being successful takes a lot of hard work and planning, something that is reflected in the way he has managed to make Viacom18 grow since taking charge.

DOWN MEMORY LANE A decade and counting, Viacom18 has gone from a single music channel brand, MTV India, to operating 44 channels. Today, it is present in 80 countries catering to the needs over 500 million viewers. What’s more, it has diversified into five business lines – broadcast, films, digital, live and merchandising. And, to spice things up a little, it entered into the F&B business by launching the first ever MTV themed café in the world, FLYP@MTV. Through this all, Viacom18 has managed to tick off the right points on the growth chart, growing from INR 80 crore in FY 2007-2008 to INR 3100 in 2016-2017, registering an admirable 40x growth.

After Viacom18 Media was founded in November 2007 as a joint venture between US-based Viacom Inc and Mumbai-based Network18 Group, it launched Colors in July 2008. “Within nine months of the launch, the channel ranked #3 on first ratings post-debut and subsequently we went international with the launch of Colors in the US, where the channel is called ‘Aapka Colors’,” Vats said. Broadcasting remains the company’s mainstay, with presence in

QUICK FACTS ABOUT VIACOM18 • 44 channels • 5 lines of business • Present in 80 countries • Over 500 million audience • Registered 40X top line growth

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COVER STORY

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DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 21

COVER STORY

When it comes to films, Sudhanshu Vats claimed that Viacom18 wants to push the envelope, expand the box and operate on the edge of the box.

four key genres – general entertainment with Colors, Rishtey and Cineplex – youth music, English entertainment, kids entertainment and regional entertainment. After the ETV acquisition in 2012, the five regional channels were subsequently rebranded to Colors, which further bolstered the GEC cluster.

MOVIE MAGIC In 2010, the company acquired Studio18, which was later renamed to Viacom18 Motion Pictures in 2011. Vats proudly called this the most successful studio in the country because they not only do critically acclaimed films but those that are commercially successful as well; a tough proposition at best. These include critically acclaimed films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Queen, Margarita With A Straw and Gangs of Wasseypur.

“When it comes to films, we push the envelope, want to expand the box and operate on the edge of the box,” said Vats. “We want to be a little ahead of the times; and it is important

22 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

Tamil s r o l Co ed aunch , l e b to ruary in Feb 18 20

to be just a little ahead.

You can’t be too ahead, because it is very difficult for the audience to comprehend your content, and you can’t be too behind, because then your content is not new. We are, therefore, in the business of creating tomorrow.”

Additionally, Viacom18 has a movie distribution partnership with Paramount Pictures. It has also collaborated with the Hollywood studio, Lionsgate, for marketing and distribution of five movies, beginning with the Deepwater Horizon, followed by the award-winning La La Land last year.

LET’S GO DIGITAL In 2016, Viacom18 launched its digital business, VOOT, and Vats is delighted that within 18 months the OTT platform has 50 million downloads, and 30 million monthly active users. “More importantly, it has about 50 min-

utes plus watch time per user per day, which makes it the number one premium content streaming service in terms of watch time in the country,” he happily added.

To innovate, Vats believes that it is important for a media house to stay fearless and have a child-like curiosity. “We need to have the ability to try different things and take risks, which is something we do all the time. We need to listen keenly to the new world because things are changing very fast,” he stated.

Taking off from some deep listening on what the audience required, earlier this year, Viacom18’s digital arm worked with Google to create VOOT Lite, which is a Progressive Web App (PWA) product. This allows for offline page caching functionality, fast loading, responsive interface, and push notifications.

This is particular useful for users who access the service on 2G or 3G networks or in areas with slow connectivity.

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COVER STORY

COLOURING OUTSIDE THE LINES In 2013, Viacom18 introduced Integrated Network Solutions (INS) with a simple premise, to work across the network’s properties/brands and offer customised brand solutions by creating large format IPs and brand solutions for clients. Later, it was further divided into Live Viacom18 and BE Viacom18, where the former’s mandate was to create live properties in music and entertainment for English, youth, kids and regional clusters. The latter worked majorly on building broadcast properties on Viacom18 Network leveraging all its media assets including Viacom18 Motion Pictures and deliver clients and brands partnerships and solutions on a strategic level. The live experiential entertainment business struck gold with the creation of IPs like MTV Video Music Awards India and Vh1 Supersonic.

An inquisitive urge of wanting to expand the business boundaries led Vats to develop the merchandising market that the company had started in 2006. Over the years, the kids’ consumer products portfolio, comprising over 50 categories, has launched more than 10000 SKUs in popular characters like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Motu Patlu and Ninja Hattori, touching more than 15,000 retail outlets all over the country. It has also created several co-branded products under MTV, including clothing, sound systems and sunglasses.

And then there is FLYP@MTV Café, a food and beverage destination that was started in 2015 at New Delhi, so that the target audience could experience every aspect of MTV in all its glory. 18 months since its debuted, the outlet has reached break-even point. A Mumbai outpost was added to the portfolio a month ago, with another outlet in Chandigarh on the anvil. “We will soon open at 10 cities shortly and you can see that we have gone from selling soaps to selling soups!” Vats laughed.

THE ROAD AHEAD Constantly questioning how to become not just the most successful, but also the most admired, media and entertainment company, Vats believes the answer lies in continuously coming up with entertaining and engaging content. “Good business administration is the right balance of respect and love; and respect

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mographic segmentation of its kids portfolio, which is Nick Sonic, Nick Jr. and even Nick HD Plus. In English, it has segmented the portfolio with Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity. In regional content, the company is pushing for localisation, and has strengthened its leadership in the Kannada language with Colors Super.

In the fickle Bollywood domain, Viacom18 has backed personality-backed stories like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Mary Kom, Manjhi -The Mountain Man and even the controversial Padmavati, besides pushing for movies with innovative concepts like Special Chabbis, Oh My God. “I believe that the 1.3 billion people in India are distinct clusters and you have to identify these clusters and adapt to their “WE WANT TO BE A LITTLE needs and create content that cater to their AHEAD OF THE TIMES; AND IT requirements,” Vats pointed out.

To continue doing this, Viacom18 will IS IMPORTANT TO BE JUST A invest in creating new IPs across important LITTLE AHEAD. YOU CAN’T BE genres and experimenting with newer conTOO AHEAD, BECAUSE IT IS VERY cepts and formats. This includes expanding DIFFICULT FOR THE AUDIENCE TO into regional cinema and creating more original content for VOOT. COMPREHEND YOUR CONTENT, Viacom18 is also working with Maharashtra AND YOU CAN’T BE TOO BEHIND, State Transportation Department to provide BECAUSE THEN YOUR CONTENT VOOT Go, where travellers can enjoy the IS NOT NEW.” - SUDHANSHU VATS, streaming service on their digital devices without having net connectivity. “We also plan GROUP CEO, VIACOM18 to here exclusive content on VOOT behind paywall and roll out a subscription offering by comes out of performance. For me, performid 2018. Additionally, we hope to take our mance should be measured in hard numbers; OTT platform international and will continue be it ratings, downloads or views,” he noted. to strengthen our technology backend analytAnd love comes from the culture prevalent ics capability as we do so,” he informed. in the organisation, and how people within Everything that Viacom18 has – from digital, engage with each other, and outside with the experiential, gaming, merchandising, community at large. etc – is underpinned by broadcastAdmitting there is no secret ing and films, which is the comsauce to success that one p i pany’s bedrock. Vats underline is privy to, Vats said that r subsc es ’ T that all of this is built around an agile company should O VO ed pr o s a b content and talent. “We are plan ahead for the future. tion service t storytellers and if I were to sum For Viacom18, it begins mium nched by up our role, it would be taking with sharper segmentabe lau -2018 the story to the right audience tion, capturing white spaces mid and every audience to its story,” he in the business, followed by said. As long as he can tell good stories, going digital and building a holistic he will always be in business. ecosystem that encompasses all entities the And looking at the content pipeline that company has built so far.

Viacom18 has lined up for 2018, it looks like the When it comes to shaper segmentation, company is in for some roaring business!

Viacom18 has done a psychographic and de-

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 23

CONSUMER CONNECT — GRASS VALLEY

ENHANCING LIVE PRODUCTION WITH ROBUST REPLAY CAPABILITIES An important part of the success of live production for content such as sports is the ability to provide engaging replays.

