Broad Casting Success Stories

Today's fastest growing media affiliates and largest film studios incorporate AMX technology as a way to maximize the return on investment by optimizing their time. Powerful AMX Control Systems and user-friendly AMX Touch Panels facilitate peak efficiency and achieve broadcast quality without compromising overall production or creativity.

Accuracy is a must. Harnessing AMX technology to integrate the surrounding equipment necessary to perform the many tasks of production remains vital. AMX takes sophisticated electronics and lessens the learning curve. One touch automation boosts overall reliability, minimizing possible downtime by tracking the status of each device 24 hours a day.

Think of broadcasting as a race - one that relies heavily upon perfect timing. Not only to reach your audience first, but to reach them with the latest, most accurate information, exhilarating images and intense sounds. At the touch of a button on your AMX Touch Panel, fine adjustments are made to audio/video signals, cued tapes, recorded broadcasts, time tracking, pre-timed segments, teleprompter scripts and camera angles. Maximum results, minimal effort, thanks to AMX.

Success Stories

• 20th Century Fox
• ESC Entertainment
• Rehearsals.com
• San Antonio Spurs Practice Facility

20th Century Fox(Los Angeles, California)

20th Century Fox boasts a remarkable history that spans eight decades, making it one of the premier major movie studios in the world. Yet before the opening movie credits, before taking a seat, even before purchasing tickets, there is the behind-the scenes magic of editing and dubbing. At the Fox Studios Post Production Services Facilities in Los Angeles, AMX Control Systems and Touch Panels play a leading role in bringing together the surrounding screening room and re-recording technology. AMX helps to put the final touches on the movie as a whole. And that usually makes the difference between a popular film and a $100 million blockbuster.

“Once the people at Fox became accustomed to using AMX to automate the processes, they no longer even think of walking into a room without this level of integration. They have visited other screening rooms in town and leave wondering how those other studios exist without AMX.”

So Many Possibilities
Within any of the four screening rooms and three feature dubbing stages at Fox Studios, AMX control transforms high pressure into high production.

"These rooms at Fox are the most advanced, high end rooms in Los Angeles," said Steve Sutter, Founder of Sand Hill Media (Berkeley, CA), the exclusive integration company for this high profile project and long-time AMX Dealer. "They have every film, video and digital format available, the latest video projectors, custom modified film projectors, linkage to remote locations, highend everything. It can get complicated with so many pieces of equipment, so many switches, so many possibilities. It's insane at times. To have to screen a movie or to mix it with all of this gear in front of you, without AMX, you are bound to make mistakes more frequently. Once the people at Fox became accustomed to using AMX to automate the processes, they no longer even think of walking into a room without this level of integration. They have visited other screening rooms in town and leave wondering how those other studios exist without AMX."

AMX Everywhere
Although this is not the only post production facility in Los Angeles running a control system or automation, Fox Studios represents the most comprehensive installation of AMX technology. Over the course of three years, from 1999 to 2002, Sand Hill Media integrated the screening rooms and mixing stages with AMX Axcess Control Systems, 10.4-inch and 5.5-inch Touch Panels. "Most studios do this kind of thing in little jumps," Sutter said. "They build a little at a time. At Fox, they committed to everything, to put AMX everywhere."

That includes:

Four Screening Rooms — Two AMX 10.4-inch Color Active Flush Mounted Touch Panels. One positioned in the middle of the theater for end-user convenience and another mounted in the back booth area. Plus two AMX 5.5-inch Touch Panels.

Three Feature Dubbing Stages — One AMX 10.4-inch Color Active Touch Panel custom modified to fit into the console's woodwork. Three AMX 5.5-inch Touch Panels in the booth.

One Video Transfer / Editing Department — Multiple AMX 5.5-inch Touch Panels positioned in the equipment rack to help control video systems audio routing.

Less than six months after the project's completion, Sand Hill Media has already returned to the Fox Studios lot in an effort to handle a series of upgrades — at the request of studio executives, of course. This natural evolution leads to NetLinx, the most capable family of control products from AMX. "They love it so much that they came to me and said, 'All this stuff is great. What else can you do that is just as great because we want to be there,'" said Sutter. "It is a very competitive industry, so Fox has to be at the edge of technology in order to sell their facilities to directors and producers." In fact, many movie production companies and well established directors and producers come to Fox because they prefer the technology and features offered by the Post Production Facilities. It has become the defacto home of Director Steven Spielberg for post production of his Dreamworks films, according to Sutter.

Screening Room Magic
Enter studio executives, ready to videoconference with a director filming at a remote location and preview the day's takes. The operator in the booth already knows to dim the lights to a certain level, to activate the microphones mounted in the ceiling, and bring in the the video feed on cue. This expert operator must switch the proper electronics quickly, accurately, and in the right order. A moment ago, the screening room sat silent. Suddenly, it is alive with moving images and sound.

