SWR broadcasts NATO Summit with Lawo Equipment.
FÜ2 HD and SNG1 report from Baden-Baden.
On 3rd and 4th April 2009, the south west of Germany will become a platform for the NATO summit and a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of this organisation. On the first day of the summit, a ceremonial opening will take place at the spa hotel and casino in Baden-Baden.
With an adequate technical effort and a large workforce, Südwestrundfunk (SWR), the host broadcaster, guarantees that this event will be broadcast around the world, with original audio, interviews, reports and news. About 130 editors and reporters, as well as more than 250 technical staff from SWR, are involved in the NATO summit broadcast. It will be a complex task, as not every event during the summit will be predictable, and many may be, for security reasons, announced at the last minute. That is why, in addition to the large and small OB trucks that will be set up in front of the spa hotel in Baden-Baden, seven SNGs and three motorcycle teams with reporters and cameramen will also be ready to react quickly, and reach the location of an event in the fastest possible time.
One of SWR’s SNG vehicles is equipped with the following Lawo equipment: a zirkonXL mixing console with Nova17 matrix, and a z4 editor’s console. The zirkonXL – in spite of its compact size – offers all the functions required for TV sound production. With 12 physical and 12 virtual faders, 24 channels are controllable within a small space. VisTool software gives a display of ‘Main’, ‘Channel Parameter’, and ‘Multi PPM’ pages, as well providing control of the matrix, which facilitates efficient workflow-oriented operation with a clear overview.
A Lawo mc²66 is installed in SWR’s FÜ2 HD OB van, which will be used for coverage from the spa hotel, and the link to the TV station. The Lawo desk features 140 microphone inputs, 192 DSP channels and 56 faders, while the router, with its redundant routing card, offers 8,192 x 8,192 crosspoints. Four program feeds are available, making the simultaneous transmission of multiple feeds possible. In the event of a failure, backup is provided not only for the program and transmission paths but also for the monitor system and all auxiliary sends via Digidesign’s Pro Tools. A sound engineer will operate the mc²66, and its user panel has been comprehensively pre-programmed and provides an audio-follows-video facility. 170 GPIs will be used, including virtual GPIs for the control of peripherals, fader starts, etc.
The challenges are big, but so is the capability of SWR staff and their technical equipment. Despite the many variables that had to be taken into account in planning this event, people all over the world will be treated by SWR to the best pictures and the best sound from this international event.
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