Viewers expect that they will be able to see that game-winning play again and again from every angle, whether they are watching in person or from their living room. Heightened viewer expectations and a recent evolution to file-based workflows means that, in today’s production environments, replay consists of more than just ‘record and play’. Innovative replay and highlight package capabilities have made flexibility and integration across solutions more important than ever so that clips can be shared, stored and utilized efficiently and effectively during a live event and re-used in future broadcasts.

The basis of integration between replay and other live production solutions is a strong server platform that operates efficiently whether production is happening in the studio or on the road. When it comes to servers, especially in mobile environments such as OB vans, space, power and cooling are all vital concerns. Therefore, a server should be able to support high channel

Grass Valley’s K2 Dyno S Universe replay platform.

24 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

counts in as small a footprint as possible, and all major components should be easily accessible and removable from the front or rear of the unit without taking the device out of the rack. Grass Valley’s K2 Dyno S Universe replay platform is built to fit in any broadcast space—with up to 4 inputs and 2 outputs for 4K in 6RU, it boasts the smallest footprint per channel of any 4K replay solution.

Traditionally, replay systems have not been user friendly and require extensive training, but in the urgent world of live events it’s all hands on deck to produce quality content fast. A modern replay system should be intuitive, featuring elements common to the personal computers and devices that operators use daily. The K2 Dyno replay system features an ergonomic, easy-to-use controller with color touchscreen display and multicolor buttons and a precision control shuttle knob for an intuitive user experience.

Replay systems need to fit and operate effectively wherever a live event is being produced, in a variety of production environments—big and small. They also need to be easy to use by whoever is responsible for producing content.

And they need to be flexible enough for whatever live event a production team is broadcasting as different content requires different speeds and replay features.

The K2 Dyno

Somu Patil, VP, sales, Asia, Grass Valley

Universe offers two replay system packages— one optimised for 6X super slow-motion (SSM) but fully 4K UHD-capable and one optimised for 4K UHD but fully 6X SSM capable. A simple menu change switches the replay systems between 6X SSM and 4K UHD operation allowing for all the workflows without the need for additional operators—critical when operating in a small space and with limited team capacity. K2 Dyno also features AnySpeed technology for the smoothest playback at any speed from zero to 200 percent, depending on whether broadcasters are showing a replay at fullspeed or slow-motion to highlight the details.

Several important factors go into choosing a replay solution, and in an industry as innovative as broadcast and live production, those factors are always changing. But broadcast solution developers with their fingers on the pulse, create adaptable, future-ready solutions that meet broadcasters’ current needs as well as needs created by upcoming technologies. As such, the K2 Dyno replay system is designed to be flexible and scalable, supporting SD, 10-bit HD, high frame rate, 3G or 4K UHD with the ability to grow as channel count increases and adapt to future needs.

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LIVE PRODUCTION

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Learn more by visiting grassvalley.com/cameras For more details, please contact : Gaurav Sethi : +91 98990 44485 Email : sasales@grassvalley.com

Belden, Belden Sending All The Right Signals, and the Belden logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Belden Inc. or its affiliated companies in the United States and other jurisdictions. Grass Valley products listed above are trademarks or registered trademarks of Belden Inc., GVBB Holdings S.A.R.L. or Grass Valley Canada. Belden Inc., GVBB Holdings S.A.R.L., Grass Valley Canada and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

Copyright 2017 Grass Valley Canada. All rights reserved. Specifications subject to change without notice.

Photo © Nick Wiebe / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

IN CONVERSATION

SOUND ADVICE

Emmy-award winning Jonathan Wales, CEO of Sonic Magic Studios has worked on close to 300 movies. He believes that re-recordists need to stories interestingly, without being generic or boring and also without being too obvious

BY VINITA BHATIA he most endearing quality about Jonathan Wales is his childlike curiosity about everything around him – not something you would associate with an Emmy Awardwinner. Perhaps that is one of the reasons he has managed to endure, and succeed, in an industry that is known to cut most people down to size within minutes. Yes, we are talking about Hollywood – the destination that everyone in the movie business wants to land up at!

Growing up in London, Wales was always musically inclined – in fact, he started playing the piano from the age of 4. Despite his passion for music, when the time came to choose a career, he decided to take the conventional route. That meant finishing high school and joining medical school. But he felt constantly drawn back to the music industry and ultimately realised that is where his real calling lay.

Since he had always been interested in recording technology, he attended the Tonmeister programme at the University of Guildford and started getting offers to work on records whilst in college. Soon, he left his studies to begin working professionally as a keyboard player and programmer, which quickly led him to getting involved in producing records, something he cherished, and which set him on the road to success.

We speak to Wales about his journey from recording for some award-winning movies, like E.T.

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IN CONVERSATION

the Extra-Terrestial, to winning awards for himself along the way.

Why did you decide to become a rerecording mixer for movies?

My work in music had me sometimes working in New York and Los Angeles and I decided that I would much prefer to live and work in LA. It was partially a lifestyle thing, and partially a talent thing (not mine!). The most ridiculously talented people I had met were in LA at that time, and getting to work with people like that, is so inspiring. So, I set about trying to get there to stay.

At around the same time, I was dabbling in some engineering projects that involved movies and I found it very fascinating.

I also found that movies were far more collaborative. There were so many people working together and this was very cool and creative. So after a while, I decided to try to shift my focus towards movies.

Do you remember the first movie you worked on?

I remember it, but I won’t name it. I was filling in for someone who was sick and I didn’t know what I was doing at all and it was very, very scary. But it was an opportunity and I just went for it. That helped me get my first real job working on movies.

And then you decided to start your own independent studio. Was it an easy transition?

I was fascinated by technology and how far we could push it. I had always had a feeling that movies were lagging behind music in the late 90’s. In music everything had been computers all decade long. Movies were still analog; it felt so old.

I was looking for more freedom and wanted to incorporate every latest thing as soon as it was available and make a completely digital workflow end-to-end. I hooked up with a couple of friends and we decided to build up Sonic Magic into a real company.

What makes Sonic Magic unique, from a neutral perspective?

Well, I’ve been through two incarnations so

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“SPECIFIC TV SERIES, LIKE THE THE MIST, ARE DIALOGUEDRIVEN, BUT WITH BAD STUFF HAPPENING SOMETIMES. IT’S HARD AT HOME BECAUSE BEING ‘CREEPY’ IN A THEATER INVOLVES GETTING VERY PHYSICALLY QUIET, AND THEN YOU CAN SUDDENLY GET VERY LOUD. IN THE HOME CONTEXT, YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STILL GET THAT FEELING BUT WITHOUT USING SUCH EXTREME DYNAMICS.” far in the US and just become involved with a new one too! Originally, Sonic was built in a small-ish facility with two mix stages; two add stages and a few other rooms. We did a lot of work there that we’re really proud of, but there was no room to grow and we needed to get bigger.

So, in about 2014, we joined forces with Wildfire to create Wildfire Sonic Magic.

The main reason was to consolidate into a larger facility with bigger mix stages and better infrastructure. The more centralised the better - everything on central servers

- with central machine rooms and KVM infrastructure.

So you think Indian companies can emulate this?

I don’t think there is any reason Indian companies can’t do this - it used to be much harder than it now is.

How many movies have you worked on so far?

I’ve worked on somewhere between 250-300 movies overall.

How do you select projects that you want to work on?

Sometimes I get to choose, sometimes they choose me. However, since we run a business, we take work as a necessity. I seem to get a lot of work in horror movies, and in musical projects. I think that’s mostly related to my history and to some of the projects I’ve done in the past that have been successful.

Contemporary movies, be it in Hollywood or Bollywood, have a vast auditory range where every soundtrack or note has to be poignant. In such a scenario, doesn’t it make your job tougher? Do you have any technique to ensure that each soundtrack weaves harmoniously with the storyline?

I’m not so sure that there is a special

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 27

IN CONVERSATION

technique per se. Movies are about story; period. Therefore, everything we do in the creation of the soundtrack needs to serve the greater good of telling the story. If that happens, the audience is delighted or moved emotionally, and that is what makes a good movie.

How can sound mixers and re-recordists create sounds for TV audiences so that it will envelop them much like cinemagoers, even though the former might not have surround sound or multiple speakers? How can they create the aura of an encompassing auditory experience?

Some of the best movies ever made had mono soundtracks. So it is not about the number of speakers or the format. It is about telling stories well and interestingly, without being generic or boring but also without being too obvious.

