2021 MEDIATECH OUTLOOK - Production and Post - LiveU
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2021
MEDIATECH
OUTLOOK
Production and Post
1 | TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021
PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION AND POST
PRODUCTION
the way through to delivery. For example, the Grass Valley LDX100 “Independent content creators
system camera is able to forego a traditional base station and can output
an IP native video signal from the camera to interface directly with an connecting directly with audiences and
IP workflow. The arrival of new cameras such as this is significant in monetise that relationship will disrupt
that it allows the use of IP from the very beginning of the live video
AND POST-COVID
pipeline. More vendors will be focusing on adding compatibility with the video content supply chain moving
key IP protocols like NDI, SMPTE 2110, and SRT to their products forward, as consumers spend an
to give them a competitive advantage, whilst the production and post
communities will look to increasingly leverage IP workflows and increasing share of their watch time with
protocols that prove most beneficial to their needs. user generated content”
INNOVATION
The evolution of IP in media and entertainment production and
post will increasingly allow the industry to draw on the benefits of
other IT technologies that have been developed across other verticals helping push forward the toolset that allows video-over-IP to work
and industries. The convergence of technological innovation across alongside virtually produced assets and are bringing the relationship
a range of sectors from mixed reality (XR), real-time game engine between production and post teams closer together on set.
powered graphics, and the ongoing development of low-latency IP
centric workflows has broken down the barrier between physical DEMOCRATISATION OF TECHNOLOGY
and virtual realms. Lastly but perhaps most importantly, the continued
democratisation of production and post tools has meant that now
An overview of the technologies and trends driving innovation in the VIRTUAL EVENTS, SETS, AND PRODUCTION anyone can be a content creator. Two of the largest social media
production and post communities, by Chris Evans, head of pro video, Virtual events, remote crowds, and further experimentation with platforms, Instagram and TikTok are now aggressively competing
immersive video formats have all been explored as means to with one another to win the online short form video audience. How
Futuresource Consulting compensate for the absence of large-scale audiences from events during are they doing that? Primarily by making their platform the destination
the course of the pandemic. Virtualisation in terms of the replacement of choice for creators. Both apps now have video editors in-app, and
T
hroughout 2020, the media and entertainment Microsoft Teams and Zoom of dedicated hardware with software or browser-based applications has although they are far more rudimentary than industry standard NLEs
industry has undergone a revolutionary period of for use in broadcasts and been well documented in media production, however, the concept of like Premiere Pro or Avid Media Composer, these features make both
rapid change. Many technical achievements and other productions. virtual production was still only in its infancy prior to Covid-19. apps end-to-end production and publication tools. This will be hugely
innovations have kept broadcasters on air and allowed As in many other industries, One of the more established production roles that is illustrative of a influential in the development and mindset of the next generation of
production and post operations to continue whilst still the seismic shift to remote method of virtual production is that of esports observers. These crew creatives that enter the production and post industry over the next
safeguarding staff and public health amidst a global operation at scale seen in the members perform a similar role to camera operators, tracking key decade. For Gen Z, their first video camera will be their smartphone,
pandemic. These unique circumstances have given rise to an extended past year has caused a cultural moments in competitive video gaming to give the audience at home and their first experience of editing software will not even be Apple
period of innovation. Of course, the development and adoption of shift in mindset to the reliability the best seat in the house to watch the action unfold. Understanding iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, but the UI of their preferred social
many of these technologies pre-dates the pandemic, but in many and openness of remote the movement and visual language unique to each game title media platform.
cases, Covid-19 has acted as an accelerant. Many of the successes of working. Many mission critical means observers must be able to anticipate and position themselves The ability for independent content creators to connect directly
the past year will be built upon and shape the direction of innovation applications must still remain accordingly, just as a camera operator would on the sidelines of the with an audience and monetise this relationship will ultimately be
throughout 2021 and beyond. on premise but we expect to see pitch, but as a spectator in the game. the most disruptive to the video content supply chain moving forward
With this in mind, it seems apt to take stock of some of the key technology providers continue The proliferation of video collaboration, remote working and the as we witness consumers spend an increasing share of their watch
technologies and trends in both production and post that are driving to place strategic emphasis on continued restrictions on social gatherings in some countries have all time with user generated content (UGC). In response to this,
the industry forward. developing their products to facilitate and support even more ambitious meant that an increasing amount of our time and interaction is spent production and post production companies face the challenge of
remote production workflows in the future. mediated by digital and virtual environments. More virtual production how they keep their services reactive and agile to the needs of a
REMOTE PRODUCTION techniques and roles will emerge to assist in representing XR mixed rapidly evolving market as more content owners position D2C (direct
Remote production can mean different things to different people, but CLOUD SOLUTIONS AND IP WORKFLOWS reality experiences and interactions on our screens. This can be as to consumer) offerings. It is clear that in the current media and
generally was mainly associated with REMI (remote integration model) The use of cloud technologies has been integral to many remote simple as screen recording or capturing digital exchanges as they entertainment landscape, the production and post companies that are
workflows. However, the increased need to distance crew and operators production solutions, but also enabling more flexible and scalable opex happen online, but the challenge for production and post companies able to keep pace with the current rate of technological innovation will
in 2020 has placed an increased focus on technologies that can be used models to be applied by production companies as well as in VFX and is how they will use technologies to make their coverage of virtual and be at an advantage. n
to decentralise workflow and allow more operators to move off-premise post houses. Storage in the cloud for file-based workflows has become hybrid interactions feel authentic and visually engaging for viewers.
