Sony XDCAM HD 'Run-Away' Success In First Major European Production

The first European production to use the XDCAM HD professional disc format – the Land Rover G4 Challenge – has been declared a success by BHP Sport, the crew tasked with the rapid generation, editing and delivery of commercial and broadcast content to promote the event.
The cameras have had to deal with sustained shocks, sand, dust and some of the wettest conditions on the planet with working temperatures ranging from a freezing –20 degrees Celsius to a sweltering 46 degrees.
Cameramen captured footage using the Sony HVR-A1E and HVR-Z1E HDV camcorders wherever portability was key. This included installation onto helmets, bikes, kayaks – and, of course, Land Rovers. XDCAM HD units were employed to capture most of the other most dramatic moments of each event stage.
“We mixed different formats to suit the needs and limitations of each filming environment,” explained Brad Lawson of BHP Sport. “We had HVR-A1E cameras mounted in and on cars, HVR-Z1Es in water-housings. And, while HDCAM camcorders were installed into a helicopter, it was XDCAM HD that became the real ‘workhorse’ format during the Challenge.”
"The XDCAM HD cameras provided crisp, clear pictures and an amazing consistency across the five cameras we had rolling at any one time – add that to the post-production workflow advantages of shooting on disc and we knew were onto a winner.”
Sony XDCAM HD and its support for a non-linear workflow was a major contributor to the production team’s ability to meet all of its timings, as Simon Fitzgerald, Joint Managing Director of BHP Sport acknowledged: “The professional disc recording function really sped up the workflow for us.
"Having random access to footage allowed us to tell the post-production team where to build the stories and the ability to review the storyboard as the events progressed. This saved us a great deal of time in editing because logging tape can be a very time consuming process. With a file-based workflow, you can miss this step out completely and that means the total time to turnaround full productions is much reduced.”
By the end of the challenge, the BHP Sport production crew will have produced six, thirty minute productions for broadcast on Channel 4 (UK); VT4, BETV, Belgacom TV (Belgium); M6 (France), TBS (Japan); RTL 7 (The Netherlands); Supersport (South Africa); Iz TV and Fox TV (Turkey).
BHP Sport has also made a range of commercial promotions for Land Rover – not to mention international versions of the rushes to send to other countries.
“From a commercial point of view, being able to turnaround full edits in a matter of hours has really opened up new doors for us,” concluded Fitzgerald.
(SP/KMcA)