We are there to support the mood, the feel and the emotion of whats being acted. If we go too far, we can detract from the actors’ performances. If we don’t help enough, then they end up in a stage play. But none of that requires more speakers. What it needs is carefully crafted work that’s sensitive to what’s being done on screen.

Was there any movie in your career, especially in recent times that was particularly challenging from a technical and creative standpoint?

Sometimes, the movies that are difficult are not the ones where sound is obvious.

I worked on Universal Picture’s Get Out, (released in February 2017) which was produced by Blumhouse Productions.

It was very challenging because the film is about setting a slightly disturbing mood, without being obvious about it.

Add to this, there was the need to help the audience understand the perspective

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and mindset of the characters, and it gets quite interesting. We had to create a feeling for the ‘sunken place’, which was done organically by processing the actor’s screams and messing with the voices of other people he hears.

Also during the hypnotism scene, keeping the rhythm of the spoon on the teacup was very hard…then, we suggested what the character is hearing; rain for instance. We hear what’s in his head even though it’s not in the room; it’s a very delicate balance; real, sometimes hyperreal. It is always slightly strange; but not weird – like being on a permanent knife’s edge.

When it comes to creating theatrical representations for TV or digital platforms, how can you create tracks that are more delicately nuanced and compelling than dramatic? What process do you follow keeping in mind that not everyone has a home theatre?

Well, we often create ‘near field’ mixes for theatrical projects. The goal is to preserve the feeling of what a theatrical audience can experience, but translated better to the home environment.

You simply can’t experience the dynamics of a full theatrical track at home even in a home theater. Plus, the theatrical is mixed to work at a relatively loud level, with a ‘captive’ audience.

That is not what happens at home or on a second screen. So for those formats, it is about keeping the essence of the dynamics, but also trying to help you to not have to

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IN CONVERSATION

constantly reach for the volume control. In many cases, this means the dialogue needs to come up a little louder because in a theater you are more focused.

Theatrically, you can hear dialogue easier and get the loud stuff to be far louder than the dialogue all at once. At home, we tend to raise the lower (quieter) elements of the mix, lower the louder ones slightly, and often help the more immersive elements still work as well as possible given the environment.

Yet we do it carefully and sensitively. Not through compression – more through sensitively tweaking the mix.

On specific TV material – we recently worked on the TV series The Mist - I also do Scream TV (2 seasons already and a third in the works)……. In each of these cases they are dialogue driven shows, but with bad stuff happening sometimes.

It’s hard at home because being ‘creepy’ in a theatre involves getting very physically quiet, and then you can suddenly get very loud. In the home context, you have to figure out how to still get that feeling but without using such extreme dynamics. All of these challenges is what keeps the job interesting in my opinion.

Which is more challenging – working on movies, TV series, or content for digital platforms?

They are all challenging – just the challenges are slightly different. Ultimately, currently theatrical movies are the highest form of the art – mostly because we have longer to do them and larger budgets etc. Recently, however the explosion of Netflix or HBO Original TV series is really taking that to a different place.

Some of the highest quality shows on those networks (Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, for example) are literally minimovies per episode. So, the challenges for different formats are different. However, ultimately, good movie-making and good storytelling shines through.

What new trends are shining through in the world of audio management from the technical standpoint?

I think the biggest changes from a pure

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COUNSEL FOR YOUNG SOUND PROFESSIONALS • Learn as much as possible about as much as possible. Understand the whole workflow of movie-making so you know why you’re doing something, not just what.

• Master ProTools, because it is the standard for post. You can’t do anything effective if you don’t know how to use the gear.

• Utilise Youtube because education doesn’t have to be expensive.

• Don’t give up. If you want to do something then keep at it. It’s hard.

• Volunteer to do the crazy things nobody else wants to do. Prove yourself and then something will happen for you.

• Keep trying; there are no overnight sensations in any field. The overnight successes have been working away like crazy for 10 years or so. That is how it works, in every part of this industry.

WE OFTEN CREATE ‘NEAR FIELD’ MIXES FOR THEATRICAL PROJECTS. THE GOAL IS TO PRESERVE THE FEELING OF WHAT A THEATRICAL AUDIENCE CAN EXPERIENCE, BUT TRANSLATED BETTER TO THE HOME ENVIRONMENT. YOU SIMPLY CAN’T EXPERIENCE THE DYNAMICS OF A FULL THEATRICAL TRACK AT HOME EVEN IN A HOME THEATER. PLUS, THE THEATRICAL IS MIXED TO WORK AT A RELATIVELY LOUD LEVEL, WITH A ‘CAPTIVE’ AUDIENCE.

audio standpoint are in formats, especially from from the immersive environments like Atomos, Auro etc. In the future, I think, augmented reality and virtual reality are going to permeate programmed entertainment. So, that will get very technically deep.

In the purely technical space, I think the move towards packet-based audio (Dante / AVB) vs. traditional streams like AES / MADI, etc, will be the dominant interesting factor. Packet-based routing has so many advantages, especially for facilities. I think most people haven’t really begun to grasp that yet.

Have you worked on any Indian movies till date?

I haven’t personally; although not because I wouldn’t want to. I’ve worked on Chinese, Japanese, Hong Kong, Mexican, Dutch, French, Irish, American and English movies. Actually, I’m extremely excited now because I feel the world getting smaller. The great movie traditions from the USA, China, India and Europe are working closer. I am looking forward to doing more of this. In fact, I’m now working with a new company - RDR Studios - out of Shanghai. They have created a new sound company in LA that I’m working with. This is a good example of the industries collaborating and coming together more.

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 29

BEHIND THE SCENES

YRF Films’ sound experts, Ganesh Gangadharan, Dileep Subramanian and Anuj Mathur reveal how they created the audio landscape for the highoctane Tiger Zinda Hai

BY VINITA BHATIA

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BEHIND THE SCENES

ileep Subramanian is a man for all seasons – literally and rhetorically. Over the past three decades, he has travelled all over the world as an on-location sound recordist. For several weeks this year, he traipsed all over Abu Dhabi and Austria capturing various sounds for the Ali Abbas Zafar-directed Tiger Zinda Hai, which will release on 22 December, 2017.

And it was not an easy task, mind you.

While the temperature in Austria could go down to -5°C, in Abu Dhabi, it would go up to over 42°C! This is the reason most on-location sound recordists get involved in the film’s making at the script level – it helps them plan the equipment they need to procure for different types of shooting environments.

Talking about this, Subramanian said that one issue about shooting in Austria was that the low temperature would have affected the battery’s performance. “Mercifully, the Sound Devices products that I was using did well there. For most of ski slopes, we used portable gear, as it was difficult to negotiate,” he added.

However, Abu Dhabi posed a major challenge as the set up called for massive cooling systems during those months. At times, there were truck-mounted airconditioning systems with collapsible ducts and Subramanian had to carefully position the sound equipment around these to avoid the ambient noise, while capturing dialogue during sync sound.

“The huge set for the film was powered by generators running the air-conditioning.

These troubled us a great deal as shifting them involved cranes and prior notice.

We split units in the interior of the set to minimise the sound because it was impossible to shoot without air-conditioning for even a minute – the actors would actually collapse in the heat, if I switched the ACs off. It was challenging to capture a large part of the dialogue while avoiding the airconditioning and generator sounds,” he recalled.

For recording, Subramanian had been using Zaxcom Deva 5.8 as the primary recorder for most of his films for almost five

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DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 31

BEHIND THE SCENES

Dileep Subramanian, Anuj Mathur and Ganesh Gangadharan at YRF Films’s Audio Wing.

Dileep Subramanian capturing sounds on location.

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years but it had been giving him trouble.

Reliability and memory backup had started becoming an issue as the basic hard disc core of the recorder started developing connectivity issues leading to data loss.

“I realised that the first schedule was in Austria, where the temperature was -4°C and the subsequent schedule was during the summer in Abu Dhabi in 50°C. I needed new and sturdier gear for this wide temperature variation. I switched to a Sound Devices setup with an SL6 protocol for wireless microphone connection that was very reliable, battery friendly and easily switchable between portable and a trolley mounted studio setup with sliding faders. I also bought two matched pairs of Sennheiser 416 microphones and wireless microphone Lectrosonic with DPA capsules.

WORKING IN TANDEM Back at the YRF Films, the camaraderie between Subramanian, sound designer Ganesh Gangadharan, and rerecording sound engineer Anuj Mathur is so strong that sometimes one knows what the next is thinking even before the other says it aloud.

