In Broadcast - October 2020 - 50

50

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 10 - Issue 10 | October 2020

InForm

New Era Remote Production
Proven new ways of working deliver several benefits for productions.
John Carter, Director of Business Development, EMEA, Grass Valley,
discusses remote productions and the new workflows emerging...

T

he
global
pandemic
has
accelerated the shift towards
remote production workflows as
consumer demand for more content,
anytime, anywhere on any screen - with
stunning images remains the same. As
many sports professionals know, with
global lockdown restrictions easing,
broadcasters and sports leagues are
driving to get more live sports back on
air, and remote production models are
proving invaluable in helping them to
achieve this.
Remote production workflows open
up the potential for truly distributed
production. We're not too far off
from a collaborative workflow that
allows production staff to work from
any location, even if it's their home.
This type of smarter, more efficient
workflow frees staff to focus on higher
impact creative tasks. Additionally,
broadcasters
and
production
companies can leverage the best
talent - wherever they are in the world.
Imagine being able to have the top
on-screen talent available for multiple
games in a day, one after the other?
We are only just scratching the surface
of what is possible.
The benefits of remote production
The reality of at-home or remote
production capabilities, in which
only a small amount of equipment
and staff is required on-location,
is gaining popularity at a stunning
rate. The obvious allure? The time
and cost savings - not to mention the
positive impact on the environment
that comes from sending smaller
crews, less equipment, and fewer (and
lighter) vehicles around the world.
Sustainable production workflows
are key to maximising resources and

DirectIP enables modular workflows

delivering high-end productions more
cost-effectively. Not only does working
more sustainably offer an alternative
to large and complex outside
broadcast (OB) set-ups and having
extensive technical and creative
teams on site, it allows production
staff to support more live events in a
day, looping in the best operators and
editors.
Workflow consistency is key
When people work at a central hub
they usually also work on the same
productions. As a replay operator
or highlights editor works more
frequently on the same content,
the production quality increases.
The decrease in travel demand and
increase in workflow consistency that
remote production models enable
ultimately leads to better content. Less
time spent traveling not only frees up
time for more creative-focused tasks,
but it also means less fatigue, less time
away from home, and a better work/
life balance.
The internet and IP technologies lie
at the heart of these various flavours
of remote sports production that offer
better workflow consistency. IP makes
changes within a broadcast truck or
facility easier than ever before, as
Split tasks - Kayenne
production switcher

organisations are not locked-in to a
specific way of doing things, based on
the products they've purchased.
Remote production
a remote possibility
The biggest hurdle to widespread
adoption of at-home models is the
challenge of latency. As we look to
the future, though, broadcasters and
production companies will continue
to drive toward more captivating
experiences that draw in viewers,
using higher resolutions and more
camera angles that will put greater
stress on the network and available
bandwidth.
More efficient encoding solutions JPEG2000, JPEG-XS and MPEG - offer
an attractive alternative. These options
deliver ultra-low delay, comparable to
transporting the signal over fibre, and
come at a significantly reduced cost
while ensuring there is no difference in
the viewers' experience.
Solutions such as Grass Valley's
unique Direct IP function are also
helping to better manage latency. Field
proven in delivering robust, reliable
live signals across large distances - up
to 20,000 kilometres (12,500 miles)
- the use cases we have for DirectIP
clearly demonstrate that at-home
production is a viable and highly
effective alternative to a traditional OB
approach.

Taking a creative
approach
In addition to adopting a range
of remote working approaches,
we're seeing Grass Valley customers
making more creative use of existing
equipment.
Our Maverik and Kayenne production
switcher panels - operated by the
TD - offer a great example of how
Grass Valley solutions can help users
to deliver the high quality, immersive
content that fans expect - regardless of
where and how they are working.
UK-based production truck vendor
Telegenic, for instance, has built a
remote operations control centre
where the actual production switcher
duties are split between the director
and the TD. While the two crew
members are physically separated,
the modular Maverik panel has been
physically split and separated as well,
making a safe work environment
possible. Here, the director handles
the easier job of switching between
cameras, while the technical director
handles the more complex switching to
and from replays that have animations
before and after.
Reshaping the future
of sports production
Many of the adaptations that sports
broadcasters and production services
providers have imposed are likely to
remain as permanent features of live
sports production environments, even
when restrictions are a thing of the
past. We can expect to see a smaller
crew at the venue and production
teams working in multiple locations
going forward. These proven new ways
of working deliver benefits beyond the
context of COVID-19.

"DirectIP clearly
demonstrate that at-home
production is a viable
and highly effective
alternative to a traditional
OB approach"
John Carter
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.grassvalley.com http://www.grassvalley.com http://www.grassvalley.com
In Broadcast - October 2020

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