AXV and Roland: Building Flexible Live Production Workflows Around Real-World Events Learn how AXV uses Roland video technology to create agile, scalable, and highly efficient live productions. AXV Audio Visual works across a wide range of productions.. Reducing complexity without reducing production value is essential.. A close support relationship with Roland helps AXV achieve its aims.. For AXV Audio Visual, no two events are ever exactly the same. From corporate conferences and graduations to live broadcasts, large-format LED video walls and sporting events, the Aberdeen-based audiovisual specialist works across a wide range of productions, each bringing its own technical requirements and challenges. That variety demands technology that is reliable enough for mission-critical, live environments, yet flexible enough to adapt as requirements change—sometimes with very little notice. Over the years, Roland Professional A/V technology has become a core part of AXV’s video production toolkit. AXV has invested in a broad range of Roland solutions, including the VR-50 series, VR-120HD, V-160HD, V-80HD, VR-6HD and SR-20HD, alongside AeroCaster, Graphics Presenter and Roland’s remote-control applications. “The biggest thing for us is flexibility. We work across so many different types of events that we need equipment we know we can configure around whatever the client is trying to achieve.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual Rather than assigning each product to a single narrowly defined application, AXV has developed flexible workflows that enable the same technology to be deployed across very different production types. For the team, that versatility is one of its greatest strengths. Technology that Adapts to the Event Live production requirements can change quickly. A client might request an additional presentation source shortly before an event begins. A screen configuration could change after content has already been produced. An online participant may need to be brought into a program unexpectedly, or a camera position that was not practical during planning might suddenly become essential. AXV has built its workflow to respond to those situations without unnecessarily increasing production complexity. Roland’s video switching, scaling, scene management, and control capabilities allow the AXV team to create systems that can be configured around the event, rather than forcing the event to work around the technology. Multiple scenes and layouts can be prepared in advance, allowing an operator to move rapidly between full-screen video, presentation content, picture-in-picture compositions, branded layouts, and other combinations. For events using LED video walls, the same flexibility is particularly valuable. AXV regularly supplies custom-format LED displays rather than conventional 16:9 screens, so content and source signals must be carefully managed to accommodate different resolutions and aspect ratios. The scaling and output capabilities across AXV’s Roland equipment enable the team to meet those requirements while maintaining control of the broader live production from a central workflow. Bringing Live and Online Audiences Together Hybrid production has become another important part of AXV’s work. Roland equipment enables AXV to manage multiple camera feeds, presentation sources, and remote contributors while simultaneously creating the program output required for an online audience. Live graphics and overlays can be incorporated into the production, while picture-in-picture layouts allow remote speakers, presentation material and live cameras to appear together. Graphics Presenter has added another layer to this workflow, enabling AXV to integrate titles, branded graphics, and other visual elements into live productions without requiring a completely separate graphics system. “We’ve developed workflows where one technician can manage what would previously have been a much more complicated multi-camera production. That efficiency is important, but it only works because we trust the equipment to perform when we’re live.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual This makes it possible to create a more polished broadcast-style result while keeping the overall production infrastructure streamlined. Importantly, the output shown online need not be identical to what an audience sees in the venue. AXV can manage feeds for venue displays, LED walls, and internal distribution while simultaneously creating a live program and viewing experience for remote viewers. A Four-Camera Graduation Operated by One Technician Graduation ceremonies provide a good example of how AXV has refined its Roland workflow. A typical production can use four live cameras, with three positioned as locked-off shots and one actively operated camera. From the production position, a single AXV technician can manage the Roland video system and switch between each camera while also recalling scenes, introducing overlays, and managing other visual elements within the production. The program can then be routed into the venue’s own infrastructure, allowing the graduation feed to appear on displays elsewhere around the building. Students, families and guests who are outside the main ceremony space can therefore continue to follow the event. At the same time, AXV can produce and manage the live online output for remote viewers. “We can be running a four-camera graduation one day and then use the same core technology as part of a completely different production, bringing in wireless cameras, graphics, custom layouts, or feeds for an LED wall.