You can’t expect anything else from a trio that has orchestrated the sounds for several movies together at YRF Films.

While they are working on the sound of Tiger Zinda Hai, the VFX and a round of edit is taking place parallelly; and everyone is racing against the clock to ensure that they finish their task well within the deadline.

But Gangadharan is a not troubled – in the 11 years he has worked at YRF Films, he has not missed a single deadline.

“At YRF, we fix a schedule and stick to it.

We plan things in a way that we receive the print at least a month before the release date.

That way, once we are done with the first half, we stitch it and watch it once; following the process with the second half. Then, we watch the entire movie once,” Gangadharan said. Thus, there are multiple screenings in the studio before the copy if finally released.

This way, the audio experts can innovate and add more aural elements to the films as they have the luxury of time to do it.

One of the first scenes that Gangadharan started working on receiving the print

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BEHIND THE SCENES

involved a pack of wild animals. He realised he needed to create effects for this sequence, over and above the ones that Subramanian had captured on-location. “I layered it with additional animal sounds that I had in my library and got a new animal collection for Tiger Zinda Hai that had a lot of growls, howls and other variations,” he said. Editing wild animal sounds was also very new and difficult for him because his only point of reference was watching some videos on how animals behave, and then relying on his imagination. Ultimately, he had to find a sound that he felt would best suit the animal’s expression and aggression, and edit and process it.

“So, if the expression was a growl, I had to make the sound as heavy and guttural as possible. I had to give it the right pitch and roughness. I actually erased it several times before I was sure, and even convinced the director, that it was the right sound,” Gangadharan said.

Luckily for him, most of the time, director Zafar concurred with Gangadharan’s choice.

It helped that the latter, as a rule, does not use sounds that are extremely sharp. “I try to roll down lot of sounds that are expected to be sharp, so that it does not hurt when you are listening to it, because there are many layers. You have the music layer that itself takes up lot of pectorals, then there is the mid-range – everything is packed so how cut through this. There are certain places in this movie particularly, where the music has been notched down discreetly for the sound effects to get accentuated or the other way around, depending on the nature of the story,” he said.

WORKING A WIDE RANGE The other challenge Gangadharan faced in Tiger Zinda Hai was the multitude of sounds involved in a single scene at times, since this was high-adrenaline movie. It had almost every kind of action – from a gunfight, fist fight and sword fight to a car chase and bike race. At times, he had to work hard on singling out a single sound and make it the focal part of the narrative.

“If there is a scene where a chopper is flying overhead, a bike is racing past and a

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There are certain places in this movie particularly, where the music has been notched down discreetly for the sound effects to get accentuated or the other way around, depending on the nature of the story.

bullet is shot simultaneously, I could not have all the sounds at the same in the frame as it would have just resulted in noise. So I would to filter it out where the chopper would fly out first, then the bike would screech past and a bullet whizzing past is heard. That way, each element plays its distinctive part in the story,” he added.

This is a challenge that even Anuj Mathur, the YRF’s rerecording sound engineer faced, since a mainstream movie like Tiger Zinda Hai has a wide spectrum of audience ranging from kids who are fond of action to older viewers who are fans of the actors but are not enamoured of loud sounds. “I had to isolate frequencies from the score and sound effects, monitoring each and every track and remove the ones that could hurt the audience’s ears.

Also, I had to create a frequency bandwidth of dialogues, sound effects and the music score so that they did not clash with each other, which would have resulted in cacophony,” he added.

This is why, according to him, working on an action movie is always a tad different from working on a drama or any other genre.

The mix of an action movie is complex as it involves lot many tracks compared to a romantic or a drama. The job of a mix engineer is to ensure that the sound track holds the audience’s attention till the last frame of the film.

“With such action films, as a re-recording engineer, I had to try different combinations of the score and sound effects and figure out what worked best. At times, this could involve muting some musical elements or complete music scores that could clash with the sound effects. So, basically one has to work out different perspectives and present it to the director to find out the perspective for the film,” Mathur noted.

Despite the complexity of the work that Gangadharan, Subramanian and Mathur put together to make any movie successful, it is unlikely that most people would have heard of them. While the public might not recognize their painstaking work, they are well known in the audio designing industry, because of their expertise. With a collective portfolio of over 100 movies between them, that comes as no surprise, and yet is fitting.

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BEHIND-THE-SCENES

HITTING THE TARGET B2H Studios used Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve to complement stark colours and sun-kissed hues for The Ghazi Attack, aptly capturing the action in this underwater war film

BY VINITA BHATIA ar films have the ability to elicit extreme reactions from the audience – either they can get completely engrossed in the unfolding action, or they might feel disengaged from cinematic interpretation of history. This was also what happened in the case of The Ghazi Attack, which was based on the mysterious sinking of Pakistan’s flagship submarine PNS Ghazi during the 1971 war. Tauted as India’s first war-at-sea film, it is a fictional rendition of how in 1971, a Pakistani submarine called the

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PNS Ghazi ventured into Indian waters with the ambition of destroying the INS Vikrant.

Sailors aboard the Indian submarine S-21 stopped them in a war no one knew about.

The movie banked largely on the shoulders of actor Rana Daggubati, who enacted the role of the stoic Lieutenant Commander Arjun Varma. Those who liked the movie enjoyed it for the patriotism it evoked in them, as much as the muted action of the movie. After all, how much thrills could director Sankalp Reddy pack into a film that was based in the closed confines of a submarine.

Another thing that stood out was the drama and interplay between the two senior officers, Daggubati and Kay Kay Menon who was Captain Rann Vijay Singh. Again what add an edge to their sometimes aggressive exchanges were the dull fluorescent colour and the starkness within the submarine. This effect was rendered by B2H Studios, an entertainment company, which used Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve for grading the movie.

ALL THINGS STARK The Ghazi Attack was shot in 6K resolution and used distinctively different colour

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BEHIND-THE-SCENES

The Ghazi Attack was shot in 6K resolution and used distinctively different colour schemes for the Pakistan and Indian Navy to personify their diverging ambitions.

B2H Studios tried desaturating the visuals warmly to create soft contrasting colours with higher vibrancy, much like a film from the 1960s.

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schemes for the Pakistan and Indian Navy to personify their diverging ambitions.

Raghunath Varma, colourist for The Ghazi Attack and owner of B2H Studios is well aware that colour can be used as a strong story device in story-telling.

The decade-old B2H Studios has two colouring suites in southern India – one each in Chennai and Hyderabad. Varma believes that colour can affect us psychologically and physically, often without us being aware. Talking about the work he did in the movie, he added said, “R Madhi, the DOP the movie, knew that composition, contrast and colour would be important elements in communicating emotions to the audience.

We tried pushing the visuals a little further by desaturating warmly to create soft contrasting colours with higher vibrancy, much like a film from the 1960s.”

All this was well-planned in the preproduction phase. One reason for this was that despite the power of modern colour correction tools, like DaVinci Resolve, Varma believes that professionals should not leave colour to chance or expect a highly effective colour script in post. “When the details of cinematography are plotted out, colour adds a tremendous amount of storytelling power,” he noted. “Having worked with many industry-leading colour grading platforms, I have pretty much settled on only using DaVinci Resolve. I believe it is the fastest and most intuitive grading software out there. With every new upgrade, I find new tools that help me to be even more efficient.

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve support / development teams respond very quickly to our requirements.” He especially liked the 3D tracking, effecting mid-tone details, spatial NR, nodes, ResolveFX, remote grading, 3D qualifier and more.

It is not just Varma but several other colourists who believe that colour is a very powerful part of cinema storytelling; hence it should be budgeted for well in the beginning of movie making, rather towards the end of the process. After all, colourists play a critical role in lending the right amount of luminosity, contrast or darkness to a movie, depending on the content’s demand – to make the film appear more life-like.

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 35

BROADCASTING

ADVANTAGE IP

The growing adoption of IP is an indication that broadcasters are slowly, but positively, responding to this digital transformation

BY BINDU GOPAL RAO

he adoption of internet IP adoption has been high on the agenda of most broadcasters for a while now, mostly because of the benefits it brings to them in terms of scalability and flexibility. Due to the technology’s ability to address and route streams, it provides them the opportunity to create new workflows, which was not possible before.

And given nature for transmission of data

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in smaller packets, it allows for easier editing and post processing, permitting them to significantly enhance the viewer experience.

