at AMV. “We could record internally to the PWS server but also push the files to portable SAN’s for the clients to take with them. This way, the client is protected with multiple copies of the show files in multiple geographic locations. Some of the other solutions we looked at only allowed us to record one file, one iso per hard drive, in a less efficient codec. That left us with a situation where would have had essentially 54 1TB SSDs at the end of a given shoot night, all containing material that would need to be copied to a SAN for post and be archived to LTO. Then multiply all that by two nights of shooting.”
The Sony server allowed us to cut out hundreds of hours of work from our schedule, which of course results in cost savings, money and time,” said AMV’s D’Angelo.
Initial setup happened over the 4th of July holiday with crews working non-stop till showtime. Then, the rains came.
“We’ve worked in rain before, and Garth put on one of his best performances,” Green said. “It was a hard thing for us all,
especially when the audience on the second night had to wait through a three-hour delay. He rewarded them for it. We’ve been to this rodeo before, and the team worked through this flawlessly. Once again, AMV and Sony exceeded expectations under the most challenging conditions.”
“Working in Sony 4K was amazing,” said Small. “The X300 reference monitors just popped. The rain actually added a poignant, dramatic touch to the look.”
The entire concert system was designed as one integrated unit, including the lighting and the large screens for IMAG. According to Bob Peterson,
designer and lighting director, this was the first time Garth Brooks’ team used large screen 4K visuals and 4K IMAG as part of his show.
“Garth has always preferred a direct personal connection as opposed to a screen presentation,” Peterson said. “Given the scale of this production, dependence on screen content became more important than in the past. It was a leap of faith for Garth to go into the realm of large-screen imagery as deep as we did but I think they were well rewarded. 4k was a critical part of what made it stand out.”
While very familiar with 4K, these shows were Peterson’s first experience with fully integrated live 4K production, and the capabilities of the Sony cameras allowed him to create an entirely new type of look for the concerts.
“It was massively different than what we could have done if we just limited ourselves to HD,” he said. “With 4K you get a lower bottom and a higher top. I can use 4 or 5 more stops of
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