and ideally to work from home or on the move. Secure remote desktop the most mature thanks to increasing adoption of Microsoft Azure, At a different end of the spectrum, the use of virtual sets is becoming Further reading from Futuresource:
and virtual workstations software like Terradici as well as ultra-low AWS and other providers’ services, but it is now becoming easier to more sophisticated. Disney’s first season of its landmark episodic live- • Video Content Supply Chain Report
latency KVM solutions have allowed operators to ‘remote in’ to facilities lift more processes up into the cloud, especially with the maturing action Star Wars series The Mandalorian is often cited for its pioneering • Living with Digital
and use existing production equipment. New possibilities are also being ecosystem of IP native production equipment. use of camera tracking, LED video walls, and Unreal Engine, to wrap • System & Box Camera Report
created by vendors’ efforts to add functionality to products and services These innovations are helping to realise the goal of a complete end- and position virtual backdrops around the talent in real time on set. • PTZ Camera Report
such as integration with the leading video collaboration platforms like to-end ecosystem of interoperable IP products from signal capture all Partnerships between companies like disguise and Epic Games are • Convergence in Pro Video
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PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION AND POST
2021: PRODUCING
“Innovation in content production in 2020 was greater and more profound than in any
other single year, ever. And that, in turn, is going to make for an unforgettably dynamic
2021 for those who work in, and supply to, the production sector”
THE UNFORGETTABLE with little or no technical specialism. Within the DPP we have had
the privilege of hearing first hand, through our Next Gen Production
Network, of countless examples of new ways of working being
implemented at speed by teams driven by a rich mix of determination
our speakers at our Leaders’ Briefing, and given more prominence than
any other theme (though companion topics of workforce and business
transformation weren’t far behind).
Executives from major sports producers as diverse as Eurosport,
The unparalleled innovation in content production seen in 2020 will pave the and desperation, but with very little specialist know-how. Remember, it IMG, BT Sport and DreamHack Sports Games identified cultural,
way for an unforgettably dynamic 2021, writes Mark Harrison, CEO, DPP was the production community that saw its revenue streams switched
off overnight in March 2020; an experience from which the rest of
creative and commercial benefits to live, remote production, and
demanded the technological innovations required to deliver growing
the media supply chain was spared. Remote production wasn’t merely ambitions. But perhaps above all else they saw the opportunity to use
important; it was a matter of life and death. innovation in these areas to engage more directly with an audience that
Ironically, the challenge for production companies in the year makes less and less distinction between content form and platform, but
ahead will be to decide which tools and technologies they will need demands high levels of personalisation.
to turn exigency into stability, especially as they will be bombarded When listening to the somewhat different, but equally compelling,
T
he observation that the events of 2020 accelerated by the numerous suppliers that have also responded to the crisis, by innovation described by executives from content creators such
digital transformation in the media industry has developing new cloud-led products and services. as Buzzfeed, Vice Media, Al Jazeera and News Corp, it became
become so commonplace that it can already be immediately apparent how simultaneous developments in consumer
considered banal. CREATIVITY capture technology, professional tools, connectivity and audience
But this catch-all statement captures another, And then there’s creativity. The drive to meet the surge in demand behaviours have combined to intensify the production realm. During
altogether more profound, reality: that innovation in for content from a world trapped at home, led to both ingenious 2020 new content opportunities were constantly emerging; but they
content production in 2020 was greater and more profound than in programming solutions and to a further broadening of the definition were also constantly disappearing, morphing and evolving, and with
any other single year, ever. And that, in turn, is going to make for an of what we mean by ‘content’. When people first began to refer to terrifying speed.
unforgettably dynamic 2021 for those who work in, and supply to, the content rather than programmes, it was to reflect the greater diversity These cultural, creative and strategic changes would be sufficient in
production sector. of supply among broadcasters. But now the term accommodates the themselves to talk of an unprecedented past year, and a busy year to
What justifies such bold claims? Three things. The first is a exciting diversity of audio visual creativity that extends from movies to come. But there’s a kicker – one that is likely to make 2021 particularly
cultural shift; the second a creative explosion; and the third a live-streamed concerts on gaming platforms, from premium scripted memorable – and it relates directly to the coronavirus pandemic.