“IP also opens up possibilities for software and platforms not traditionally found in broadcast, such as switching and routing, asset management, transcoding for viewing in different mobile devices, editing, and search engines,” said Rafael Fonseca, VP, product management at Artel Video Systems.

This transition to software-defined systems running on commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) hardware permits them to rethink architectures. They no longer need big and expensive pieces of purpose-built equipment that only do one thing. The move to an open platform means tapping into larger economies of scale, as well as the productivity advantages that come with the adoption of an agile and flexible platform.

“Broadcasters and content providers are empowered by IP, for example, to spin

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BROADCASTING

up new channels and reach new devices at a fraction of the cost and time it takes using traditional systems. A micro services, cloud-native approach to workflow design also means greater efficiency and the ability to rapidly incorporate new technologies and features into your operations. The result is a more efficient technology platform that is capable of new levels of creativity and productivity,” said Raj Yadav, regional sales head, South Asia at Imagine Communications.

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vulnerable to distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS). Broadcasters will need to create ‘walled gardens’ and implement safeguards to protect it from these and other rogue entities,” said Fonseca.

The challenges of building a broadcastready network with next-gen architectures, which are rapidly diminishing, are no different than they are for traditional infrastructures. Reliability, precision-timing, high quality, etc., are all attributes that engineers must strive to achieve regardless of the technology domain.

According to Imagine Communications it is now possible to engineer a network in the IP realm that is just as robust and “IP OPENS UP POSSIBILITIES FOR reliable as a traditional broadcast network.

Moreover, the company claimed that all of SOFTWARE AND PLATFORMS these elements are ready today and proven NOT TRADITIONALLY FOUND in service.

IN BROADCAST, SUCH AS “Imagine Communications started rolling SWITCHING AND ROUTING, ASSET out proof-of-concept systems for major broadcasters around the world starting five MANAGEMENT, TRANSCODING years ago. Today, we are delivering complete, FOR VIEWING IN DIFFERENT broadcast-ready, best-of-breed systems MOBILE DEVICES, EDITING, AND that deliver magnitudes more of agility, SEARCH ENGINES” without sacrificing quality or reliability.

Probably the biggest single challenge along – RAFAEL FONSECA, VP, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AT ARTEL VIDEO SYSTEMS.” the way was achieving standardisation so that multi-vendor systems could be built.

We took the initiative by being one of the STUMBLING BLOCKS founding members of the Alliance for IP Though media over IP provides many Media Systems (AIMS), which drove the benefits to broadcasters, the transition from standardisation agenda and led to the SDI does present challenges. “For this reason adoption of common standards like the we advocate software-based solutions. As SMPTE ST 2110 family, said Yadav. AIMS has standards such as SMPTE 2110 begin to take a roadmap for the future, which it hopes will hold, we will be able to help our customers lead to simple, seamless interoperability. make the transition through software-based reconfigurations better versus forklift BALANCING ACT hardware upgrades,” said Mark Horchler, Every new technology comes with its bag of SVP, marketing, Mediaproxy. advantages and drawbacks. But over time, There are other challenges, too, that IP depending on the success of its adoption the technology currently presents. For one, former ends up outweighing the latter. Can broadcasters will need to harness the we expect the same from IP as well in the flexibility of IP networking to support broadcasting spectrum? the time-sensitive services found in their “From an infrastructure perspective, network. “Latency, quality of service, and IP would allow broadcasters to select high availability must be maintained. infrastructure that is not purposely built, Shifting to IP turns the network into an thus reducing cost and leveraging new addressable entity very much like the public developments that come from the larger internet, with the potential to make it be network community. In terms of service

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 37

BROADCASTING

and quality assurance, it unleashes visibility and controllability of the services and the network supporting it. It also allows for applications normally found outside the industry to be leveraged within the industry, such as asset management, intelligent search engines, and editing,” said Fonseca.

IP technology, including SDI over IP, is a major step forwards for broadcasters.

“Content is increasingly being consumed on IP-enabled devices such as smart phones and hybrid set top boxes. So, it makes perfect sense for IP to be adopted in broadcast production environments as well. The transition to IP may be challenging for some. However, the benefits of being able to instantly provision new channels or adding new services such as OTT will enable broadcasters to innovate and respond quicker to viewer trends,” said Horchler.

To transition to a full-IP network, broadcasters need to ensure that every component of their workflow, ranging from contribution to studio production, to playout, is IP connected. They then need to apply well-defined broadcast IP standards, such as those endorsed by the AIMS Alliance.

It is imperative to note here that there is no point in transitioning to IP connectivity because it is something people are talking about. You should have clearly defined creative, operational and commercial advantages before you make any technical plans. Imagine Communications recommends moving to a new technology foundation at one’s own pace and only when it makes business sense to do so.

“Hybrid solutions are also possible in order to bridge between baseband and IP as you transition their infrastructure. Over the past year or so, as competitive threats have increased from media companies that rely on native-IP platforms, it has becoming increasingly clear that the risks associated with the adoption of next-gen technologies is waiting too long to start your transition. Any purchases media companies make today, even the adoption of SDI-based equipment, should offer a clear path to an IP future,” added Yadav.

INTEROPERABILITY MATTERS Interoperability is absolutely central to the

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“THE TRANSITION TO IP MAY BE CHALLENGING FOR SOME. HOWEVER, THE BENEFITS OF BEING ABLE TO INSTANTLY PROVISION NEW CHANNELS OR ADDING NEW SERVICES SUCH AS OTT WILL ENABLE BROADCASTERS TO INNOVATE AND RESPOND QUICKER TO VIEWER TRENDS.” – MARK HORCHLER, SVP, MARKETING, MEDIAPROXY revolution happening in the industry. For 70 years or more, television engineers have been able to select products from different vendors that best suit their operational requirements, confident that all the equipment will work seamlessly together.

That fundamental ability to select the bestof-breed products that are right for you cannot be lost.

“That is why we supported the establishment of AIMS, and why we are completely supportive of the SMPTE 2110 family of standards, because those standards and the rest of the AIMS roadmap is the path to complete, transparent interworking.

Today, one can buy products from multiple vendors, which are compliant to ST 2110, and be confident they will work together. The last few instalments of the world’s largest tradeshows, both NAB and IBC, featured IP interoperability showcases that involved

equipment from more than 70 vendors. By all reports, these showcases represented the largest interoperability events in the recent history of the broadcast industry,” Yadav pointed out.

Many vendors currently have IP-based products in their portfolio, but broadcasting companies and production houses are unwilling to invest in these solutions as they believe that these are not interoperable.

While vendors have been making steady strides in improving interoperability between devices, there is still a lot of room for improvement in standardisation.

The industry has demonstrated this at various forums like NAB and IBC, among others, and recognises that a mechanism to achieve interoperability compliance needs to be put in place.

MAKING THE CUT So how can broadcasting companies and production houses make a successful transition to a full-IP network? According to Fonseca, transitioning to IP will present broadcasters with a series of challenges and opportunities in three areas: networking, network management and service assurance/availability. In general, broadcasters would need to develop a migration plan that does not interfere with their ability to continue offering services and running their businesses. This implies deciding which parts of the network get transitioned first versus which ones can support the business during this transition.

The key is to minimise technology ‘islands’ that might hinder service availability and assurance.

“A general challenge of this transition is the need to train personnel on the relevant aspects of IP technology. In other similar transitions, organisations have had to acquire expertise by means of bringing personnel from other industries with the expertise in IP. In many cases, the personnel had IP expertise but not relevant industry expertise, example, broadcasting, therefore the organizations had to train the IP experts on the new industry they were migrating to.

From a networking perspective, broadcasters will need to harness the flexibility of IP

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BROADCASTING

networking to support the time-sensitive services found in their network. Latency, quality of service, and high availability must be maintained,” Fonseca added.

Transitioning to IP implies that the elements in the network are addressable entities with monitoring, control, and reporting capabilities that could be executed remotely and from a central location. This means that the investment is not only in networking equipment, but in a robust management network that will become the enabler for future efficiencies in the IP domain. Shifting to IP turns the network into an addressable entity very much like the public internet, with the potential to be vulnerable to distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS).

Experts aver that building a full-IP broadcasting infrastructure is more about having the right frame of mind than the right technology framework as this needs more of a cultural shift and a well-thought-out architecture that considers the requirements needed in support of the broadcast services which is fundamental to success.

SHIFTING MINDSETS It is not just the systems that have to make this transition; moving operations to an IT-based environment will require today’s broadcast engineers to acquire additional knowledge and skills. They will have to learn how to architect an IP network to deliver the same experience and quality of a traditional network.

