Amanda Dreschler and Michael Livingston didn’t let a detour like the COVID-19 pandemic shunt their creativity. Just the opposite— they channeled their isolation experience into inspiration and pulled out the stops—writing a script, learning the majority of crew positions, and sharpened their directing, acting and editing skills. Plus they got by with a little help from their friends— all remote, all COVID safe.

JVCKENWOOD furthers its commitment to providing the video production industry with the highest quality streaming solutions in a complete, plug-and-play package with its latest CONNECTED CAM firmware update. Using the open source Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) technology, JVC adds Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Stream Identifier (ID) to its 500 Series and 900 Series CONNECTED CAM cameras. The new firmware reinforces JVC’s standing in the industry as the leading provider of high-quality end-to-end streaming-capable camera solutions.

Tristan Whitman plays with toys. A specialist in tabletop cinematography, the LA-based filmmaker/USC professor is often called upon by top toymakers to make their action cars and figures grab the attention of young viewers. Unlike setups that require big crews, tabletop shooting is a more solitary endeavor, requiring a focused skillset including concentration, patience and resourceful use of tools. With fewer people on set, following the new safety protocols amid the Covid-19 outbreak is just a minor inconvenience.

NetRange MMH GmbH (‘NetRange’), the global provider of white-labelled, turnkey Smart TV and OTT ecosystems and SonyLIV, India’s first premium video on demand (VOD) service, today, announced a collaboration. Through this alliance, the Indian users of the NetRange Smart TV App Store will now be able to gain the SonyLIV app on their Smart TVs.

MCR Broadcast Hire and Video Europe Ltd today announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, formalising the existing and longstanding relationship between Mike Ransome and Steve Green and aligning the two companies’ business operations.

Steve Green and Matt Marner, directors at Video Europe, have entered into a shareholding agreement in MCR Broadcast Hire alongside MCR’s Managing Director, Mike Ransome. Video Europe has invested significant funds into the live broadcast sector over the past few years and considers the alignment of MCR’s business a natural fit.

Rise, the membership group for gender diversity within the broadcast technology sector today announced the pairing up of mentees and mentors for its third annual mentoring scheme in the UK, and its first mentoring scheme in the APAC region.

The 2020 programme sees a variety of experienced broadcast sector industry leaders, at a diversity of levels of seniority, ready to offer expertise, knowledge and guidance to 30 women.

The scheme is made possible due the support from industry partners including:

• Gold sponsors – Avid | Sky

• Silver sponsors – Clear-Com | Audio-Technica Europe | Ross Video | Sony | DPP | Pixelogic

This year, Sports Video Group (SVG) Europe Women, a powerful network of women working in the sports media arena made up of members from across TV sports broadcasting, production, distribution and technology, joins as an industry partner. The initiative is supporting two women in the programme. SVG Europe Women will offer those women specific sports industry advice, sessions, events and additional guidance.

Turkuvaz Media Group (TMG), Turkey’s largest private media group operating in television, radio broadcasting, as well as newspaper and magazine publication and printing, has chosen Sony solutions and services to build an ambitious new media centre in Istanbul, spanning 7 studios and control rooms, as part of a multi-million Euro deal with systems integrator Teratek. This project consolidates TMG’s distributed studios into one location to improve efficiency, future-proof its capabilities for 4K broadcasting, and create a scalable system ready for the group’s future growth.

With over 1,200 students a year enrolled on a range of courses from television and radio, to visual and animation, Salford University is well known for preparing students for the realities of the media industry. Central to this preparation are its dedicated studios, opened in 2011, which offer students practical experience and are also used by industry veterans including the BBC and ITV.

Since their opening, the studios have evolved Salford University’s capabilities substantially. Where previously they had one single older 4 camera, 4 mic system, the university now houses 3 industry compliant TV studios and a vast array of cameras, lighting and audio solutions.

“In this space we produce everything from 1 on 1 interviews all the way through to performances of 18-piece Latin bands. We have a large variety of different shows that come in and out. It’s not only for the students, it’s also for working with commercial clients like the BBC, CBEEBIES and ITV,” commented Ash Tidball, the TV studio manager.

Sony has appointed Giles Wood as its new Head of Services for Sony Professional Solutions Europe.

Giles will lead Sony’s European Professional Services division, creating and delivering a wide portfolio of professional services from systems integration and through to consultancy and full managed services. Sony’s B2B customers extend across the Media, Corporate, Education, Healthcare and Sports sectors.

Sony has seen its services business grow to over one third of its B2B revenues in Europe and sees opportunity for further innovation and significant growth, complementing its renowned product strengths.

Adam Fry, Vice President, Sony Professional Solutions Europe, said: "Giles joins Sony at an exciting juncture for our professional business as we transform towards a true solutions company offering a broad technology and services proposition to our professional customers. His passion for innovation and his impressive track record in leading business transformation will be great assets to drive the next phase of our growth."

Giles brings over twenty years of experience in the B2B technology sector, having held leadership roles in organisations including BT, Fujitsu and Nortel as well as successfully overseeing start-up technology delivery businesses.

TVN24, the largest and the most-watched 24-hours news channel in Poland, becomes the first customer to receive ten Sony PXW-Z750 4K camcorders to future-proof its infrastructure for advanced 4K/UHD output and increase the agility of its news broadcasting operations.

As an existing Sony customer, TVN24’s investment into the latest PXW-Z750 4K camcorders will help replace more than 80 PDW-700 and PMW-500 Sony shoulder camcorders currently in use. With the Z750 camcorders, the news channel’s production team will now be able to shoot in 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and High Frame Rate (HFR), delivering 4K image quality with high sensitivity and vivid colour reproduction, ideal for news and live production.

Jarosaw Kielmel, Technology Department Director at TVN Discovery Polska explains: “Having invested in various Sony broadcasting solutions over the years, we were keen to work with Sony to help us future-proof our news production capabilities, ready to migrate to 4K in the years to come. We're incredibly impressed by the picture quality of the PXW-Z750, particularly when shooting in HD thanks to its 3CMOS sensors. Combined with the increased flexibility it provides us with, the PXW-Z750 is fast becoming our go-to camcorder for our 24-hour news broadcasting operations.”