strategic repositioning. series to TikTok videos. And while the demand for high quality long From what we know so far about the likely progress of both
form storytelling famously exploded during lockdown, it was the infections and injections, social distancing will be in place long enough
CULTURAL SHIFT wider growth in digital media (driving a sudden ten per cent to ensure that remote working and production will become mature. But
Let’s begin with culture. Those who have never worked in increase in revenues) that created the greatest opportunity for the it is also likely to be eased in sufficient time for 2021 to experience the
production are almost invariably baffled by its odd mix of production sector. inevitable explosion of creativity that will be triggered by the end of the
conservativism and innovation. pandemic. At the heart of that explosion will most likely be live events,
Creative people, of all kinds, crave certainty their vision can be STRATEGIC REPOSITIONING as people seek to express and share the joy of being together again.
delivered. In content creation this makes them predisposed to rely on Thirdly, and finally, there is the strategic reshaping that is occurring If we are looking for more terms so over used as to become banal,
familiar people and technology, especially since they are often working among major content producers. Each November at the DPP’s Tech then we can also add the observation that we are living in ‘challenging
to a tight deadline. But while this makes producers resistant to novelty, Leaders’ Briefing, senior executives from around 30 major media times’. But, as said earlier, producers love a challenge. And that’s why we
their drive to create is so strong that if barriers (such as a global companies identify their three strategic priorities for the year ahead. At should get set for the oddest side effect of global illness: a production
pandemic) are put in their way, they will be ingenious in overcoming our event in 2019, the message for 2020 was loud and clear: the need sector in rude health. n
them. And if technology can support such ingenuity, then all the better. for media companies to shift to cloud-based media supply chains
And so it was that in the course of last year, a decade of resistance, was business critical. No one, of course, knew that just four
among many teams, to cloud-based project and production tools, fell months later we were about to learn just how business
away in a moment. critical that need really was.
“In the course of last year, a decade of
Much praise has, rightly, been given for the pace at which technology But by November 2020, the strategic imperative resistance, among many teams, to cloud-
and operations teams within broadcasters moved their organisations had shifted. The business critical need was now to
to remote working. But consider what this shift meant for production enable and advance remote working and remote
based project and production tools, fell
companies, many of them made up of a handful of people, and production. This was a key theme for half of away in a moment”
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Media Shuttle in place, ENVY was well-positioned
When the World Went Remote, and able to keep their projects moving without
ENVY was Ready interruption. With Media Shuttle, they benefitted
from the scalability and accessibility of the cloud
ENVY’s remote editing capabilities and their while allowing them to keep assets under their
expansive use of Signiant Media Shuttle, enables control, in their storage.
Remote access to large media assets them to collaborate with customers and
partners around the world, and made the
transition to remote work during the COVID-19
from any storage has never been
pandemic an easy one. Although project files and
media assets are stored securely on-premises at
ENVY’s facilities in London, they can collaborate
easier or faster
globally thanks to their forward-thinking approach.
Early Adoption
Founded in 2006 by Dave and Natascha Cadle,
ENVY is a full-service, end-to-end post-production
house supplying high-quality services to customers
around the world. ENVY has worked on a wide
range of projects with major studios, broadcasters “We successfully moved an entire facility fully remote
and networks, including the BBC, Discovery, and from offline to finishing post in a matter of weeks,”
Netflix. To maintain a standard of excellence, notes Cave. “We have been able to deliver on our
ENVY has always been at the forefront of modern projects without disruption and are excited to see
technology, ensuring they can deliver the best some new filming starting for future productions
quality on tight deadlines while maintaining high scheduled with us.”
security standards.
ENVY’s use of Media Shuttle has grown every year
“When we began since 2013 but has doubled since this time last
with Media Shuttle year with the jump to remote work. ENVY teams
back in 2013 there trust Media Shuttle to help them weather this
was nothing like it crisis and their elevated usage shows it. Because
on the market and that transition proved so smooth with Media
Signiant continues Shuttle, ENVY now finds itself in a flexible position
to innovate and as they look toward the future, better prepared
remains the leader to not only succeed under coronavirus, but to
in offering easy, fast, execute a sturdier and more effective working
secure access to model as the industry returns to work. They
Jai Cave media assets for our expect to continue with a hybrid approach — with
team and partners some projects on site, and some remote — for the
anywhere in the world,” explains Jai Cave, ENVY’s foreseeable future.
technical operations director.
Prior to their adoption of Media Shuttle, ENVY had The Future
been relying on FTP as well as some ‘consumer’ Signiant continues to help ENVY with new
tools such as WeTransfer. Given the size and collaboration abilities and workflows. In November
value of the content they work with, they found 2020, built with Media Shuttle APIs, ENVY
themselves facing several challenges, from speed introduced ENVY Remote, a full-service production
and reliability to security considerations while collaboration platform uniting personnel across
maintaining a strong client-friendly experience. departments and locations, making it easier to
manage post-production projects. Leveraging
Adapting to Remote Work the cloud while maintaining complete control of
Try now: When the pandemic hit in March 2020, ENVY,
like many, quickly shifted to a fully remote work
assets enables teams to collaborate with anyone,
anywhere and to be prepared for whatever
signiant.com/shuttle
environment. With remote edit capabilities and happens next.
