Samsung Techwin video surveillance technology creates secure environment at Twickenham Studios in London

Samsung’s SNO-6084R bullet, SNV-6084R dome and SND-6084R internal dome cameras have been installed at the studio

The very latest Samsung Techwin video surveillance technology is playing a key role in helping create a safe and secure environment for all who work on a site which first opened to the world of film in 1913. Situated in South West London, Twickenham Studios offers a bespoke service to all media, including film and television, and can claim to be the only London based studios that caters for both stage and post-production requirements.

Despite working on highly successful films, such as 'The Others', 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' and 'The Iron Lady', the Studios went into administration and in 2012 seemed destined for demolition. However, following a successful 'Save Twickenham Studios' campaign, the site was purchased by British businessman and property magnate Sunny Vohra, who quickly implemented a multi-million pound plan to modernise and re-equip the Studios.

The challenge

With the need to ensure that valuable production equipment and other assets will not be an easy target to would-be thieves, Carl Childs, Head of Engineering for Twickenham Studios was tasked to source a video surveillance system that would allow the monitoring of all activity throughout the studio. “The cost implications of having to replace equipment can be significant, but equally important was the need to safeguard against any disruption to film production and to verify 100% compliance with the Studio’s strict health & safety procedures.”

With the assistance of Aray Architects, a tender process resulted in video surveillance specialists Securebase being awarded the contract to install a 28 camera IP network based system.

“Having successfully installed Samsung Techwin security equipment on a number of previous occasions, we were pleased to see that Twickenham Studios had specified the company’s cameras for this particular project,” said Dariush Hekmat, Director of East Finchley based Securebase. “We needed to install and commission the system within one week and so it was very helpful that all cameras and recording equipment were sourced from a manufacturer who we had confidence in, and whose products we were familiar with. This was very much a team effort. We received excellent technical support from Samsung Techwin and our ability to complete the project on time was further enhanced by Twickenham Studio’s engineering department overseeing the professional installation of an IP network infrastructure before we arrived on site. With the Samsung Techwin featuring POE (Power over Ethernet), installation time was further reduced as this negated the need to install power points at each camera location.”

27 of the installed cameras, which are equipped with Samsung Techwin’s Open Platform WiseNetIII DSP chipsets, are capable of capturing 2MP Full HD (1080P) images when the lighting level is as low as 0.01 Lux and have an ultra fast frame rate of 60fps which results in latency free clear images. This can be particularly beneficial in a scene with moving subjects by ensuring image edges are kept sharp and clear. 13 of these cameras are SNO-6084R weather resistant Bullet cameras, 10 are SNV-6084R vandal resistant dome cameras and 4 are SND-6084R internal dome cameras. All are day/night cameras with motorised varifocal lens and have built in IR LED illuminators to capture high quality images, even in total darkness.

An SNF-7010 360-degree 3 megapixel camera has also been installed at a specific location at the Studio where a large number of standard cameras would normally be required to monitor such a large area without any blind spots.

The images from all 28 cameras are simultaneously recorded on a Samsung Techwin SRN-1000 network video recorder which has 12 terabyte on-board storage capacity, enabling Carl and other authorised personnel, to quickly retrieve recorded video evidence of any suspicious activity.

“By investing in a future proof IP network based video surveillance system that can be expanded at any time if our requirements change, we have put in place a highly effective tool which should help us to protect our assets and maintain a welcoming, as well as safe environment, for many years to come for everyone who visits or works at the Studios,” said Carl.