Broadcastpro Middle East

Technology inTelligence for TV, film and radio

issue 19 |January 2012

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

RADIO CASE STUDY New Malayalam radio

launches in Dubai

DIFF 2011 Highlights from the panel

discussions at DIFF

TECH UPDATE The benefits of a goodrecommendation engine

A New BeginningHindistani marks the beginning of a new era for Arabic drama production in the Gulf

www.broadcastprome.comSubscribe now

With the raft of film festivals we have had in the last few months, local filmmakers should ideally be delighted. Besides the fact that the festivals have given local players a platform to screen their films, funds have also been provided to help them make their films. Some festival organisers like DIFF have signed partnerships with MIPTV to ensure winning Muhr entries are screened abroad as well.

If we are, however, to forge ahead with the objective to genuinely develop the industry and encourage local filmmakers, we must do away with some of the mandates that presently govern regional film festivals.

For instance, if a film is screened in one emirate, it won’t be shown in another. In

fact, it won’t be accepted for screening at any of the other GCC film festivals.

That mandate is fine for a developed industry where screening opportunities are aplenty but in a market, where the proposed objective is to nurture indigenous talent, such laws harm rather than help. Filmmakers are often obliged to debut their films at festivals supported by entities that fund their projects but if that deters other festivals from screening their films, it is indeed a shame.

My other pet peeve is the fact that very little space is devoted to panel discussions and industry talk in the media. Celebrities literally steal all of the limelight. BroadcastPro, therefore, has partnered

with a group of young media students from Manipal University in Dubai to bring

you the highlights from some of the panel discussions at DIFF. The partnership is part of our efforts to support media students and also cover issues that we think are relevant to our industry. We hope to participate in such partnerships regularly to ensure that our name becomes synonymous with genuine support.

In the meantime, in the true spirit of the New Year, we bring you stories of radio and production launches in the region that signify a new era of content generation in the Arab world. We wish you a happy New Year.

VIjaya Cherian, Group Editor,Broadcast Division

STOP PRESS

Al Aan TV has installed a radio transmitter in Badya, Libya. This is Al Aan’s fifth installation in the country following installations in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Nalut.

Follow us on Twitter@BroadcastProME

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PublisherDominic De Sousa

COONadeem Hood

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TECHNOLOGY INTELLIGENCE FOR TV, FILM AND RADIO

ISSUE 19 |JANUARY 2012

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

RADIO CASE STUDY New Malayalam radio

launches in Dubai

DIFF 2011 Highlights from the panel

discussions at DIFF

TECH UPDATE The benefits of a goodrecommendation engine

A New BeginningHindistani marks the beginning of a new era for Arabic drama production in the Gulf

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in this issue

JANUARY 2012

NEWS

Palestinian university invests US $1.5 million in TV facility

Exclusive news from the biggest broadcast show in the Middle East

CABSAT - PREVIEW 1

Behind the scenes on the sets of Hindistani, OSN’s first original Arabic drama production

COVER STORY

RADIO CASE STUDYNew Malayalam radio station in Dubai goes digital

DIFF 2011

Manipal University students bring us exclusive highlights from DIFF 2011 panel discussions

PRODUCTSNew launches

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16

26

30

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TECH UPDATE

Adaptive rate streaming - III

48

56 RECOMMENDATION ENGINESThe power of good recommendation engines

5 January 2012 | www.broadcastprome.com |

PRONEWS

Brainstorm CG drives graphics at Dubai’s Meydan racecourseUK-based production house Sunset+Vine will use Brainstorm’s Aston 7 character generator at Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse complex during the horseracing season, which runs from November through to March 2012. The season will culminate in the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race with a US $10 million prize. The solution was supplied by Storm Broadcast, Brainstorm Multimedia’s distributor for the UK.

The US $1billion Meydan Racecourse complex includes the world’s largest LED screen, measuring 112 metres long by 12 metres high. The Aston 7 system is being used to drive the screen with both English and Arabic text simultaneously, providing race goers with up-to-date and live race information.

Brainstorm claims that the Aston 7 combines the strengths of modern broadcast graphics hardware with the needs of

today’s ‘IT-centric’ broadcasters to offer a powerful 3D broadcast graphics presentation platform. A second Aston 7 Edit system is also being used to provide information in a digital signage application to other areas within the complex.

Sunset+Vine is a major supplier of sports programming, producing Grand National, The Derby, cricket and Premiership Rugby for ESPN among others.

Speaking about the solution,

David Connaughton, managing director of DC2 Media, the company that worked with Storm Broadcast to create the graphics package for Sunset+Vine said, “The Aston’s very intuitive interface is simple to use and easy to learn. This enabled us to train up someone with no previous graphics or TV production knowledge to operate the system competently within a very short timeframe.

“It’s also important to point out that the Aston’s ability

to import vast amounts of external data, produce it in full 1920 x 1080i HD, and be effortlessly controlled by an external application, are significant benefits.”

Aimed at live TV programming such as news, sports, business, and shopping, the Brainstorm Aston 7 package contains 3D animated text and graphics, on-screen video clips, built-in support for live content feeds, and offers connectivity to external automation systems.

Palestine-based systems integrator and Sony distributor Star 2000 has secured a US $1.5million contract to build a TV facility for An-Najah National University.

Thought to be the largest university in Palestine, An-Najah, which is located on the north of the West Bank, plans to build a facility that will enable it to run a full-fledged satellite TV channel from its premises. The project is scheduled for completion in April 2012.

According to the contract,

An-Najah, which presently has a media facility, will build two three-camera studios. The studios will be used for training and production purposes.

“This will be the first university in Palestine to be equipped with a full HD facility. We will be installing High Definition equipment across the chain to enable the production and transmission of HD content,” commented Firas Ishaq, general manager of Star 2000.

Key areas at the facility will include two studios, two control rooms and a master control room.

Palestinian university awards US $1.5 millionHD TV contract to Star 2000

An-Najah is the first Palestinian university to invest in a HD TV facility, says Firas Ishaq.

An-Najah will invest in 12 of Sony’s PMW 320 ENG cameras, six of which will be used in the studio with a studio adaptor

while the rest will be used on the field. Besides this, key equipment will include the Omneon Media Deck servers – one for ingest and one for playout, Miranda’s multi-viewers and glue equipment as well as four Final Cut Pro editing units. An archive system from CACHE-A will also be part of the install.

“I believe there are more phases in the pipeline. Once the infrastructure is in place, they will perhaps look at producing content to populate the channel,” added Ishaq.

6 | www.broadcastprome.com | January 2012

PRONEWS

Argosy to represent Polecam in the Middle EastHD broadcast infrastructure products supplier Argosy will represent specialist broadcast camera crane manufacturer Polecam Ltd in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a new deal between the two companies.

Argosy, which has an office in Dubai, will initially stock Polecam’s Starter Pack (PSP), a camera crane designed for use with new-generation compact camcorders and D-SLR heads. This pack will be on display for the first time on the Argosy stand at CABSAT 2012 (S3-8).

“Teaming up with Argosy represents a great opportunity for us to move into a growing market in the Middle East,” Polecam’s

managing director Steffan Hewitt said.

“We’ve had a steady stream of enquiries from the region and our brand is growing consistently in the region. Argosy has a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the broadcast community in the Middle East.”

Speaking about the partnership, Mike Purnell, director of Argosy added: “Polecam is one of the global leaders in portable crane systems for digital film and television content creation and we are very excited to be taking

STC buys further 20% stake in IntigralSaudi Telecom Company (STC) has purchased Saudi Research & Marketing Group’s 20% share in UAE-based Intigral which is valued at US $24 million, increasing STC’s share to 71% following the acquisition.

STC explained that the purchase is in line with its strategy “to focus on content services” that are of primary importance to its customers.

During the last period, STC has made major strides in activating its content-based services such as Invision which broadcasts more than 150 HD channels. The service allows customers to view visual content as well as other interactive services, solutions and gaming.

Gulf Media, which began its operations in 2009 as a partnership between STC Group, ASTRO which specialises in content services, and SRMG, works on a common vision to integrate telecommunications and media.

Intigral, a digital media firm, offers religious, entertainment, and educational content through various channels and mediums including messaging, audio and interactive television. It works with more than 400 content providers in the Arab world and 20 content providers globally and also provides the IPTV platform to broadcast this content.

The company will soon launch an applications store to niche content for smart devices aimed at reinforcing STC’s market position and role in smart devices and tablets.

Intigral declined to comment further on the deal.

Argosy will stock Polecam’s Starter Pack at its Dubai office.

Saudi Sports and Dubai Media Inc. join YahLiveFollowing YahLive’s first customer announcement early last month (with MBC), the satellite services provider has now announced similar deals with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) and Dubai Media Inc.

The deal with Saudi MOCI will see YahLive broadcast Saudi TV’s sports bouquet in HD to the European continent. As Saudi TV owns the exclusive broadcast rights to the Saudi Football League, six channels that are part of its sports bouquet carry these matches in HD.

Dr. Riyadh Najm, deputy minister for Information Affairs, Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information said the partnership “expanded the reach of these channels to Europe”.

“We chose YahLive for its

excellent coverage and strong technical capabilities to deliver the Saudi Sports bouquet and Saudi Football League in HD to our viewers across Europe.”

Speaking about the deal with Saudi TV, Mohamed Youssif, CEO of YahLive, said: “Having the Saudi Sports bouquet among YahLive’s offerings comes as part of our strategy to broadcast in HD whether it is Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and West Asia. We are proud to offer this service to the Arabic viewer who lives in Europe. We are also very pleased that through our leading capabilities and high service quality, we have gained the trust of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information.“

YahLive will also be the exclusive carrier of DMI’s Dubai TV, Sama Dubai, Dubai One, Noor

its Starter Pack into the Middle East. This crane system is a natural extension to our infrastructure product range.”

Dubai, and Dubai Sport channels in HD in the Middle East and North Africa.

Abdul Rehman Al Ali, head of the Engineering Department and Information Technology at DMI stated that the partnership was “in line with Dubai’s government strategic approach in implementing the highest quality standards in all sectors”.

Mohammed Youssif, CEO, YahLive.


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PRONEWS

Twofour Arabia secures Middle East broadcast projectAbu Dhabi-based production house Twofour Arabia teamed up with international explorer Adrian Hayes, Abu Dhabi Media and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage to create a documentary film on legendary British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the Empty Quarter in the Arabian Peninsula twice.