Signiant 2021. All rights reserved.
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PRODUCTION AND POST
Points of view
Different times require ACCELERATED CHANGE,
different solutions. REMOTE PRODUCTION, AND
REAL-TIME TECHNOLOGY
Discussing the technologies and trends driving the most acute change in the
production and post production communities are Theo Jones, VFX supervisor,
Framestore; Andrew James, supervisory engineer, BBC Studioworks; Stephen Booth,
head of football, Sunset + Vine; and Ronen Artman, VP marketing, LiveU
THEO JONES ANDREW JAMES STEPHEN BOOTH RONEN ARTMAN
P
RIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WHAT Stephen Booth (SB): The biggest change to the ‘look’ of our
Enjoy all the benefits of our new LU800 production-level TECHNOLOGIES OR TRENDS WOULD
YOU SAY WERE HAVING THE MOST
Premier League coverage on BT Sport prior to the pandemic was the
use of BATCAM Wire, moving from one end of the pitch to the other,
field unit in an all-inclusive product and service ENABLING IMPACT IN YOUR AREA
OF EXPERTISE?
in our coverage of live football. This came in last season [2019/2020]
to give us a different perspective on matches and we have continued to
package – at a special price. Andrew James (AJ): Our investment in
tapeless recording technology has proven successful and opened up
use it during the Covid era. In fact, the absence of fans had allowed us
to experiment with it in lower positions – for example under the TV
new workflows for our production clients to make more effective gantry at Everton – which has arguably given us a better perspective on
use of our studio and post production facilities. Real time the match action. BT Sport also pioneered UHD HDR coverage for a
bi-directional streaming of data between studios and edit suites better-quality image.
across remote sites has also provided a cost-effective solution for fast
turnround edits into the studio and direct onto the playout device, Theo Jones (TJ): Within VFX and all the different areas in which
GET A QUOTE providing a streamlined process. we operate, the two big technology trends that have been the most
go.liveu.tv/suite
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PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION AND POST
“It is truly amazing that remote be reluctant to re-work schedules and budgets to accommodate these “The demand to provide remote facilitated one show with a presenter joining from Australia and
new workflows. Another big challenge in this area is the naming have also helped implement augmented reality to enhance on-screen
production has been shown to conventions around the technology as well. Virtual production has
facilities is only going to increase visual aesthetics.
work technically in such a short become a bit of a catch-all term for a whole suite of tools, so we now that we have seen how
found we needed to be doing a fair bit of education on all the different WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE TECHNOLOGIES
space of time, and with attempts to kinds of new techniques we could provide that are based around
effective they can be” OR TRENDS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE THE MOST
ANDREW JAMES
make us a sustainable industry, it is engine technology. PROFOUND IMPACT IN YOUR FIELD IN THE COMING
YEARS, AND WHY?
here to stay” AJ: Operating our studios, often seven days a week with overnight RA: We are seeing the continued rise in use of IP bonding across the
STEPHEN BOOTH turnarounds between shows, we have worked with manufacturers and announcement of a national lockdown we were doing live broadcasts sports market. During 2020 we changed the game with the launch of
suppliers to find and develop new technology into something that fits with all key production personnel, plus on-screen talent, working from our next generation, all-in-one production-level field unit – the LU800.
seamlessly into our studio workflows allowing us to push ahead with their living rooms. Phone cameras, streamdeck talkback panels and It combines multi-camera production and superior video and audio
important over the last few years are machine learning and real-time new equipment that feels familiar to our staff and freelance user base. multiple monitors were installed in our homes by Timeline. capabilities with mission-critical transmission in a native 5G unit. Of
technology. We’ve long concentrated on these as technology areas This gives our productions up-to-date technology that we have been course, it works across 4G as well. Then there’s the continued expansion
because of the huge potential that they both have as far as creating and able to ensure has high reliability, ease of use and integrates with our RA: It’s very clear as I write this that the pandemic sadly remains the of remote productions, as already mentioned. We are also seeing
delivering visuals for our clients. ML has the opportunity to hugely core broadcast infrastructure. central factor in many people’s lives. What we very quickly saw during significant growth of live content sharing across the news sector via our
speed up various aspects of the VFX process, delivering the same high- the first phase of lockdowns – and this has continued – was the rise fully managed Matrix platform. The US election was a prime example.
