Blackmagic Design technology transforms Sports Illustrated FC studio

With the recent launch of Sports Illustrated FC, in collaboration with Minute Media, Sports Illustrated A new stage begins with productions carried out in a studio that has Blackmagic Design like the ATEM Television Studio 4K8 mixer

This weekly program is presented by a group of panelists and connects a passionate community of football fans around the world through social media and the company's new channel, Sports Illustrated Television (SITV), which is broadcast through FAST, a free, ad-supported Internet television service.

Minute Media's 90min platform, specialized in football content, influenced the development of the concept for the study. The project began in 2011, publishing fan reviews and stories on a website and app, after which it evolved into an audiovisual format in late 2014. Initially, the company established two audiovisual facilities in Tel Aviv and London in 2015.

Jony Geron, executive producer and head of audiovisual production at Sports Illustrated FC, comments that "we relied on creativity, ideas and improvisation to compensate for the lack of advanced equipment, plus our budget was limited. Even so, we had many hits and viral videos that reached millions of people."

Those early experiences laid the foundation for a more elaborate approach to a full-length panel discussion, which is the format around which Sports Illustrated FC's current premium media strategy revolves.

With no fixed budget for studio productions, operations needed to be agile and profit-focused to make sense from a commercial standpoint. The solution was to design a studio that could support a wide variety of live shows, podcasts and interviews on a daily basis, without being too complex or requiring a large number of staff.

The result was a configuration that includes four Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro units, equipped with the devices Blackmagic Focus Demand, Blackmagic Zoom Demand and a ATEM Television Studio 4K8 mixer, as well as the model HyperDeck Studio HD Plus to record the contents. “I was very impressed with how well the cameras were designed for studio work, and also the fact that we could use the EF lenses we already had,” says Geron. “All of this helped us decide.”

XLR audio is handled by Model ATEM Microphone Converter, allowing clean signals from multiple microphones to be sent to the ATEM Television Studio 4K8 device for mixing and insertion into the live program.

Reliability and total control

While previous studies could be described as “improvised”, the new setup offers consistency, reliability and control at a professional level. Geron notes that "all four cameras are connected to the ATEM via a single Ethernet cable, giving the operator complete control of the program. We mounted all the lights on the ceiling and controlled them remotely. The image quality is impressive, and the fact that we no longer have to worry about having the cameras connected or the lighting has been made a huge difference."

“We're just beginning to realize the true scope of the new setup," says Geron. "The biggest benefit has been the time it's saved and the risks it's eliminated. Now a single person can walk in, record a one-hour episode using all four cameras with a foolproof level of control, and have it all ready for broadcast in a matter of hours.”

Today, the study is a central tool for Sports Illustrated FC, as it allows it operate immediately at a professional level in the field of studio production. “Our broadcasts are of higher quality, conversations develop more fluidly and audience participation is much greater,” concludes Geron.