In the first broadcast commission for Twofour Arabia, the new Abu Dhabi base of the UK-based Twofour Group, adventurer Adrian Hayes embarked on a gruelling 1500km march across one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

The documentary was filmed

by director Alexis Girardet to celebrate 100 years since the birth of the British explorer and the 40th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates, which was celebrated on December 2nd, 2011.

Embarking from the monsoon-drenched forests of Salalah, Oman, in late October, Hayes crossed the biggest body of sand on earth. Known as Rub’ al Khali, or The Empty Quarter, this is a desert within a desert where even the Bedu seldom dare to tread.

Hayes attempted an authentic recreation of Thesiger’s trek, walking in traditional Arabic clothes, travelling part of the way in

bare feet, and following a diet of dates, rice, flour and water. In Thesiger’s time there were no maps of this uncharted region, so Hayes navigated by stars, sun, local knowledge and time travelled.

Speaking about the project, Jonney Steven, general manager of Twofour Arabia said, “We’re really excited to be

working with Adrian Hayes on this project. It’s great to have a modern day adventurer who is so passionate about explorers of a bygone age. We’re also very privileged to be a part of the UAE’s 40th birthday celebrations, helping viewers to understand this modern, dynamic country’s roots and heritage.”

Riders in the dunes. Photograph by Alexis Girardet.


PRONEWS

Jordanian Film Fund announces grants for 15 film projects15 projects (right box) will receive grants from the Jordan Film Fund (JFF), which was established by The Royal Film Commission of Jordan (RFC). JFF had a total sum of US $705,000 to provide for feature-length and short projects in various stages of development including production and post-production for 2011.

The Jury committee comprised Arab film experts including producer Dora Bouchoucha; documentary filmmaker Hady Zaccak; director and producer Sherif Mandour; producer Khaled Hadddad; film critic Ali Jaafar, and George David

and Nada Doumani from RFC. Launched in 2011, JFF aims

at providing assistance to the development and production

of independent cinematic projects, according to a set rules and regulations published on the RFC’s website (www.film.jo).

Commenting on the jury’s outcome, George David, GM of RFC, said: “With the large number of submissions received, and given the limited amount of funds available, the jury had to make difficult decisions. We hope our grants will contribute to the development of the

Arab film industries”. The submission for the next

round will be announced in the coming months.

Harris Middle East and South Asia (MESA) launched the ‘Harris Partner Program’ for its MESA partners at a customer and dealer conference that was hosted in Turkey last month.

This new programme is aimed at solidifying relationships and ensuring appropriate co-operation is achieved in relation to knowledge base, staff training and certification. A newly-designed partner portal was also introduced providing partners with easy access to Harris product and pricing information.

The customer and dealer conference was held over three consecutive days and saw representation from Bahrain, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Harris uses these events to share regional information and

JFF grant winnersFeature-length narratives “May in the Summer” (Director: Cherien Dabis)“Blessed Benefits” (Director: Mahmoud al-Massad) “The Curve” (Director Rifqi Assaf) “Eyes of a Thief” (Dir: Najwa Najjar)“Desert Crossings” (Dir: Mohyeddine Quandour)“Fahita” (Director: Nasser Omar)“Nostalgia” (Dir: Zaid Abu Hamdan)“Hide and Seek” (Dir: Shirin Kamal)

Feature-length documentaries“Jabal Amman” (Dir: Nadia Naffa)“Before you were Born” (Director: Azza al-Hassan) “Aisha” (Director: Asma Bsseiso)

Post-Production: “Uncle Nashaat” (Dir: Aseel Mansour)

Short narratives: “Dinusha” (Director: Deema Dabis)“Ismail” (Director: Nora al-Sharif)“Someone” (Director: Hiba Judeh)

Abu Dhabi TV adds MBC HD bouquet to AD SPORTS box

Abu Dhabi TV Network confirmed that MBC’s seven High Definition (HD) channels will be available on its AD SPORTS set-top box. With the addition, Abu Dhabi TV will now have 18 HD channels on its bouquet offering sports, movies, documentaries, series, news, and family content. BroadcastPro ME has learnt that a similar deal will be signed with OSN as well soon.

As part of the deal, MBC will also feature AD SPORTS’ exclusive Barclays Premiere League (BPL) highlights on MBC1 and AL ARABIYA News Channel.

Malcolm Wall, CEO of Abu Dhabi Media said the “partnership reinforces our commitment to provide viewers with the best in HDTV content across genres”.

“Now, with the ADTV Network, the family can view their favourite programming ... through our AD SPORTS set-top box,” he added.

experiences, evaluate market activity and trends, while at the same time enabling Harris to reveal its technological innovations with customers and dealers from across the region.

“We have had a successful year in the MESA region and we were keen to share that success with our customers and dealers alike who have all made noteworthy contributions to that achievement,” said Said Bacho, vice president, sales and service, Middle East and South Asia, Harris Broadcast Communications.

“Our dealers have worked tirelessly on our behalf to ensure our products and solutions continue to be well-represented in their respective markets — and we were keen to ensure they had the tools in place to continue to do their good work.”

The agenda included presentations from key Harris executives on regional trends. Technical discussions focused on the integration of traffic systems into a file-based workflow; the integration of the Selenio media convergence platform into a contribution and video head end facility, and the world of connected infrastructure.

Said Bacho, VP of sales & service, Harris MESA.

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PRONEWS

Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has joined hands with MIPTV to strengthen the visibility of emerging filmmakers in the Middle East by exposing their works to a wider, international audience.

As part of the new partnership, the winners of the documentary and feature sections of the in-competition Muhr Awards – DIFF’s prestigious in-competition honours - will have their films screened at the 49th annual MIPTV (Palais des Festival – Cannes).

Ted Baracos, director of Market Development at MIPTV, said this would “provide the winning filmmakers with a perfect opportunity to access the largest gathering of buyers globally, as well as benefit from networking sessions with international distributors and other industry

professionals who attend MIPTV and the MIPDoc screenings”.

Scheduled to run from April 1 to 4, 2012, MIPTV brings together more than 11,000 media and television industry professionals from 100 countries.

Shivani Pandya, Managing Director, Dubai International Film Festival, said the deal offers

“DIFF’s Muhr Award winners the opportunity to reach a wider global audience”.

“The partnership will further add to DIFF’s proven commitment to support filmmakers from the inception of their project to trade and distribution; in short, the entire production and post-production cycle.”

Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AbuDhabi’s media precinct twofour54. The deal will see both parties work closely to establish a dedicated twofour54 lab at the HCT Abu Dhabi Men’s College campus.

They will also collaborate on major HCT events such as the ‘Festival of Thinkers’ and ‘Education without Borders’ international conferences, and twofour54 will provide internship opportunities to HCT students with twofour54 and its partner community. Furthermore, twofour54 will run a series of workshops and

industry development events at the HCT campuses and at the twofour54 facilities.

HCT vice chancellor Dr Tayeb Kamali said the innovative lab would greatly assist applied media students to hone their skills.

“The Higher Colleges of Technology is proud to provide cutting-edge, student-centred and relevant technologies and education practices, such as this lab, to prepare its graduates for in-demand careers in this increasingly globalised economy,” Dr Tayeb Kamali, vice chancellor of HCT said.

twofour54 CEO Tony Orsten said the proposed media lab was about forming a creative and

professional partnership with HCT to engage local youth in the burgeoning local media industry.

“We want to connect with the youth and ignite their passion for media. This agreement reflects our commitment to developing world class Arabic media and entertainment content by stimulating local talent and creating professional opportunities for them here,” Orsten said.

As part of the agreement, twofour54 will become a founding member of the HCT Foundation’s HCT 100, which will enable it to be involved in a number of future HCT events.

Films of DIFF’s Muhr winners to be screened at MIPTV

HCT and twofour54 collaborate to create media lab on university campus

Riders in the dunes. Photograph by Alexis Girardet.

Shivani Pandya flanked by MIPTV team.

Digital satellite STB market to grow by 14% in 2012

Digital satellite STB unit shipments will grow by nearly 14% in 2012, according to In-Stat. The satellite STB market has experienced slow to negative growth in recent years as both the number of subscribers and the conversion from SD to HD has impacted the market but that will change in 2012, according to the report.

“New technology in many ways is powering the expected uptake in unit shipments,” Michelle Abraham, research director said.

“Increasingly powerful processors enable a more personalised viewing experience with downloadable apps and recommendation engines. An improved graphics capability also enhances the user experience, providing satellite service providers with a new feature set to compete for subscribers.”

The Asian market is expected to stabilise, following slow subscriber growth. In North America, the move to a server/client model impacts shipments because client devices will not all be STBs. The Indian market has experienced huge growth with six platforms competing for subscribers. Pace was once again the top supplier of satellite STBs in 2010 with Technicolor and EchoStar following as was the case in 2009.

SD DVRs will disappear in some markets in favour of HD DVRs, although we expect them to remain in some cost-conscious markets.

Prince buys stake in Twitter

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has bought a $300m stake in Twitter as part of a strategy “to invest in high-growth businesses with a global impact”. The deal gives him a little under 4% in twitter based on an $8 billion valuation of the company last year. Prince Alwaleed bought the stake jointly with Kingdom Holding Co, his investment firm.



PROSUMMIT

Organisers of CABSAT claim that the number of exhibitors has already gone up substantially since the last year with many new entrants confirmed to participate in the 2012 edition of the show. Although the show will continue to be held at the Sheikh Saeed Halls, owing to its close proximity with the metro station, the conference activity has been relocated to the conference rooms to accommodate more exhibitors.

Several companies including Masstech, AV MEA, Somita, Crystal Vision and Phabrix, Eurotek, Focus Middle East, Superior Electric, RF Design, Cryptoguard, Ikegami, Felix Technologies, Skill Technologies, Screen Service Broadcasting, Broadcast Automation, Humax and Broadcast Automation Systems are joining the exhibition for the first time. Somita and Humax have booked huge stands while Libec and Irdeto have confirmed stands after a two-year absence from the show.

Many of the traditional exhibitors at CABSAT including Axon, TSL, Panasonic, LIVE, Hitachi, Miranda, Quantel, DB Electronica, Calrec, Ross Video, FABT, Harmonic, Ensemble and Wasp 3D have booked larger stands this year, according to Roberts.

