Blackmagic Design today announced that the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition, hosted by the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, used the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast multicam workflow for live production and streaming.
The stage and technical production of this competition is handled by STS Communication, a specialist in live production. Among the 135 young chefs from 12 participating regions around the world, 10 contestants stood out with their own dishes and were selected by the jury to advance to the final stage to compete for the final championship.
The production team paired four URSA Broadcast cameras with the Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder to capture the highlights on the competition stage, and added a remotely controlled PTZ camera to the truss to shoot each item presented to the jury.
The ISO of each camera can be remotely monitored and adjusted using the ATEM Camera Control Panel to ensure consistency across camera frames. Operators use the SmartView 4K and SmartScope Duo 4K monitoring devices to preview the various screen signals.
"We deployed two camera slots on the platform in front of the chefs' desks, with Canon 22x and H17x lenses, to shoot detailed shots of the kitchen," said Alberto Azzola, founder of STS Communication. "We deployed a Dolly vehicle on the right side of the stage and a device at shoulder-length height on the other side to shoot wide-angle shots of the entire stage, including live reviews from the host." ”
"It's important that the screen is broadcast so that the audience in front of the screen can feel the tension of the chef's competition," Azzola said, "URSA Broadcast has excellent picture quality, enough to capture those small but crucial details, so as to vividly reflect the degree of care and precision of each dish." ”
To avoid a large number of cluttered cables on stage, the production team used top fiber cabling to send ISO signals from each camera to the main control room via the Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter converter, and then used an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel control panel to mix and produce the program signals on the ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher.
In addition, the team used QLab to send two lower bar fill and key signals and a Full HD graphic playback signal via SDI to the main control room.
The program mixed signal is produced in 1080p50 format, sent to the embedding system for the San Péreu YouTube channel, and sent via fiber to LED monitors deployed throughout the venue. The progressive output signal of the switcher is converted to an interlaced signal using a Terranex AV format converter for use by audiovisual equipment in the venue.
"Given the complexity of the competition and the highly tense atmosphere, we needed a compact and flexible solution to present the game to the audience at home without any disruption to the finals," Azzola concluded, "This Blackmagic Design-based solution produces high-quality content that meets the high expectations of the audience for the competition and pays homage to the art of cooking." ”