Broadcast Solutions and Birds Camera transform awards night

The current COVID-19 pandemic forced the production of the German Film Prize 2020 (Deutscher Filmpreis) to shift from a gala night with an audience to a studio production, where the prize winners, laudators and guests were added to the live broadcast via video feeds from their homes. Presenter Edin Hasanović found himself in a studio setting, in the middle of five large video screens that were used for switching to the guests. Artistic director Sherry Hormann, however, craved inspiring, spectacular pictures and camera movements.  

To make the most of the challenging setting, the production used the Birds Cam cable camera system from German supplier Birds Camera Solutions, distributed via Broadcast Solutions. The Birds Cam is the smallest and lightest cable-based camera system currently available in Germany and is new on the market. The system, which was seeing its first use in Germany, can cover an area of approx. 80x80m and is particularly suitable for productions with limited space or in small studios because of its low weight and the compact and individually placeable winches, claims Broadcast Solutions. 

The system allows fast movements in all three-dimensional directions, and the dolly is supplied with power via the ropes, which significantly reduces its weight and results in low rope sag. Birds Camera Solutions says this was important during the production of the awards program as the system has the lowest sag of all existing systems and could, therefore, interact well with the screens.