On Set of Top Gear festival live

Author: KitPlus

Published 1st August 2014

Issue 91 - July 2014

20th June 2014, London UK - Zero Division provided a bespoke installation of the Boxx TV Zenith system for the Top Gear Festival in Barbados at the newly renovated Bushy Park race track, and provided on-site support during the event.
The Top Gear Festival is a live show staged to tens of thousands of visitors, to bring the spirit of the TV show to a live audience. It was also the first time a Formula 1 car had appeared on the island. The show was produced by Melville Productions in the Caribbean.

The Zenith system used for the Top Gear Festival was hired through Zero Division, which supplies RF camera links for rental with full engineering support on location. In order to cater to the clients specific requirements, Zero Division carried out the initial site surveys at Bushy Park, advised on the installation of the wireless solution inside the cars, and provided RF specialists to monitor the equipment during live filming.
Zero Divisions client, Black Flag, supplied the cameras installed in the interior of the cars, and the customised Boxx TV Zenith system was used to capture the stunts and the action, including the in-car views.
The transmitters were installed in three-wheeler Robin Reliant cars to capture the three presenters Clarkson, May and Hammond as they played Car Football, joined by Lewis Hamilton.

As the cars tipped and turned, and went into wheelies, the Zenith systems provided a stable live feed throughout and transported the signals from the transmitters on the presenters BMWs, with experienced engineers from Zero Division on hand.
As well as the Car Football, the fastest and craziest parts of the show - the Star in the Car section where celebrities are interviewed while they race around, the Stigs power laps, and the Supercar Showdown all relied on the Zenith systems to send video from cameras moving at high speed.

The equipment hired from Zero Division performed faultlessly throughout the show in spite of the great heat from the Caribbean sun, which rose to over 30 degrees in the shade.
Designed for use in stadiums and similar settings, Zenith features an SDI loop with an additional monitor for the Director, Iris and Tally indicators and built-in talkback which can potentially replace hand-held radios on set. All of Zeniths functions operate in the licence-exempt frequencies.
Zero Division offers HD wireless broadcast systems for hire and has RF engineers to advise on engineering requirements.

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