Over 40 people from EMG Italy crew worked for the fastest marathon in Italy

A fast and completely renovated track, compared to the previous editions, for a much loved marathon in which many participants manage to give their best, to the point of achieving their own "personal best performance".

The race, which, as always, sees the presence of illustrious guests, Italian and international champions, as well as amateurs from all over the world, takes place on a ring with start and finish in the center of Milan, in the Montanelli Gardens park. The athletes compete on what has been defined as "a modern and complete course", suitable for smoothness both for advanced amateurs and for top runners. The route touches several art places of a Milan to be admired that combine historical and contemporary elements. The organization - impeccable as always - by RCS has once again confirmed EMG Italy's management of television production this year.

The mobile vehicle engaged was the flagship Orion 209, located in the area immediately adjacent to the departure, which coincides with the arrival.

The Project Manager for the Milan Marathon Fabio Bertini, Sales Consultant of EMG Italy, tells us some details.

“This unique OB Truck of impressive dimensions and of the latest generation”, says Bertini, “has made it possible to package both the international feed and the customized one for the Italian unilateral broadcast of SKY Sport. Also this year, as per tradition, the broadcast was retransmitted an hour later than the actual performance and this involves a complex production procedure, much more than a normal live television broadcast. This procedure defined as "near-live" at first glance seems to be simpler to build and more streamlined, because the entire live radio frequency section, helicopters and radio link planes are missing. In fact, this is not the case because it requires perfect synchrony of the entire organization involved. 90% of the event is covered by motorcycle cameras equipped with an operator and camcorder who follows the entire span of more than two hours race, also considering the pre-departure and post-arrival stages. While in a live broadcast it is enough to select the images arriving in the control room by the video mixer, here the mechanism is much more delicate and demanding".

Near-live

“The simulation of the live broadcast”, continues Bertini, “is based on continuous recordings made on XDcam discs by the cameras that follow the circuit thanks to the motorbikes and the start/finish cameras. Over the span of three very specific tranches, these contents must be physically transported on physical media, by special RCS fast relays, and arrive intact to the director. This must take place with perfect timing in order to ensure that the director Franco Scotton, on board the Orion 209 truck, can reconstruct the event in an absolutely synchronized way and with the continuity of a virtual live broadcast, immediately starting to switch between different points of view as soon as the records arrive”.

The first of these four sections is the start where eight cameras allow to film the entire initial block of the competitors, from 8.50 to 9.15. The perfect live simulation can only happen because the first change and transport of discs takes place at the eighth kilometre. The second takes place at the twentieth kilometer and the last at the finish. The hour-delayed broadcast begins airing while the race is in full swing and continues for an hour after the actual race has concluded. From just before nine in the morning, in addition to the three bikes, the eight cameras expertly located in the arrival/departure area of the Indro Montanelli Park, have been operational.

Special supports are also used here, such as a jimmy-jib dedicated to a camera with wide optics (14x), a camera working in a "super slowmo" configuration with a long optics, and a shoulder radio-camera entirely dedicated to covering the start and finish and an EFP configuration camera is dedicated to filming the podium and the prize delivery, on the scaffolding. The "time shift" television coverage manages an arc of about three hours and a half, with an hour delay, so the event is fully commented on the airing delayed by an hour, just as if it were live. The near-live transmission is made possible thanks to another special mobile truck, the satellite uplink which, exactly one hour after the official start of the marathon, follows the live broadcast for three and a half hours.

Two galleries in one

The Orion 209 mobile vehicle packaged the feed for the international live broadcast thanks to its main gallery and at the same time one of its sections, or second gallery, was also dedicated to the creation of the personalized unilateral feed for SKY Sport.

RCS and EMG Italy also set up for SKY, in the park adjacent to the at the outset, two tents: one for the commentary station and the second in a mini outdoor studio configuration, where the interviews of the important personalities were held. Here, 4 cameras in EFP configuration were dedicated and the graphics, as well as the timing, station breaks and animations of the track, were provided by RCS. 4G backpacks were used on the bikes which also produced images for direct re-proposing on the mega screens placed at the start/finish for the public, operators and journalists.

The setup

“The setup of such an event”, concludes Bertini, “is rather complex and involves a rather long period of time, from the morning before at nine, until the evening at midnight and then on the morning of the event at seven all the personnel was already on the track and was busy until 5pm”.

In addition to the main vehicle by EMG Italy Orion 209 with expansion dedicated to the production of the two feeds, the TV compound had a mobile vehicle dedicated to graphics, another small vehicle by EMG Italy dedicated to managing the RF reception of backpacks and editing dedicated to a 15-minute service for the international feed. At the TV compound there was also a vehicle dedicated to the satellite uplink, as well as a 200KW bi-generator power truck. The audio was recorded in stereo with ambient microphones for each camera for the international feed and an international commentary station was also set up in English.

© EMG Italy – Presspool Press Office RobertoLandini