NEP UK has announced its second year as a key technical partner on Channel 4 reality series The Circle.
NEP UK supplied over 135 cameras to cover a total of 18 apartments and breakout rooms, representing the largest number of cameras NEP has deployed on a single production. This allows up to 36 video streams to be recorded simultaneously.
Each of the 10 mini galleries uses a bespoke NEP camera control platform and router setup, all feeding into a master gallery which stitches the elements together. Editing is undertaken on an EVS backbone with a 25-minute turnaround.
The Circle‘s complex technical set-up involves 24/7 monitoring by multiple teams across three interlinked sites, demanding a rigorous production plan initially put in place by NEP UK for the original series in 2018. The new series has followed an evolving production workflow, the company said.
“The Circle is a complicated build because it has to cover three large technical sites; the apartment block, the studio for the live programme, and the production building,” said Jason Spencer, creative and commercial director, NEP UK.
“The apartments are in fact on the other side of a busy road from the other two areas and are connected by over 130km of fibre. We also have to balance the ongoing 24/7 demands of the production, with the requirements of producing a massive live show from the middle of it, especially as any of the live sources can be put through to the live programme at a moment’s notice.”