"The stress level goes way up," Sutter explained. "So has the reliability thanks to AMX. These film screenings, videoconferences and other presentations come off without any worries and the downtime is negligible. Whether Rupert Murdoch (owner of media conglomerate News Corporation Ltd. that includes 20th Century Fox) or a famous actor (like Ben Affleck, who has starred in such blockbuster movies as "Daredevil" and "The Sum Of All Fears") walks into the room, the increase in tension is worth it because AMX makes it all work right."

ESC Entertainment (Alameda, California)

How many times have you watched "The Matrix?" Enough to notice that scenes within the computer generated matrix have a green tinge while those happening in the real world are highlighted by blue? Perhaps so often you can hardly wait for the next evolution of graphics that will surely surpass "bullet time," the dazzling FX trick in which the camera appears to circle 360 degrees around a centralized image? Part two is finally here.

"The Matrix Reloaded" opens this month with nearly five times as many separate special effects shots (or frames) compared to the original blockbuster. The creative braintrust behind this amazing FX world is ESC Entertainment of Alameda, Calif., one of six FX houses commissioned by Warner Bros. Studios to handle the CG (computer graphics) elements of "Reloaded" and the later release of "The Matrix Revolutions." Inside ESC's brand new facility is a screening room equipped to automate and control a variety of media through AMX.

"This is not a traditional screening room where you put up a film and watch," said Steve Sutter, Founder of Sand Hill Media (Berkeley, Calif.) who acted as AMX consultant, designer and programmer on this project. "This is a working room where they critically analyze CG effects."

Hard-Core CG Control
In fact, ESC grew out of the overwhelming success of "The Matrix," which was released in 1999 and grossed more than $400 million worldwide (approximately $170 million in the United States). During the past three years, the largest piece of a $100 million budget was marked for CG. This kind of emphasis by the directors and producers on giving the audience something new and jaw-dropping required leading technology behind the scenes. Inside ESC's screening room, an AMX NetLinx Control System and 10.4-inch Touch Panels give animators, artists and technical directors the ability to work faster, without sacrificing any attention to the extreme details.

"They use the room so much that they have a full-time operator in the back of the room who works the Touch Panel," Sutter said. "The control system is used constantly, every day. It's a real hard-core working room."

Consider the number of frames shot on average by a camera: 24 per second. One CG artist may be responsible for 150 frames, or approximately six seconds worth of film.

"That series of shots is his life," Sutter said. "He is so involved with the position of every muscle and every little image. When it's time to be in the screening room, he is going back and forth over all the frames, looking closely at everything in the picture."

In "Reloaded," AMX technology assisted in the design of characters taking flight within the matrix, twirling about in the air, and rapid-fire fight scenes, according to Sutter.

AMX is ... the One
The AMX Touch Panels, one located in back of the screening room and another installed in the equipment rack, provide instant one-touch control over the status of each frame, format changes, lighting, video monitor levels, and more.

"We did a training the first week and they were concerned about not being able to use it (AMX) fast enough," Sutter said. "They are very computer literate people but not necessarily with media systems. Yet, nobody had to know much because AMX works so easily."

Enter the AMX User Interface
The user interfaces on both Touch Panels combine the feel of the "Matrix" with simple navigation buttons. Different control windows mimic scenes from the movie — notice the green window on the user interface. This is the moment when Neo, the movie's hero, understands his power over the matrix. When he is able to stop bullets and defeat the agents. The film-waterfall image (on the user interface pictured at right) was actually modified from an internationally released poster.

"They wanted to panels to be interesting," Sutter said. "You have to remember, the average age here is 20. They don't like complicated, fancy buttons, but they wanted it to be playful as well. For one of the windows, I took the image from an original poster. They thought it was great."

Where to Go From Here
AMX control technology is also having an impact on how production studios and CG houses, like ESC, manipulate audio for a feature film. Again, AMX is on the cutting edge of developments in the entertainment industry. A device known as Digital Signal Processing (DSP), replaces the need for much of the external processing. The mixing, level controls, EQ, gating and compression can happen wiuthin one box rather than include a number of individual analog units.

"DSP is catching on in a big way," Sutter said. "This single black box does everything in terms of audio and AMX controls it flawlessly." Simply plug in your inputs and outputs through the black box. A computer will then display audio functions. The other audio equipment does away. "It was designed to be controlled remotely," Sutter said. "The protocol is so simple to use and it works flawlessly with AMX It's very cool and very clean."

Rehearsals.com (Burbank, California)

David Plakos, supervising producer for Rehearsals.com, a 150,000 square foot production facility in Burbank, California, never dreamt that a single manufacturer could exceed his expectations for the perfect camera control system until he learned about the systems offered by AMX“. The objective was to produce High-Definition (HD)content of musicians rehearsing their music without compromising the integrity of the studio environment. The end results can be seen at www.rehearsals.com.

“These are by far the most intuitive operator interfaces that I’ve ever used. Shots can be framed quickly, precisely and you are able to quickly select from several different cameras.”

Initially, Plakos turned to Dan Newman of Newmagic Entertainment and together they worked with HD video expert David Canning to build one of the most unique and versatile systems in the broadcast industry, integrating AMX PosiTrack™ Pilot camera controllers, PT30 pan/tilt heads, Modero“ Touch Panels and NetLinx“ Controllers into a highly automated, all-HD facility.

