mobility

in B.C.

Vancouver: While checking out a comedy club in l.a. last year, Geoff Franklin got more than the few laughs he was looking for, he also had the inspiration for a new business venture – low-cost video production mobiles.

‘As I was standing in the lineup at this club,’ recalls Franklin, ‘I watched a van pull up, hook up to the existing cables, and wheel out the cameras. By the time they got inside, they had already connected the microphones and were starting to shoot. When the act finished, they struck quickly and drove off to the next shoot.’

Given the recognition of Vancouver as a growing production center, the rapidly increasing need for more programming, and the move of television production away from traditional broadcasters and into the hands of independent producers, Franklin figured there would be great demand for such a mobile in Western Canada.

Founded Aurora

Franklin, who has a long history of experience in video production, contacted Len Kowalewich, his former employer at Vancouver’s The Eyes Productions. Together they formed Aurora Broadcast Facilities to construct the first state-of-the-art, mid-sized television production mobile on the West Coast. They wanted their truck not only to have top-quality equipment, but to be more maneuverable and flexible than the larger mobiles currently in existence. And they wanted it priced to fit the pockets of smaller productions.

Full-size mobile facilities are already available in Western Canada through cbc and bctv, but they are out of the price range of most smaller independent producers.

‘We wanted this mobile to be able to shoot music, drama, comedy, information or cooking shows at a more cost-efficient price,’ says Franklin. ‘So often there just aren’t reasonably priced facilities available here, and gone are the days of huge budgets to do a half-hour show. Creativity does not necessarily equate with a big budget.’

Included in the mobile’s equipment will be five Ikegami cameras – two 366Ss for studio and three portable 366PSs. These models will be the first in Canada.

Part of what makes this mobile facility affordable, Franklin says, is the development of triaxial cable technology. The new cable takes all the signals from the camera, combines them, and then sends them back down the line. In the truck the signals are split and fed into all the equipment. One triax cable can handle all the controls for the cameras, the power and the video.

Franklin says the technology gives the video operator in the truck full control of the entire camera setup. Triax cables also allow for multiple feeds off the camera so that one triaxial camera connection eliminates the need for separate microphone, audio and intercom cables.

Aurora’s first mobile unit is expected to be operational by October, with a second unit scheduled for completion next summer.