Fusion features flexible automation

Vinten Radamec will show how studios can migrate to camera robotics by adding automation to manual pedestals and heads in a demo at BVE 2011. The presentation will also feature compact automated camera systems for parliaments.

It will show a Vinten Osprey Elite studio pedestal, fitted with a Vinten Radamec Fusion Bolt on Height Drive and Fusion FH-100 robotic and manual head. These can be fitted to any Vinten or Sachtler non skirted manual pedestal in the field, giving precise control over pan, tilt and elevation when in automatic mode, with the capability of switching at the touch of a button to fully manual mode, giving the system the feel of a conventional Vinten pedestal.

It will be teamed with a Vinten Radamec HDVRC control system, which can perform complex moves, with on-shot trims can be made using a joystick, or pre-set shots from a touch-screen controller. The networked architecture of the HDVRC allows camera control over multiple sites, so that remote and local studios can be operated simultaneously from the same controller. The system can also drive Autocam and Radamec products, as well as specialist units such as external weather cameras.

The legislative system will feature a specialist Radamec 431 pan and tilt head, designed to provide excellent stability and range of movement in an unobtrusive form factor. It will be shown with a Legislative Control System that provides a simple single point of control for any installation, and can involve a very large number of robotic cameras.

The LCS can be linked into a voting or audio system that provides speaker information, from which its internal logic will choose the most appropriate camera to cover the speaker. Alternatively, it can be manually controlled using a touch screen to select and direct the cameras. In both cases, a joystick is provided to trim and tighten pre-set shots.

“Automation - whether for a public building like a legislature or for a busy studio - is definitely no longer a complex, risky and expensive process,” said Karen Walker of Vinten Radamec. “What we are showing at BVE this year is that it is simple to implement, secure in operation and delivers a real return on investment in a surprisingly short timescale.”

Vinten Radamec has now sold more than 500 of its Fusion heads worldwide. Recent orders include Sky Italia’s 24 hour rolling news channel, which has equipped four of its studios with Vinten Radamec robotic camera supports, including three FH-100 heads with Fusion FP-188 robotic camera pedestals, plus a control system.

Paul Vickerage, head of studios for Sky Italia, said: “We have two robotic studios for Sky Sports 24 and two for TG-24. These systems give us the ability to provide seamless interworking not just with newsroom systems but with other studios, which is very important to us. Our sports team controls a studio in Rome from its main production base in Milan, and the news team has the use of two separate studios but everything is under a single point of control.”

Other recent customers include Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, which bought six robotic pan and tilt heads as part of a sophisticated Vinten Radamec robotics system, working in conjunction with its Orad Proset virtual studio software to provide fully automated control of pan, tilt and elevation, as well as high precision positioning around the studio floor. Another Asian broadcaster, now TV, has also equipped its sports studio with broadcast robotic systems from the Fusion range (pictured). In the US, major broadcasters such as HSN, Fox and NBC have all installed Fusion heads.

By David Fox