Sneaky Big Studios To Open Arizona Facility Powered by Grass Valley Gear

Sneaky Big Studios, opening in July 2016, will be one of Arizona’s largest and most technologically advanced production facilities. The state-of-the-art facility in Scottsdale will cover more than 15,000 square feet and will be equipped with switchers, routers, and multiviewers from Grass Valley, a Belden Brand.

Designed from the ground up as a fully integrated facility, Sneaky Big offers a setting for television and commercial shoots, rehearsals, and recording sessions, web/media production, press conferences, corporate training, audio recording, sound design, music, videos, photography, and all postproduction needs including editing and color correction.

“After consulting with DigitalGlue, it was clear that Grass Valley equipment would do everything we need and would provide us with a platform on which we can easily expand as we grow,” says Stephen Brain, vice president and general manager, Sneaky Big Studios. “This business is changing rapidly, so the ability to protect our capital investment and upgrade as needed were critical factors in our decision.”

To address the variety of production needs, the team at Sneaky Big Studios worked with DigitalGlue, a Grass Valley systems integrator, to incorporate a Karrera 4 M/E K-Frame Video Production Center switcher, NV8280 router, and a Kaleido-Modular-X multiviewer. The equipment will be used for live production work on a 4,000-square-foot stage with a four-camera setup. Sneaky Big Studios selected Grass Valley equipment because of its reputation for quality and ease of use, as well as its ability to handle multiformat workflows, including 4K productions and IP connectivity.

The Karrera K-Frame provides value and excellent mid-range switcher performance while facilitating workflows that support complex productions. Karrera offers multiformat support including 1080p, 4K and IP I/O for SMPTE 2022-6 connectivity, up to 192 inputs, 96 outputs and up to 9 M/Es with six keyers in every full M/E, which means Sneaky Big can upgrade as its production needs change.

For Sneaky Big’s control room, the NV8280, part of the NV8500 Enterprise Hybrid Router Series, was selected for its resilience with cost, space and power efficiency making it an ideal enterprise-class routing solution. With a reputation for providing migration paths across routing platforms, the NV8280 offers the convenience of integrated audio processing, simplified cable management, and IP I/O for SMPTE 2022-6 future-ready connectivity.

For multiviewing monitoring, Sneaky Big selected the Kaleido-Modular-X multiviewer. Kaleido- Modular-X is designed to expand and interoperate seamlessly into any workflow, saving space and lowering overall costs — an appealing factor to the team at Sneaky Big.

“The opportunity to help Sneaky Big Studios equip a brand new facility was very exciting,” notes Sean Busby, president and co-founder of DigitalGlue. “We were able to look at the whole ecosystem and recommend solutions that would not only help them bring the studio to life, but provide a path to the future as well. We’ve worked with Grass Valley for a long time and knew that these products were the right choice for our client.”

“Sneaky Big is putting together an impressive production studio with cutting-edge equipment,” says Kyle Luther, VP of sales, North America, Grass Valley. “Our solutions are designed to ensure they will be Future Ready—securing current investments to optimize tomorrow’s business opportunities. We look forward to working with them in the years to come.”