Gravity Media, a global leader in production and content and media services and facilities, announced its delivery of full technical production facilities and crew for The Six Kings Slam, a premier men’s tennis exhibition tournament produced by IMG and held at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th October.
Part of the Riyadh Season and now in its second year, the event brought together six of the world’s top tennis players for three days of elite competition in front of 8,000 fans. This year marked a significant milestone as The Six Kings Slam was streamed live globally on Netflix for the very first time.
Gravity Media Arabia supported IMG’s production with its UHD OB facility NOVA 101 to host to a crew of technical experts and equipped with cutting-edge technology to deliver an exceptional live broadcast experience to audiences around the world.
The setup featured a total of 26 cameras, including 4 RED V-Raptor XLX large-format sensor cinematic cameras with RED Cine-Broadcasting Solution, providing stunning shallow depth of field and full RCP colour shading functionality for live production. Two more RED V-Raptor XLs were also configured as RF cameras using bespoke hardware by Gravity Media RF Division providing increased flexibility and dynamic coverage of the court.
Complemented by a suite of Canon Cine-servo series lenses the RED systems worked seamlessly alongside Sony HDC-3500 and HDC-5500v cameras. Canons renowned BOX lenses enhanced with their latest NOVEL look optical technology provided an enhanced image experience for viewers while allowing high frame rate workflows from the Sony cameras.
A dedicated onsite crew of 45 Gravity Media professionals managed all aspects of the technical operation, from vision and audio to RF and engineering, ensuring a flawless broadcast for both in-venue and global audiences.
Martyn Edwards, Gravity Media’s Managing Director of the Middle East said: “We’re proud to once again collaborate with IMG and contribute to the Riyadh Season with our world-class facilities and experienced crew. Supporting the first-ever global Netflix stream of The Six Kings Slam marks an exciting milestone for live sports production in the region, and Gravity Media is delighted to be at the forefront of this innovation and broadcast excellence.”