Building the Perfect System
To build a system that would give rehearsals.com everything it was looking for, it needed a product that could handle a number of roles. The AMX solution provided camera control as well as automation of nearly every other process in the facility. With AMX, setting up for a shoot takes a fraction of the time.

AMX dealer/programmer Newman provided the expertise that made it happen. “The people who brought me in on this project are industry leaders in broadcast production – the best camera operators and engineers in the business, working with the biggest artists in the industry,” Newman stated. “I could think of no solution more powerful and comprehensive than AMX to meet their needs.”

After extensive testing and evaluation of competitive products, Plakos agreed. “AMX provided a level of proficiency that I felt very comfortable with. There wasn’t another manufacturer that could so effectively fulfill so many needs and do so in an affordable manner.”

“Since installing the AMX gear, our artists are continually telling us how much they love the creative freedoms they are being afforded.”

A Better Way
Rehearsals.com pre-wired six rehearsal studios with HD video to support up to 80 remote controlled robotic cameras matrixed to five control rooms that can each handle 16 cameras. Plakos explained, “Robotic cameras are fantastic because they allow us to be a “fly-onthe- wall” when capturing a performance. Within a few minutes, the artists often forget they’re being recorded. And because of this new paradigm, we truly get to witness ‘Music In The Making’.”

The Equipment
With 23 Emmy® nominations, including those he won for his camerawork on the OSCARS® and television specials for artists including Cher, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and Sting, Plakos expected a lot from the products that would go into the facility. “We needed a platform that afforded us very smooth panning, tilting, zooming and focusing, and the PT30 was a wonderful solution.”

Because of so many different experience levels and camera operator styles, Plakos also needed an interface that could create, save and quickly recall unique operator profiles. “The PosiTrack Pilots are by far the most intuitive operator interfaces that I’ve ever used. Shots can be framed quickly, precisely and you are able to quickly select from several different cameras. And by entering a personal code, the Pilot instantly remembers how I like my settings.”

Additionally, the AMX NetLinx® NI-3000 Integrated Controller performed central controller duties and networked NI-700s talk to each PosiTrack Pilot and PT30. Twelve inch and 15 inch Modero Touch Panels provide signal routing controls, transport controls, video wall displays and camera painting, just to name a few.

Truly AMAZing
Plakos shares that the more he has an opportunity to work with the AMX system, the more new benefits he discovers. “I’m learning something new every day. I find myself wondering, ‘What else can this thing do? Start the barbeque? Pop a soda out of the machine?’ It’s truly amazing technology. The AMX system is at the heart of how rehearsals.com is controlled.”

San Antonio Spurs Practice Facility (San Antonio, Texas)

Great players on the court make up just one layer of a winning basketball team. There are also great coaches, managers, fans, and in this case, an outstanding audio/video (A/V) system.

This outstanding system is part presentation system, part video conferencing system, part editing suite and pure genius.

For years, video coordinators have been responsible for collecting game footage, breaking it down and redistributing it throughout the coaching network, often on foot. An A/V system that includes a matrix switcher and integrated control solution creates a flexible, efficient design, enabling everything to work on the “same team”.

The Game Plan
The three-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs collect and organize an extensive library of game and practice footage, which is available to coaches at all times. This large undertaking runs with amazing efficiency.

Satellite receivers, with the help of scheduling software, are programmed to send all regular season NBA games, as well as select college games, to DVD and VHS recorders. This system has recorded as many as 17 games in the same evening.

Practice footage is also recorded using the same DVD and VHS recorders. Four Canon VC-C4r cameras record every angle of each practice session. The camera angles and zoom can be changed via an AMX AXP-CCS dual joystick control.

Coaches can even search and review footage on computer monitors at editing stations, each of which include a PC, 20-inch LCD monitor and AMX 10.4-inch Color Video Table Top Touch Panel. Using this equipment, they can cut clips and create customized video that can be saved and sent to practice sessions and meetings.

The System
At the foundation of the Spur’s comprehensive A/V system is an AMX AutoPatch 64x64 high-bandwidth composite video + mono audio matrix switcher and AMX NetLinx Control System. This solution provides signal distribution and control of a full rack of DVD and VHS players/recorders and digital satellite receivers, as well as cameras, editing stations and displays throughout the facility.

The facility’s AMX NetLinx Control System controls video distribution and connects to the Local Area Network (LAN), while also allowing IR control of the AMX AutoPatch Matrix Switcher through any of the source devices. The flexibility and large scale configuration of the AMX AutoPatch Switcher connects the main video room, player training room, conference room, player lounge, coaches lounge, locker room, meeting room, three cardio rooms, two weight rooms, two media rooms, twelve offices and the court.

A championship system that built a championship team
This outstanding system is part presentation system, part video conferencing system, part editing suite and pure genius. The Spurs managers, coaching staff and players can now communicate with unbelievable speed and accuracy without limitations. A championship system for a championship team. Or, is it a championship system that built a championship team? Either way, it is a far cry from the old white chalk and rolling television cart days.