Photo reportage
Live from the Teleclub Champions League Studio
Take a look behind the scenes at the new Teleclub Live TV studio in the Labor bar in Zurich. For the UEFA Champions League match broadcast, viewers can expect a dynamic crew, sophisticated sound and transmission technology, direction crew in the trailer, hydraulic camera tripods and big-name experts.
Denise Liebchen, 28 November 2018
Unremarkable: the Labor bar on Schiffbaustrasse in Zurich on a normal Tuesday afternoon. From the outside you’d never guess that live TV will go on air from here for tens of thousands of viewers in just a couple of hours.
The crew meeting is going on inside. Everyone is focused; there is no room for slip-ups with a live show. Adriano Gerussi knows that only too well: he’s the producer of today’s broadcast and in charge of what goes on in the studio.
After the meeting, everyone gets down to the final preparations; they will be on air in just three hours. Team work and instinct are the order of the day when it comes to adjusting the stage lighting too.
Cameras need to be constantly readjusted to the requirements on site. Hydraulic tripods on extra quiet runners are used to keep motion and panning shots as smooth as possible.
On air, switching from one camera to the next is at lightning speed. Headsets link the camera crew to the direction team providing a constant stream of instructions.
The direction team are in a large truck behind the Labor bar. Inside, every square metre is occupied; as well as the director, all the sound and broadcasting systems are in there too.
The entire TV programme is planned right down to the last second. The programme incorporates the various image sources from the football stadium, TV studio, fade-ins and TV commercials.
The transmission technology is sophisticated, with components designed redundantly as far as possible. If one part fails, the spectators at home won't be left looking at a blank screen.
He knows what he’s doing: an engineer at work shortly before going on air.
Back in the studio: presenter Gianni Wyler has arrived. A sound engineer immediately attaches a microphone to him – as invisibly as possible, of course.
The rehearsal is now under way to ensure that any technical problems are spotted and ironed out. The presenter also gets to practice where and when he has to look into the camera.
The sound engineer in the truck also listens in closely during rehearsals. He adjusts the microphones to make sure that the voices are not too quiet or loud, ensuring – most importantly – that they are intelligible.
This evening’s audience is already gathering at the entrance. The audience will be able to watch both the live show and the football match in the Labor bar.
Check-in: guests go free, but you do have to register early online.
Final instructions to the audience in the studio; in a few minutes the show will be on air.
3 , 2 , 1, live: straight from wardrobe and make-up, Gianni opens the show in the middle of the audience. The camera crew follows him closely as he mounts the stage.
Just a few seconds later the football experts also appear on stage. Present this evening are Pascal Zuberbühler, the Swiss national team former goalkeeper, and Silvan Widmer, who plays for FC Basel. The panel discussion can get going.
Meanwhile back in the truck: the tension is palpable and the crew highly focused. Everything runs like clockwork.
The audience is oblivious to what is going on behind the scenes; they listen to the experts in anticipation of the football match due to start in a few minutes.
Free admission to the Teleclub Sport Studio
Be part of the audience in the Teleclub Football TV Sport Studio for free. Experience the UEFA Champions League live in the Labor bar in Zurich. An exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of a TV broadcast. Tickets are free.
Just the ticket for all football fans
Swisscom presents a 2018/19 football season as never before on Swisscom TV with Teleclub Sport: The programme includes live and exclusive coverage of all matches from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Raiffeisen Super League. Including selected games in the new UHD picture quality. Commentary from top presenters and experts including Roman Kilchsperger, Mladen Petric, Urs Meier and Gilbert Gress. Plus its own football theme world with match schedules, team info and news.
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