The entire EMG Italy production of the Giro d'Italia is managed by Davide Furlan and Bruno Coudizer, both Overall Project Managers.

The first is directly involved in the relationship with the MISE for the use of radio frequencies, in the coordination and technical control of the workflow of the connections between the various media to the TV Compound, in the satellite booking for all the contribution feeds, in the management of all the suppliers and the related budget costs and in the coordination of the production and booking sector for the composition of the production plan and the technical team. Bruno Coudizer manages and coordinates all the "moving" parts, the crew specialized in cycling production, the motorcycle crews and the Cineflex operators on the helicopters. Furthermore, thanks to his great experience in production and knowledge of sports, Bruno this year covers the important role of Assistant Director.

The EMG Italy production team deployed for the Giro d'Italia is completed by collaborators Matteo Fragni, Unit Manager on site, Mario Lovallo, Producer on site, and Isabella Leoni who, with the fundamental work of booking, together with Valentina D'Alia in first person, with Nicolò Selvestrel and Salvatore Amato in support, they guaranteed everyone a bed and a roof every night in every stage.

“Also this year”, says Davide Furlan, “the television production of the Giro d'Italia created by EMG is international, with the general supervision of EMG Italy, with the fundamental collaboration of EMG Belgium and the French EMG Connectivity and with the important addition to the graphic and timing division of Boost Graphics and Microplus.

The Fiamminghi and the Transalpine provide the personnel specialized in filming on board the motorcycles and in the radio frequency connection sector, the aerial links for filming, a true technological jewel, as well as all service communications and connectivity.

In Italy, the entire budget and all service providers are managed, including helicopters which are an important workflow resource, frequency concessions and their coordination for all broadcasters, all the logistics of the 143 people involved with planes, cars, vans, buses, trains and above all hotel rooms, as well as ground shooting and general coordination during all the movements between stages”.

“My job is to help coordinate production,” Matteo Fragni intervenes. “We started with a pre-production in the months preceding the event, which concerned the organization of the teams of dedicated personnel, all the logistics and the composition of all the techniques involved”.

“In addition to the Giro d'Italia, says Mario Lovallo, “I am busy following the other cycling events in Italy that have been taking place since March, such as Strade Bianche, the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro di Sicilia, and our task, as Production Department, is to precede the events by organizing them in toto.

I mainly deal with the coordination of the television media present at the TV compound, including those of RAI and the integrated broadcasters: in fact, we arrive in the evening in each city hosting the stage and we set up the parking lot from scratch where all the television media operate: the Giro d'Italia requires an immediate reaction to the inevitable unforeseen events of all kinds in each stage, being present to always guarantee the best solution for everyone is fundamental, it is called "on-the-spot assistance", EMG is also appreciated for this".

The EMG Italy team follows the delicate mission of choosing the personnel who form the various technical teams. Among these, are all the personnel "on the ground" who take care of filming, the cameramen who are assigned the 4-5 cameras placed before the finish line and the other 7-8, placed after the finish, depending on the stages. In addition, the staff dedicated to camera controls on board the main gallery truck and those devoted to audio recordings. In general, the OB Orion 209 control room has a set-up of 14 cameras on the ground in the finish area, and it is the Belgian director, Gunther Herregodts, who at each stage, after the morning inspection, decides which supports to prepare and where, basing his decision on the barrier and to the route.

Most of the time the cameras are placed on typical mounts called hi-lo's at the side of the track, identical to those used behind football goals; these mounts elevate the operator and camera above the heads of the audience. At some arrivals, shoulder camera shots are used to create impressive images and cameras are also set up on mini mobile cranes, called Magnum Duos where the operator, remaining seated together with the camera, can choose the shooting height by acting on a remote control that operates a hydraulic column.

These systems are necessary to comply with the UCI and RCS safety criteria which require not trespassing on the post-arrival barriers but possibly overcoming them in height. This allows for a higher shooting point with respect to the heads of the public crowding the arrivals and which - as happened in this edition - often also has to be above the umbrellas made mandatory by the very rainy weather that characterized this May.

Eight hours of live coverage a day

There are twenty-nine production days with 21 live race stages during which the whole team starts in the morning with a meeting around 08.30 to finish all the disassembly procedures around 19.30, producing about eight hours of live coverage every day, to then leave for a new stage. In fact, the work continues for at least an hour after the arrival of the cyclists, because the award ceremonies are long, with many jerseys to be awarded to the winners. In addition, EMG produces, also on-site, a newsfeed with three-minute highlights edited for distribution dedicated to international takers. The contents are distributed via satellite and also via streaming, through a dedicated portal.

The tv compound

There are about twenty trucks, including those EMG operational and support, parked every day in the TV compound that make the production of the Giro possible and are distributed in a 2000m2 dedicated area. Integrations from other broadcasters, such as Discovery, are also packaged here, and RAI also operates from here, following the event with a dozen of its own mobile vehicles, with full coverage of the race, insights and mobile studios, a huge commitment of men and means by the Italian national broadcaster.

It is essential to make sure that everything works perfectly, that the spaces are adequate, that everyone has electricity, that the vehicles in charge of distributing the SNG satellite signals can see the South and there are no blocks of flats nor impediments in the optical line between the ground station and satellite connection. Preliminary preparation also involves having the necessary information available for all to broadcast the signal to the various takers.

Also in this case, the distribution of the signals starts months before, given that it is really complex, since the main satellite truck vehicle, in addition to distributing them, receives 4 signals: one from the departure links, two from the intermediate relay stations which are equipped with two other SNG vans, and a last signal transmitted by an SNG mobile vehicle placed at the arrival.

Then there are also some special additions such as the one for Discovery which, from the stage in Viareggio to the stage in Rome, broadcasts the commentary of the commentator via satellite who goes live following the cyclists aboard a motorbike with his own video camera and microphone, interacting with the various studios of Eurosport France and England along the way. TSI, the Swiss TV, is also present at the Giro with a commentary station, flanked by another seven collected in a special two-story mobile vehicle, supplied by RCS, and placed near the finish line.

Ready for everything

“We must be ready for anything”, concludes Matteo Fragni, “sometimes even with drastic interventions. In fact, every morning we find ourselves working in new places and it often happens that we have to pick up a chainsaw to cut tree branches that block the view. It also happened several times that we had to temporarily move road signs installed after the inspections made months before, orienting them differently to prevent them from appearing in the camera-moving shots.

Another fascinating aspect that makes us proud of this incredible travelling production is the magic that happens every morning when we arrive in a dedicated and completely empty area of a new city. Here, in just two hours and out of nowhere, the TV compound arises, this incredible agglomeration isolated by barriers, which collects antenna cables, technical structures, crowded with mobile control units and cranes, radio links, SNG mobile vehicles, shooting studios, UPS power supplies, and the trucks of the broadcasters for the international integrations. The same magic happens in the evening where in just two hours everything disappears and the city returns to what it was, completely empty. After having left everything free and clean, we are already on our way to the next stage, where everything will start again".

© 2023 EMG Italy – Presspool PressOffice RobertoLandini