Behind the scenes with OBS at the WSC

Welcome to the acronym Olympics!  It took awhile, but I have learned a new acronym language during the past few weeks, and something about TV coverage of the Olympics as well!

OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) was created in 2001 by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in order to have a HB (Host Broadcaster) for Olympic Games.  Starting with the 2008 Games in Bejing, the on-site HB (Bejing Olympic Broadcasting) was a joint venture between OBS and the local Organizing Committee.  This year the HB is solely an OBS operation. 

OBS has a LOT of gear and this is only a small pile of it! 

What does OBS do?  Essentially OBS manages all Olympic Broadcasting, offering a consistent approach across all venues. 

OBS is responsible for producing and transmitting unbiased live radio and TV coverage, and provides facilities for RHB (Rights Holding Broadcasters) as well. 

Here in this TV trailer all 56 OBS cameras in the WSC can be monitored.  Each venue has a team and simlar set-up....

Lighting at outdoor venues can be a challenge, especially where snow turns bright white in sunny areas and dark in shadows. 

Some of the crew in another room of the TV trailer focus only on colour balance between cameras.   Other rooms are for sound, others are for timing....our compound was packed with trailers of working teams. 

Some other crew members work inside the venue, just 5 minutes walk away, and maintain connectivity for all systems, including the RHb. 

At the WSC there were three other networks working in our compound:  CTV, NBC and a German network.  Sliding is particularly popular in Germany!

Of the 56 cameras used at the WSC, about 15 were managed remotely. 

 

Can you see the camera in this photo?

It is a long, narrow item located in the ice.  Because I know it's there I can see the tiny 4mm lens that looks like a small black dot in the trough.  Can you?  Each time before a sled passes the camera is raised up remotely to catch an amazing view of the sled approaching.   Then the lens is wiped off and the camera is lowered again to keep it clean and dry while the human zambonis sweep the ice.

My favourite remotely-managed camera is the railcam. 
 

It looks more like something from the observatory!  When a sled moves the camera races along it's rails at the same speed for some great coverage of the action.  It is managed by crew members located inside a small shed on the side of the track.

Of course most of the cameras require camera operators - at least 45 of them - and some require camera assistants too. 

Some of the cameras of this size were called hand held .  This camera operator has a tripod but most others got a little sore from balancing their hand held cameras on their shoulders throughout the events.   

Creating the infrastructure started long before the Games.   OBS has introduced HDTV and Surround Sound, the use of Dartfish and numerous sport-specific views during this Olympics.  I was amazed and almost overwhelmed by the amount high tech gear and the endless possiblies! 

My role as runner at the WSC involved getting behind the scenes from pre-event set-up to tear-down. 

One of my jobs was checking the in crew each day, which usually took place in our catering tent. Remembering this basically like a movie production, it's not surprising the catering was amazing.  Most days two full buffet meals were prepared for about 115 crew. 

Here is the final photo for your WSC education and entertainment.  Do you know what it is?

These are the finger tips of gloves wore by luge competitors.  They push on the ice when they leave the start and need the little claws to avoid simply rubbing the slippery ice and going nowhere!