In fact, Canon has increased its space by 50% after its first successful showing at CABSAT last year.

CABSAT 2012 gets bigger; new hall format planned for 2013

David Roberts, industry group manager, CABSAT.

Speaking about the reason for the increasing interest in CABSAT, David Roberts, industry group manager, CABSAT said: “I

think it’s a combination of the stature of CABSAT rising in recent years, along with the huge investment in broadcast and satellite technology throughout the Middle East, Southern Asia and Africa.

“As CABSAT is the trade platform serving these regions, it is only natural that these companies should gravitate towards the show. Bear in mind that many companies are from regions that are still in the grip of a very severe recession so they may have to look beyond their traditional markets for new business.”

CABSAT will continue to be hosted at the Sheikh Saeed Hall although the majority of the conference activity has been taken off the show floor to ensure that more exhibitors can be accommodated at the venue this year.

“We are also building into the bulkhead areas, and altogether this should give us 10-15% more exhibition space,” added Roberts.

Besides showcasing traditional solutions, many camera manufacturers and distributors at CABSAT will also have a dedicated DSLR space at their stands.

CABSAT is mulling a new hall format for 2013 owing to its inability to accommodate more exhibitors or provide larger stands for the coming event, which is scheduled to be held from February 28th to March 1st.

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PROCOVER

Touted as the first musical comedy series in the Gulf, Hindistani has become a sensation among Arab viewers especially in Saudi Arabia for its engaging content, opulent settings, a prominent Gulf cast and more importantly, for adding an elaborate and colourful musical element that most other drama series in the region do not have. In every 30-minute episode, we see Saudi actors dance to a fusion of Arabic and Indian music set against the backdrop of historical sites in the Indian cities of Nawalgarh, Jaipur, Jaiselmer and Mumbai. At first glance, the dance could be mistaken for a Bollywood number but it is not.

A New Beginning

Hindistani marks the start of a new era for OSN and Arabic drama production in the Gulf

Hindistani, OSN’s first home production secured the award for Best Arabic Drama at the

ASBU BroadcastPro awards that were held in Dubai last November. In an exclusive interview,

executive producer Khulud Abu-Homos and director Ows Al Sharqy share production notes

with Vijaya Cherian


PROCOVER

“Most Arabic comedies are based indoors ... that is very restrictive ... it gives you very little room to experiment and innovate. If you want to shoot outdoors, you have to invest massively in a proper set. We wanted the opportunity to shoot outdoors and expand our options while staying within budget. India fortunately has several places that have Islamic architecture owing to the Mughal influence and they look very similar to places in the Arab world”Khulud Abu-Homos, executive producer, Hindistani

Hindistani is OSN’s first original Arabic drama production. It was launched as OSN’s flagship Arabic drama series on the pay TV network’s new Arabic entertainment channel OSN YAHALA! HD, which was unveiled in October 2010.

The comedy series follows the life of Saeedan (Basheer AlGhnaim), a spice and textile trader in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who is deeply in love with Hind (renowned actress/dancer Malayeen). Saeedan often escapes from the monotony of his lifestyle by delving into a world of fantasy that transports him

into the colourful world of India, where most of the action in the series takes place.

The whole plot and execution is fairly unique, claims Khulud Abu-Homos, senior vice president of Programming at OSN and the executive producer of Hindistani.

“My challenge at that time was to create unique Arabic content for our viewers, mainly in Saudi Arabia ... something out-of-the-box and Broadway like,” Abu-Homos explains.

“I wondered if it would be possible to create a comedy with a musical and at that time, I happened to see the work of Ows Al

Sharqy, an Iraqi director who did something similar for an Iraqi TV channel. I got in touch with him and Hindistani is the result.”

“The whole idea was to work with subject matters that were relevant to Saudi society but which we could potentially laugh at while being respectful,” says Abu-Homos.

“We have been dealing with different themes that are relevant to Arab society. For instance, we looked at what would happen if the roles of men and women were reversed in Saudi society and the comedy that arose from that situation. Here we have this trader who is in love with Hind. Every time she passes by, he begins to think of her and wonders why the man always has to make the first move; he then begins to go into a world of fantasy, which in this case, is India but the values, the lifestyle and the story line is based on the people of Saudi Arabia,” Abu-Homos explains.


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PROCOVER

Shot with multiple cameras including the Sony HDCAM HDW-F900R and the Red ONE MX camera, Hindistani is a full HD production.

“The Sony HDCAM gives very good HD output and is a workhorse,” explains director Al Sharqy.

“It performed very well even in poor weather conditions as was the case in India. To get the best footage for this comedy series, however, we shot the scenes with four or five cameras.

“We also shot the opening title and the songs with the RED camera as we required better colours and resolution. We tend to get better results after colour grading with the RED. We also needed to get some slow-motion shots at 100fps to enhance the choreographed and musical aspects of the drama.”

When asked about the strong Indian influence on Hindistani in terms of the costumes, the music and the settings, executive producer Abu-Homos says these elements helped recreate some of the opulence and fantasy that is reminiscent of Bollywood movies. However, she reiterates that the similarities end there. The story itself is about real life issues that are relevant to Arabs living in the Gulf.

Likewise, the lyrics for each of the songs was written by Saudi singer Adel Alkhmes but composed in India.

“We spent hundreds of hours with the Indian composers conveying what we

wanted. The idea was to have Indian beats in the music but the dance moves are a mix, with some drawn from Saudi dancing and some from Bollywood. The Wedding Night is a good example where you can see that the music is Indian but the dances are mostly Arabic,” she explains.

Once the music was composed, it was sent to Riyadh and Syria. In Riyadh, singer Alkhmes sang the male lead while Syrian singer Hadia provided the vocals for the female lead. Once their songs were recorded, the audio was sent back to India for the final mixing,” adds Abu-Homos.

The executive producer explains her reasons for choosing India for the dances.

“We have shot some scenes in Riyadh but it was difficult to get visas for the rest of the crew. Also, most Arabic comedies are based indoors and that is very restrictive because you have to work with existing sets and it gives you very little room to experiment and innovate. If you want to shoot outdoors, you have to invest massively in a proper set.

“We wanted the opportunity to shoot outdoors and expand our options while staying within budget. India fortunately has several places that have Islamic architecture owing to the Mughal influence and they look very similar to places in the Arab world. For instance, I can point out many places in Jordan, Sharjah, Damascus and so on that have places with very similar architecture,” she explains.

Furthermore, the ability to shoot in

“Saudi Arabia is the most difficult market to address. It’s easy to go to Lebanon or Kuwait for talent but we wanted to be as authentic as possible... The technical infrastructure is not yet there but I believe there are a lot of talented young Saudis who, if given the opportunity, will excel. We will have a campaign in Riyadh and Jeddah to look for new talent” Khulud Abu-Homos, executive producer, Hindistani

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PROCOVER

“For indoor locations, we wanted to shoot the day scenes separately from the night scenes. We covered the houses fully to control the light and create a fake sun effect when we needed to film day light. This ... helped because we didn’t have problems when the sun moved behind the clouds or when night fell. We shot day scenes in the night and shot night scenes in the day many times.” Ows Al Sharqy, director, Hindistani

a country that offers wider choices and flexibility in terms of filmmaking and production made India an attractive proposition to the pay TV operator.

“India has a very sophisticated and developed film market that instantly makes it attractive to producers,” explains Abu-Homos.

“It’s not less expensive but when you look at the facilities available and the flexibility of the production there and you compare it with other places like even Hollywood, it exceeds your expectations. We had one instance, where just after a huge set was built, it rained and the set was destroyed. But the team rebuilt an identical set and work continued.”

But the shoot wasn’t without its challenges given that the team had to

film during the monsoon season owing to delivery deadlines. Perhaps one element that needed to be kept in mind at all times was the lighting.

For one, good lighting was key to achieving the rich, vibrant colours that are synonymous with India. In some cases, they worked with indoor locations and faked the lighting but in outdoor shoots, the crew had to put up with the rain.

“For indoor locations, we wanted to shoot the day scenes separately from the night scenes. We covered the houses fully to control the light and create a fake sun effect when we needed to film day light. This idea really helped because we didn’t have problems when the sun moved behind the clouds or when night fell. We shot day scenes in the night and shot night scenes in the day


PROCOVER

many times. The director of photography Aatish Parmar was really good at creating these environments. The only problem we had with this was the heat because there were so many lights that the locations were always so hot,” explains director Al Sharqy.

But lighting outside still needed to be addressed for outdoor shoots.

“Lighting conditions would keep changing owing to the heavy cloud cover. There were days when it would pour for 8 to 10 hours without a break giving us little opportunity to film and, therefore, we had to cancel a few days of filming,” explains Al Sharqy.

But there were times when the shoot could not be cancelled.

“We had to shoot in certain areas like the souq and one day, it just wouldn’t stop raining so we ended up covering the whole

souq with plastic and carrying out the shoot,” adds Al Sharqy. Around 300 people including the crew, actors and dancers were on set for the production.

Although the lead actors, the director and executive producer were Arab, the rest of the crew was primarily hired from India.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues, according to Abu-Homos was handling the logistics of transporting crew and equipment from one location to the next.

“We shot in Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and some days, we spent up to 12 hours travelling between locations. That meant transferring crew, equipment and so on over long distances, and that was a huge challenge. But again, we worked with people who were used to doing this so it made things a lot easier,” she says.

But the challenges were not confined to the weather. Given that this comedy expects Saudi actors to dance and placed them in situations outside the norm posed huge challenges.

“The whole concept of Saudi actors having to learn to dance, go on a diet, be detached from their families for a few months and travel to another country for a shoot is fairly unknown. This is also the first time they were dancing so suddenly, in the middle of the shoot, there would be a sort of panic and someone would freeze but we eventually overcame those issues. We are at the end of the season and we have seen no criticism. Our viewers associate the series with happiness and that is great,” Abu-Homos claims.

The songs for all of the 40 episodes were edited in India while post production for the drama was split between Syria and Dubai.

“Offline editing was completed in Syria while the online editing was done at Yara Media in Dubai. We used Final Cut Pro HD for editing the drama footage while Autodesk Smoke HD was used for the songs. We also edited the main title sequence in Dubai on Smoke and After Effects incorporating a few 3D tracking shots in it as well,” Abu-Homos says.

