Live Social Media Content for Time Warp Mannheim

Production company LiveFRAME deployed a multicamera workflow based on Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 cameras and the ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher to support Time Warp, an electronic music festival, with fast turnaround content for its social media streams.

Thirty thousand people soaked up world class sound, with Time Warp, well known for its mind blowing visuals and high spec production, returning to Mannheim, Germany after a four year absence. “The festival isn’t just about the music, although that is front and center. The whole event aesthetic is an experience. That’s why we chose to record the show using URSA Broadcast G2,” begins Christoph Pauli, CEO at LiveFRAME.

Among the deliverables produced by LiveFRAME was a live stream of the Adriatique DJ set for broadcaster ARTE alongside content from across four dancefloors for the festival’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram channels. “That ability to reach audiences who couldn’t attend via socials has become crucial for festivals organizers,” Pauli says.

This presented the team with several challenges, as routing feeds from the festival area to LiveFRAME’s mobile facility required more than two kilometers of optical fiber; and there were complications regarding artist permissions on what could be streamed and when. Getting the media quickly to Time Warp’s editorial team was another hurdle. The solution was to transfer files from a series of HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro SSD recorders via FTP to the client’s media server, which the editors could access immediately. “From live to clipping and creative polish to publishing took less than 30 minutes,” he reveals. Multiple Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12Gs, which simultaneously converts SDI to optical fiber and optical fiber to SDI in both directions, delivered all 24 video signals into a pair of Smart Videohub 12G 40×40 routers onboard LiveFRAME’s mobile truck.

“One router is purely for monitoring while the other feeds an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, allowing us to throw up different multiviews in the van, including a 16 view,” explains Pauli.

The workflow relied on an ATEM Constellation 8K with an ATEM 2 M/E Advanced Panel for control. Production deployed multiple URSA Broadcast G2 camera chains, with several providing a bird’s eye view of the stage from the lighting rig and remotely controlled via the ATEM Camera Control Panel. “We also employed three Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6Ks on sliders adjacent to DJ mixing desks and the stage, which were also remotely operated,” adds Pauli. “What we like about the Blackmagic system concept is that everything blends perfectly regardless of the job,” concludes Pauli. “What’s more, it is all 12G-SDI and 4K ready. And we are getting all this flexibility and firepower far more cost-effectively than similar products from other manufacturers.”