quality visuals to our studio and production partner clients in a much RA: I wouldn’t describe it as a challenge, though there are clearly in remote working, remote content generation and content sharing. And, of course, we can’t forget 5G…
more efficient way. technology challenges involved that require a high level of expertise Being IP-based, portable and easy to use, our technology and services
Prior to the pandemic real-time workflows based on engine and technological precision to overcome, but rather an opportunity are fundamentally suited to this. It took many forms with LiveU Solo AJ: The increase of video and control protocols over IP are certain
technology were already providing tools for filmmakers to interact with and that is remote production. We were already seeing significant – one-touch, live streaming direct to online – often taking centre stage to grow both in compatibility and adoption. The demand to provide
their content in a much more hands on way much earlier in production. growth – again across the sports market – with production companies as well as our live content sharing platform Matrix. Governments have remote facilities is only going to increase now that we have seen how
This was allowing for more informed creative decisions to be made and broadcasters wanting to take advantage of the flexibility, cost been using our technologies to cover press conferences to communicate effective they can be. Overcoming blockers such as latency issues are
prior to shooting and allowing for improved shoot prep and on set efficiencies and dynamic content opportunities afforded by centralising key messages, houses of worship to stream sermons, and nightclubs to becoming easier, and as standard home internet connection speeds
visual feedback. significant parts of the production process. We have continued keep people entertained. increase considerably, the effective use of remote operators becomes
development of our complete solutions portfolio to cater for what we increasingly viable.
Ronen Artman (RA): Having come to dominate the see as a huge growth area. TJ: What the pandemic has done is accelerate the roll out of some of
newsgathering market over the past decade, the key trend that LiveU these technologies because the traditional approach to making movies TJ: Filmmakers being enthusiastic about, and comfortable using,
was seeing pre-pandemic was growth across the sports broadcasting SB: We were already looking at how to be more sustainable, and were has been disrupted and filmmakers are looking for new solutions in real-time toolkits like virtual scouting, virtual cinematography and
market, from the streaming of more niche events and sports up to tier looking at ways of reducing travel to and from outside broadcasts and order to navigate the restrictions placed on them by the pandemic. interactive remote review sessions is going to be one of the most
one use. The latter includes ITV Sport deploying LiveU for the 2019 reducing the amount of waste once on-site. We had set targets for a few Suddenly the use-case for real-time interactive tools for reviewing significant lasting impacts of the Covid-restricted way our industry
Rugby World Cup using units around Japan with three reporting teams, seasons hence to move towards remote broadcasting. content and enabling remote collaboration became very clear. has had to operate over the last year. Engine technology is something
each providing a range of additional material beyond match coverage. Having this motivation to explore engine-driven pre-production we’ve been using for years to deliver interactive, immersive experiences
LiveU was also deployed for disaster recovery. Undoubtedly sport was WHAT EFFECT HAS THE PANDEMIC PERIOD tools has meant that filmmakers who might have otherwise dismissed through our mixed reality and attractions teams and now there’s a wider
the key growth area for our IP bonding technologies and services and HAD ON YOUR AREA OF THE MARKET IN TERMS the techniques and kept their post production in the ‘post’ have roll out to more pipelines where it’s having an incredibly significant
that continues today. OF ACCELERATED TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION/ been more receptive to trying tools that will ultimately aid them impact on how everyone in the VFX industry operates.
DEPLOYMENT, OR ANY OTHER SIGNIFICANT AREAS? in making their movies.
AGAIN PRE-PANDEMIC, WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST SB: The pandemic massively accelerated our move towards remote Sometimes, people think of these tools as being something purely for SB: Remote production has continued and is already becoming
AREAS OF CHALLENGE IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY broadcasting. Despite the lack of live football we were acutely aware that directors to better define their vision but we’ve seen numerous other the norm on BT Sport. All our Premier League live games are now
DEVELOPMENT OR DEPLOYMENT IN YOUR FIELD? our viewers still wanted their Saturday lunchtime ‘football fix’, so Early departments embrace them in 2020 as a means to better plan set builds, directed and produced from off-site, often hundreds of miles away
TJ: The challenges that we saw pre-pandemic predominantly Kick-off In Isolation was born on BT Sport. Within two weeks of the stunts, lighting set-ups, etc, that they are having to prepare without from the games themselves, in production bases at the BT Sport hub in
surrounded the adoption of real-time technologies; namely the their usual easy access to locations, sets and colleagues. Stratford and Telegenic’s headquarters in High Wycombe. This presents
reticence to invest in deploying these relatively new technologies at We’ve had a very clear visual on this because of the timing with challenges for the editorial team which rarely has the chance to talk
scale very early in productions, as well as some filmmakers’ reluctance
“Filmmakers being enthusiastic which our Framestore Pre-Production Services team launched. face-to-face with the presenter and guests. Similarly the match director
to change the defined way in which the industry makes movies and about real-time toolkits like virtual Officially coming online at the beginning of the year, the FPS team had is always a disembodied voice for the camera operator and commentary
episodic programming. to start at a fairly fast run because since March when Covid-related team and does not have that vital interaction in the OB compound.