Shooting in India was, no doubt, fun for the crew as they plan to return to the country to shoot Season 2 but with more exotic locations this time.

“Working in India has been a lot of fun. The studios and crew there were a big help for us to learn how to work on big productions and handle them with ease. We shot the market www.riedel.net

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PROCOVER

scenes with 60 junior artists walking in the streets plus cars, motorcycles and kids. They were very professional. When the director said ‘cut’, everybody would return to their first position. In addition, so many props were available and helped us achieve the desired look and feel on set,” adds Abu-Homos.

For season 2, OSN is now planning to move beyond Rajasthan and Mumbai to the north as well as the backwaters of Kerala. BroadcastPro was treated to a sneak preview of some of the locations that have been identified to shoot for the next series and special features includes waterfalls and houseboats.

“We are going to move away from historical places to nature for the next season,” confides Abu-Homos.

But having done a whole series, OSN now feels confident to tackle more subjects,

introduce more characters and introduce a format that has not been attempted in the region before.

“We have tackled many issues so far from the man-woman relationship; the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issue, the generation gap and so on. But in the next season, we are looking to address issues that impact the younger generation such as dating, chatting and so on and will need younger actors so we are looking to cast new faces for this. Maybe our present actors will have children or something like that,” adds Abu-Homos.

OSN is looking to do a campaign in the coming months in Riyadh and Jeddah to cast new actors and also hire other production talent such as script writers and anchors to join their team for the series.

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PROCOVER

In February, OSN will begin a UAE-based show. Meant to be a satire, the show will be presented by an Emirati and focus on youth in the Gulf and the issues they face. Correspondents from Riyadh, Kuwait and other parts of the GCC are expected to join the team for the show.

What’s nextto address. It’s easy to go to Lebanon or Kuwait for talent but we wanted to be as authentic as possible. We believe Saudi Arabia has a lot of talent. The technical infrastructure is not yet there but I believe there are a lot of talented young Saudis who, if given the opportunity, will excel. We will have a campaign in Riyadh and Jeddah to look for new talent,” Abu-Homos adds.

Hindistani is OSN’s first home production but there are many others in the pipeline as the pay TV network has already invested in 300 hours of original content. A few productions are taking place simultaneously in Damascus and Egypt as we go to press although the political turmoil in Syria has forced some productions to relocate to safer shores.

Perhaps what makes OSN’s work in the Middle East region unique besides its investment in high-quality Arabic productions is its efforts to involve young Arab talent in its projects. Today, the pay TV operator has quietly developed workshops

in a few select countries in the Arab world. Each workshop comprises a team of young writers who work together with an established writer to develop scripts for the network’s Arabic productions.

“We have created these workshops and brought in young writers. It gives young people a chance to work on real productions while it also helps us to maintain that edginess and creative spark. At the same time, they work under established writers and that ensures that the scripts are slick and professional,”

explains Abu-Homos. More importantly, OSN feels confident to now introduce a format to the show for the second series.

“We are introducing a format to the show in the second season, where you have one theme running on Mondays so people start relating the Monday episodes to each other and likewise, on each day of the week. The bigger picture is the full format but each week’s episode relates more closely to the next one.

“We have done various subjects that talk about issues in Saudi society but from the 40 issues we explored in the previous season, we will take five or six topics that our research shows us has been the most successful and will develop a continuity,” adds Abu-Homos.

The uniqueness and originality of Hindistani was celebrated at the ASBU BroadcastPro Awards that were held in November 2011 in Dubai, where the drama series was awarded the Best Arabic Drama Production award for 2011. PRO

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PRORADIO


PRORADIO

Last month saw a brand new radio station, Radio Me 100.3 FM hit the airwaves in the UAE. The radio station, which is the brainchild of CEO Rafees Rahmatulla and station head Girish Nair, is aimed at the South Indian community, primarily people from the state of Kerala. Radio Me, which has facilities in Dubai Studio City and Umm Al Quwain, contracted Dubai-based systems integrator Al Futtaim Technologies to equip and integrate the technologies at its studios.

The radio station, which is a joint venture between the government of Umm Al Quwain and Impraza, a Saudi-Indian group, has already made waves in the South Indian community for offering a mix of content that is, thus far, not offered on other Malayalam stations in the region. The channel offers a mix of Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, English and Arabic songs and is typically aimed at second and third-generation South Indians who have been brought up in the Middle East and exposed to different cultures and languages.

“What makes this radio station unique is its content and not really its technology,” says Rahmatulla, although he adds that the station has been equipped with the latest kit to ensure that its content is produced and distributed in the highest audio quality.

To that effect, the radio station has invested in a complete end-to-end digital workflow right from production to transmission.

“If you have the capital, anyone can bring in the best mixer or automation software and we have also done that. We have invested substantially into our technology to ensure we have the best sound tracks. What distinguishes a channel, however, is always the quality of its content. Outstanding content and a good distribution network are

essential and we have this,” he adds. Radio Me came into fruition after two

years of planning. In the meantime, the market, which previously had only one Malayalam channel now has two more and with the addition of Radio Me, there are four.

“It’s only been 26 days (at the time of going to press) since we launched but the response from the market has been overwhelming. As a radio, we are new to the market but most of us at Radio Me have been working in the media in the UAE for a long time so we have a good relationship with the industry as a whole.”

Systems integrator Al Futtaim Technologies has been involved in the project from the beginning as consultant, designer and systems integrator.

“This project was awarded to us in July 2011,” explains Hassan Ali, technical sales manager, Broadcast and AV, Al Futtaim Technologies.

“The customer’s objective was to build a radio facility that would include an On Air studio, a production studio as well as an edit studio while also supporting a newsroom and a main control room. We provided a turnkey solution for Radio Me and oversaw the fit-out work of its studios and offices as well,” explains Ali.

All of the rooms including the Edit, Production and On Air studios are connected to each other via an audio router in the main control room.

“This gives the end user the flexibility to send a signal from the main control room to any of the other rooms,” explains Ali.

“During the final test, we wanted to record from an on-air mixer to any other recording device. We had the option to send a signal from on air to production thanks to the fact that all of the rooms are integrated and

It’s all in the mixThe Gulf’s newest radio station claims to be fully digital and promises to offer a unique programming mix for the South Indian community. BroadcastPro brings you an exclusive report

Radio Me is the brainchild of CEO Rafees Rahmatulla (l) and station head Girish Nair (r) and targets the South Indian community.


connected to each other,” he adds. Al Futtaim’s challenges were primarily

to do with obtaining approvals from the landlord to begin work at the facility and outsourcing work to new sub contractors who were not familiar with working in a radio environment.

Four people from Al Futtaim were on site to undertake the project.

“I was responsible for the project management, consultancy and design while Abdul Rauf managed the client and two others were responsible for implementing the networking and engineering part of the project,” adds Ali.

Two solutions that CEO Rahmatulla especially points out at the radio station with pride are the Studer OnAir 2500 console and the Dalet automation solution.

“When an RJ is sitting at his desk, the technology should be the last thing he has to worry about. The console in front of him should allow him to work quickly, easily and efficiently. We feel the Studer Console is one of the most user-friendly solutions on the market. It also works very well with our Dalet solution. Besides the fact that Dalet is the choice for big radio stations, I was impressed with the support we received from its resident engineer and that immediately made it the only choice for us,” explains Rahmatulla.

Between its two facilities in Dubai and Umm Al Quwain, Radio Me employs around 25 people.

However, there is word that more is in the offing from this group although Rahmatulla says further information is under wraps for now. PROAbdul Rauf, sales account manager, Broadcast and AV,

Al Futtaim Technologies.

PRORADIO

Studer OnAir 2500 console.

A staff member schedules the programmes on Dalet.

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FGC AD 28-12.pdf 1 12/28/2011 11:36:36 AM


PRODIFF2011

DIFF educates emerging filmmakers

Students from the Department of Media and Communications,

Manipal University, Dubai, in an exclusive

partnership with BroadcastPro ME, bring you the highlights from

some of the key panel discussions at DIFF 2011

The eighth edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which was held from December 7-14, 2011, saw 171 films from 56 countries screened to the public. DIFF’s biggest coup this year was a partnership with Paramount Pictures that saw the world premiere of Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol on the opening night of the festival.

Perhaps what makes DIFF important to the local industry is the fact that it serves as a platform to showcase Arab cinema and to host key players who can share their knowledge and expertise on various aspects of the film industry, whether it is script writing, acting, financing or distributing. Here, we bring you the highlights from the panel discussions that were held at DIFF.

How to: Story DevelopmentThe first how-to session on developing a story attempted to show aspiring filmmakers and scriptwriters how to play around with drama and create tension that compels people to watch films till the end without changing its essence.

“Filmmaking is an art of storytelling; everyone forgets to spend time on the foundation which is the screenplay,” commented American producer Paul Miller.

Panelists in this session included Egyptian producer Mohamad Hefzi; Director of Torino Film Lab, Savina Neirotti; and Amy Hobby and Paul Miller who shared their life experiences as producers.

Producer Hefzi stated that the hardest part in the equation was the relationship between the director,


PRODIFF2011

producer and the writer. Panelists agreed that if the story is scripted well, it was half the battle won. They encouraged the need for training to create an engaging script that keeps the balance between creativity and technology.

Industry Panel: Books as Building BlocksAndre Gasper from Lebanese Publishing House Dar el Sakki; Ahmad el Zayady, Dar el Shourouk (Egypt); Samir Nasr, Director (Egypt); and Daniel Ziskind from Zad Communications and Production (Egypt) highlighted the importance of books, scripts and cinematography in the Arab world. They discussed the barriers Arab filmmakers experience while making a film based on any book. Film festivals in Europe receive more than 500 scripts out of which only three or four are based on books. 20% of the cinema in Egypt used to be based on books although in the last four years, that number has dwindled substantially.

Director Nasr finds that there is a perpetual love-hate relationship between books and films that will last for many years to come. “Sometimes there are novels or topic which you can’t choose; instead, they choose you,” he commented.

According to André Gasper, Egyptian cinema was not afraid to adapt to the golden age which mostly included silent films as they were films based on novels and developed with the help of the country’s Ministry of Culture.By Mary Joy

Media’s Obsession with BlockbustersThis session spoke about how small budget films were competing for eyeballs with big-budget blockbusters. The panel comprising Ammar Abed Rabbo (France), Chris Paton (UK), Abdel Sattar Naji (Kuwait), Liz Shackleton (India) and Steven Zeitchik (USA) focused on how the media covers and promotes big films and pays minimal attention to smaller films in the industry even though the latter is in the majority.