Broadcast engineers who are naturally hungry to expand their knowledge base and enthusiastic to apply their skills to a new medium will definitely excel in an IT environment and be among the first to successful transition operations to the technology foundation of the future. It is not reasonable to expect anyone to throw out viable equipment before it is life-expired.

The capital investment in existing in these networks is quite substantial, hence the broadcasters need to plan a staged transition and select a technology partner who can support them through the shift.

“One of the benefits of the new, softwaredefined architecture is that through the use of an orchestration layer, one can make

40 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW, SOFTWARE-DEFINED ARCHITECTURE IS THAT THROUGH THE USE OF AN ORCHESTRATION LAYER, ONE CAN MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE AVAILABLE HARDWARE BY ONLY SPOOLING UP THE PROCESSES YOU NEED AT ANY TIME. ” – RAJ YADAV, REGIONAL SALES HEAD, SOUTH ASIA, IMAGINE COMMUNICATIONS

the best use of the available hardware by only spooling up the processes you need at any time. A smart orchestration layer, like the Magellan SDNO from Imagine, has the capability of providing the overall control for traditional equipment as well as software solutions. This allows you to start building new workflows using a mixture of legacy hardware and new technology, working together seamlessly. The transition is made from traditional hardware to new platforms seamlessly and without disruption to your work,” added Yadav.

CASHING IN ON EFFICIENCIES Many companies believe that shifting to all-IP will give them cost and manpower efficiencies. “Moving to all-IP broadcast environments is not just about reducing costs, but also delivering more innovative

services. IP environments are better suited to more complex content consumer markets where viewers want to access content from anywhere at any time,” agreed Horchler.

Within the parameters of IP infrastructure, there is also the need to investigate new formats like 4K, HDR and virtual reality. The reason is fairly simple – there is a continuous demand from consumers for instant availability of information on diverse platforms. And there is a shift in the economics as broadcast advertising comes under threat from these emerging platforms, which ironically are giving rise to new revenue opportunities.

“You may find, therefore, that the manpower efficiencies arise from releasing staff to concentrate on these new challenges, confident that the basics are being managed by the technology platform. With regard to cost efficiencies, again the change is that of mindset. The traditional broadcast architecture was characterised by a large capital expenditure to create a new platform, followed by seven to 10 years of largely static performance limited by the capabilities of that platform,” said Yadav.

It is interesting to note that in the software-defined world, the hardware and applications are distinctive of each other – the hardware uses IT standard computing and storage, in a broadcast machine room, data centre or the cloud. Wherever it is, there will be a constant turnover as disks are maintained in a risk-free state and processors are upgraded to the latest power capabilities.

This is also one of the lucre for moving more applications and services to the cloud – broadcasters can rely on these services to be managed by IT experts, and it can be billed as an operational expenditure rather than investing into these as an exorbitant capital expenditure. Shifting to IP helps them to leverage larger economies of scale and provides them with greater efficiencies due to the controllability and observability that the technology offers. And while the uptake for this might be taking a little time at the moment, it is a trend that is expected to bring positive changes in the broadcasting industry.

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REACHING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS DIFFICULT

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BIBHOR SRIVASTAVA @ +91 9820439239 e-mail: bibhor@itp.com

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IN DEPTH

Times Television Network launched the Remonetise India campaign to inform people how they could support the rural population and those not a part of the digital banking system.

VISUAL STORYTELLING

Culture Machine’s tech IP Video Machine makes videos in minutes Times Television Network’s Remonetise India campaign

ounded in 2013 by Sameer Pitalwalla and Venkat Prasad, Culture Machine Media uses technology and storytelling to create great digital brands that people love. By combining cutting-edge technology with great content it currently runs brands such as Being Indian, Blush, Put Chutney, Viva, and Awesome Sauce. The company also licenses its core technologies—Intelligence Machine (IM) and Video Machine (VM)— to advertisers, media companies and agency partners the world over.

While VM has been successfully deployed in many projects, a key deployment was when Times Television Network (TTN) launched its Remonetise India campaign this year. While the country was absorbing demonetisation’s after effects, TTN decided to bear the cross of informing the masses about how they could support those who were most affected by this step—the rural population and those not a part of the digital banking system.

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Venkat Prasad, co-founder and CTO, Culture Machine.

Anup Vishwanathan, SVP, network marketing at TTN, said, “When we launched the Remonetise India initiative earlier this year, it was an emotional commitment to respond to a pressing national issue without wasting time. The VM tool came to our rescue. It helped us to create videos at a very short notice. We were able to leverage this tool to create impactful social videos instead of relying on just static posts. We could showcase our stories better in a more pressing fashion with our audience. The

end product (videos) was pretty good and captured our message well.”

Moreover, multiple on-ground workshops were held by TTN across the country, where bank-account registration and Aadhar card creation was conducted for free along with a huge awareness drive to make the people better informed about the ways in which they could tackle the problem. This movement was to ensure that domestic helpers, workers, and other micro-business owners, who lacked the resources to seamlessly enter the digital eco-system, were involved in this movement.

VM is Culture Machine’s patent pending software that makes high-quality videos at scale from any given text or audio source.

From branded content, to news videos, to travel, lifestyle, music, education and more, 100s of automated formats are available across various content genres. With a click of a button, videos can be rendered out into multiple resolutions to fit several platforms.

This core technology that powered Culture Machine’s own media brands is now being utilised globally by some prominent

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IN DEPTH

TTN held multiple on-ground workshops for bank-account registration and Aadhar card creation.

Domestic helpers, workers, and other microbusiness owners were involved in Remonetise India movement.

TTN’s MD and CEO, MK Anand, at Remonetise India campaign.

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FMCG players, e-commerce establishments, and music labels.

Brands and agencies look at VM for great looking video content for multiple social media platforms. Culture Machine’s e-commerce clients have had a great run with the product that has not only helped them drive engagement for their brands across social media, but also lower their cost per order and drive sales.

“We are able to identify, at a core level, what content to create, but also react very quickly to short-lived digital trends and micro moments, and leverage them for brands and publishers by way of social video. What’s next is to further develop mobile native vertical formats and capture six-second storytelling on one end of the spectrum and focus on how VM can also lend itself nicely to long-form content on the other,” explained Rakshita Swami, VP-Brand Labs, Culture Machine.

“In the recent months, the product output has scaled five times, creating thousands of videos and millions of views each month. In the coming months, we are looking forward to shifting gears, to improve our visual storytelling across platforms and formats and to create multi-dimensional stories that are visually engaging using artificial intelligence and machine learning. For this, we have revamped our engineering and product teams,” added Prasad.

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EVENTS – INTER BEE 2017

BUSY BEE

Inter BEE 2017 was a buzzing affair; new solutions were showcased and the latest technological developments discussed at panel sessions

BY VINITA BHATIA ver the years, International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition, or Inter BEE as it is called, has emerged as a prominent broadcast, media and entertainment exhibition in Japan. And this year, it reiterated the position it has held for 53 years.

Inter BEE 2017 attracted many global and national exhibitors and visitors between 15 to 17 November 2017 at Makuhari Messe (Mihami-ku, Chiba) in Japan. Organised

by The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, this

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three-day trade fair for the audio, video and communications industry saw the debut of several products and solutions for the Asian market, including Brio 12 from Calrec Audio and Avid’s Artist | DNxIP. Other key companies that participated in the event included Grass Valley, ARRI, Imagine Communications, IDK Corporation, Riedel Communications, Roland and Axon Digital.

The organisers of Inter BEE said that they expected around 1,139 exhibitors this year, which is an increase of 4.5 percent as compared to the previous year. Of these, 643 exhibitors were from 33 overseas countries, which is an increase of 8.4 percent compared

to the previous year. 593 exhibitors from 34 countries participated in 2016. This year, there were 1,983 booths, up from 1,926 stalls the previous year, which is an uptake of 3.0 percent compared to the previous year. The organisers expected 40,000 visitors during the three-day event, a marginal increase from 38,047 visitors in 2016.

For the first time, Inter BEE 2017 was spread across 54,000 square meters of Makuhari Messe – from International Exhibition Hall 1 to Exhibition Hall 8 – to accommodate the exhibition and conference.

These pavilions were segregated into four categories: Professional Audio Equipment,

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EVENTS – INTER BEE 2017

Broadcasters used Inter BEE to report on the status of their preparations toward practical broadcasting in 4K/8K.