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual Rather than requiring separate operators for each individual part of the workflow, carefully configured Roland scenes, presets and remote-control tools allow much of the production to be controlled from one central position. An iPad can provide additional control, allowing the technician to make changes without continually moving between different pieces of equipment. The result is a sophisticated multi-camera live production that can be operated extremely efficiently. Adding Cameras without Adding Complexity AeroCaster has extended that flexibility even further. AXV has developed workflows where smartphones can become additional wireless camera sources, creating angles that would otherwise require another conventional camera, cable run, and camera operator. For live boxing events, for example, AXV may already have multiple traditional cameras covering the ring, including manned cameras and locked-off positions. AeroCaster allows the team to supplement these with smartphones positioned in areas such as the red and blue dressing rooms or warm-up areas. AXV creates its own dedicated Wi-Fi 6 network for the devices and connects the smartphone feeds into AeroCaster before returning the selected output to the main Roland vision mixer. This creates some particularly interesting possibilities for the production. While commentators discuss a fighter preparing backstage, the vision operator can immediately cut to a live feed from that fighter’s warm-up or dressing-room area. The audience watching the stream receives a much broader view of the event without AXV having to position a full camera crew in every location. “We can discuss an idea or an unusual use case with them, and they’ll listen, help us find a solution and, where possible, look at how future updates or workflows could support it. It feels much more like a partnership than simply buying a piece of equipment.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual Combining conventional cameras with AeroCaster sources can give the production access to as many as nine usable camera feeds, despite only two or three of those positions requiring camera operators. It creates the feel of a significantly larger production while maintaining a highly efficient technical footprint. One Operator, More Capability That ability to reduce complexity without reducing production value has become an important part of AXV’s approach. The company’s investment in Roland technology is not simply about having more inputs or more features available. It is about combining those features into repeatable workflows that allow technicians to accomplish more. Scenes can recall complex layouts instead of requiring them to be rebuilt live. Presets allow frequently used configurations to be prepared before an event. Remote operation allows one technician to control the system while remaining free to manage other equipment. Wireless sources can add camera angles without extensive infrastructure. Together, those capabilities have helped AXV streamline productions that traditionally may have required significantly larger technical teams. Reliability When There is No Second Take For any live production company, flexibility only matters if it is backed by reliability. AXV works in environments where an audience may be in the room, watching throughout a venue and joining remotely at the same time. Once an event begins, there is no opportunity to stop production while a technical problem is resolved. The company therefore places significant importance on equipment that can be configured quickly, operated intuitively and trusted throughout an event. Roland’s combination of dedicated hardware controls, remote operation, flexible signal management and extensive configuration options has made its technology a natural fit within AXV’s approach. The systems can be sophisticated when required, while still allowing the team to build straightforward and repeatable operating workflows for everyday productions. “The relationship with Roland has also been a big part of it. Their support has been excellent when we’ve needed technical advice, but they’ve also been genuinely interested in how we’re using the products.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual More than a Technology Supplier The relationship between AXV and Roland extends beyond the equipment itself. As AXV has developed new applications for the technology, the team has been able to discuss those workflows directly with Roland. Technical support has helped AXV troubleshoot challenges when required, but equally important has been Roland’s willingness to listen to feedback from technicians using the equipment in real production environments. Ideas, unusual applications, and potential new workflows can be discussed openly, helping AXV maximize its existing investment while providing Roland with insight into how its products are being used in the field. For AXV, that relationship is particularly valuable. The company’s approach is built around continually finding better ways to deliver events for its clients—whether that means creating a more ambitious visual result, simplifying a complex production, or finding a way to respond to an unexpected request. Having a technology partner that shares that approach makes innovation much easier. A Platform for the Next Production AXV’s relationship with Roland demonstrates what can happen when versatile production technology is combined with a team willing to explore what is possible with it. A vision mixer is no longer used solely to switch between cameras. Within AXV’s workflows, Roland technology can sit at the center of an interconnected production—managing cameras, presentations, graphics, remote contributors, recordings, wireless sources, venue displays, custom LED canvases and online audiences. “With Roland, we can build the workflow around the event rather than the other way around.” Adam Wilson, Managing Director, AXV Audio Visual And because those workflows can be controlled efficiently, AXV can deliver increasingly sophisticated productions without automatically adding complexity for either its technicians or its clients. For AXV, that combination of versatility, reliability, and support is why Roland continues to play such a significant role in its live production ecosystem. For the audience, much of that technology remains invisible. They simply see a production that works.