“Small and independent films have difficulty in getting attention in a healthy market,” said panel moderator and CNBC business contributing editor Colin Brown. According to the panel members, film festivals provide the best exposure to smaller films, documentaries that deal with tragic subjects and films that have a social message to deliver.

Small films can be made big with the aid of mainstream media as they play a crucial role in persuading distributors, informing and making mass audiences aware of low budget films so it can generate visibility in the market. Small films usually showcase

new faces and new directors. To make these small films “big”, producers and distributors resort to various techniques such as using ‘star power’ where a prominent star from blockbuster movies has a cameo to help raise the status of smaller films. By Fathima Layeek

How to: Film Finance‘How to - Film Finance’ moderated by Colin Stanfield, a consultant at the Dubai Film Market brought together a distinguished panel of producers including Nibal Arakji from Lebanon, Thanassis Karathanos from Germany and Ryan Harrington, who represents the Tribeca Film Institute.

The session shed light on funding commercials as well as documentary films. Ryan Harrington, who represents an institute that backs funding, commented that the key criteria are the story, its originality, access and the passion of the filmmaker. A combination of German and Lebanese filmmakers gave the discussion a distinct edge. Nibal Arakji spoke about her movie 39 Seconds that is currently in post production and mentioned that she received a US $40,000 grant for her movie from Enjaz, DIFF’s post production fund.

Commenting on the scenario in the context of Germany and the West as a whole, Thanassis Karathanos stated that the market is rigid and difficult to penetrate. The most one can do, according to him, is understand the internal dynamics of funding in films.

The censorship game in the Middle EastThis panel discussion titled ‘Where Do We Go Now?” saw directors Omar Chargauwi, Mourad Ben Cheikh, Taghreed Elsanhouri and Mohammad Khan from Palestine, Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt respectively come together. Moderator Alaa Karkouti from MAD Solutions (Egypt) discussed the controversial issue of censorship in the Middle East.

Omar Chargauwi, who is based in Denmark, touched upon his Arab roots and said that Arab movies mostly attract local audiences. He denounced the fact that most international films that did have Middle East

“Filmmaking is an art of storytelling; everyone forgets to spend time on the foundation which is the screenplay”Paul Miller, American producer

Richard Pena (r) discusses the essence of visual poetry with Mohamad Mallas (l). Photo credit: Qudsiya Siddiqui.


PRODIFF2011

segments almost always stereotyped Arabs. Director Mohammad Khan said cinema

has seen significant change since the Arab Spring. Elsanhouri added: “We have to come to terms with the revolution as every artist requires his/her space and wants to be heard. At this moment, it’s all about letting the political steam pass and resolving the crisis.”

However, Mourad Ben Cheikh, which represented the Tunisian film industry, said there was no censorship board in Tunisia at the moment and if it was to be set up in the future, the approach would be more holistic.By Heena Makhijani

How to: Sell FilmsPanelists including Ted Baracos, Reed MIDEM (France); Frederic Corvez, Urban Distribution International (France); Kevin Iwashina, Preferred Content; and Mynette Louie, Producer (USA) discussed the importance of having the right sales agents to sell films. They also spoke about the latest market trends and how a new breed of filmmakers are more business savvy as they hold onto the rights of their own films.

This technique enables them to learn and create opportunities as well as take their films to a variety of platforms so that they can gain popularity and sales in this digital age.

How To: Short Film Strategies Abdallah Al Kaabi, Director (UAE); Sebastien Hussenot, Producer (France); and Sydney Neter, SND Films (Netherlands) discussed the best short film strategies based on their own experiences with panel moderator and Dubai Film Market Consultant Colin Stanfield.

Al Kaabi spoke about his inspiration for his first short film The Philosopher and how he worked on it while interning for a production house in Paris. He noted that the script has the highest potential and supporting such initiatives can create greater recognition for the filmmaker.

The panelists looked at some of the main issues in filmmaking, including the need for a good script, finding a good director, and also finding the right financer for the film. They also shared their views on what works and what doesn’t in short films and emphasised that the first 30 seconds of the film are the most crucial and needs to be attention grabbing.By Christine Marie Cherian

Panel Discussion: TV Saves the DayThe five main pillars of the media are monetising, funding, talent, digital platforms and regulation, it was stated.

Panel members from local networks including Emmanuel Durou of Deloitte, Ibaa Halal of OSN, Ahmad Shockry of du and German writer and director

Members of the panel discussion 'How To- Sell Films'. Photo credit: Zainab Akbarali.

“The biggest issue in the local Arab market is that there are about 99% directors and around 1% scriptwriters”Mohammad Hassan, Emirati filmmaker

“In the Gulf countries, we need critics. We lack the skill to critique a work ... If I have any shortcomings in my movies, I need to know”Mohammad Hassan, Emirati filmmaker


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PRODIFF2011

Meinholf Zurhost of ZDF/ARTE discussed the positive benefits that a broadcaster’s support can have on local filmmaking communities in terms of increased demand for Arabic shows and insight on how local networks are redefining their inner programming and craft. Highlighting the stimulating production of local content in the Arab World, the panel focused on a special report compiled by Durou with the support of TECOM.

Deloitte’s Durou commented that piracy is a key area that needs government regulation in this region as it continues to have a heavy toll on the region’s media industry.

Director Zurhorst also shared similar views on the subject deeming that piracy can be eradicated through television as a medium.

Variety Arabia Panel: Five Emirati

filmmakers to Watch Mohammad Hassan, scriptwriter (UAE); Noujoum al Ghanem, award-winning Emirati director and leading documentary maker; Khalid al Mahmood, director (UAE) and Saoud al Kaabi, actor (UAE) from City of Life spoke about the requirements needed to better Emirati cinema and appreciated the efforts made by DIFF to promote Emirati cinema in the region and worldwide.

Saoud al Kaabi stated that film festivals serve as a link between Emirati cinema and the rest of the world.

Mohammad Hassan pointed out: “The biggest issue in the local Arab market is that there are about 99% directors and around 1% scriptwriters”.

Noujoum al Ghanem seconded that. “We don’t have production companies in

the film industry but only soap operas on TV,” she stated.

Another thing that sets UAE cinema apart from the rest is realism, according to al Kaabi. “When you see Dubai in our movies, you don’t just see it; you feel it, that’s the realism we portray,” he claimed.

Khalid al Mahmood said there was greater need for constructive criticism.

“In the Gulf countries, we need critics. We lack the skill to critique a work and that’s the reality. If I have any shortcomings in my movies, I need to know. That helps us understand the audiences as well.”By Samiha S Naaz

How to: DistributionThe distribution landscape has changed dramatically in recent times. Industry experts Eve Gabereau, Soda Pictures (UK); Paolo Spina, Revolver SRL (Italy); Mario Haddad, Empire Cinema (Lebanon); Liva Alexander; Karim Safieddine and Sam Eigen highlighted how this impacts a film without star power and how decisions are made to buy films.

“You cannot predict whether movies will be successful or not but I do know that distribution has changed dramatically in the past five or six years,” commented Paolo Spina.

He added that movies that are not selected for any festivals tend to gradually cease to exist. He added that paradoxically, making feature movies has become even more difficult and has been devalued as they are “repetitious”. The topic of

Short Film Strategies (Sydney Neter, Abdulla Kaabi and Sebastian Hussenot). Photo credit: Nazia Fatma.

Emirati Filmmakers to watch. Photo credit: Fathima Layeek.


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PRODIFF2011

online distribution was covered by Karim Safieddine who spoke about the online models that can help filmmakers gain greater visibility. He urged people to gear up for online marketing and not be daunted by the web.

Sam Eigen remarked that an experienced distributor will have skills “to negotiate good ideas”.

The panel discussed the realities of the world of distribution and how it works for both big and small-budget films. By Nazia Fatma

Master Class with Mohamad Malas: Visual PoetryAcclaimed Syrian writer/director Mohamad Malas took a Master Class on visual poetry as his narrative and fiction films Dreams of the City (1984) and The Night (1992) depict this element.

With moderator Richard Peria, this master class talked about how Malas has explored certain themes such as a missing place, the lost era, and the search for the self, through the eyes of the women in his films.

“Film [for me] provides ... an everlasting relationship between the light, the camera and the actors”Mohamad Malas

Werner Herzog., the recepient of the Lifetime Achivement Award at DIFF 2011. Photo credit: Zainab Akbarali

“Visual poetry in my films focuses mainly on women; they are the core of my subject. Through my films, I try to submit my thoughts and feelings, as I do not believe in theories,” said Malas.

He also added that films are the tools that help convey the present situation of any place. Speaking about why he focuses on women, Malas added: “Women help represent the image of men immediately, whether in a positive or a negative way,” he said, adding that a film for him is not just a mere act, “it is a kind of existence and an everlasting relationship between the light, the camera and the actors”.By Maria Hussain

Greatest filmmaker of German cinema: Werner HerzogGerman film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and opera director Werner Herzog was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at DIFF 2011.

Presenting his new film Into the Abyss to the attendees , filmmaker Herzog discussed many aspects of his career and told the audience that his filmmaking career wasn’t merely a means of living but a “passionate and a true part” of him.

“It is easy to just make a film. Don’t wait for the industry to finance you, work where there is real life ... As long as you have a clear vision and have fire within, you will be able to succeed starting today.” Herzog also urged the young filmmakers at DIFF to contain the amount of footage they filmed. He strongly urged them to takes on the roles of the director and the storyteller and not follow after other people’s expectations. PRO

By Fatema Khokha

Compiled by Rabab Kazi


PROTECH

Video consumption is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Beyond being delivered, a stream needs to be presented, searched, promoted, recommended and monetised.

Enabling and securing a commercial transaction is too often regarded as an unnecessary overhead. In the new online world of OTT, as in any other, commercial viability is still key. The business environment for adaptive rate streaming is only just appearing and flexibility is paramount. Devices are used to manage rights. They are associated with individuals who can own multiple devices, so rights must be valid for multiple devices.

