White Paper: Production Flexibility – Move the Pieces Without Affecting the Experience

One of the biggest challenges of taking productions to the next level is stepping out of our comfort zone and moving beyond the safe familiarity of the traditional broadcast model based on dedicated hardware to a new software-based model. The move to software is an evolution, often occurring in gradual steps, rather than a revolution, and it’s been happening all around us.

Gregory Macchia, VP Business Development, Live Production

Productions Have a Long Traditional History

Event productions have traditionally been expensive endeavors. The productions involve lots of equipment onsite, people to setup and control the equipment, and often outside broadcast trucks, with additional people, equipment, and cables are required to support the event. Much of the equipment onsite and in the vehicles are purpose-built hardware modules that require their own space, control, cabling, and interfaces, plus a body to operate them. The trucks and people often travel great distances, adding travel and fuel expenses. During the time to travel and setup the equipment, the system is not operational, and the people cannot produce events.

Costa Nikols, VP Sales Enablement

As technology has advanced, some of the dedicated equipment has gotten smaller, such as video and audio routers. Monitoring has gone from requiring multiple discrete monitors, to software-enabled multiviewers that can display many images on one screen, and some tools, like graphics, are completely software based and run on servers.

Software Based Solutions are Opening New Avenues

Consider the technological approach taken in the application layers of certain production tools enabling the ability to provide steps towards this evolution while providing the right tool for the right job at the right time. For instance, early in the evolution, dedicated on-prem solutions, such as Riedel’s RiMotion, may be the right fit for those that still need a CAPEX model, but with added provisions for easy to take steps towards REMI, REMCO, and cloud, whether private or public, when and where it makes sense. The tools in this scenario are part of the same application core but packaged to address individual customer’s needs. This allows them to operate at their comfort level today and continue down their evolutionary path with technology that will lead them into the future.

The best part is that to the operators using the equipment, the experience is the same. No matter where they are stationed, the operators use the same interface and utilize the same workflow, regardless of where the equipment and engines and even the event are located. For instance, they could be in a small control room or at home with a production suite and one day they could connect to the truck or to a venue. Where it connects doesn’t matter. To the operator, the system will be familiar and operate the same whether they are connecting to a venue or a truck, whether they are located down the street or across the state, across the country — or even around the globe. The right set of tools will let you work the way you need — wherever you are.

Benefits of Software Based Production Tools

Adopting software-based production tools presents a range of compelling advantages, each contributing to an optimized and efficient production process. Beginning with the reduction of costs, these tools enable the creation of more content, even for smaller shows, thanks to decreased expenses. This fiscal efficiency is mirrored in the reduction of space and energy requirements, as the tools necessitate only a minimal physical footprint, consisting of a PC and touchscreen, while eliminating the need for continuous dedicated equipment.

Further enhancing productivity, these tools empower operators to seamlessly produce multiple shows or games from the comfort of their homes, eliminating the need for travel and minimizing expenses associated with venues. The benefits extend to maintaining production quality; the simplified, flexible, and cost-effective nature of the software-based approach ensures that high-quality production standards remain uncompromised.

The advantages continue with reduced deployment time and training, as the intuitive software interfaces cater to digital natives and the stationary equipment streamlines setup. Moreover, the operation becomes safer and more efficient as the number of onsite personnel is significantly reduced. In the context of environmental responsibility, software-based tools contribute to improved carbon efficiency, eliminating the need to ship hardware or personnel. For instance, Sky Group has taken steps to achieve net carbon zero TV production through such measures.

From a financial standpoint, cost-effectiveness reigns supreme; fewer dedicated equipment pieces are required onsite, travel and shipping expenses are minimized, and resources like fuel and overtime are significantly reduced. Importantly, the investment is future-proofed due to the scalability and cloud migration potential of software-defined architecture, ensuring adaptability to changing technological landscapes.

The production scale and flexibility are greatly enhanced, enabling seamless adjustments according to the magnitude of the event, whether it calls for a single replay operator or a team of six. In sum, the adoption of software-based production tools presents a comprehensive framework for efficient, cost-effective, and adaptable production processes.

Right tool for the right job

Riedel’s Live Video Production Tools, including Simplylive Production Suite, are software-based solutions. They are unique in their ability to exist on standard industry servers or commodity hardware and can reside in many locations, such as onsite, either in the control room or data center in the facility or at a remote data center, which are often referred to as on-premises or private clouds. These software-based systems also work with public data centers or public clouds, such as Google, AWS, or Microsoft, to name a few.

These software-based systems are designed to deliver that on-premises experience, regardless of where they actually reside. The operator shouldn’t be able to tell the difference. This distributed architecture offers the greatest flexibility for the operators, who can be located anywhere, including their home. The key to the success of the remote operator is the fact they cannot differentiate the operating experience whether they are local or remote.

Finding the right tool for the job depends on understanding the several styles of remote production generally used today: REMI, RemCo and Cloud Production. Here are a few definitions.

• REMI – REMI is short for Remote Integration Model where live content from camera feeds is captured from a remote location such as the event venue and managed from a central location, such as the broadcast center, for the actual production. All the feeds are brought back to a control room and the final show is produced. The Savannah Bananas make use of this model. They have a control room at Grayson Stadium where they produce the live games with feeds being sent back from remote stadiums while on the road.
• Remote Controlled Production or RemCo is where the equipment, the engines that are being controlled, are at the venue. However, the operator is at a remote location, even their home. They use the internet to connect to the devices and drive remotely. Everything is produced on site, but via remote control. This is popular at venues that have a lot of onsite equipment or where the resources, either physical or monetary, to bring all the feeds back is too much. The RemCo model is more cost-effective when using public cloud because of egress fees.
• Cloud Production Full cloud production is a combination of both REMI and RemCo. With cloud production the feeds come from the live event, REMI style, to the cloud instead of the remote broadcast center. Then, using RemCo, we are remotely controlling the devices, or engines, that reside in the cloud. In this model the full production is done in the cloud.

These three styles of remote production could also be thought of as three steps or building blocks of remote and cloud productions. Using these flexible software-based blocks allow mixing up operations to fit the needs of a particular event. They can move around and deploy depending on the resources needed. Often this may mean a smaller control room, as there are less hardware and less people required. These building blocks of production will ultimately allow you to go completely to an end-to-end cloud production.

What’s on the Horizon – Riedel Continuing the Innovation

Today’s new generation of producers understand the need to create more high-quality content for expanding niche markets, but with limited budgets. They are looking for ways to create this content efficiently, affordably, reliably, and quickly. They may even need to create multiple sets of content simultaneously. To help with this they will need tools to help them coordinate production and keep the content secure. Combining this powerful remote production software system and an exceptional communication company seems to be an obvious step in the right direction.

But the only way to get to this next level is with the industry getting involved and making this happen. Define the requirements and define the challenges that need to be overcome, including network security, production, engineering, operations, and everything in between. We need to work together, with standards-based protocols, to keep reaching towards sustainable, supportable, scalable, future ready systems. Once we move beyond our comfort zone and embrace the innovative evolution that software can deliver, we will find a steady and progressive way forward. Riedel’s technological approach in the application layers enable us to provide the right tool for the right job, while leading the way to the future.