Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521715
disorder injuries upon the operator. Though less widely discussed, this same danger applies to Microphone Boom Operators. A boom pole might weigh significantly less than a fully rigged camera, but when operated above the head and at full extension, the strain placed upon the operator's shoulders can cause permanent injuries. The EasyRig boom rig is designed to help minimize the burden to an operator's body, allowing them to safely operate a boom pole for longer periods of time. In addition to its lightweight, easy-to-operate form factor, the boom rig includes hooks for a mixing bag in the event that it is being used by a mixer/operator and had the ability to reverse direction so that an operator can utilize it regardless of their dominant hand. Local 695's recent Collective Bargaining Agreement with the AMPTP heavily focused on the dangers of long and successive takes for Boom Operators, with the Producers agreeing to utilize ergonomic support rigs on production when necessary. In addition to similar products like Cinema Devices XO-Boom Support System, Tilta's Zombie Rig Boom Pole Support System, and Oisphoot's Boom Operator Lightweight Boom Pole Support System, Microphone Boom Operators are encouraged to familiarize themselves with EasyRig's boom rig. Devices such as these can go a long way to protecting the body and ensuring a long and healthy career rather than one that is cut tragically short due to a debilitating injury. We also made a stop by the Pronology booth. Pronology, owned by 695 member Jon Aroesty, specializes in live broadcast recording. Their server-based mRes recorders are capable of recording multiple SDI input channels, encoding up to three tiers of media simultaneously. This means that when recording in a studio, truck, or fly pack environment, a recordist can generate a high-res delivery file, a low-res proxy file, and an even lower res screener file in real time. So, when the Director calls "cut," media is immediately organized and ready to be ingested by the post-production team and can be forwarded to directors, producers, and agents for review. Similarly, StreamFile Core is a web-based software application that receives IP video signals and encodes them into editing codecs such as Apple ProRes and Avid DNx. This system currently supports NDI, SRT, SMPTE 2110, SMPTE 2022-7, and NMOS. This platform allows productions to remotely record signals that cannot be conveniently hard lined or take feeds from satellite shooting locations without the need for time-consuming media management, transcoding, and uploads. Both of these products take advantage of a loop recorder "always recording system," meaning that even if a recordist misses a que, they can go back into the loop and retrieve moments that took place prior to the start of recording, making mRes and StreamFile Core two of the safest platforms for media recording in the business. On the second day of the convention, I had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from Tsecond, a company specializing in data storage. Their BRYCK System can provide productions with between 128TB and 1PB of compact NVME solid-state storage. Weighing in at just fourteen pounds, this is one of the largest storage arrays in such a small form factor, making it possible to transport the entire contents of a season-long show in a carry-on-sized case. The unit supports bidirectional transfer speeds of 40GB's and features AES-256-bit encryption to keep data secure. Early tests show great success in capturing up to eight simultaneous streams of 8K .r3d files at 29.97fps. Local 695 will be featuring the Tsecond BRYCK in an upcoming edition of this magazine, so keep an eye out for that in our fall edition. And last but certainly not least, we had the pleasure of visiting with our partners at Mo-Sys. Local 695 member Eric Rigney and in-process member Marcus Masdammer were there, demonstrating the powerful tracking and playback capabilities that virtual production is allowing productions to achieve. Using a combination of augmented reality and machine learning, Mo-Sys Systems can extend virtual sets and playback overlay effects while tracking on-camera subjects in real time. Mo-Sys has partnered with our Local to bring advanced virtual production training to our members. By partnering with the State of California Department of Education, EDU Director Casey Weiss and Mo-Sys have put together a comprehensive two-week training course that will be available to all members through the Local 695 website later this summer. We also had a chance to stop by ARwall's booth and meet with CEO Rene Amador, who I had the privilege of interviewing for a separate piece in this edition. Rene gave us a demo of the company's new XR/AI Filmmaking Suite, ARFX, which went on to win the 2024 NAB Show Product of the Year. We'd like to offer a heartfelt congratulations to Rene and ARwall for this well-deserved recognition of their hard work. Halter Technical Founder Doc Justice, Rohan Adarkar, and Lindsay Barrow