Studios To Go

The often unpredictable production style of many of today’s reality
TV shows, as well as the endless variety of corporate video and
independent productions, all point to one thing: Agile systems that can
go anywhere and produce anything are greatly in demand. And for many on
a tight budget, these mobile production systems are the next best thing
to a large and costly production truck.

These days, the technology and system configurations have gotten so
good that you can now stage a full, multi-camera production, either
live or in the studio, with results similar to those produced out of a
traditional (and expensive) production studio. By renting a variety of
gear (SD or HD) delivered in cases and set up quickly on site or by
purchasing pre-configured "studio-in-a-box" systems that help avoid the
hassles of setup and breakdown, you can go just about anywhere with
your production.

Among the best sources for mobile production systems are the hundreds
of rental houses throughout the country, which have supported remote
video productions for many years by offering a multi-camera package
complete with a production switcher, audio and lighting gear. The
rationale for renting is that a production might be a one-day shoot, or
it could be a monthly rental for a new episodic that is fighting to
stay on the air. Renting is also a good option when budgets are limited
and a DP wants to experiment with a new camera he or she might not
otherwise be able to afford.

The Camera House, in Hollywood, offers the Grass Valley Viper
FilmStream digital cinematography camera for rent (for about $6,000 per
day; a typical 35mm film package rents for about $5,000/day); in tandem
with an S.Two digital disk recorder and other equipment, giving
filmmakers one of the most advanced options for capturing digital
information and translating it into high-quality images and effects.
The Viper, along with an in-house configuration of the S.Two digital
film system by The Camera House itself, captures raw uncompressed data
with a resolution equivalent to 2K resolution in film-the most common
resolution found in major studio film releases.

Always do your research first. Tom Fletcher, vice president at rental
house Fletcher Chicago, says it’s important to know the type of client
you are serving and what their needs are before you come in to rent.
His staff works with a wide variety of customers, from broadcasters and
major sports producers, to corporate productions. Fletcher also sells
mobile production systems. The advantage to renting equipment, he says,
is that you can pick and choose the exact system you want, without
making compromises.

The limit for a truly mobile system is four to six cameras, he says,
because any system larger than that is harder to move around. A flyaway
pack, designed to be shipped anywhere in the world, usually includes
four cameras, a video production switcher, an audio mixer, microphones
and some type of lighting. Of course, it also depends on the venue and
application. There are many places where it is impractical to park a
truck outside. In these cases, a smaller system, that can be set up
inside, is the way to go. The price for these systems varies, depending
on the equipment selected.

"In general, renting equipment packages for high-definition production
is about 50 percent more expensive than an SD package," Fletcher says.
"That’s because there aren’t a lot of HD cameras and switchers
available, since most are on board the various mobile production trucks
that produce live sporting and entertainment events. Sony’s D39 and D35
SD cameras remain a popular item for our mobile production packages,
because it keeps the cost down, but customers can specify any camera
model they’d like to use."

If you aren’t going live, that lightens the load considerably. "If your
final product is not a live switched show, then people have the option
to post it later, which makes a difference in the type of gear you
rent," adds Fletcher. "Producing HD projects has become more affordable
in the past year, but SD is still the dominant type of shooting going
on today."

LMG, Inc. made headlines this year by offering for rent a portable,
multi-format "Truck-in-a-Box" mobile production system. Based in
Orlando (with offices in Las Vegas and Phoenix, AZ), the rental
facility provides audio, video, lighting, staging and presentation
support for a wide range of clients. Its broadcast-quality portable
system includes a Snell & Wilcox Kahuna switcher, Grass Valley
WorldCam HD cameras, Marshall flat-panel monitors, Evertz multi-image
display software and other equipment. Called the HD 1, LMG’s
go-anywhere system can be taken out of the box and set up in a matter
of minutes. The company has also just finished building a second HD
truck-in-a-box system, which it values, like the first one, at about
$1.5 million.

Traditional equipment manufacturers are also going portable and have
developed products to meet the demand. Broadcast Pix offers its popular
Studio2000 digital production system-a digital switcher, CG, still
store and PC workstation for under $24,000-and Grass Valley markets a
series of pre-configured (although not very portable) production
"kits"-from its Presentation kit, for under $63,000, that features its
CameraMan automated camera tracking system, up to a full-blown HD
production kit. Available for about $370,000, the kit includes two LDK
6000 mk II WorldCam HD cameras, a Concerto router, a Kayak HD digital
switcher, a Profile server with storage, as well as modular products
and an Ethernet-based control system.

The most portable (and affordable) of them all, however, comes from
Sony. The company’s Anycast Station-which, at about 15 pounds, is the
size of an attachà© case-has found a home with many small broadcasters
and independent production companies. It lists for about $20,000.

