After months of preparation, Brigham Young University’s BYU Television and KBYU Eleven will migrate to full HD production at its new 100,000sq-ft media production and distribution facility in December.
The staff has implemented new Sony HDC1400R cameras and a variety of Fujifilm lenses. This includes a number of wide-angle lenses to support jib camera shots in the studio, which has improved production values significantly. The versatility of the servo zoom system internal to the Fujinon lenses comes in handy when producing BYU TV’s full slate of shows, most of which will cover the school’s football and basketball games.
Brandon Smith, CTO of BYU Broadcasting, said the studio would be used to produce as many as 140 sporting events next year supported by an HD production truck. The new HD facility will be connected via fiber-optic links to production locations on campus, such as the basketball arena and performance halls, so events can be produced from the studio.
Lenses purchased for the new HD studio include one Fujinon XA88x8ESMDSS telephoto field lens; three XA72x9.3ESM DIGIDSS telephoto HD lenses; two HA27x6.5BESM studio lenses; two ZA12x4.5BERM wide-angle ENG/EFP lenses; two ZA17x7.6BERM ENG-style HD lenses; and two HA26x6.7BESM HD studio lenses.
BYU Broadcasting’s 51ft, expandable HD production truck was commissioned in early 2010, complete with a full complement of gear including Fujifilm lenses and slow-motion/replay capability for sports. BYU Broadcasting partnered with New Jersey-based Diversified Systems for the design and systems integration in the truck.