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ArKaos MediaMaster Chosen for Australian Idol
Australian Idol is Australia's version of the world famous talent show American Idol / Pop Idol. Now in its eighth year, the television show is broadcast nationally and has enjoyed great success over the years. However, with such a well-publicised and popular format there is always pressure to improve on the previous year's production.
Lighting designer for Australian Idol, Francesco Calvi of Calvi Lighting Designs, explains: "What started out as a light show with a central screen on the first series of Australian Idol has now evolved into a ‘big' light show involving several video screens accessed by media servers all of which are linked to the lighting console.
"When ArKaos released its new version of MediaMaster this year I decided it had everything I needed to take this show through the 2009 season. I am using two Power Macs to give me three video feeds. The first Power Mac is feeding the 6-mm main screen and the 28-mm video floor. I decided to run these two feeds off one machine as they work very closely together: the content at times needs to flow from screen to floor as one image and, as they are different format screens, I needed to be able to control each screen separately.
The second Power Mac is feeding the side screens - 16 columns of 28-mm screens - which is treated for the most part as one screen. Both Power Macs are controlled via a grandMA."
Calvi's initial impressions have been confirmed by the Media Master's performance throughout the show's run.
He continued: "We are now in our 6th week of the current season and MediaMaster has been a great choice. It has worked beautifully - with some surprising features that I hadn't expected!
"One of the great things for me has been its ability to slow playback speeds right down, without the content becoming unusable. To be able to slow media down this much gives me the choice of a greater range of media, rather than having to rely on media which is the right speed for the song.
"There are plenty of effects in MediaMaster that are all very usable. I have found these to be a great way of breathing new life into old content. Getting new content is both expensive and time consuming so it's nice to modify old content with these effects to create new looks.
ArKaos has also added a contrast and brightness master to its latest software.
"This feature is essential for anyone working with LED screens. Contrast is also available as an effect, but the ability to use it as an attribute frees up the effects and it is particularly useful with the low res screens where the image is not as detailed.
"Having frame blending as a feature that can be turned off/on depending on the requirement is also a welcome addition. It works extremely well and has helped to smooth out some less than perfect media!
"During the series I also got to play with the sound generator for one song, with surprising results. I ran the sound feed via a small DJ mixer so that I could control level and EQ. It was one of those ‘I wonder how this would look' moments and received a great response. It is always good to have something different to throw at a show particularly when it goes for several weeks.
"ArKaos has obviously spent a lot of time on this version of its MediaMaster but, as good as any product is, it is only as good as the support it has from the company. The people at ArKaos have been very responsive to all my queries (even the stupid ones!) and special mention must also go to my local distributor, Show Technology. I am looking forward to working with MediaMaster for many more shows to come."
Lighting designer Francesco Calvi started as a touring roadie 25 years ago, working for several lighting companies in Australia. He started his own LD company, Calvi Lighting Designs, in 1997 and is now mainly working for television shows and major events such as Australian Idol, So you Think You can Dance, Big Brother, Live Earth Australia and Sound Relief.
photo: Stuart Bryce
26th October 2009
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