GROWING INTEREST

Video Expression/Professional Lighting, Video Production/Broadcast Equipment and ICT/Cross Media.

GLOWING FEEDBACK Most exhibitors seemed to be happy with the response they got from Inter BEE 2017.

Calrec Audio found it to be very positive for a number of reasons. Firstly, it decided to launch a new console, the Brio12, at the show due to the phenomenal uptake of Brio36 in Asia. “We also had a wide range of products on display, and a dedicated demo suite on the Hibino booth. We showed two Brio36 consoles, the new Brio12, an Artemis desk, and an RP1 Fieldbox, as well as the compact H2Hub and Fieldbox range of IO. These meant that we were much busier than average, and consequently our leads were up over last year’s Inter BEE,” said a company spokesperson.

Talking about how the event helped them better position their brand, he added, “Our decision to launch the Brio12 console at Inter BEE was based on customers’ desire for an even smaller, powerful broadcast

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• 1,139 exhibitors participated this year, an increase of 4.5 percent compared to 2016.

• There were 643 exhibitors from 33 countries, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to 2016.

• There were 1,983 booths, up from 1,926 stalls the previous year.

Source: Inter BEE

console in the region. We were very proud to give Hibino, our Japanese distribution partners, the exclusive global launch platform for Brio 12, and we were delighted to see how well received it was.”

Riedel Communications was another company that had found the event a great platform to showcase its products. “Inter BEE is the premier event for Japan’s media and entertainment industry, and it’s a great showcase for Riedel’s newest innovations in real-time signal distribution, networking, and communications. We were proud to feature solutions such as the category-defining new Bolero wireless intercom, our MediorNet MicroN highdensity distribution network, and our highly functional Desktop SmartPanel,” said Cameron O’Neill, director, APAC of Riedel Communications.

Jiro Kitayama, sales director, Japan, Grass

Valley added that Inter BEE brings together broadcast professionals from around the APAC region, all with unique solutions needs based on their current programming lineup and future plans to expand or enhance their content capabilities. “This year, Grass Valley’s booth will feature a wide range of solutions for a variety of budgets, studio sizes and content types depending on what each customer needs,” he said.

The other draw at the event was the Inter BEE Conference that highlighted the latest technology developments in the industry and also featured a good mix of Japaneseand English-speaking panelists. Some of the topics that were discussed at length included the adoption of IP and 8K adoptions, as well the future of emerging technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality.

Visitors to the event also got to see live presentation of emerging trends like digital production partnership and the use of IMF to streamline storage of programming destined for delivery around the globe via broadcast, cinema, or streaming. Canon too showcased the use of multiple cameras for live events for a more immersive user experience.

At Inter BEE drew several visitors and gave them an opportunity to witness up-tothe-minute technological advancements.

Based on these insights they could decide how to use these to its full potential for their own business needs.

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 45

INTER BEE 2017 – PRODUCT SHOWCASE

RIEDEL PRODUCTS AT INTER BEE 2017 Riedel showcased many of its products at Inter BEE 2017. This included the Bolero wireless intercom system, a six-channel, 1.9 GHz DECT-based system with seamless handover, which is fully integrated into Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom platform.

Bolero offers a set of features and connectivity that can be applied three ways: as a wireless beltpack, as a wireless keypanel, and as a walkie-talkie radio. The system runs over a standardsbased AES67 IP network, and its decentralised antennas connect to AES67 switches and then to Artist frames equipped with AES67 client cards to provide a fully integrated, point-to-point intercom ecosystem.

At Inter BEE 2017, Riedel also demonstrated how interconnected MicroN units can be deployed to create a decentralised routing system that distributes signal load, takes advantage of flexible node placement, and eliminates any single point of failure to create a viable alternative to traditional monolithic routers. MicroN is a high-density distribution network device for Riedel’s MediorNet line of real-time media transport and management solutions.

CALREC AUDIO’S BRIO 12 MAKES ITS DEBUT Calrec Audio announced the international debut of Brio 12, a compact, 12-fader audio mixer, at Inter BEE 2017. Brio 12 has the same feature set and mix capabilities as its larger sibling, Brio 36.

Brio 12 meets the demand for a broadcast mixer that can be used in very tight spaces like small vans and compact control rooms, and at under 450mm or 18” wide it is slim enough to fit into standard racks or be stowed out of the way when not in use. “Brio 12 is perfect for small-scale productions, or as a sub-mixer or backup mixer for larger productions,” said Peter Walker, Calrec’s product manager for Brio. “Inheriting a rich feature set and powerful surround capability from its larger sibling, Brio 12 removes the limitations on ambition and creativity imposed by mixers of comparable size and price-point.”

With 12 physical dual-layer faders for mixing live sources during broadcast, Brio 12 provides extra virtual faders via its user-friendly UI. With 48 input channels and the same buss count as the popular Brio 36, the console has plenty of capacity for sub-mixes and VCA slaves. These capabilities also make it ideal for production environments requiring automated control over every fader.

“Brio 12 can be installed where there is a requirement to integrate audio control with the vision switcher, making it a compact mixing tool in lean production

46 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

environments,” added Walker. “Plus, Brio 12 can be quickly added to an existing Hydra2 network and utilise I/O via a range of Hydra2 modules through its integral I/O expansion slots.” Kozuma, head of broadcast sales at Hibino Intersound Corporation, Calrec’s Japanese distribution partner, added, “We see great opportunities for Brio 12 throughout Japan and the rest of the world.”

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IN DEPTH

OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY University of Maine brings live sports streams to ESPN3 and social media with Hitachi HDTV cameras mplementing its first broadcast-quality video production initiative to support new online and social media distribution opportunities, the Athletics department at the University of Maine selected Z-HD5000 cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. Building on the benefits the cameras bring to their live sports productions, the university also plans to extend its use of Z HD5000s to the educational curriculum with new video production courses next year.

The University’s Black Bears compete in the America East Conference of NCAA Division I for all sports, except hockey and football, which compete in the Hockey East conference and Colonial Athletic Association, respectively. While it had previously performed some live video production using entry-level equipment, the conference’s agreement to bring Maine Black Bears basketball games to multiscreen sports network ESPN3 required it to deploy higher-caliber workflows and solutions. It also wanted to deliver high production values when streaming matches to social media platforms.

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FAMILIARITY BREEDS COMFORT Familiar with Hitachi cameras from his Communication Studies courses at Canisius College in NY, University of Maine Athletics director of digital content, Sam Hallett, felt they would be an ideal fit for the project. “I don’t have to spend a lot of time training the users. Within 10 minutes I can have a student ready to work the controls,” he said.

The university currently uses two Z-HD5000s on tripods to provide main game and close-up shots, with a goal of adding two more as handheld cameras on the sidelines in the future. Video, audio and intercom

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The image quality of Z-HD5000 cameras improve athletic broadcasts and streamline production processes.

signals are transported over a single SMPTE fiber cable per camera to half-rack width CU-HD1000 camera control units (CCUs) in custom flypacks, minimizing cable runs and speeding setup times as the equipment moves between venues.

“It takes us just 10 minutes to run the cable and set up, and it is straightforward enough that I can trust the student operators to set up the cameras properly while I focus on other tasks,” Hallett said.

He also praised the video quality produced by the Z-HD5000s. “The cameras don’t need a lot of adjustment to look good in various environments, which gives me peace of mind when I deploy them in the field,” he said. “The image quality is night and day compared to the lower-end cameras we had previously used, and the quality holds up well even as available light diminishes, which is significant when we shoot outdoor sports.”

GREAT GAME COVERAGE Initially used for basketball, baseball and softball, the cameras will shoot an expanded

array of sports in upcoming semesters, including soccer and field hockey. Hallett also plans to bring the cameras’ benefits to a classroom setting, with a goal of teaching video production through new course offerings in 2018.

“We rely on student operators for our productions. So, in addition to giving students hands-on experience they can use in the workforce; educating them will help provide an ongoing supply of crewmembers for our broadcasts,” Hallett explained.

While that future looks bright, the cameras have already delivered the tangible benefits that the university had sought to achieve. “The Z-HD5000s have simplified the whole production process for us, taking a lot of the technical burden off the student operators so they can focus on the actual task at hand: great game coverage,” Hallett concluded. “From their visual quality and reliability to their ease of use, the result is that the cameras have made our overall productions much better in my book, so my hat’s off to Hitachi Kokusai for that.”