Conversations that always needed to accompany the roll out of
scouting, virtual cinematography… restrictions came in, the requirement and interest in pre-production It is truly amazing that remote production has been shown to work
toolkits like virtual cinematography or real time pre-, tech- and post- is going to be one of the most significant toolkits, virtual scouting and tech-vis have been significant. technically in such a short space of time, and with attempts to make
visualisation was previously about getting filmmakers over the hurdle us a sustainable industry, it is here to stay. But the challenge is how to
of trying out some of the tools. Often this meant spending time getting
lasting impacts of the Covid-restricted AJ: We have seen the use of remote production monitoring and work and innovate in an environment when we are not all in the same
comfortable in a headset or demonstrating the tools in order to show way our industry has had to operate” talkback increase dramatically, to the point that there are very few physical place, and there will be pressure post-pandemic for some of
what they could bring to the creative process. Clients could sometimes THEO JONES shows now that don’t contain some kind of remote element. We have those elements to be reinstated. n
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PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION AND POST
PRODUCT SHOWCASE PRODUCT SHOWCASE
SIGNIANT MEDIA SHUTTLE
To tell the story of Signiant’s cloud native
SaaS file transfer solution, we spoke to
Michael Nash, the company’s director of
product management
T
ELL US ABOUT MEDIA SHUTTLE, AND
WHAT IT DOES...
Signiant Media Shuttle is an enterprise-grade,
cloud-native SaaS solution that makes it easy, fast, and
secure to access and share any size file from any type tasks like user management, alerts, customisations and reporting to
of storage anywhere in the world. Shuttle is operations team members who can manage their own portals all from
now used by nearly 1 million media professionals worldwide for a the web interface. Brandable portals are loved by creative end users who
variety of applications and use cases but had a big surge in 2020 as it enjoy its beautiful interface and the fact that it’s so intuitive to use that it
is the de facto industry standard for remote access to media assets. requires no training at all.
Tencent brings speed skating live to When the industry went remote, it turned to Media Shuttle to keep
viewers in China using LiveU technology content flowing. USE CASES AND APPLICATIONS
Media Shuttle supports a wide variety of use cases and applications.
WHO IS YOUR TARGET MARKET AND WHAT SORT OF Any time people are involved in a media workflow, the chances are that
Bringing audiences closer while working remotely COMPANIES/COMPANY DIVISIONS WILL BENEFIT Media Shuttle can add value. Here are a few common production and
MOST FROM THIS PRODUCT? post production applications:
T
he rise of remote production – and now remote minimise the number of people required on-site, offering premium One of the benefits of our cloud-native SaaS architecture is that our
working more widely – is front and centre today: quality and extremely resilient multi-camera remote production. products scale up and down to meet the needs of any size operation. • Remote access to media assets. When the world scrambled to
LiveU is here to help customers take full advantage. Live events can be produced from your centralised studio using Media Shuttle is used by many of the world’s largest media companies go remote in 2020, many turned to Media Shuttle to make it
Currently, with fans often being kept away and with your existing equipment, with only essential personnel required. which have thousands of internal users as well as much smaller post easy and secure for people to access the assets they needed from
on-site staffing restrictions, broadcasters and sports With today’s budget limitations, this is an important advantage. production and distribution partners. Shuttle is used horizontally remote storage
organisations need to be more creative than ever to There’s no need to send an expensive OB production truck to the across the media supply chain for all sorts of ingest, collaboration, and • Ad-hoc or ‘pull’ distribution workflows. In cases where it makes
keep their audiences engaged and feeling part of the action. Remote venue, and no need for cabling. Events can simply be covered using distribution workflows. Any time people need to access, send, share, or sense for partners to pull down the content they need versus
production workflows play a critical role, delivering compelling live cost-effective wireless technology, instead of traditional transmission submit media assets, Shuttle provides the flexibility to support almost having it all pushed to their environment, Media Shuttle portals
content at a time of reduced budgets and social distancing guidelines. methods (satellite/fibre). any use case. can be set up to make content available to external partner
With LiveU’s Remote At-Home Production (REMI) solution, In China, for example, LiveU technology was used to stream • Remote collaboration. In a world where content is created
customers can produce multi-camera live sports events using wireless live the Simulation Game of the International Skating Union (ISU) WHAT ARE THE MAIN USPS OF THE PRODUCT? collaboratively, the need to easily send and share large assets
technology, instead of costly traditional transmission methods. Championships in Beijing within the strict limitations of the Covid-19 Media Shuttle works with any type of storage, on-prem or in the cloud with partners is a requirement. Media Shuttle is widely used
Everything can be produced from a centralised studio, with minimum outbreak. Tencent Sports, the main broadcaster responsible for the live so assets always remain in the customer’s control on their choice of to support these workflows and move companies away from
staff at the event and no need for a dedicated OB/SNG truck. production and public broadcast, implemented our remote production storage. Shuttle includes Signiant’s proprietary acceleration technology traditional protocols like FTP and consumer tools such as
We have established a powerful reputation in this area, with recent solution [see main image], deploying only the necessary personnel and and can move any size file or data sets over any IP network at speeds WeTransfer or Dropbox which just weren’t designed for the
examples including LiveU IP video technology being used to cover equipment on site, including the cameras and wireless transmission up to 100 times faster than FTP. Enterprise-grade security makes it a unique challenges of M&E n
NASCAR races and PGA golf in the US, with no-one needing to units. All the rest, including production, contribution and distribution, preferred tool by studios and broadcasters around the world. Shuttle’s
be close to the athletes. We were also one of the first working with was handled by Tencent personnel back in the studio in Tencent’s delegated administration helps IT teams offload administrative • Learn more at www.signiant.com/mediashuttle.
