2 March 2010
Berlinale Forum 2010 honored AISHEEN STILL ALIVE IN GAZA produced by Al Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC), co-produced and directed by Nicolas Wadimoff. The documentary was awarded the Forum prize of the Ecumenical Jury; in their decision, the jury members emphasized the films open and unbiased view of the perseverance of a people – like a dandelion breaking through the asphalt.
In a special ceremony for independent juries awards held today – Saturday, Fayçal Hassairi, Executive producer at JCC and Nicolas Wadimoff, Director of AISHEEN, received the award on behalf of Al Jazeera Childrens Channel.
The Ecumenical Jury awards its prizes to one film in each category of the festival: the main competition, the Forum and the Panorama. The films are selected based on their success in portraying actions and human experiences in the most respectful approach to human dignity and universal values.
In commenting on this accomplishment, Malika Alouane, Director of Channels Programming at Al Jazeera Childrens Channel said: The prize that AISHEEN Still Alive in Gaza received in Berlinale 2010 is a testimony to our strong production vision in adopting issues of concern to humankind; it also delivers JCCs mission in overcoming the challenges and bridging the gaps between people.
We proudly dedicate this prize to Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, for her continuous support to the Channel since its launch in 2005, she added.
Alouane emphasized that being awarded the prize of the Ecumenical Jury in such a prestigious and internationally renowned festival proves that AISHEEN Still Alive in Gaza succeeded in depicting the daily life of the people of Gaza post the Israeli attack in late 2008 in an honest and objective manner.
I am deeply moved by this award and would like to dedicate it to all the people in Gaza who helped make this movie a reality by allowing us into their lives, said Nicolas Wadimoff, director of AISHEEN; I hope that their courage and dignity will touch hearts everywhere as they have touched mine, he concluded.
AISHEEN Still Alive in Gaza had witnessed an unprecedented success during the five screening sessions – tickets were sold out and some watched it standing or sitting on the cinema hall stairs.
The Ecumenical Jury for the Berlinale 2010 consists of six members from all churches of Germany, NGOs, academics, and Cinema & TV content makers.
(Source: JCC press release)
2 March 2010
GlobeCast teams are on site in Vancouver to provide service including playout, live positions and HD/SD delivery to clients from around the globe at what promise to be very exciting Winter Games.
GlobeCast is providing:
o Fiber backhaul from Vancouver to Los Angeles for a major American DBS satellite operator
o Playout services on site as well as global satellite turnaround for Chinese broadcaster Beijing TV
Several other international broadcasters have ordered significant service for the length of the games, and GlobeCast is receiving walk-in requests for ad-hoc playout and delivery from Vancouver.
GlobeCasts broadcast center is located at The Waterfall Building, 5 minutes from downtown Vancouver, in a very accessible area with striking views and no accreditation or media passes required.
Broadcasters requiring service are requested to call GlobeCasts 24/7 Bookings Hotline at 1-877-Globecast or +1 310 845 3939
2 March 2010
Vizrt Ltd., a leading provider of content production tools for the digital media industry, today announced that its Board of Directors has approved in principle the purchase of the remaining 71.01% of the issued share capital of privately held Adactus A.S. (“Adactus”). The deal values Adactus at NOK 30 million (approx. USD 5.1 M). Vizrt currently holds 28.99% of the issued share capital of Adactus, with the first investment made in September 2005 as a commitment for joint development projects.
The proposed transaction is subject to a financial, legal and commercial due diligence review to the satisfaction of Vizrt and reaching an agreed upon definitive agreement with Adactus’ shareholders. The Board of Directors of Vizrt has authorized the management of Vizrt to conclude the proposed transaction based on the above guidelines.
Adactus has developed a multimedia delivery platform based on the newly-evolving ISO standard, MPEG-21, as well as a mobile content gathering and delivery solution.
The proliferation of mobile and other content access devices, such as smart phones, tablet PCs and smart TVs, means that content has to be delivered in conformity with the different (screen)formats and capabilities of each of these devices. Adactus was founded with these requirements in mind, and the company has developed the tools that are needed to serve this fragmented market. The Company’s solutions ensure that, for instance, the video you see on your Nokia mobile is optimized for that device, and that people using the iPhone can get that same video, from the same source, in a size and quality that is optimized for their screen.
Significant resources have been spent by content providers on testing various solutions available to meet with this need to deliver content to various mobile terminals each with different specifications. Turner from the US (CNN, Cartoon Network, etc) and Norway’s NRK are two of the many companies that have selected Adactus as their video delivery platform.
Another aspect of Adactus’s business is their content gathering solution, where journalists (or private individuals) record and gather content on their mobile phone and deliver this to news organizations, enabling many exclusives and breaking news content where otherwise there would be no content.
