SVG’s Remote Production Forum Sees 200+ in Los Angeles, Discusses Heightened Role of Technology in a Post-COVID Workplace

The event emphasized the importance of offsite, cloud-based resources

SVG’s Remote Production Forum headed out west to dive deep into the increased role of at-home production models within the last two years. At the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in Los Angeles, the one-day event on September 21 saw executives from all facets of the industry come together to share ideas about how remote workflows are impacting their content and the way they operate moving forward. Still feeling the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, these leaders are always adapting to serve high-quality productions to their audiences.

The day’s proceedings began with opening remarks from LTN Global, who served as the event’s title sponsor.

The first panel previewed Fox Sports’ involvement in the upcoming 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Providing an overview of their international and domestic operations, Kevin Callahan, VP, Field Operations and Engineering and David Neal, EP of FIFA World Cup on Fox and VP, Production dove into workflows at the IBC, studio logistics, and how control rooms and facilities in Los Angeles will help get things done.

Next up, Live’s Senior Sales Engineer Nick Upchurch sat down with Kristopher Hritz, RBMH, North America, VNOC Operations Lead | Live Event Streaming to discuss the “Next Step in REMI Production Workflows.” Remote, or REMI, productions continue to usher in endless possibilities for broadcasters, rightsholders, teams, leagues, and production companies to develop more content for less, increase fan engagement, create new monetization opportunities, and reduce the organization’s carbon footprint -–using high-quality video and advanced production tools. The case study highlighted how Red Bull Media House leveraged LiveU encoders to enable full REMI productions of global live action sports events and how LiveU’s new cloud solutions enhance and advance REMI live sports productions.

Next, the day transitioned to a trio of showcases on the latest in remote production technology. The first examined Graphics and Replay, two of the core technical craft areas that are taking advantage of new remote workflows, with John Faratzis, The Professional Fighters League, VP, Production & Programming; Bruce Goldfeder, NFL Media, VP, Broadcast Engineering; Colin Moran, LTN, VP of Production Products; and Jon Raidel, Vizrt, Global Lead for Live Production in Cloud. In the conversation, these individuals shared their thoughts regarding a future where graphics and replay operators can increasingly do their job from afar with the help of IP and cloud-based tools.

Following this panel, the next showcase included personnel on the front bench for their thoughts and perspectives on these new solutions. Keith D’Alessandro, NASCAR, Senior Coordinating Producer; Director Bill Herbstman; Dan Maloney, Matrox Video, Technical Marketing Manager; Rick Seegull, Riedel, VP, System Consulting; and Bob Whyley, Tennis Channel, SVP, Production, and Executive Producer took the stage to explain how producers and directors feel about having their production team and announcers working from different locations, how working remotely either positively or negatively impacts the quality of their production, and how these tools are being used to keep in touch with remote team members.

Wrapping up the trio was a look at how cloud-based services play a role in the postproduction process. Postproduction workflows have benefited greatly from the move to IP and cloud-based production, and it’s easier than ever for post-production professionals to access content, create content, and make it available for playout without having to be onsite. Moderated by CONCACAF’s Executive Producer and Director, Broadcast Operations and Media Distribution Oscar Sanchez, the panel of Duke Duong, Equinix, Head of Media and Entertainment; Mike Flathers, Signiant, Chief Solutions Officer; Noah Gusdorff, CMSI, President; Nathan Rausch, SNS, Manager of Workflow Engineering; and David Rosen, Sony, VP, Cloud Applications and Solutions break down what’s next for the world of post-production and offer some lessons in how to best approach content creation in the cloud.

The day closed with another preview of the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, but this time from Telemundo Deportes. Featuring Eli Velazquez, Telemundo Deportes, EVP, Sports Content; Chris Suarez, Telemundo Deportes, VP, Sports Production Operations; Jorge Duarte, NBCUniversal, Senior Director of Production Engineering; and Donatto Punyed, Telemundo, Director, Technical Programs & Media Systems, the network’s team previewed their own operations in Doha and Miami to deliver a wide range of content to soccer fans via over-the-air broadcast and Peacock.

SVG’s Remote Production Forum was made possible by LTN Global, Canon, Matrox, Riedel, Signiant, Sony, Studio Network Solutions, Vizrt, Evertz, Panasonic, TAG Video Systems, Teradek, The Studio – B&H, The Switch, LiveU, disguise, NEP Group, and Telstra.