A management team from ARD and ZDF started planning the event as early as 2009, assigning responsibilities, planning camera requirements, and selecting OB vehicles and mobile production units. With specific tasks on site and at the host broadcaster, a crucial phase of the project began about a year before the start of the competition.
With a fibre-optic network connecting all performance venues, TV compounds were set up, and an International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was constructed using 120 office containers. Located at the Kandahar ski run, the IBC served as the interface for all outgoing and incoming signals, and provided offices for other unilateral broadcasters. Additional rooms were provided at Gudiberg and at the medal plaza.
Among other facilities on-site, WIGE’s OB van was used for the international video, and ZDF’s MP4 for the ARD/ZDF national broadcast. Bavarian public broadcaster BR’s FÜ1HD was in operation at Gudiberg. South West German public broadcaster Südwestrundfunk’s ÜHD2 was set up at the medal plaza.
Whether OB vans or container-based control rooms, all mobile production units used during this event were equipped with Lawo consoles – mainly mc²66s – for the creation and mixing of the audio. ‘The computing power of the HD core is extremely important, as it allows a large number of DSP channels to be handled. It also enables us to record and edit multiple sources, such as interviews, even during the broadcast of a live event,’ saus Jörg Teufel, Technical Manager at GAP TV.
‘mc² consoles also excel by offering a great overview and intuitive operation, even when a large number of channels are in use,’ he continues. A delay can be placed individually within a single channel strip.It is frequently inserted after fader and after aux, allowing the interview guest to hear himself correctly; at the same time, the audience still receives lip-sync audio. Ensuring that the picture always switches to the correct microphone, and that audio is added to the mix at the right time even during fast cutting sequences, the smooth configurability of the Lawo consoles’ Audio-follow-Video (AfV) function is another important advantage. ‘Only the combination of the AfV function with manual intervention allows us to create a perfect mix for the international audio,’ explains Teufel in closing.
More: www.lawo.de
