‘Planet Cook’ goes tapeless multi-camera with Geevs and Lightworks Touch

Gee Broadcast has announced that after extensive market investigation, Platinum Films has installed a tapeless solution comprising of a Geevs Server, Lightworks Touch editors and Sharknet shared storage for the production of ‘Planet Cook’.
Planet Cook, a children’s cookery programme, is produced by Platinum Films for the BBC and is shown on CBBC and BBC1. The production is shot and edited at Pinewood Studios near London where the goal is to complete a 20 minute programme each day. This is extremely demanding and requires an efficient, productive solution which also supports high-quality broadcast performance.
The Planet Cook programme has also been sold to several overseas Broadcasters including Germany’s state broadcaster ZDF and Australia’s ABC. International sales of the format are managed by Fremantle Media.
The system designed for Platinum Films combines the benefits of the Geevs Server as a recorder for ingest direct from camera to disk, Lightworks Touch editors and the Sharknet shared storage solution. The Sharknet-based system offers an economic, networked solution, but allows the higher data rates needed for true online production. It is the backbone of the multi-camera, tapeless production solution.
A 3-channel Geevs Server captures the camera input directly for each take. While recording to disk, a director’s first cut is made on-the-fly and saved as an EDL.
A LightworksTouch in the studio can use the director’s first cut, or any of the recorded material, directly to check shots and start a rough cut of the programme. Because the Geevs and Touch share media files and metadata directly, the Touch can start editing as shots are captured without the need for any transfers or conversions.
A second Lightworks Touch is installed a few hundred metres away in Post Production. This is connected to the studio via the Sharknet network and it too can share material directly, or transfer and manipulate it from local storage. This second Touch is used for the final edit adding graphics and effects to the programme.
Keith Gee, Managing Director at Gee Broadcast, said: “We are particularly pleased that Platinum Films have chosen a Sharknet system for use on their exciting format and production. Planet Cook is a fine example of modern methods being used creatively to provide key programming for both digital and terrestrial channels. Since the launch of Sharknet at IBC2004, we have seen a substantial growth in this area of our business.”
Nigel Stone, CEO of Platinum Films, added: “Not only did the Geevs System provide the intelligent solution we were looking for, but the back-up from Gee Broadcast was second to none”.
(GB)