The link between HLS, cord-cutting and OTTThe initial gut reaction of many stakeholders is to fret that the OTT enabled by adaptive rate streaming will shake the market, and they might lose out. But are first reactions always the right ones?

At this simplistic threat level, content operators are the most at risk. If customers cancel pay-TV and use OTT, operators could lose out all together. In many markets, they are banking on a combination of exclusive rights (with a bias for live sports which are easier to control) and strong brand marketing. They are gambling that OTT services will require too much of a “lean-forward” approach. But just in case they’re wrong, they are also slowly letting some controlled OTT content into their walled gardens.

Satellite broadcasters offer parts of their line-up over the internet. DISHOnline.com, for example, has extended its catalogue beyond on-demand to include live TV. DISH has even committed to enabling such services for non-DISH customers.Incumbents like AT&T or Orange also feel threatened by OTT, fearing it will push further disintermediation for them. They can

at lease console themselves by still providing network access, even for subscribers that get all their content from OTT. Some markets will see regulatory battles as incumbents try to use those regulatory bodies to defend their existing business.

The glass is actually three-quarters fullOpportunities far outweigh threats for both network and content operators.

Indeed, HLS will extend the reach of services both within and beyond operator networks while content operators will achieve a global reach overnight.

The last part of this series discusses the commercial aspects of adaptive rate streaming

Emerging Business Models in Adaptive Rate Streaming


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PROTECH

Network OperatorsTelcos have spent much of their energies in the last decades moving away from a “bit-pipe” model, where they simply transport data as a commoditised service. Their drive into IPTV is a typical example of this movement.

Incumbents are becoming service aggregators, where most services are actually delivered by third parties. For example, a telco’s catch-up TV portal will provide missed episodes that are then delivered using HLS from a TV station’s own portal. The value sought after here is in the aggregation. That value, created at great cost, serves the sole purpose of selling more network access packages. HLS is a simple, cost-effective way to add value to networks.

In the short term, full HD streaming can only be monetised on managed networks. Telcos are hoping to stay ahead of the game with Super HD, 3D and multiple streams so that, as with full HD today, their managed

networks of tomorrow will still have a reason to exist alongside OTT services on top of a vanilla ISP service.

The first opportunity HLS offers telcos is to deliver services to subscribers that were not previously eligible and widen the breadth of devices served, be it in the home (as with ‘TV Everywhere’ initiatives in the US) or on the move (delivering to hotspots or 3G-connected devices). Network operators also use HLS to widen the breadth of services offered within their walled garden by giving selective access to OTT services at no cost to themselves.

After painfully failing to keep up with the likes of Google, MSN or Yahoo! in the portal space 10 years ago, telcos had mostly given up the dream of selling their services to other ISPs’ customers. Adaptive rate technologies, by lowering the barriers to entry, could make some of them reconsider.

The technology is clearly a blessing for operators that challenge incumbents and have no access network. They see it as a key

“Telcos are hoping to stay ahead of the game with Super HD, 3D and multiple streams so that, as with full HD today, their managed networks of tomorrow will still have a reason to exist alongside OTT services on top of a vanilla ISP service”

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PROTECH

advantage to start delivering services rapidly with very little upfront cost. This is the case for many European incumbents as they move into foreign markets.

Content OperatorsThe big US networks were the first to grasp the importance of adaptive rate streaming technology. Initial deployments with Move Networks in 2007 saw companies like Fox in the US and later, Germany’s Prosieben deliver content over the internet directly to the customer from the content owner’s own web portal. But just as the incumbent operators see this technology as an opportunity, newcomers threaten to also create direct relationships with end customers without needing to go through existing content operators. The barriers for entry into the video content delivery business are being drastically lowered for everyone.

CE ManufacturersA TV set maker with a clear strategy for OTT is Samsung. The widgets they are introducing into their connected TV platform will enable a direct relationship between content producers and customers.

Adaptive rate streaming will have an even greater impact on mobile devices within the home. Apple’s iPad is set to really benefit from the technology and Samsung hopes the Galaxy will benefit also. Network conditions will vary in different parts of the home, but thanks to adaptive rate streaming, video streaming can continue regardless.

Until recently, suppliers like Netgem were limited to offering VoD content in the paid services of their OTT devices, usually

via progressive download. HTTP Live Streaming is now opening a world of new business possibilities, with live content over non-managed networks becoming a real option for the first time.

Yann Courqueux, Netgem’s CMO, named two key advantages with this OTT enabling technology: “Operators have greater flexibility in launching TV services. They no longer need to provision bandwidth or limit the service to a certain copper line length. The service comes as multi-screen out-of-the-box with this technology. The second advantage is for new entrants with innovative business models. Ethnic content aggregators are a new segment for us.”

Another example is consumer electronics portals like “Toshiba Places,” the portal that WizTiVi is building that will serve TVs through Netgem’s OTT boxes, PCs and Android Tablets. Toshiba is putting a strong social media focus on the project.

WizTiVi is a French company with explosive growth in connected TV implementation.

Founder and EVP Eric Bibollet said: “Our customers follow the same path from a first requirement for VoD with DRM –which is what Canal+ is doing on TCL TVs – to DRM-protected live streaming, which Eurosport is providing for 4,90 per month over the Internet. The requirement for dynamic adaptive streaming usually comes third.”

WizTiVi is working on several major projects that will go public in Q2 2011. As content owners are all keenly aware of the iPad’s potential for new revenue, WizTiVi pushes the Apple HLS technology on connected TVs in their implementation projects.

One major difference found over the last year is that all CE manufacturers

Adaptive rate streaming is rapidly moving into the limelight. Below are some useful URLs.

Apple documentation:http://bit.ly/uA2MiR

Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming draft IETF proposal:http://bit.ly/tagrO8

Microsoft documentation:http://bit.ly/9HroEt

Adobe documentation:http://adobe.ly/twJyQ8

Recent Anevia OTT streaming white paper, with good description of Google’s WebM: http://bit.ly/s57PuQ

Excellent background article from Streaming Media: http://bit.ly/veAh0h

A technical Review of HTTP Live Streaming by Andrew Fecheyr-Lippens:http://bit.ly/9P7WIt

Akamai HD network demos:http://bit.ly/n8NWP& for the iPhone:http://iphone.akamai.com/

Quavlive comparison of adaptive streaming:http://www.quavlive.com/adaptive-streaming

Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) Release 2 Specification HTTP Adaptive Streaming [V2.0] – [2010-09-07]: http://bit.ly/sPthru



PROTECHPRO

are now acutely aware of DRM and have implemented it in at least one flavour.

Other Aggregators and IntermediariesHeavyweights like Apple, Microsoft and Google all play multiple roles in this game and were covered in the second part of this series (featured in BroadcastPro ME December issue) as potential technology suppliers. They are investing heavily in adaptive rate streaming technologies because of the huge potential it represents for them to enhance the direct relationship with their end-customers.

Netflix supplies on-demand content and no live streams; progressive download has satisfied their requirements up to now. We expect stakeholders like Netflix or LoveFilm to turn to adaptive rate technologies that also offer advantages for VoD. Customers can choose whether to prioritize continuity or video quality.

Retailers ranging from Walmart to Amazon are also moving to OTT digital content delivery. By lowering barriers to entry, HLS is a key enabler for this segment.

HLS ISN’T A SILVER BULLET. Here are some of the main arguments against the technology

The quality of experience may not be guaranteed. So how can you monetise such a solution?This is a valid question. As any IPTV operator knows all too well, however, there will always be weak links in the quality chain, namely the last mile for DSL-based solutions and the home network for all the others. When congestion happens there, HLS is the only solution that offers at least some service. Most customers would agree that a degraded service is better than no service at all.

With multiple bit-rates, the overall bandwidth used is greater than for regular streamingAgain, this is a perfectly valid criticism of HLS, but it misses the point. HLS will not

replace all existing streaming. When live TV is streamed over a managed multicast-enabled network, the only benefit of HLS would be to offer multiple profiles in the home, targeting different devices. It is likely that transforming incoming broadcast streams to rate adaptive will one day happen within the home to create such use cases.

The end-to-end latency of HLS is too large for live sports eventsIn the digital TV industry, latency has been a recurring problem. First-generation encoders for new codecs have always introduced more latency than the previous generation of optimised algorithms. The current worst-case scenario for HLS is a 30-second delay, but it can be configured to as little as 2 seconds. We expect this problem to slowly go away as the technology improves.

The Future of Adaptive Rate Streaming

We expect the use of adaptive rate technologies to extend further from the public internet to managed network environments. HLS was originally designed to enable video delivery as resources become sparse. As fiber rolls out at an ever-increasing pace throughout the world, HLS can also be adapted to scale up to full HD, 3D and beyond.

The end user is currently unaware if adaptive rate technology is used. Use cases may appear in which customers could explicitly participate in tradeoffs by perhaps accepting a lesser quality video in return for a price discount.

We also expect many new use cases for streaming services at public hotspots and over 3G networks.

Scalable Vector Coding (SVC) is an alternative approach, which has had very little market traction so far. New codecs like VP8 or H.265 might also gain some traction.

In all cases, a well-built adaptive rate solution should be able to integrate new components so as to remain competitive.

In the long term, adaptive rate technologies will have an impact on the

net neutrality debate by sharing available resources more equally among users. When operators next go begging regulators for traffic prioritization rights, they may have a new point to make. In case of congestion of non-prioritized traffic, all bit-rates will theoretically drop until equilibrium is reached. Resources will be shared more fairly instead of randomly, as is the case on the internet today.

The MPEG DASH initiative to harmonise standards mentioned above should prevent a standards war from slowing down the take-up of this promising new technology. Apple has already initiated a normalisation process, as has the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) with its standard for HTTP Adaptive Streaming.

As the current version of chunking technology is taking root in the market, researchers are already looking into improvements, which could include byte ranges instead of chunks, virtual chunks and chained chunks. Assuming standardisation doesn’t hinder the technology’s progress, it will itself prevent any stakeholders from resting on their laurels.

