NASHVILLE, Tenn.—TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions.

Developed in collaboration with dbV Rentals, Aspiration 35 is one of the first ARRI camera-equipped trucks and among the first to deliver a complete cinematic workflow natively from a TV truck, offering a blend of film-quality imaging and traditional live production infrastructure.

TNDV debuted Aspiration 35 on July 8 at a special block party in Nashville. The event featured hands-on demos of the truck’s cinematic workflow and brought together production professionals, vendors and industry groups. The party also featured new products from local vendors like Elite Script (debuting its new Jumbo Bright Teleprompter system) as well as interactive experiences from media outlets, such as the Cams Channel podcast.

“Our refreshed Aspiration 35 truck is more than just another upgrade,” TNDV founder Nic Dugger said. “It’s a leap into the future of what live production can look like when it embraces the art of cinema. The ARRI Alexa 35 has long been a top pick of DPs on many films. There are only one or two other trucks like this in the country, but Aspiration 35 is the first to have ARRI Alexa 35 Live systems.”

TNDV sees Aspiration 35 as the industry’s answer for filmmakers and high-end corporate clients who want the look of cinema in a scalable, broadcast-capable truck environment. While traditional broadcast trucks are engineered for 1080i and 60p sports or news content, Aspiration 35 is built to handle today’s demand for cinematic aesthetics across sectors that include entertainment, corporate and sports productions through technologies that bring together true 35-millimeter sensors, 4K and 24p acquisition and shallow depth of field, TNDV said.

“For years, producers have been rigging together handheld cinema-style cameras and running them into trucks that were never really designed for that type of workflow,” Dugger said. “There is now a native, professional solution where everything is built up clean and transmitted to the truck over traditional SMPTE cable without additional hardware or cabling. These cameras are powered from the truck, they’re tethered with full shading and tally and they give us that beautiful, film-like imagery without sacrificing any aspects of production control.”

Nashville-based video production rental house dbV Rentals provided the ARRI Alexa 35 Live cameras and worked closely with TNDV to develop the single-wire architecture to new base stations installed on Aspiration 35.

The truck’s camera packages are fully scalable, can support up to 12 Alexa 35 Live multicam systems with each deployment, and are also integrated with essential live production systems, including return video, tally, intercom and remote camera shading, TNDV said.

The partnership also gives TNDV and its clients access to a very large inventory of specialty cinematic lenses from ARRI, Canon and Fujinon.

“The industry has made significant advances in offering lenses that can provide both cinematic image quality and broadcast integration capabilities, especially with extremely long-range zoom lenses,” dbV Rentals owner Doug Bates said.

“They have quickly reached the level where they are familiar to the seasoned broadcast teams with their boots on the ground, while also providing DPs from the cinematic world with the images they’ve come to expect from years of extremely high-quality optical designs,” he added. “We have truly reached the point where cinematic multi-camera shoots can offer clients the very best of both worlds from top to bottom.”

More information is available on the TNDV and dbV Rentals websites.

NASHVILLE—For more than a decade, TNDV: Television has provided live production support for the CMA Awards, working directly with media outlets onsite to support live coverage. That consecutive string continued for the 53rd Annual CMA Awards, which were presented Nov. 13, 2019, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

TNDV’s technical responsibilities are focused less on the main event and more on supplying the equipment, infrastructure and crew to support surrounding production activities. This includes the ever-popular “Red Carpet” event, previously held outdoors.

This year, the Country Music Association (CMA) opted to move the event indoors at the nearby Music City Center, to avoid weather-related distractions that have marred years past. The transition threw us a curve ball heading into the event—we were now tasked with managing signal transport between two buildings across different city blocks, without any feasible way to run cable.

FORGING CONNECTIONS

We explored dark fiber as a viable transport option, and discovered a fiber interconnect between the two buildings. We calculated our fiber strand requirements and reasoned we would need 10 to get the job done. While technically possible, the expense for each strand far exceeded the production budget. We were given clearance for a single strand, and turned to MultiDyne’s FiberSaver.

The FiberSaver optical multiplexer can combine up to 18 HD-SDI feeds or optical signals of any wavelength onto a single strand. This architecture offered the solution for our “Red Carpet” event requirements: The ability to transmit and receive multiple signals between the two venues, while keeping the CMA on budget.

FiberSaver accommodated multiple video feeds (nine transmits, nine receives) available to media outlets before, during and after the event. Media outlets could choose from generic step and repeat feeds, limo arrivals, press room feeds and ABC’s network feed, and do so from any location between the two buildings. Traditional fiber hardware would require a strand of fiber per video feed in each direction, but FiberSaver carried all video feeds bidirectionally. The TNDV crew also leveraged Fiber-Saver to transport a bidirectional IP data feed, which allowed us to remotely control several robotic cameras.

AN EASY FIT

Setup was quick and straightforward. The FiberSaver offers a compact footprint and fits on tabletops inside each video village. We added each FiberSaver to a road case, prepared our SMPTE single-mode fiber interconnects and leveraged a custom-built BNC patch panel to manage inputs and outputs as they transitioned from fiber and copper. These simple connections allow the FiberSaver to work its magic and transport a clean multiplex between the two units. There is no need to recompress signals, as everything remains in the digital domain. FiberSaver provided a consistent digital signal for all 18 feeds, with no packet data loss or degradation.

We rely on MultiDyne for many of our live production needs, and use its SMPTE HUT transceivers and other fiber conversion gear. The FiberSaver’s level of reliability for the CMA Awards gives us the confidence we need to support optical multiplexing for today’s largest live productions and broadcast events.

Nic Dugger is the executive vice president of mobile production for TNDV: Television. He can be reached atnic@tndv.com.

For more information on MultiDyne, visit www.multidyne.com.

LOS ANGELES—Live Media Group Holdings has announced the acquisition of TNDV: Television, Harb Production Services and Coastal Media Group. The three companies will join Live Mobile Group, an owned-and-operated division of Live Media Group Holdings, to form what the company says is the “largest mid-level, full-service live production facilities provider and company in the broadcast and live event industry.”

For mobile production, the “mid-level” market includes mobile production units smaller than the standard 53-foot expandos that are so common in the industry. Brad Sexton, president and CEO of Live Media Group Holdings, said the acquisitions were driven by an increase in demand for smaller mobile production units.

“We looked at the market for the last five years or so and this is what clients are really asking us for,” he said. Five years ago, half of all mobile production units being deployed were 53-foot expandos but since then, “it’s been a pretty dramatic shift where you can do a lot more with a 40-45-foot production truck.”

The consolidated company has approximately 50 employees and will consist of 18 mid-sized production hybrid units, with additional standalone smaller production uplink units.

Live Media Group Holdings will retain the staff, facilities and structure of all organizations. Los Angeles will serve as a West Coast production and truck operation, with plans to relocate its corporate operations to TNDV’s headquarters in Nashville. The Harb Production Services facility in Knoxville, Tenn., will serve as a truck operations and integration facility. Sexton adds that “all companies will continue to operate under their current business names for the time being,” citing the strength of their brands, expert engineering execution and professional reputations.

Danny Harb, president of Harb Production Services, will join the expanded management team and sit on the Board of Directors of Live Media Group Holdings. Nic Dugger, president of TNDV: Television, will also join the management team of Live Media Group Holdings and sit on the Board of Directors.