10/1/2014

A night at the Eiffel Tower: taking TV to new heights

With the end of the summer break comes the return of an exciting autumn TV schedule. One of this year's small-screen highlights is Alessandra Sublet's "Un soir à la Tour Eiffel" (A night at the Eiffel Tower), recorded on the first floor of Paris' most famous landmark. In every respect, it is a monumental programme.

It is a veritable first. No other television programme has ever been broadcast from this 160m² suite, located on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. A magnificent site it may well be, offering unbeatable views of the capital, but it also poses a host of difficulties for television production. Ever since permission was granted, the process of decorating the set and delivering and necessary materials via the only available elevator has required 3ème Œil Productions to demonstrate unwavering courage and tenacity.

Innovation

This new talk show owes its success to its filming technology. The programme's director, Didier Froehly and producer wanted to film using a 35mm lens, to ensure high image quality and a shallow field depth, a notable advantage when conducting an intimate interview.

This type of camera is not normally used in broadcasting, so the AMP VISUAL TV team made the most of their extensive experience in 4K filming, and offered to set up a real-life test bench in order to try out the different models and analyse their results.

It was eventually decided that 8 Sony F5 Cameras would be used. These were completely integrated into the live workflow of the Optimum 1 OB truck. This included the use of RCP (Remote Control Panel) technology that facilitates colorimetry and diaphragm management. This use of multiple cameras also allowed our teams to assist producers in the technological developments that will be of benefit to the antenna.

The end result was exceptional, high-definition quality, thanks to the excellent definition of the image sensors and substantial efforts made on field depths, facilitated by the use of cinema optics.

A promising TV show

As for the show itself, Alessandra Sublet's latest venture promises to be fast-paced and full of surprises. You can count on her for that.

The series' first episode aired on Wednesday, the 1st of October, welcoming the comedian Kad Merad as its main guest. Nicolas Bedos featured on the 8th of October, Carla Bruni on the 15th, Yannick Noah on the 22nd and Eric Cantona on the 29th. Following this, the team behind France 2's latest series are due to receive Julien Clerc as a guest.

Un soir à la Tour Eiffel, Wednesdays at 10.40pm, from 1 October on France 2.

Mots-clés : Magazine