Conclusion

When choosing an adaptive rate streaming solution, the first thing to figure out is the business case— what services are to be delivered to which devices across which network? As we’ve illustrated here, tuning the different parameters can be challenging, so experienced partners are key to success. The OTT environment is still changing rapidly, and solutions put into effect to dynamically adapt video must themselves be flexible enough to adapt to the market just as rapidly. While disruptive, adaptive rate streaming and OTT video provide a host of exciting new opportunities for content providers and service providers to introduce innovative new revenue-generating services. PRO

Written by Benjamin Schwarz, Owner, CTO Innovation Consulting. Jointly produced by Harmonic Inc. and Verimatrix

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PROPRODUCTION

Forty eight hours is an unforgiving window to create a short film from scratch and a number of professionals faltered while first-time filmmakers and eventual winners of the best film prize, Kalyan Chakravarthy and his team kept it simple.

“We decided to keep the concept simple, with a minimal approach towards location and cast,” says Chakravarthy.

“We tried not to complicate the shoot process so that we could keep up with the schedule. We were ready with the concept and script by the morning of Friday and started shooting from 7am to 10 pm on the same day.”

On Thursday, 10th November, participating teams gathered at The Pavilion in Downtown

Dubai, where they were each given a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue to work into their film. Films submitted even one minute after the allotted time on November 12 were disqualified from the competition.

The keep-it-simple mantra worked for Chakravarthy’s team as its entry titled Solus tied for Best Writing and Most Promising Filmmaker and won top honours as the Best Film in Dubai’s inaugural 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP).

The 33-year-old director of a Dubai-based events and media production company calls this project “creativity born out of chaos”.

“At one point, it did get chaotic. We had quite a few challenges. For instance, it took us three hours to find the box — a key element

in our movie. We used the Canon 7D to shoot the film with a range of lenses and the film was edited using Sony Vegas software on a computer called Speedy with an accelerated graphics card.”

The festival was organised by filmmaker Mo Rida, who had seen the festival in action in New York and was keen to bring it to the UAE.

“As you can see by all this enthusiasm here at the final screening, the project is about filmmaking but also about building communities of local creative people, making new connections and really having fun with what creativity and teamwork can achieve in just one weekend,’ explains Rida.

Unfazed by genres such as ‘Western/

Stop talking, start filmingIn the second part of this series, Supriya Srinivias speaks to a motley team of people involved in the 48-hour Film Project on different levels


PROPRODUCTION

Musical’, ‘Mocumentary’ and ‘Period Piece’, the top ten teams created films that were uniformly engaging. Time management was critical with all of the creative elements—writing, shooting, editing and adding a soundtrack— that had to occur in a 48-hour window beginning Friday evening at seven and ending Sunday at seven.

More than 100 filmmakers took part in the competition. 40 teams set out to do the project but only 37 were completed and of that, only 21 were on time, points out Rida.

Age and production pedigree were clearly no barriers for the entrants.

“Our youngest filmmaking team was headed by an 11-year old boy named Charlie Cracknell,” observes Rida.

“I know that this format is ideal for amateurs who have always wanted to make movies. The response has been good for this event and I would like to thank our sponsors and judges, Nawaf Al-Janahi, Tim Smythe and Nayla Chacra for their support.”

The winning team received US$3,000 in cash and filmmaking equipment from event sponsor Advanced Media Trading (AMT).

For organiser, Rida, life is likely to get more hectic as plans are in the offing to expand the idea of the 48-hour project to even more parts of the Arab world.

“Based on the exceptional results, we are looking to take this project to other cities in

Kamil Roxas, an avid filmmaker and designer at BroadcastPro talks about his experience as a participant“I had heard about the project a couple of years ago and was familiar with the format. The team came together spontaneously – basically, whoever was available for the weekend. The genre given to us was romance. The five of us in our team had hands-on experience with filming. We shot with a Canon 7D and edited the film on Final Cut Pro. Music was composed by one of my teammates.

“I think the constraint of 48 hours makes a project vulnerable. Once we got the script done, we had a lot of trouble hunting for an appropriate location, which in our case was to be a hospital. On a Friday, securing permission to shoot in such a location is not exactly the easiest. Besides that, it took some effort to get the actors to coordinate their schedules. As a filmmaker, perhaps what is most important is that you remain patient and keep your focus on the story. Looking back, it would have been easier if we had done some advance planning as far as the location and I would have liked a little more time to colour correct our footage. However, we had a great time. No doubt, you are sleep deprived, but it is a great way to challenge yourself. I enjoy the collaborative process and will definitely participate next year.”

“More than 100 filmmakers took part in the competition. 40 teams set out to do the project but only 37 were

completed and of that, only 21 were on time”Mo Rida, filmmaker and organiser, 48-hour Film Project, Dubai.

Winners of the Best Film Solus.

the region. Dubai was the second city in the Middle East to host the 48HFP after Beirut. I was behind the projects in both cities and will continue to establish these projects in other cities as well over the next year or two. Cairo was supposed to be next, but it looks like we may have to wait a bit before going to Egypt. In the meantime, we are looking at either Doha or Abu Dhabi this spring. Beirut will still be in July, and I intend to do another one in Dubai next November,” Rida says.

Rida’s plans for expansion are not without reason. Nearly 1,000 people attended the sold out events at the Shelter and the Fridge for the five screenings of all the films submitted for the 2011 Dubai 48HFP.

PROPRODUCTION

50 | www.broadcastprome.com | November 2011

He was even impressed with the quality of the films submitted.

“For Dubai, there were a number of films that were impressive in their ability to tell a well-formed story in this technical medium with the limited time they had available. What surprised me about the Dubai community was that not only did we get a large number of participants but almost everyone who was involved submitted a film. There were a few films that were professional grade, very nice cinematography and editing, and a good grasp of how to tell a story with the camera. It’s always wonderful to see that the filmmakers are taking themselves seriously and displaying their collaborative talent to make a mark.”

The winning film, Solus is now in the running for top honours at Filmapalooza, the 48-Hour Film Project’s annual awards festival that will be held in March 2012 in New Mexico. At this festival, the 100 best 48-hour films will be screened and judged by an international judging panel. In addition, the top 10 international 48HFP films will be screened at the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2012.

Echoing the sentiments of most of the participants who have promised to return next year, winner Chakravarthy says: “The journey has just started for us … with a big bang. This experience has lifted our confidence levels to extend our skills further.”

In the meantime, seated among a motley group of filmmakers, film buffs and the press, one of the sponsors, Kaveh Farnam of

Advanced Media was a happy man as he saw around him the clear evidence of an increase in the tribe of filmmakers.

Well known among local film buffs for his enthusiastic support towards filmmaking, Farnam said: “We believe in supporting filmmaking initiatives here. At Advanced Media, we already work closely with several camera and lens manufacturers and host bi-monthly workshops in Dubai aimed at familiarising end-users with new technologies.

“The exciting new development for us is a new partnership with Alliance Francaise that allows us to screen a Persian movie any two weeks of a month. We screen a movie and discuss it at length. We have done 35 nights so far. We mostly screen Persian cinema. We have a group of around 500 people on email and 360 on Facebook. But it’s a private group and it’s a non- profit group called TAMASHAKHANEH.”

In the meantime, Rida is looking at making this an annual event in some cities.

“It is important to know if there is a good local independent filmmaking community in each city. This factor will decide if it will make the project an annual fixture for each city. The mission right now is to spread this concept throughout the region in the hope of promoting filmmakers, locating and building an independent filmmaking community. Already, we have done this with our first year in just two cities. Eventually, I hope we will be able to link all the involved cities together through an annual regional event.” PRO

11pm Thursday: Lock down on concept/story3am Friday: Script/screenplay 5am Friday: Shot break ups (Shoot started at 7am on Sheikh Zayed Road)9am Friday: Props /set design. Music team begins to compose original background tracks with a group of musicians10pm: Shoot ends followed by data download 3am Saturday: Movie edited from 22 to seven minutes10.30am Saturday: Final edit plus colour correction 6pm Saturday: Music and sound design plus follies successfully ends7pm: Final rendered copy handed over to organisers at Pavilion

48-hour schedule of the winning team


PROPRODUCTS

Boris Continuum Complete 8 AVX Boris FX, which develops integrated VFX and workflow technology for video and film, has unveiled the Boris Continuum Complete 8 AVX (BCC 8 AVX). BCC 8 AVX delivers 200+ comprehensive VFX and compositing filters to Avid Media Composer, NewsCutter, and Symphony. Flicker Remover and Videoscope tools, integrated Beat Reactor technology for audio-driven effect animation, a new Film Glow filter, and support for 64-bit operating systems headline the Version 8.0 release.

BCC AVX gives Avid editors a comprehensive VFX and compositing plug-in suite. The 200+ filters include 3D Objects such as Extruded Text, 3D particle effects, image restoration tools, lens flares and lights, award-winning chroma keying and compositing, a full suite of colour correction tools, time-based effects such as Optical Stabiliser, warp and perspective effects, and blurs, glows, and cinematic effects. All BCC AVX filters take advantage of either multi-processing or OpenGL hardware acceleration for an interactive effects design experience.

Over 1,000 professionally-designed presets are included free with every

installation of BCC. Customers can save and freely share their own presets and build customized preset collections tuned to the specific needs of a project – without the need for a costly subscription service. Presets can be shared with matching BCC installations on any host application in which BCC is installed. In addition, via the Boris Transfer workflow utilities, BCC is the only plug-in set that allows easy VFX migration between Avid, Adobe, and Apple editing software – with parameters and keyframed information intact. Boris Transfer AE transfers Avid or Final Cut Pro sequences to After Effects while Boris Transfer FCP transfers sequences between Avid and Final Cut Pro.

SADiE DoNglEPrism Sound has released a dongle-based software with its SADiE 6 software. SADiE 6.0.2 supports dongle operations, and the dongles themselves are now shipping.

“The new release software adds a number of advantages, particularly to editors with new functions in the trim editor that speed up workflow by allowing

adjacent clips selection and pairing of clips,” says Prism Sound and SADiE’s Broadcast Consultant

Pete Nash. “Stability with certain Windows issues have now been resolved and the dongle support is particularly useful to customers who are using SADiE 6 for location recording, or in organisations where the software is more likely to move from computer to computer.”

Sonnet Echo The new Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter enables users of computers equipped with a Thunderbolt port, including the latest Apple iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models, to connect seamlessly with compatible ExpressCard/34 cards from Sonnet and other manufacturers. ExpressCard/34 adapters offer users additional connectivity and functionality beyond what is available through their computers’ stock configuration.

