content creation
0
.
liked to put it, was still at sea when Big Cat in the Avid Interplay and Unity production were editing for the web could take material
went live. Meanwhile the elephants, it seemed, management systems. They can be programmed from the webcam and also have access to the
age 1
had no respect for the latest in communications remotely or locally using standard VTR control stuff shot on tape. It was multi-platform
technology when it was stuck up on poles that protocols. delivery using Avid Command."
they easily knocked over. More robust "The logging is absolutely key," said King, Designed primarily as a newsroom computer
technology came in the form of Land Rover "and we had a group of people dedicated to it. control system, Avid iNews Command was used
camera units, which were assembled on site As with some of our other programmes, there to manage the rundown and playlists. It was
then driven into position and left to spy on the has to be a complete understanding across the chosen not only because it would dovetail with
Continued from P cats night and day. team about what various terms mean and how the Avid-based control centre but also because
The thermal imaging cameras proved to be they should be interpreted. You’ve got a vast of its reliability and ease of use.
particularly popular with audiences who amount of material coming in and a fair Avid’s pre-sales programme manager, Nigel
marvelled at the way in which it would amount going out as well and we have various Evans, explained how the web side of the
highlight heat spots in bright yellow and orange ways of logging each clip so that people know system worked on site: "The programme was
so that even a patch of grass recently vacated whether it’s good, bad or medium. Logging ID recorded into the server as it went out to air, so
by a lion or a leopard would still be glowing about the material, where it’s come from and the web team could start working on the
luminously. the clip name is vital but, even more material minutes later. Avid Interplay’s user
"We’re seeing the invisible," enthused management function prevents the web team
Jackson. from using material that the production team
BBC Post Production Birmingham supported wants to save for the main television output, or
the 24-hour surveillance operation and output that is deemed unsuitable for web use. This set-
to a number of platforms with a tapeless up was used for the first time on Springwatch
workflow solution enabling television editors earlier this year, in order to create a quicker
and web producers to prepare and transmit turnaround for the web material; with the web
content simultaneously, whilst on location. To team now on site (rather than back at BBC
do this, it used Avid-based tapeless workflows, Bristol) and connected to the Avid network, this
similar to those tried and tested on set-up really fulfiled that requirement. As well
Springwatch. The system was based around an as using the material that has gone to air, the
Avid Unity server with 8TB storage with an programme editors could also drop approved
Avid Interplay asset management system. Two longer pieces into the web team’s folder on the
Avid Airspeeds and Avid Command controlled server for them to re-work. The five-strong web
transmission output. Three Media Composer team used Media Composer software on a
Adrenaline systems and four laptops running desktop to compile and edit their sequences."
Avid Media Composer were used to edit the King explained that there were actually four
footage recorded to the IMX 30 format. Ingest Airspeeds being used at the control centre - two
from the specialist remote cameras, which to select material from different cameras via the
captured close up pictures of the wildlife, were matrix and two to play out rundowns and
handled by a further two Avid Airspeeds with playlists from Avid Control. "You also had tape
ingest being controlled on laptops running Avid material because sometimes there were
Interplay Assist. The system was supplied by packages that had been edited back at base to
Hiring Post and installed at Governor’s Camp be played in," he said. "It might be ingested into
where all the feeds from the camera crews and the Avid system to be played out but quite
webcams were received. often it’s played out on tape via the production
Additionally BBC Post Production Bristol gallery. So you had a combination of non-linear
carried out the finishing and the sound work for importantly, we had a scoring system which material coming in, tape being turned into non-
the inserts, ready for transmission from the enabled people to identify whether it was a linear and pre-recorded tape material. You had
Masai Mara Reserve and also provided the rubbish clip or not. That’s not always easy the ability to go to something live or recorded
editing crew on location. because you take everything and what might earlier in the day that’s sitting on the system.
"There was a huge post-production seem trivial at the beginning can become Equally, you had access to all of these cameras
operation set up there," said Andy King, head of important as the story progresses. So you have at the time anyway. If you had something going
technology, "and with so much tapeless stuff to be able to change the score attributed to the on at a particular time, you could just go across
coming in, plus DV or Digi Beta, it was crucial clip. We had this great technology monster but to it live and that made the programme. This
to have story developers there. They watch the it was the people and the support around that can only work with shared storage."
camera output on a large bank of monitors, was key to making it work. This is much more This was live broadcasting on a scale never
then select which material to record via two than glueing editing platforms together - it’s seen before outside major news and sporting
AirSpeeds." the way it works, the workflow, what goes events - and it pulled in viewers on a similar
The Avid AirSpeed multi-purpose media where, and what stuff’s called that’s important. scale. The first night of Big Cat Live’s week of
platforms playout directly to and from Avid The operation was not dissimilar to broadcasting pulled in four million viewers.
Unity shared storage and automatically create a Springwatch in that we were cutting to Britain may be a nation of dog lovers but it
reference frame for each clip captured, viewable minicams rather than webcams. The people who seems we love our cats too.
12 IBE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008
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