Sportradar and PlaySight to bring live tennis back in May 2020 as part technical centre. Today’s situation makes capex expenses hard to
of the Exo-Tennis series, covering the Tennis Point Exhibition, which justify, so our opex model is of even greater benefit now as the industry
started in Germany. In terms of social distancing, our new, game- transitions to new workflows. With over twenty years of experience guiding the software development process, Mike Nash is adept at agile development practices
for cloud-based software. At Signiant, he has helped pioneer hybrid SaaS solutions for the accelerated transfer of large unstructured
changing, multi-camera LU800 takes things to the next level and helps Remote production is here to stay. How can we help you? n
data sets over public and private IP networks, and has been managing the development of Media Shuttle from inception. For all of
the products he manages, Mike’s goal is to both delight users and give businesses the technology they need to define the future of
their industry.
12 | TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 | 13PRODUCTION AND POST PRODUCTION AND POST
CASE STUDY: REMOTE CONTROL
we’ve asked ourselves the fundamental question: ‘has live broadcast allowed BT Sport to still engage with its audience while also meeting
changed forever? Has this crisis made remote production the ‘new the government’s requirements around social distancing. “I asked
normal’? Whatever happens, Sunset+Vine and BT Sport have been at Andy to go away and have a think and a play, and he spent a lot of
HOW INNOVATION
the forefront of this remote production revolution.” time with Daniel McDonnell and Timeline Television, who are our
The company told TVBEurope at the time that, “Whilst the engineering partners, and MOOV, who are our graphics partners,”
current global situation had made TV production more challenging, explained Hindhaugh.
AND INGENUITY SAVED
Sunset+Vine has remained committed to continuing to create great TV “What has been done is absolutely phenomenal, we’ve created a
for its partners.” Click on the main image [left] to watch the video. virtual gallery. If you think about the gallery and you think about the
different positions, so in the front row, for instance, you’ve got a PA,
HOW BT SPORT TOOK REMOTE PRODUCTION producer, vision mixer and director, all of the infrastructure for those
PROGRAMMING IN 2020 TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Back in April of last year, the team at BT Sport had been busy
employing remote production to launch eight live shows using a virtual
studio set-up developed by its engineering team and partners.
galleries are now in different people’s houses across the UK. What we’ve
actually got is the same gallery setup, but configured across the UK
connected by broadband and 4G.
“That means in a live environment we can still operate a gallery but
We take a look back at three standout examples of how production teams innovated “When you think about BT Sport, you think Stratford. Everything everyone is working from home and in social isolation,” he added.
that takes up BT Sport goes through Stratford,” the sports broadcaster’s “Combine that with putting remote cameras or smartphone cameras in
their way through lockdown conditions through fully remote workflows, and pushed COO, Jamie Hindhaugh, told TVBEurope. “So, our first challenge was the talent’s houses, depending on 4G, broadband, etc, and we’ve got a
the boundaries of industry capability in the process how on earth we managed that without having people in Stratford. full production chain. The technology we’re using isn’t all new. We have
We’ve completely changed all of our workflows that enable us to edit, bought in Avid’s MediaCentral, which we didn’t have before because
access our media management, playout and control MCR remotely. we’ve never had a need for it.”
We’ve done this in a way that is sustainable, addresses all our security Hindhaugh admitted to finding it ironic that while many
problems and enables us to have just a single person working at broadcasters had been talking about, and moving towards, a remote
Stratford, and we’re still delivering all of our channels and content.” production workflow, the pandemic situation was forcing them to take
With no live sport available, the key question for BT Sport was how remote production to the next level. “We’ve decentralised the remote
to generate new schedules, using its archive as well as its portfolio of operation down to individual’s houses through this virtual network,”
documentaries. Hindhaugh tasked CTO Andy Beale with meeting the he said. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears but we got it up and
challenge of enabling programming that’s live, relevant, topical and running, and more importantly, we’re pleased with it and how it’s
S
UNSET+VINE: BT SPORT’S company’s executive producer and head of football, Stephen Booth
EARLY KICK OFF (who features in our roundtable on pages 09-11), takes viewers behind
During early May of 2020, at the height of lockdown the scenes of the fully live remote production of BT Sport’s Early Kick
conditions in the UK, Sunset+Vine produced an Off. It shows a team spread out far and wide across the UK managing
explainer video giving insight into its work with BT their normal production roles live from their homes. Booth ends the
Sport during the lockdown period. In the video, the video by saying, “We’ve all had to adapt to new ways of working and
14 | TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 | 15SMALL BIG
PRODUCTION AND POST
have actually done similar programmes on Sky Sports channels and on Sky
Sports News. We’ve taken what they’ve done and we’ve tried to do a little
FORM FACTOR IMPACT
bit more with the technology. The reason why we’ve done it now is because
this is the culmination of we’ve been working on over the last few weeks,
and we’re in a place where we think we can launch what we consider to be a
premium output.” Software-defined platform
Viewers saw host Sarah-Jane Mee on air with Sky’s economics editor
with up to 3 app spaces per SFP
Ed Conway, diplomatic editor Dominic Waghorn, Tamara Cohen from the
politics team and David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s global
envoy for Covid-19. They were joined by guests from around the world who
appeared on air via Zoom. IP SDI
In terms of the gallery team, producer Nick Stylianou was in Stockwell, IP Gateway
Life After Lockdown host Sarah-Jane Mee (far left) with her
panellists, all connected via Zoom in what is now a familiar set- director James Whicher worked from home in Camberley, Wickham
up in news programming worked as a back-up director, keeping across all the feed in case anyone’s 4x1 / 9x1 / 16x1
MULTIVIEWER
4x1 / 9x1 / 16x1 Multiviewer
internet dropped out, and Kevin Donaldson, another member of Wickham’s
team, managed the Zoom calls.
