XL Events supplied daily live TV technology for the Best of Belron® 2012, a global event to find the best technician for Belron®, worldwide leader in vehicle glass repair and replacement, renowned for its Autoglass® and Carglass® brands.
The ‘Best of Belron®' competition was staged at the Fira Exhibition Centre in Barcelona, Spain, and featured 29 Belron® technicians from around the world who demonstrated their extensive vehicle glass repair and replacement skills. They worked ‘live' on identical Ford Focus cars in front of over 1,000 people, including colleagues, suppliers and partners from the insurance and fleet sectors.
XL's team led by Mark Rooney provided a full HD studio at the Fira de Barcelona for ‘BOB TV' including RF cameras, lower third keyed caption generation plus audio and lighting equipment. XL was working for production company, The Outlook Creative Group.
The Barcelona studio was linked live to the competition floor where two roving presenters interviewed Belron® employees, customers and suppliers and commentated on the competition progress. The programme was streamed around the Fira and worldwide from Barcelona via the internet.
Two of XL's wireless HD cameras were positioned on the completion floor, right at the heart of the action, with two others in the studio. These were mixed via one of XL's Panasonic HD PPUs.
The live action was recorded onto two AJA Ki pro recorders provided to enable quick editing on site. The best footage of the day was cut, re-mixed and produced as a montage of highlights, made available – including via the Best of Belron® website - for those unable to catch the event or watch the live stream.
Two Grass Valley T2 Turbo hard drives were programmed with a variety of VT material including playback stings that were run in between the camera feeds. XL also supplied two 50 inch plasma screens, one for the studio display and one used as a prompt.
A full studio ‘white light' installation was part of XL's package, together with a crew of 12, all co-ordinated by Rooney.
The real technical challenge was the intensity of the ‘live' streaming process which ran for four hours non-stop each day of the event …. with no rehearsals and run-throughs!
Everyone had to think on their feet and be prepared to deal with any eventualities quickly, practically and sometimes laterally, which is a “Very exciting way to work” concludes Rooney, adding that the skills, experience, knowledge and great personalities of the XL Events team were integral to ensuring that all aspects ran smoothly and seamlessly.
Steve Marelli from Autoglass® UK won the title of ‘Best of Belron® 2012'.