TV production is done, for the third year, by EMG Italy

by Roberto Landini

PowerHits RTL 102.5, the music and entertainment event of August 31st, was staged live from the Verona Arena and broadcasted on Radiovision, as well as on FM, DAB + and on RTL 102.5 PLAY (the large online platform rich in contents). This was one of the recent TV productions made by EMG Italy.

Another of the many great moments of music and entertainment by RTL 102.5, not far from the previous show created for Radio ZETA, owned by the same group, this time in Rome and always produced by EMG Italy.

The dynamics

The show was an explosive succession of musical performances of the most awarded songs from the Power Hits Summer 2022 contest and from the RTL 102.5 summer ranking. 
EMG Italy took care, for the third year in a row, of all the filming and television production made by using the OB 126 mobile unit with GrassValley LDX 86 cameras and a mix of standard and wide-angle optics.

The mobile vehicle, a pre-wired truck that can manage up to 30 cameras, has on board a technological heart that includes a Kayak GrassValley video mixer, a Digico SD7 digital audio mixer, intercom by Riedel, Mediornet and 3 EVS XT3 machines with 36 channels. The live graphics service was managed, with templates provided by RTL, by the technology and staff of Boost Graphics, a specialized department of EMG.

Massimiliano Anchise, responsible of the two events for EMG Italy, has the details:

“For the previous concert in Rome for Radio ZETA, one of our mobile units was engaged,” says Anchise, “for a production based on 12 cameras and video footage in HD 1080i format, therefore with very high quality standards. For the event of August 31st in Verona, however, the mobile unit OB 126 was used in an even higher technical configuration, with up to 19 cameras deployed and a rather complex setup. It was an immense use of forces and filming supports, which are usually adopted in high-level sports events and which have been proposed here for a great music-based show".

Many points of view

Two of the 19 cameras, 1 and 3, respectively positioned on the right and left, at three quarters of the parterre and away from the stage, with long optics, were mounted on Hi-Lo mobile supports. Four, positioned on the FOH direction for lights and audio (Cam 4,5,7,8), again with long optics, operated on a tripod.

Cam6, equipped with wide-angle optics, was mounted on a Floor-lift, which is a trolley on ground tracks that runs parallel to the stage, with a dolly. On a second dolly at the base of the FOH stage, Cam2 operated with long optics, for frontal wide shots in line with the stage. Three other cameras performed their task in a shoulder-mounted configuration, wired: Cam10 on the right of the stage, while Cam14 and Cam15 on the high steps of the Arena, on the right and left. The latter were positioned at different heights in order to capture other points of view, such as the subjective views of the public, thus enhancing the emotion of the show.

Two cameras (Cam7-8) did the filming on a tripod with standard optics, while Cam9 operated with RF link connections, on the left of the stage. 

Cam11, operating in radio frequency behind the stage, was mounted on a Ronin, a gimbal support for very dynamic in-motion shooting. This was a Sony FS7, a particular camera that guarantees an almost cinematic feel with dimensions slightly larger than those of a photo camera.

A Polecam was used (Cam13), mounted on one of the steps of the Arena, and also a Jimmy-Jib (Cam12), to shoot on stage from the right side of the Verona Arena. Another 4 fixed cameras in Micro configuration (Cam17-20), were instead positioned on the stage to create narrow frames of the various musicians, choirs and soloists, and capture the details of the instruments.

To complete this huge deployment of forces and shooting supports, a drone with relative micro camera (Cam16) was also used.

The direction and set-up

The direction of the event was handled by Luigi Antonini, and it also involved a special EVS system dedicated to the management of contributions and a complete crew with huge technical staff, with 31 employees.

The setup started on August 29th, on the 30th the first technical tests were held, while on the 31st further rehearsals were carried out before the evening live broadcast.

Massimiliano Anchise underlines:

"Two days were needed to build the system, lay the cables on the steps, install the special shooting supports, such as the Jimmy-jib, also in the upper part of the Arena. One of the biggest difficulties was wiring everything with optical fiber to be able to carry the signals from the cameras up to the mobile vehicle".

The stage

From a technical point of view, the Power Hits Summer 2022 event was characterized by the scenography, which was made by using a technology that allowed the use of dynamic LEDs that mapped every single light point on a two-dimensional matrix.

The uniqueness of this technology derives also from the fact that for the first time, on such a large scale, and moreover within a unique setting, such as the Verona Arena, a sort of large screen of almost 2000 square meters was created on a portion of the steps, on which multiple graphics and writings were animated.

To achieve this effect, about 2.5 km of dynamic LED strips were used with a light point every 20 cm, each consisting of a transparent plastic sphere containing 6 LEDs.

Stefano Pretoni, Technical Manager of RTL 102.5 and for this event Broadcast Production Manager, underlines:

"EMG Italy has been, for 3 years in a row, technological partner of RTL 102.5 for the filming and live broadcasting of the event; thanks to the use of top-level cameras and optics, an incredible musical show was made available to many viewers and has allowed them to appreciate the extraordinary effect offered by the scenographic system.

The great professionalism of EMG Italy, the extremely competent technicians, and the latest generation equipment that the group makes available to its customers, have made it possible to create a unique television show of the highest level. Besides, the scene was set up in just two days, in which, in addition to the set up and construction of the system, the technical and musical reharsals were also carried out."

© 2022 EMG Italy - robertolandini presspool pressoffice