Bjarne Berg, Vizrt’s CEO, stated, “The market for content delivery to mobile terminals is increasing in importance and is fast growing. Fully integrating this capability with Vizrt’s other content production and distribution capabilities, allows further strengthens our offering to content delivery houses. They know, as we do, that offering the best viewing experience is critical to growing market share and related revenues.”
He continues, “The decision to acquire the rest of Adactus was an easy one. We have worked with the Company for some time, already hold a significant stake and have two serving Board members. As a result, we know Adactus, its capabilities and markets well. Following satisfactory due diligence and Board approval of the take-over, we therefore anticipate a smooth integration with Vizrt’s operations.”
2 March 2010
Radio Netherlands Worldwide is sending a complete mobile radio station to the disaster area in Haiti. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA), a global umbrella organisation of broadcasters and a partner of RNW, will take delivery of the radio station. The CBA was approached for help by Caribbean contacts and will send the equipment to the CECOSIDA radio station in Port-au-Prince.
As the Dutch international public broadcaster, RNW regards it as part of its remit to provide a country which has been so badly hit by disaster with technical services support.
RNW General Director Jan Hoek: There are virtually no radio stations still operating in Port-au-Prince. People there are cut off from every form of information. By providing the CBA with the requisite broadcasting equipment RNW is helping to facilitate the search for family members and inform people where they can get free medical care, water and food.
Radio in a box
The mobile radio station, also known as the radio in a box, was specially constructed for use in countries where radio transmitters have been partially or completely destroyed by a disaster. The radio station, less than a cubic metre in size, is equipped with an FM transmitter, a mixing console, microphones, a CD player and a laptop computer. Once the transmitters in Haiti are largely operational again the mobile station will be returned to the Netherlands.
Indonesia
Following the earthquake in Padang, Indonesia, in September last year, we sent a ‘radio in a box’ to Sumatra. RNWs partner stations were highly successful using it to get the flow of information started again. At present the radio transmitter there is being used for post disaster information provision, such as trauma healing for children.
Apart from providing a mobile radio station, RNWs transmitter in Bonaire is being used to broadcast Creole radio programmes from the Voice of America.
2 March 2010
Pictures and video from the 2009 AIBs, the International Media Excellence Awards ceremony, held in London on 4th November 2009 are now available.
The pictures can be seen from this website on the 2009 Awards page
The videos showing shortlists of the categories and highlights of the event are being added to the AIBlondon channel on YouTube and will also shortly be added to this website. Please subscribe to the AIBlondon channel and browse through the videos as they become available.
The 2009 AIBs were held in the fabulous surroundings of LSO St Luke’s in London and showcased the best of broadcasting internationally. They attracted over 200 entries from all over the world and were judged by an independent panel of experts involved in broadcasting drawn from 13 countries in Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
The 2010 AIBs will be held in London on 10th November 2010. For more details click here
2 March 2010
Nowhere is space more precious than on a mobile video unit. Even the 53-foot expando HDTV trucks are densely packed with gear and extremely crowded at air time. And many studio control rooms arent much roomier. So one of the most common complaints and requests that manufacturers hear is to pack more firepower into ever smaller boxes.
As a company that prides itself on responding quickly to customer needs, Vizrt is stepping up with a solution for a critical piece of gear on every live broadcastthe CG, or live 3D graphics and animation generator. At the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters show, from April 10-15, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV, Vizrt (Booth SL5408) will showcase Viz Trio One-Boxthe latest version of its Viz Trio realtime 3D graphics and animation system.
As one of the most popular and widely installed live graphics systems in the world, Viz Trio is highly versatile, intuitive, and full featured. It allows artists and operators to deliver extremely creative and visually complex graphical presentations that enhance live sports, news, and specials.
Viz Trio previously required two standard desktop PCs to operateone for Trio client and one for its powerful companion renderer Viz Engine. With Viz Trio One-Box everything, Viz Trio as well as the latest Viz Engine, runs on a single PC with two graphics cards on-board. This means that there is no negative impact on graphics quality or rendering speed. With Trio One-Box, both the VGA preview and final program signals can be viewed on one PC.
With the new Viz Trio One-Box, the work of two PCs is now being done on one, explained Gerhard Lang, Chief Engineering Officer, Vizrt. By consolidating two PCs down to one, were saving our customers space. This solves a critical concern for OB [Outside Broadcast] mobile environments and studios where desk and rack space is at a premium.
Were also saving our customers money because theres one less PC to buy, Lang added. And weve simplified the setup and maintenance of the whole system.
Among the graphics frequently created using Viz Trio are score boxes, player statistics, game clocks, maps and charts. Trio customers often use another companion product, Viz Artist, for sophisticated 3D graphics, animation and template design.
Viz Trio One-Box will be the standard configuration for all future Viz Trio systems.
