APUNTOLAPOSPO

_Vértice 360 and Canal+ make the first recording in 3D for television in Spain

[19.04.2010]

Two of the Group's companies, Videoreport and Apuntolapospo, give their technical support to Canal+ as they premiere their first stereoscopic broadcast with a concert from Enrique Bunbury.


2010 is going to be the year of the technological revolution in television. The channels are gearing up to be able to broadcast in 3D and Vértice 360, as one of the main audiovisual groups in the country and a leading provider of services and technical support, will be on hand to offer the necessary technology to make it all possible.

On Friday 16th April, Canal+ and Vértice 360 made the first recording in 3D of a live event. It took the form of a concert by the singer Enrique Bunbury and was directed by Paco Plaza, the man behind the movie "[REC]". This musical event will be broadcast on May 29th on Canal+ 3D and in the leisure zones of FNAC stores in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia and Seville. As a result, Canal+ will become the first Spanish channel to broadcast using this technology.

Vértice 360 was represented at this historical moment for television in our country by two of its companies from the audiovisual sector: Videoreport and Apuntolapospo.



For the production of the concert, Videoreport brought wide-ranging technical expertise and, perhaps most impressively, a high definition mobile unit, equipped with 16 HDCAM recorders and 4 high definition EVS systems with 4 channels each. The Vértice Group company also installed 20 cameras on the set for the filming of the event: 12 HD Sony 1550 fitted onto pedestals and cranes and two Silicon Imaging 2K digital cameras for the steady shots, a pair of 2K Cumina cameras and two Iconix HD micro cameras fitted onto polecam cranes. The filming equipment was completed with various Zeiss Digizoom lenses from 17-112 and a wide range of Digiprime from 12-16 to 20-70.

For the stereoscopic recording, Videoreport used a variety of motorised rig systems for set ups on pedestals, polecam cranes and steadycams, which, along with the more than 40 metres of tracking completed the list of specific mechanical parts. Videoreport also installed more than 120 m2 of LED screens which acted as a visual support for the concert. The lighting for the event was handled by Logística Sonido y Luces (Logistics, Sound and Lights). They used 100,000 watts to illuminate the set.

Another Vértice 360 company, Apuntolapospo, brought a stereoscopic filming control system, hardware and software called POLIPHEMUS designed by their R+D department. This new system allows them to instantly analyse and stereoscopically evaluate the image, enabling instant correction in order to achieve a good live broadcast. Among the capabilities of POLIPHEMUS, as a 3D processor, it is worth highlighting the geometric artistic or colour correction of the image, and even the injection of frame by frame Metadata, all processed in real time.

It is a tool specifically developed to automate certain stereoscopy tasks, such as generating a 3D signal with the optimum conditions for live broadcast.

Apuntolapospo also handled the stereoscopic post-production of the concert for Canal Plus on HDCAM for the TV broadcast and made the DCP for distribution in cinemas.



Broadcast May 29th

To enjoy the Canal+ broadcasts in 3D, viewers will need the iPlus terminal and a TV set which accepts the new technology. Canal+ plans to broadcast the Bunbury concert on May 29th, bringing a new dawn for 3D broadcasts on television in this country.