Scene Change captures and live streams 'Semi Permanent' with best-in-class Panasonic broadcast technology

Scene Change – Australia’s most awarded AV hire and production company – has upgraded its filming capability with the purchase of four Panasonic broadcast cameras, deployed at the recent Semi Permanent symposium held at Carriageworks, Sydney.

Client: Scene Change

Location: Sydney, NSW Australia

Product(s) supplied: AK-HC5000

Semi Permanent is a global summit for the business of creativity. This series of live events has an 18 year and 65-event history where the world’s best thinkers share their knowledge. Aimed at professionals in design, creative and art industries, Semi Permanent provides workshops, panel discussions and experiences for delegates, and high-level insights for those viewing from afar.

To meet the exacting requirements of this high-profile global event, Scene Change was required to faultlessly stream the Semi Permanent conference live to delegates joining remotely from around the world, whilst simultaneously streaming to screens positioned within the venue and capturing content for a highlights video package to be produced post-event.

Scene Change drew on its years of experience in delivering production solutions, and its investment in technology with best-in-class capabilities, to deliver flawless results. To ensure the streaming output was high-quality and fail-safe, they turned to their Panasonic AK-HC5000 studio broadcast cameras and AW-HE130 PTZ cameras to do the job.

""The combination of the ease of set up and operation offered by the PTZs and the flexibility offered by the more intimate studio broadcast cameras was paramount to the entire project, the footage we produced was extraordinary. The matched high picture quality across all four cameras also allowed for seamless transitions, with no difference in the quality of output."

Deploying the broadcast cameras was also key in delivering the flexibility to capture content from a range of angles simultaneously. Dennis Murphy, an award-winning Freelance Director who worked on the project said, “it was extremely beneficial to use the four Panasonic cameras – it allowed us to capture wide venue shots, panel members on the stage as well as the crowd’s reaction all at the same time. It’s more common these days to have just one person doing all the filming, and the ease-of-use of Panasonic’s solutions clearly demonstrated the return on investment that can be made.”

Shooting in low light across a number of rooms and spaces within Carriageworks also presented a challenge for Scene Change, as being able to capture excellent detail throughout the event was imperative for the live stream and final video cut.

Compared to a brightly lit studio, shooting at a live event can be challenging as the lighting is being staged for the venue requirements, not the camera. As well as the demands of shooting in dark areas, lighting can also vary widely from area to area. In this situation a camera that can still deliver excellent colour accuracy and skin tones is vital.

John Dinh, Director at Scene Change, said, “shooting confidently and reliably in low-light was a key factor when we were looking at the best equipment to use. We’d heard positive feedback from freelancers we’ve worked with about Panasonic’s equipment and after we carried out a shootout test with the AK-HC5000, we knew its low light capability was ideal for what we needed to achieve. So, we purchased two units immediately.” Scene Change also noticed a difference in the post-production process after using Panasonic’s broadcast technology.

Dennis Murphy also added, “the Panasonic cameras we used this time around are incredibly effective when it comes to cutting all the materials together from different cameras – the level of menu control, functionality and colour grading is second to none.”

The continued growth in demand for streamed content is something Scene Change has witnessed across all events they operate at, from conferences to live music acts. They note that the ease of set up and operation offered by PTZs has greatly contributed to their ability to support live streaming in a range of scenarios.

Mathew Alexander, Product Marketing Manager for Broadcast & Professional Video products, Panasonic Australia, explained: “Panasonic engineers have worked to make the colour science consistent across the camera range, making it easy to blend and match with little colour correction needed. In addition, we make set up of the cameras pre-event on site easier and more flexible for production houses, with features like ‘LAN TRUNK’ for studio cameras and ProPTZ models. It allows cabling to be reduced between camera and control unit - with a 1000BaseT IP link via SMPTE fibre or single mode fibre cable - as well as extending the distance between them up to 10 kilometres.”

Following the success of Semi Permanent, and with Scene Change preparing for further events in the coming months, the company intends to purchase additional Panasonic broadcast camera equipment and PTZ cameras. John Dinh added, “we have heard from partners in venues and events that they are increasingly looking for the best solutions to deliver high-quality video content. The content they produce can then be viewed live or can be utilised as evergreen content, however ourselves and the customer decide. Whether people want to be involved with an event through live stream or want to get a flavour of it afterwards, it’s important that we deliver this seamlessly.”

Mathew Alexander said, “Panasonic prides itself on reliable, best-in-class technology, and the content created by Scene Change for Semi Permanent is testament to the exceptional solutions we offer our partners. Corporate and live events are increasingly captured on video to improve the guest experience or to support ongoing content needs, so it’s important production companies have the right equipment in place to make this as easy as possible. We enjoy partnering with Scene Change as they are an industry-leading organisation who share our commitment in delivering the best results with audio and visual technology.”

Scene Change captures and live streams 'Semi Permanent' with best-in-class Panasonic broadcast technology

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