S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy final hits YouTube with URSA Broadcast cameras

The grand final of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition was produced by STS Communication with several Magie noire URSA Broadcast cameras.

STS Communication, a specialist in streaming broadcasts, oversaw all aspects of the set design and technical production of the culinary event. The ten finalist chefs, who were selected from 135 young participants from 12 regions of the world, competed to convince the jury with their signature dish.

The on-stage activity was recorded with the assistance of four Diffusion URSA cameras with Canon 22x et H17x lenses et Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder viewfinders. In addition, a remotely operated PTZ camera was mounted on a pole to show the dishes presented to the jury. The sensitivity of the sensor to light was remotely controlled and adjusted using an ATEM Camera Control Panel unit, to ensure that the parameters remained constant during production. The operator used a combination of SmartView 4K et SmartScope Duo 4K monitors to preview the images.

In addition, a suspended fibre optic-based rig helped keep the stage clear. Together with a Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter device, they facilitated sending the isolated signal from each camera to the central production board. The programme was then generated using an ATEM Constellation 8K live production mixer and the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. In addition, two SDI signals for lower thirds and an HD graphics playback signal were sent to the production board via QLab.

Broadcasting via YouTube

Le main 1080p50 signal was then sent to the integration system for the S. Pellegrino YouTube channel and to the LED monitors in the auditorium connected via fibre optics. The progressive output from the mixer was converted to an interlaced signal for the venue’s AV system using a Teranex AV standards converter.

Alberto Azzola, founder of STS Communication, believes that Blackmagic’s solutions were key to the success of the production: “Given the complexity and high-pressure atmosphere of the event, we needed a compact and flexible solution that would seamlessly convey the competition to audiences at home, but without becoming a distraction for the finalists. The solution we implemented based on Blackmagic Design helped us to match our client’s ambitious expectations with high quality content and pay homage to the art of cooking.”