Chelmsford-Based Axis Communications Will Lead Video Security at the Oscars

A birds-eye view from an Axis surveillance camera at the 2014 Academy Awards.
Image via Axis Communications.

A Massachusetts-based company is getting a little taste of Hollywoodland. Axis Communications, a Swedish firm with its North American headquarters in Chelmsford, is lending their video surveillance technology to this year’s Academy Awards for the third straight year.

The strategy will involve setting up Axis’s internet-connected cameras around Hollywood’s Dolby Theater, including the red carpet area. While Axis will not have its own people on site, the technology will be utilized by the Los Angeles Police Department.

James Marcella, director of technical services at Axis, told Boston that Axis was sought out thanks to its ability to quickly deploy HDTV-quality images. The cameras transmit to a command center manned by the LAPD ten miles away.

The award show’s temporary nature is also key to Axis’s involvement, as these cameras aren’t placed at the theater year-round.

“The Oscars takes place on a red carpet, as we know, but red is the hardest color for a camera to render,” Marcella said. “Axis’s products do an exceptional job at [color rendition].”

Axis Communications’ products are generally used by private sector companies, Marcella said, that need physical security. Axis works with law enforcement organizations all over the U.S. and their cameras are also used by the MBTA, and the BAA and Boston Marathon.

Ultimately, Axis’s surveillance works as a police “force multiplier,” Marcella said. The cameras will add as many eyes to the entire Oscars site as possible.