Mediaset S.p.A. is a private Italian company active in the field of media and communication. It specializes primarily in television production and distribution in FTA free to air tv, pay-TV and pay per view, on multiple platforms, as well as in film production and distribution, media and advertising. 27 September 2013.
Among the many Mediaset tv networks are Canale5, Italia1, Rete4, La 5, Mediaset Italia2, Iris, Top Crime, Mediaset Extra, Boing, Cartoonito channels.
One of such networks, La 5, has been broadcasting during this summer a peculiar sports program called "Vite in Apnea" (lives in apnea, waterpolo). It deals with the days of training, the difficulty in reconciling study, sports, life with friends, family, love, the tensions, the sacrifices and struggles of everyday life of the athletes of an important Italian water polo team of the city of "Savona", Liguria.
The camera is always in close contact with the group of the team, following the workouts that last from six to ten hours per day, as part of the team naturally born, friendships are formed rivalry and complicity, contrasts and tensions, jealousies and distractions.
The daily strips were taken, the workouts, alternating with moments of everyday life, plus short interviews in which the individual athletes or coaches are the same protagonists talking about all aspects of their daily lives.
The voiceover is limited and serves to highlight the moments or the most relevant aspects of what happens to the various protagonists.
'Lives in apnea' is a program produced by Zodiak Active (De Agostini) and the scenes touch different locations.
The interiors were filmed mainly where the athletes train, the pool Zanelli and the Swimming Hall of Savona, apartments or hotel rooms where they are hosted, in moments of leisure or relax caught also in the outside in various parts of the lovely Liguria city.
An important aspect is that the scenes are often shot in the water, both synchronized swimming and water polo pools so they very spectacular but somehow difficult to be taken.
Another difficulty arises from the fact that the sooting in the pools involves a large environment with a strong rumble and very disturbed noise by the audio point of view, especially since during the shooting of the normal activities of the pools continue.
"Lives in apnea" has committed approximately a dozen working people.
On site in Savona worked two troupes with the director, two authors and two production workers.
The technical equipment included, again for the on-site in Savona: a Data Manager to download all shot materials and to effect the back-up on external hard drives.
Two editing lines were involved on iMacs with Final Cut 7 editing software for conversion and synchronizing the material.
For the filming several equipments were used: three Panasonic AG- HPX250 P2 HD, a Canon Eos 7D, a Canon Eos 5D Mark 3; an underwater housing Nimar for the 5D, six 3 Biack Go Pro Black Edition cameras (used even under water); for the lights two 80 Led Panel Light and two Kino Flo 60 cm.
The post-production process involved seven lines of editing on Mac Pro machines with Final Cut Pro 7 on shared EditShare server with eight editors working in rotation.
Two lines of editing on Mac machines with Final Cut Pro 7 software were expressly reserved to the two authors/editors for viewing and authorial cleaning of raw sequences.