The new ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter supports most PCI Express-based Sonnet professional ExpressCard/34 adapters and specialty adapters from other manufacturers. Supported cards range from

CompactFlash and SDXC UHS-I card readers to FireWire 800 and eSATA adapters. The new Thunderbolt adapter also supports ExpressCard adapters supplied with specialty devices such as the AJA Io Express. Sonnet expects other manufacturers’ ExpressCard/34 products to become compatible as their drivers are updated to be Thunderbolt technology-aware.

“With our Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter, users can now extend the capabilities of their Thunderbolt Technology-equipped Macs like never before,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies.

The Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter (part number ECHO-E34) is compatible with all Apple computers running Mac OS X and equipped with Thunderbolt ports.

AgAmA ADDS coNfiDENcEAgama Technologies, a DTV quality assurance expert, has boosted its Analyzer product family with a range of components for real-time service quality monitoring and assurance in video headends and distribution networks. New built-in core features provide enhanced capabilities for TV service operators to carry out efficient offline analysis and troubleshooting throughout their deployments.

The product range provides real-time continuous QoE and QoS monitoring of the full video service from inside the headend to the edge device.

“These capabilities increase the operator’s understanding of how technical issues in the content streams and distribution affect the viewers, which further supports their qualified troubleshooting processes and operational efficiency,” stated Johan Görsjö, Director of Product Management at Agama Technologies.

securing the future_

Conax ContegoTM features next-generation security for pay-TV operators, providing maximum security on all levels. Across all platforms and client devices, and in system performance and operation, operators are ensured that valuable content revenues are protected. In addition, freedom of choice is secured through seamless integration with 3rd party technology products.

Commitment to innovation: With a continual commitment to innovation and R&D, Conax sets the market standard for others to follow.

Security is our business: Conax focuses on security so you can focus on your core business in complete confidence.

Conax ContegoTM

The ultimate solution for content security

Securing your revenues - today and tomorrow

Visit Conax at: CABSAT, Stand # S - A14

Broadcast_pro_CABSAT.indd 1 22.12.2011 13:02:42


securing the future_

Conax ContegoTM features next-generation security for pay-TV operators, providing maximum security on all levels. Across all platforms and client devices, and in system performance and operation, operators are ensured that valuable content revenues are protected. In addition, freedom of choice is secured through seamless integration with 3rd party technology products.

Commitment to innovation: With a continual commitment to innovation and R&D, Conax sets the market standard for others to follow.

Security is our business: Conax focuses on security so you can focus on your core business in complete confidence.

Conax ContegoTM

The ultimate solution for content security

Securing your revenues - today and tomorrow

Visit Conax at: CABSAT, Stand # S - A14

Broadcast_pro_CABSAT.indd 1 22.12.2011 13:02:42


PROPRODUCTS

Tiffen Steadicam Phantom-VTiffen International Ltd. has launched the Steadicam Phantom-V, a new member of the Steadicam range that is designed specifically for the HD broadcast television and 3D markets. Able to support loads of up to 20kg, this is a big rig that offers high performance camera support with all the features needed for operation in live broadcasts.

The first Steadicam Phantom on the market was a cut-down version of the top-of-the-range Steadicam Ultra2, but with two telescopic stages of the original four-stage post, it is a lighter, faster production rig. Still with the same 20kg payload capacity, the new Steadicam Phantom-V is designed for efficient operation in broadcast applications. The stage, which retains the Steadicam Phantom’s tilting feature, has a short nose box to allow room to mount a 3D mirror rig. It also allows for a wide-angle lens with the camera set well back on the stage.

The Steadicam Phantom-V is wired for broadcast with three HD lines

between the stage and the base. For 3D operation these can carry a stereo image

and a return video. The rig is supplied complete with a video

return monitor and includes the original Steadicam Phantom’s

high performance G70 arm and the same Ultra2 vest. The package also has an

integral tally system.The Steadicam

Phantom-V is offered at the same

price as the original Phantom with all the

broadcast video extras included. A 7-inch 800-nit HD/SD monitor is supplied as standard. There is an option to upgrade to a Transvideo SuperBright Evolution 8-inch monitor.

This has special software by Transvideo to communicate with the sled for the level display and frame lines functions. This means that the level sensor is in the ideal position – under the post.

Barix mobile app for Apple iOSBarix AG’s Reflector is a mobile receiver for the Barix Reflector Service, allowing customers to monitor their audio streams on the go. This service is typically used by radio broadcasters and service providers to stream audio between two or more points with tremendous ease of use. The service essentially offers IP streaming without the complexity of IP, simplifying the setup process for audio transport connections.

The Reflector app taps into the main Reflector Service audio feed to allow real-time listening and monitoring of contact closure status and network statistics. This gives broadcasters and service providers access to a wealth of information about their streams and channels from any location, following the ease of use concept.

The Reflector iOS application is now

available through Apple’s iTunes store free of charge.

“The Barix Reflector Service is already ahead of the curve as something unique for the radio broadcast industry, making it simple to use IP for studio-to-transmitter links (STL) and remote contribution,” said Johannes G. Rietschel, CEO and Founder of Barix. “The Reflector app just moves the bar a bit further, allowing broadcasters to listen and check streams from a common mobile device, with trivial setup and at no cost.”

In a typical setup, the Reflector Service is paired with Barix Audio over IP hardware at the send and receive points, creating a plug-and-play installation that can have broadcasters streaming audio over IP links within minutes. The service is hosted by streaming media provider StreamGuys.

AviD iNtERplAY mAm 4Avid has unveiled the latest version

of the company’s enterprise media

management solution, Interplay MAM

(Media Asset Manager). Avid Interplay

MAM 4 increases the value of media

by making it easier to find, repurpose,

and distribute while coordinating and

automating production processes.

Interplay MAM 4 gives media

enterprises an unprecedented ability

to access and use their media more

effectively and profitably than ever before.

It lets them interlink media operations

and workflows, control movement of

media between Interplay MAM and

storage systems, configure metadata, and

leverage an SOA structure to integrate

in-house and third-party applications.

“As we have continuously evaluated

the market over the past decade and

analysed the evolution of the MAM

marketplace, we have found that solutions

that provide users modularity, workflow

collaboration, scalability, robustness and

ease-of-use are the ones that best serve

fast-paced, collaborative environments,”

said Mukul Krishna, global director of

Digital Media for Frost & Sullivan.

“The latest version of Interplay MAM

from Avid raises that bar significantly and

re-affirms Avid’s deep understanding of

today’s integrated media enterprise.”

Avid has added new features including

ICPS (Interplay Common Playback

Service); Graphical Workflow Management

and MAM-Production Integration.

“With increasing pressure to deliver

more content across more screens,

our customers need to improve media

access, integrate a wide variety of

Avid and third-party solutions, boost

productivity and, ultimately, accelerate

profitability across the enterprise,”

said Dana Ruzicka, vice president

of Segment Strategy and Planning,

Avid. “Interplay MAM 4 is a state-of-

the-art enterprise media management

technology that lets them do just that.”


PROGUEST

In most online content services today, recommendations accompany any purchase. A section titled “You may also be interested in…” invites deeper browsing of the content library, and increases sales as a result. The technology behind this is known as a content recommendation engine or content discovery engine – a software app that uses a set of algorithms, rules and business logic to filter the library and suggest movies, TV programmes, music, books and so on that are likely to be of interest to a specific user.

Although this presents a simple face to the user, it requires a lot of technologies and tuning under the lid, and there are significant differences between the way a good recommendation engine works in different circumstances. For instance, it may use different criteria to recommend video on demand (VOD) to a TV viewer as opposed to suggesting book purchases to someone browsing a bookstore.

Recommendation engines also come with varying degrees of sophistication. At a simple level, the recommendations may be generic suggestions offered to all users. A more nuanced approach would be to add a degree of broad-based personalisation, using groupings of users derived from demographic data. At the advanced level, precise personalisation makes use of explicit and implicit user preferences that may be combined with collaborative filtering and social media data.

Content-based recommendation uses analysis of the content items based on metadata such as author/director, actors, or genre. Collaborative filtering is based on preferences expressed by other users – either from direct relationships between the

target user and the other users, or in more advanced solutions, hidden correlations between sets of users and items.

Not all of these approaches are equally successful or appropriate for every type of content. Some algorithms are too computationally-intensive to be useful on a large scale in digital media apps like TV where there is a rapidly changing inventory and quick response is part of the user experience.

Classifying user profiles and content catalogues based on ‘mood’ and personality have given return mixed results.

Some algorithms can also be very sensitive to small changes in tuning parameters, so these again do not suit a rapidly-changing content inventory where changes can skew the recommendation results produced.

Using contextual data from open web sources also generates ‘noise’ in the system and has yet to prove a useful enhancement of recommendation quality.

These factors show that one recommendation engine is not necessarily like another, and not all are appropriate for digital media such as TV and movies. A good recommendation engine should be available in variants that have been tuned to the different requirements of individual applications such as online book retailing or VOD. It can take years of working with digital media customers to fine-tune the algorithms so that they perform well on specific quality problems such as weighting the relevance of live TV programming, VOD or eBook recommendations.

What are the benefits if a recommendation engine uses the appropriate algorithms tuned optimally for the application? For the content

owner, there are some interesting effects on user behaviour, which have substantial implications for sales performance. Without a recommendation engine, users find things through browsing. This approach works well for those items the user already has in mind, and may be effective enough in selling a retailer’s best-selling content inventory. But when the inventory grows beyond a few hundred to a thousand items, the less well-known items become harder to sell. A well-tuned recommendation engine raises the chance of the discovery and consumption of lesser known content. Sales of mid-tail items – typically items ranked 1500 to 3000 in the inventory – rise sharply, while the ‘tail’ of items beyond 3,000 typically contributes 15% of the sales. At Netflix, as reported by the New York Times, 70% of demand is from the backlist of older or small, independent movies.

Recommendation engine are also effective when used proactively to monitor and pilot recommendations as part of a promotional effort. Using business rules, the engine can be used to push content according to specific criteria: these can be a combination of demographic, price-based, behavioural, and time-based.

The ROI for operators of content recommendation systems has proven to be in the region of a 35% increase in sales, but good recommendations also have a beneficial effect on engagement (up between 15% and 25%) and customer churn (down by around 40% on average), indicating that the user experience is enhanced as well as the bottom line. PRO

Sylvain Girard is general manager at ContentWise.

Helping viewers discover content and operators increase sales

Recommendation Engines

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