Fremont, CA, USA - Blackmagic Design today announced that Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. has installed ATEM Mini Extreme ISO live production switcher and HyperDeck Studio HD Plus broadcast deck at its central training facility and is using them for in house production. The company also conducts internal training sessions on DaVinci Resolve Studio every year, with more than 100 employees having taken part in the past two years.

Tokyo Metro is a major railway operator that provides a subway network serving the Tokyo metropolitan area. With nine lines and 180 stations, it boasts one of the largest and most convenient transportation systems in Japan, used by over 6.8 million passengers daily. The company’s central training center was established to enhance employee skills and reinforce safety awareness. It is a core facility for education and training, equipped with state of the art systems and practical training resources for all job categories, from train crews to station staff.

The five story building houses various training classrooms, including mock stations for hands on train operation exercises. Yoshiyuki Sekiguchi, assistant manager of the center, explained: “Our training center supports training for all departments in our company. All new hires receive their initial training here. For administrative staff, training lasts one week, while for other departments, it may be a month or more. After completing their training here, they move to on the job training. Those aiming to become train operators first gain several years of experience working within a station and as a train conductor. After passing the operator’s exam, they return here for specialized training.”

In 2023, Tokyo Metro built a studio in the training center, equipped for chroma key shooting, including both an editing booth and a recording booth.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to deliver training remotely using simple setups like webcams from each classroom. That’s when we began to feel the need for a dedicated studio. Even after the pandemic subsided, internal streaming and the creation of training videos remained necessary, which led us to build this studio,” said Sekiguchi.

The studio includes an ATEM Mini Extreme ISO and HyperDeck Studio HD Plus. Two HDMI cameras, an audio mixer, and a MacBook Pro are connected to the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO. While shooting with a green screen, Tokyo Metro can composite preferred backgrounds and switch between the camera feed and presentation materials. The switched output is recorded using the HyperDeck Studio HD Plus. In addition, the switcher’s ISO recording feature enables easy post production editing using DaVinci Resolve Studio, ideal for correcting switching errors or applying more advanced edits.

The company also offers annual DaVinci Resolve training to employees. Many install DaVinci Resolve on their own computers or iPads to participate.

“When training is announced, we open it up to all departments, and it’s very popular. Once, more than 200 people from a single department expressed interest. Since the studio is equipped with DaVinci Resolve Studio, employees who want to explore AI powered features after the training can use the studio for editing. Recently, several departments collaborated on a training video, adding logos, texts, and transitions to create a clear and engaging final product,” explained Maaya Nagasawa, who is in charge of planning at the center.

“With the studio now in place, we can film whatever we want, and the quality of our videos has significantly improved. Currently, when there is a request to use the studio, our team is present to assist. However, we plan to hold workshops on how to operate the equipment so that employees can use the studio more freely in the future,” said Sekiguchi.