GENERAL SATELLITE CORPORATION AND VALERY GERGIEV PRESENTED 3D PROJECTS TO BE BROADCAST ON A NEW EUROPEAN TV CHANNEL 3DV

Satellite Corporation, a Russian research and production company and Valery Gergiev, Principal Conductor of London Symphony Orchestra presented the first 3D projects of the Mariinsky Theatre at an exclusive screening on 19 May 2010 at The Barbican, London. The production was developed by the General Satellite Corporation as a prelude to the launch of its European 3D TV channel, “3DV”, which goes live on Friday, 21 May 2010.
  
3DV will be dedicated principally to cultural and travel programming, with key Mariinsky Theatre performances forming an important part of production plans. 3DV will be available to the audience of certain packages on Eurobird 9A.

The presentational event and press-conference at The Barbican featured a showcase of ballet excerpts from the Mariinsky Gala Concert and Giselle performed by the Mariinsky Ballet in a special 3D format.

The ballet gala was shot using four active 3D rigs, supplemented with a fifth rig, CAN’s own Bolt rig. Feeds from these five stereo pairs were then fed back into OB trucks where the convergence was remotely controlled via 3D boxes. CAN worked with AMP to vision-mix the images in the OB trucks, and the resultant programme was transmitted via satellite. The signal was received via General Satellite’s set top boxes and shown on 3D screens in a viewing room to VIPs within the venue itself; it was also beamed to the Russian Embassy in Paris to delegates, VIPs and ambassadors. The performances of Giselle and the clown show, which involved similar set ups (minus the live transmission), have been post-produced by CAN as ten minute executions as well as full versions, and will be broadcast by General Satellite Corporation when its 3D channel, 3DV, goes live.

Valery Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre and Principal Conductor of LSO, said: “I'm sure that every company, every important opera house, will pay attention to this technology. I can say without any doubt that it will happen soon or maybe is already happening in many places. Today this technology is obviously a very strong chance for all of us around the world. It helps in our desire to ensure that the future of opera, the future of ballet is never questioned. We (meaning classical music, international opera world) should be among the first.”

General Satellite Corporation, jointly with CAN Communicate, the 3D film and TV production specialist (UK) recently delivered the first live 3D multi-camera transmission in Russia, featuring three major cultural events shot at the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg. The production, which is thought to be the first live 3D ballet transmission in the world, featured some of Russia’s most prominent ballet dancers performing scenes from five different ballets, including Swan Lake and Carmen, a performance of the ballet Giselle, and a premiere of a clown show by world renown clown Leonid Leykin, produced by Licedei.

Andrey Tkachenko commented: “We are among the first few companies in the world to attract investments into 3D content creation and we offer cutting edge technological solutions for the television industry. Our aim is to become as competitive in this area as Russian ballet in performing arts worldwide.”

David Wooster, Partner, CAN Communicate, said, “It was a great honour to shoot such prestigious events for General Satellite at these amazing venues. Thanks to an extensive development, testing and collaboration period with international technical partners, we are now able to capture content with 3D zooming capability in a practical and affordable way. This 3D content can either be recorded or undergo live manipulation and correction onsite, allowing to create pixel perfect 3D content that is ready for broadcast.”

The presentation was followed with a London Symphony Orchestra concert conducted by Valery Gergiev and a dinner with 50 guests including representatives of the Russian Embassy in London and Friends of the Mariinsky Theatre.  

Andrey Tkachenko, General Satellite Corporation, said, “70 hours of new 3D content will be produced this year, including famous Mariinsky theatre performances in 3D format. Dance is one of a few truly eternal arts, which have delighted and enchanted people since the beginning of human history. Now the 3D technology makes it possible for viewers in Russia and Europe as a whole to be in the very heart of the performance”.

3D Channel Reception Parameters:
Satellite EUROBIRD™ 9A at 9° East
Downlink frequency: 12054 MHz
Horizontal polarisation; FEC: 2/3
Symbol rate: 27 500