REMOTE PRODUCT ION | TECHNOLOGY
“With the Serv Pro, you can create a virtual video village. You just use one of several Teradek apps to log onto the Wi-Fi network, then that will give you live video streams in HD from a set,” elaborates Smokler. “Finally, there’s our RS cloud platform, the Teradek Core. That lets you take a feed, send it up into the cloud, then send it out to as many destinations as you want. If there’s someone shooting or editing, they can send that feed up to Core using a Teradek encoder product. It can then be sent to dozens of people, each ready to give feedback.” While people are social distancing on set, many production members are being asked to not even be there physically, but with “technology like this, they don’t need to be”, says Smokler. Remote lens control is also more of a necessity than ever. “There’s no way you could have a person physically on the lens because there’s an operator holding the camera just inches away,” Smokler explains. “The Teradek RT is just an excellent wireless lens control system that functions at a range of anything up to 1500m – it’s that simple.” The collaborative creativity of a film set may never be replaced, nor should it be, but when the dust settles, the production world may well continue to embrace remote technology more than ever.
of the camera, it’s got a big block sensor and monitor there. And that links up to the remote camera on the arm or the crane, or wherever it might be,” Speed notes. “Before, people may have said ‘we have to socially distance, so let’s use a remote piece of kit’, but now you can even get the handheld look with remote cameras.” STAYING CONNECTED The final, but equally crucial, piece of the puzzle is connectivity. For that, Teradek’s Greg Smokler, GM of the cine market segment, reveals how the production tech powerhouse is enabling remote communication. “In light of Covid-19, this is even more essential,” Smokler explains. The brand’s most widely known product is the Bolt 4K, which has seen a recent upgrade in the form of a unique third generation chipset. Smokler explains: “It can still send 4K resolution with the same zero delay, but now it’s also able to send 10-bit colour in that transmission, which allows for up to six monitoring stations on a set to view a 4K HDR quality video. “A while ago, you would see ten people all huddled around one monitor, but we can’t do that anymore. We’re actually finding that six monitors are not enough, so, in addition to the Bolt family, we’ve made the Serv Pro.
ABOVE The Tyr Arm’s ability to articulate enables it to track in and out as well as pan left and right of shots
“Certainly, the application of remotes helps with distancing: the whole camera department can wear masks, but the principal actor simply cannot. So, as much separation as you can get from the actor, the better,” he continues. Low adds that they’re also working hard to protect technicians and the crew they work with, of course. “The Libra Head’s owner and designer, Nick Phillips, recently built separate head controllers, enabling the operator to control pan and tilt, while the technician can be up to 4m away, looking after roll,” he says. Another new piece of kit that’s been very popular recently is the company’s handheld rig. “It’s a standard shoulder rig, but instead
“THE TERADEK RT IS JUST AN EXCELLENT WIRELESS LENS CONTROL SYSTEM”
NOVEMBER 2020 | DEF I N I T ION 45
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