Mobile recording facility Red TX and OB production company One Box Television have teamed up to offer pooled resources for portable HD multi-camera shoots, writes Adrian Pennington. The union follows the refurbishment of Red TX’s Red II mobile recording unit, which can cater for 3D and 7.1 surround sound productions and now incorporates an additional production/overdub and video gallery room at the rear. Ian Dyckhoff, director of Red TX, said: “We designed Red II with this additional space because we recognised that some broadcast clients wanted an area where they could set up fly-pack television facilities. After discussion with One Box Television, we recognised that the new truck provided a perfect opportunity to combine resources on certain projects where clients wanted the ability to film as well as record high quality audio.” Richard Stevenson, director of One Box television, added: “The complexity of multitrack sound frequently means that an audio truck will be parked alongside a traditional OB truck on a concert. The ‘sound end’ of the OB truck, which the client is effectively paying for, is rendered redundant. By installing our highly mobile flyaway units into Red II we combine facilities and significantly reduce costs for our customers.” One Box Television can run up to 16 cameras from their temporary gallery in Red II. The whole room can be given over to production, and One Box Television can house vision control in its own vehicle, if required. “The benefits are that our units are customised for each shoot so you don’t pay for more than you need,” Stevenson added. “Our smallest unit is just five cameras but we can install more than that, should the project demand it.” One Box galleries are built into a standard 19-inch rack and include an HD TX monitor, HD preview monitors, a talkback system and vision mixer with tally lights. According to the company, the advantages of installing a such a fly-away kit into Red II is that it does away with the need for long cable runs to a separate audio truck and limits issues with parking as only one truck is required. It also allows production teams to be very close to the action, ensuring speedy liaison with artists and crew. “Using our unique camera-back fibre kits, cable runs of over 100m are still absolutely possible,” Stevenson explained. The kit has been used on a number of projects including the Classic Rock Awards, MTV New Acts and Channel 4’s Streetdance at such venues as The Royal Festival Hall, Wembley Arena and The 02. www.red-tx.com www.oneboxtelevision.co.uk