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 47

IN DEPTH

CRYSTAL CLEAR

Sportcast and Lawo have launched a new audio production, sound mixed on the basis of the players’ tracking data, making it even more realistic undesliga TV viewers will soon enjoy a new sound experience in their living rooms. For this purpose, DFL subsidiary Sportcast, which produces all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches, has launched a new audio production system. Live tracking data on the players is used to set the correct input levels for the microphones and record what is going on in the field.

This creates an entirely new and realistic audio experience for the viewer. Colognebased Sportcast coordinated the activities of the two service providers, Lawo and ChyronHego, and helped to ready the technology for the market in a two-year development and testing phase.

Lawo, a provider of professional broadcasting products, developed the KICK software, which operates as the interface between the tracking data received and the digital mixing consoles used. ChyronHego, which is responsible for generating the official Bundesliga match data, provides the necessary tracking data for the automated system.

The quality of the official match data required for the technology is monitored

by Sportcast subsidiary Sportec Solutions, thus ensuring problem-free operations.

The company was established in 2016 with the purpose of offering innovative sports technology data and solutions related to Bundesliga. It has been involved in all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches since the beginning of this season.

This approach taken by the new audio production systems lies in the networked utilisation of data as a basis for automatic audio mixing. This offers considerably better quality than manual audio mixing.

The Lawo KICK software uses tracking

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48 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

KICK operating on Bundesliga Matchday 9 (FC Augsburg versus Hannover 96).

data of the type that is now standard practice in professional football and has previously been mainly used for match statistics and graphic analyses.

Camera-based technology generates realtime data in the stadium allowing the exact position of the 22 players, referees and the ball to be tracked.

Using the existing microphones, their positions on the edge of the field and their directional characteristics, the system determines which microphone can best capture what is happening on the field at any given time and automatically sends the necessary commands to the mixing console.

The sound engineer sitting in the broadcast van can use the automated mixing of the field microphones in the overall mix and thus has more leeway for enhancing the aesthetics of the broadcast sound during the match.

Tim Achberger, head of innovation and technology management at Sportcast

GmbH, is a fan of the new technology. he said, “The new audio production system supplies consistent results of a uniformly high quality, giving viewers an entirely new sound experience. Bundesliga is committed to ensuring an emotionally charged mix throughout the entire 90 minutes. Working with Lawo and ChyronHego, we have been able to develop a new and innovative system to achieve this.”

“The start of the Bundesliga 2017/2018 season marks a milestone in the quality of sport productions,” added Philipp Lawo, CEO of Lawo AG. “We have in DFL and Sportcast reliable partners by our side.

They have assisted us in developing the system from the seed idea right through to the final product and given us the opportunity of testing the system under real production conditions. The result of this partnership is a new ground-breaking product that will redefined workflows in sports productions.”

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OPINION

Recent Emmy wins for Hulu’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ suggest that streaming is fighting alongside traditional broadcasters to bring quality TV content to viewers.

THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL

Contrary to some misplaced notions, the digital world presents a great opportunity, and not a threat, for broadcasters ver the years, the media industry has been gradually disrupted by emerging technologies, going all the way back to the advent of colour TV. The idea of traditional TV networks delivering linear programming has since been completely reinvented, with a switch towards cloud-based platforms offering on-demand content. The constantly evolving digital world may be daunting for broadcasters and content producers, whatever their size, but the opportunities it offers are endless.

The idea of watching a TV show at a certain time has already become obsolete for many viewers, with improved broadband infrastructure and mobile data enabling

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viewers to watch content when and where they want. This has also had an effect on the way that broadcasters are commissioning and developing shows.

Some in the industry, including popular creator Joss Wheadon, have criticised the effect the ‘binge-watching’ culture that comes hand-in-hand with streaming has on quality. However, recent Emmy wins for Hulu’s original series, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ suggest that streaming is fighting alongside traditional broadcasters to bring quality TV content to viewers.

A similar change was seen in the music industry over the last decade or so, with iTunes moving listeners away from physical media such as CDs to digital downloads.

This was then followed by the likes of Spotify bringing subscription-based music

streaming to the masses. Many music industry firms that failed to adapt to the changing landscape fell behind their competitors and disappeared. From HMV to Napster, the casualties of the music streaming industry tell a cautionary tale for broadcasters. In the TV world, cable companies began to win ground over traditional analogue broadcasters long before the digital switchover was completed, showing that making your mark early on is a good strategy.

NEXT-GEN BROADCASTING Rather than fighting the change and sticking to tried and tested services, businesses can benefit from branching out and adapting their operations and content to compete with newer rivals. Video-sharing site

DIGITAL STUDIO | DECEMBER 2017 49

OPINION

YouTube has already proved that it can go toe-to-toe with traditional broadcasters, especially among younger audiences.

According to a Google research, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds on mobile alone than any broadcast or Cable TV network.

YouTube is also more than ready to serve its users growing content demand, with over 3.25 million hours of video watched each month. And, YouTube recently boosted its commitment with the launch of its YouTube TV subscription service.

Legacy broadcasters and rights holders are experimenting with new and more accessible ways of pushing out content to new audiences, including using social media platforms for live broadcasts. The NFL has experimented with live streaming games on Yahoo, Amazon and Twitter, while the latter has also shown live games from the MLB and exclusive pre-game content from the NBA. This kind of experimental broadcasting shows how niche content can be made more accessible by looking beyond conventional methods.

The emergence of OTT (Over-The-Top) networks has made it easier than ever for smaller operators to deliver their own content and compete with larger rivals. Tata Communications works with Formula1 to host essential infrastructure that enables tens of millions of viewers to watch exclusive content on formula1.com. Furthermore, its media ecosystem is used to power video reports from ViceMedia, providing a network for reporters working in remote areas around the globe.

CREATING THE FORMATS OF THE FUTURE Going beyond traditional video, there are also a number of new formats to consider, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and 360° video. Alternative formats that have been hyped in the past, particularly 3D, have struggled, largely because of the difficulty in rolling them out and the amount of new hardware needed.

However, new formats are increasingly integrated into existing hardware, rather than requiring additional accessories. For

50 DECEMBER 2017 | DIGITAL STUDIO

Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.

In the future, new formats could include holograms or even content that adapts to the individual viewer. Netflix is already experimenting with adventure book-style shows where the viewer gets to choose what happens next.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND DATA ANALYTICS WILL HAVE AN INCREASING IMPACT ON THE WAY THAT PEOPLE CONSUME CONTENT AND WHAT THEY WATCH, WITH SEVERAL STREAMING COMPANIES ALREADY USING MACHINE LEARNING TO SERVE UP PERSONALISED RECOMMENDATIONS TO VIEWERS. AI COULD EVEN BE USED IN FUTURE TO HELP CREATE CONTENT BASED ON USER PREFERENCES AND BIOMETRIC FEEDBACK. example, Sony and Microsoft regularly roll out updates and new features and games onto their PlayStation and Xbox consoles and online networks, rather than requiring users to constantly invest in new kit.

Content creators and next-generation broadcasters will have to adapt platforms to deliver new formats like VR and 360 video, which are set to have a major impact on the entertainment world. Early examples of how the technologies can be used are already available, including a recent test of a live 360° video broadcast of the 2017

AI AND IOT The all-connected world of smart devices, known as the Internet of Things (IoT), will be further fuelled by the introduction of 5G. This could have a major impact on the broadcast industry.

Improved mobile connectivity will drive the uptake of autonomous cars in future and will inevitably lead to the introduction of new formats tailored to varying drive times. The time freed up as drivers become passengers will result in a ‘passenger economy’ worth $7 trillion (£5.3 trillion) by 2050, predicts an Intel study.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics will also have an increasing impact on the way that people consume content and what they watch, with several streaming companies already using machine learning to serve up personalised recommendations to viewers. AI could even be used in future to help create content based on user preferences and biometric feedback.

The new digital landscape represents a gigantic shift from the traditional world of entertainment. But broadcasters and content firms can benefit from the huge opportunities it offers by rethinking and restructuring their businesses to adapt to evolving viewers habits and emerging technologies.

Meanwhile, the pressure to constantly innovate is heating up for streaming companies like Hulu and Netflix who must also find ways to utilise new technologies to stay ahead of the game. What’s more, these next-generation technologies will continue to level the playing field between the big players and disruptive start-ups.

- Brian Morris, VP and general manager, global media & entertainment services, Tata Communications

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