The scope and beauty of the Olympics is beyond compare. But how do all of those beautiful images and wonderful audio get produced and sent back to an eager audience? As part of one of the largest productions ever assembled, Glen Levine, Co President NEP Group had a unique vantage point unlike no other for the 2016 Rio Olympics. ProductionHub had the rare and exclusive opportunity to catch up with Glen Levine, Co President NEP Mobile on the ground in Rio.
PH: First of all I’d like to say thanks for taking the time out of your hectic Olympic production schedule to visit with ProductionHUB. I know you are on a bus headed for the broadcast compound and your time is very limite. So, lets start with some basics. Just how long has NEP been preparing for the Olympics?
Levine: We started with Olympic Broadcast Services 2 years ago. NBC was shortly after that.
PH: Is NEP providing all the mobile units or are there other vendors?
Levine: NEP is providing 22 mobile units, 15 from the US and 7 from Europe. We have 4 fly packs from around the world. We have two large systems set up as broadcast centers and 2 systems working out at venues. NEP has a very large presents in Rio and we are one of many vendors.
PH: How many trucks are in Rio and at how many venues?
Levine: I believe there are over 90 OB facilities from around the world. Likewise many fly packs of various sizes.
**PH:**How many production people did NEP bring to Rio?
Levine: We have over 40 staff engineers, drivers, operations and management from the U.S., and 40 from NEP’s broadcast services operations outside of the U.S. NEP’s Mediatec Solutions provided 40 LED screens at 17 venues in Rio, and they have about 40 people on site as well.
PH: How did the mobile production units trucks get to Rio?
Levine: The trucks were transported on the Falstaff, which is a roll on roll off shipping vessel. This allows our driving staff to load and unload the trailers. We left the port in Galveston, Texas, and it took 20 days to sail into the port in Rio. The transport was successful.
**PH:**How many cameras total? Do we have a certain brand?
Levine: 90 from the US for NBC and Olympic Broadcast Services. We’re using Sony and GVG cameras. There are a number of specialty cameras, including robotics and slo mo.
PH: Is NEP shooting in 4k? What are most of the feeds coming out of the trucks?
Levine: NBC did the 4K HDR at the opening ceremonies. We were about to share a number of those cameras with the main production.
**PH:**Are graphic packages added in the broadcast center?
Levine: Graphics are being done on site. We are using Chyron Mosaics for NBC.
**PH:**What have been some of the challenges for the production teams?
Levine: Power is one of the biggest challenges. Venues are on generator; shore power and UPS for back up transfer.
PH: Anything else we missed?
Levine: So far good logistics and organized planning has been key to this point. The setup went well and everything is hitting the air without any issues. The NEP teams from around the world are all doing an awesome job!
Thanks to Glen Levine, NEP for sharing some of the inside scoop on some of the broadcast production from the truck at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Image courtesy of NBC Universal *