The Anycast Station (AWS-G500) features a six-input, 4:2:2 video
switcher, an audio mixer, a large LCD display and an optional streaming
encoder and server. Signal support includes analog composite, S-video,
SDI (optional), DV input and balanced audio as well as computer RGB
inputs. The Anycast Station system lets you switch between live video
and computer sources without the use of external line converters or
degradation in picture quality. The built-in streaming encoder
distributes video in real-time, in multiple formats, over the Internet
or a local area network and the built-in audio mixer provides 48
kHz/24-bit processing, six stereo channel input mixing, six channel
faders and one master fader.

Rich Rubin is another big believer in integrated systems. He’s also
convinced that most customers want an expert to configure systems for
them. As president of Mobile Studios, Inc., a system integration and
equipment sales company in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Rubin and his team
configure and sell turnkey portable production systems because most
folks don’t want the hassle of putting together their own systems. As
an equipment sales company, Mobile Studios also offer Sony’s Anycast
Station.

Mobile Studios’ standard MS7-DV system includes a 4-input Datavideo DV
switcher (SE-800); Pentium 4 PC computer (120 GB hard drive); digital
video recorder (distribution amplifier, Serious Magic DV Rack
software); an audio mixer; one 17-inch monitor on top of four smaller
Marshall flat-screen preview monitors and an uninterruptible power
supply to keep the system running in case there’s a power failure. The
configured console also comes with a fold-down side panel that can be
used as an extra table for a separate piece of equipment, such as a
character generator, teleprompter or source VTR. For customers who need
it all, Mobile Studios can also provide cameras and other peripheral
equipment, depending on the application.

Rubin says that with one of his company’s systems, a customer could do
a four-camera shoot, or use three cameras and roll in a pre-taped
segment from a VTR or digital disk recorder. The system can also be
used for sending live video over the Internet; the necessary encoders
and video streaming card can be added.

"You can’t roll a production truck from classroom to classroom, or
boardroom to an office in a matter of minutes," Rubin says, adding that
each system is custom built to spec. He’s also simplified the process
for pros who want a standard configuration: For about $20,000, users
can walk away with a system that includes gear most commonly used in a
professional production.

At The Kennedy Space Center, in Cape Canaveral, FL, Duffin McGee works
as a prime contractor to Boeing (under his company "Indyne"), where he
uses the Mobile Studios MS7-DV system to produce videos about the
international space station. These videos are shared with NASA
personnel around country. He also uses it to document space shuttle
launches. McGee says the system has been ideal for training videos and
capturing executives in their office. He typically uses two JVC
DYV-5000 cameras and sometimes a third Canon XL-1 with the system,
which he says has saved his staff hours of time in production. "We
don’t have to waste time digitizing footage into the computer’s hard
drive," says McGee. "With the MV7-DV, we capture native DV directly
into the computer and output it (via FireWire connection) to one of
four edit systems-two Final Cut Pro and two Adobe Premiere-and edit on
the fly."

McGee says the system’s price helps keep costs down, especially when he
considers what the cost of renting or purchasing separate pieces of
gear might be. Based on the regularity of his work, he thinks he’s paid
for it in a little under a year. He also says that by opting for a
pre-configured system, he’s eliminated a lot of the problems that come
with setting up a traditional studio piece by piece.

Cameras and live switchers aren’t the only portable systems gaining
traction. Desktop NLEs, rented or bought as single workstations or
multi-seat SANs and shipped to any location, are one of the specialties
of the DR Group, located in Culver City, CA. The company is one of the
largest value-added-resellers of Apple Final Cut Pro. Lowell Kay,
founder of the company in 1992, has seen his FCP business grow steadily
in the past six years, as TV network producers and independent
filmmakers increasingly don’t want the hassle and expense of owning
their own systems. The company will ship systems anywhere in the world,
from locations in Hawaii to motion picture studio backlots in
Hollywood. "We usually go through an amortization of what the equipment
costs and whether it makes sense to rent or buy," Kay says. The DR
Group’s service contract is somewhat unique: The company also offers to
monitor those FCP systems remotely and diagnose (and fix) problems from
anywhere in the world, via Apple’s Remote Desktop application. The
company’s portable systems, which can be packed in highly mobile
flyaway kits, rent for approximately $900 to $2,500 per week, depending
on system configuration. This can include multiple G5 computers,
multiple NTSC (SD and HD) monitors, ingest and graphics stations and a
fully functioning SAN, based on Apple’s Xsan technology. Recent rental
clients include MTV Networks, Fox, The Grammy Awards, and Major League
Baseball. Along with location-based rentals, the DR Group also offers
post-production and digital intermediate services at their 12,500 sq.
ft. facility, where people can come in to use FCP workstations, VTRs
and other equipment on a piece-meal basis.