Five Peas taps Videocraft’s expertise for MTV project

Videocraft supplied equipment from Sony, AJA Video Systems and Ross Video to support Five Peas’ production of MTV Unplugged

When chosen to produce an entire series of MTV Unplugged, Five Peas, a video production house based in Australia, approached Videocraft as its technology partner to manage all aspects of the event and shoot, in addition to providing post production for broadcast.

Craig Borg from Five Peas, explained that the project required a multi-cam approach for quick turnaround in post, hence the decision to deploy Sony F55 cameras. To support Five Peas’ requirement, Videocraft supplied multiple Sony F55 cameras with fibre adaptors and studio backs in a multi-cam setup. Videocraft also provided a switcher and flypack, as well as Ross Video’s Furio dolly system and AJA Video Systems’ Ki Pro Ultra Plus video recorder and player.

Besides the F55 cameras, another key product for this project was the deployment of AJA Ki Pro Ultra Plus, George Pana, rentals manager for Videocraft, pointed out.

He elaborated: “The main reason for this is that in a really small space, we can get a reliable four-channel HD recorder, or a full 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) single channel recorder in all of the 4K/UHD frame rates our clients need. In addition, the ability to fully control playback from our VSM control systems adds a whole new dimension of ease of use.

“As a recording solution for multi-camera projects in HD or 4K/UHD, the AJA Ki Pro Ultra Plus solution is hard to beat.”

AJA’s Ki Pro Ultra Plus supports high frame rate (HFR) workflows, up to 4K/UHD 60p with high dynamic range (HDR) playout and recording. Furthermore, the solution features 3G-SDI, fibre and HDMI 2.0 digital video connectivity, as well as a wealth of analogue and digital audio connectivity options.

Borg agreed with Pana on the advantages of the Ki Pro Ultra Plus, and added: “The Furio dolly and track was a big hit in achieving the shots we were after without a camera operator and traditional track in front of the stage.

“There are very few broadcast content series still in existence that solely feature just one artist. As a result, we spent a lot of time going back and forth with the label, management and the artist ensuring that everything from the instrumentation, to set design, to camera placement was going to achieve the best result. Videocraft were a big part of helping make the overall show a great success.”