J2K/JXS JPEG-2000 / JPEG-XS
“We used vMix, which is a third-party platform and it’s essentially a
En- / Decoder
gallery in a box,” explains Wickham. “You can build your own sources and
UHD
inputs. We put it on an Amazon Web server, so we remote into that Amazon
Up / Down /
Web server using a Teradici client, which is set up at James Whicher’s home. HD Cross Converter
That handles all of the IP, most of the audio and he can cut, mix and all that
kind of thing. He then created a web page within the vMix software which
we used for talkback and to run VT. We all had access so it was kind of a Audio Router
virtual vision and sound mix at the same time. We also kept in contact with
each other and the Osterley operation via our own Riedel talkback system,
we used the iOS app and had it running on iPads.”
The remote gallery team included director James Whicher in While some of the technology had previously been used by Sky Sports
Camberley (left) and producer Nick Stylianou in Stockwell for its Cricket Watchalong, Wickham told TVBEurope the broadcast was a SOFTWARE-DEFINED
world first for a news programme. “We certainly had more content, we were
working.” Asked about issues around latency, he admits that has been the running VT, graphics sequences, all from within the streaming software,” he
biggest issue but as BT Sport’s production teams are used to working in the explained. Obviously there was lots of testing before the production team
remote world they are already used to managing any delays. were given the green light for the show to go to air. Wickham said the team
“In four weeks we’ve gone from all being based at Stratford, to launching had been working on putting everything together for about three weeks.
eight live programmes using a virtual studio set-up which we had to develop “That was off the back of the work that Sky production services have already
ourselves,” continued Hindhaugh. “I’m stood here in sunny Dorset pulling done. But what we were trying to do was the virtual gallery. We had a PCI
DISTRIBUTED
the strings from my son’s bedroom. I think it’s a phenomenal achievement. in the cloud. That didn’t exist two weeks ago, and so we built that up from
Our partners are important to us and the way Andy and they took the brief scratch. We spent the last week kind of testing all the integrations, testing
and enabled this to happen is quite incredible.” the Zoom calls, testing the ins and outs of this. We ran a kind of pilot back
to Osterley so we could check that they could see it and all the talkbacks
THE FIRST FULLY REMOTE LIVE NEWS PRODUCTION were working, and we’ve been popping up for half an hour here and there to
THE NEW
On Friday 15th May, Sky News became the first news broadcaster to go fully make sure the show worked. We ran as many rehearsals as we felt we needed
MEDIORNET MUON
remote. Life After Lockdown, a half-hour show hosted by Sarah-Jane Mee, to make sure we’re happy with the technology, but it was still a little bit of a
was broadcast with every contributor and every member of the production leap in the dark.”
team working from home. Asked if Sky News was likely to produce more content with a completely
FLEXIBLE
The live broadcast was the culmination of a project the team at Sky News remote team, Wickham admitted that the situation was complex. “If we’re
had been working on since the government first introduced lockdown very honest, the slightly restricted set-up that something like this remote
measures in the UK. “Sky’s been quite ahead of the game in terms of show has works very well if you have a very static running order, which is SCALABLE
remote working,” Ben Wickham, head of studio output, told TVBEurope. something that we don’t have very often in news. So, if I’m being honest,
“Sky News is the rolling 24 hour news station that encompasses all the live it probably isn’t something we would roll out for long chunks of time.
sources that we do and so it’s proven quite difficult to take it fully remote, However the ability to spin up remote programmes and create bespoke and
the way that other TV channels have been able to. It’s something that we’ve premium Sky News content remotely allows us to create events like Life
worked on in conjunction with the rest of our production services, who After Lockdown,” he concluded. n MEDIORNET VIRTU 32
www.riedel.net
16 | TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 TVBEUROPE MEDIATECH OUTLOOK 2021 | 17
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