OB999 Accelerates Hill Climb Broadcast 



Over the last century, The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb has been attempted by some of the world's most accomplished racing drivers striving to be the fastest up the 1,000 yard, 1 in 6 gradient track.

This year, Formula E's Mitch Evans not only added his name to that extensive list of drivers, but also broke the record for the fastest time in an electric vehicle.

 Mitch's Panasonic Jaguar, however, wasn’t the only impressive vehicle making its debut at the Hill Climb's celebratory weekend.

Capturing all of the action for big screens and livestream viewers was a decommissioned ambulance, painstakingly fitted out as a professional, multipurpose OB vehicle by Nick Collier, managing director at High Viz Media Group.



"Unlike the conventional curved shape of traditional vans, an ambulance is very square and chunky, with a really robust and durable body shell," says Nick. "Essentially making it the perfect blank canvas to build an OB environment. 



"Once we'd stripped back the unit, we had all this space, loads of windows and hatches cut in just where you need them. It fits a six person team, comprising sound, video, production and director stations, quite comfortably." 



Nicknamed OB999 in honour of its previous life, the vehicle houses a Blackmagic Design production and routing infrastructure. "I've been an advocate for Blackmagic Design since I first bought an original ATEM Television Studio. I just couldn't believe what the kit could do, how versatile it was, and at that price point. Whilst the products have developed hugely since then, that ethos hasn't changed.

"An ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel sits at the heart of the production desk, where the team produced a multicam mix for the event sponsor GKN Drivelin's YouTube channel, as well as for hospitality screens throughout the venue. In order to provide coverage at every stage of the climb, and deliver this through the various platforms, the team laid more than 7km of fibre cable alongside the track, together with a multitude of fibre converters.



Routing was handled through a Smart Videohub 40x40, which was complemented by a custom camera preview solution creatively engineered by Nick himself using a Raspberry Pi and a Smart Videohub CleanSwitch 12x12. 

"Alongside Blackmagic's open SDK, and with a little help from my next door neighbour who runs an IT services company, we spent an afternoon writing a piece of code for the Raspberry Pi. This meant that as soon as the rack operator hits the paddle, the Smart Videohub CleanSwitch would immediately deliver the required camera feed to screen.

"As with many live events, the team had to manage an ever-changing schedule. We didn't know exactly what time Mitch's hill climb would take place, but we still had to keep spectators entertained with big screen coverage," Nick adds. "We had produced a lot of pre-recorded informative content," he says. "Our editors cut different versions depending on how long we would need to play for: 3 minutes, 7 minutes. Whatever happened, we were well prepared."

"Our ATEM panel really came into its own here, as we transitioned between the pre-recorded content and live interviews hosted by racing driver and presenter Amanda Stretton," explains Nick. "It was absolutely imperative that we were able to react in real-time. The low latency delivered by Blackmagic Design kit meant that we could immediately show viewers the best possible view of the action."



Nick concludes: "I remember seeing Blackmagic's OB truck when they had it on show at BVE a couple of years ago, and it made me realise that building my own was possible. But of course the success of this event is not just down to our vehicle, without the assistance of the technical team at Shelsley Walsh and a crew who can react and innovate under pressure, none of this could have happened. For that we are incredibly fortunate."

This article is also available in the October edition of Broadcast Film & Video here.