One of the main challenges of large live entertainment studio productions is that they are the last bastion of videotape, or more specifically “videotape thinking” according to Ed Casaccia, Senior Director of Marketing, Grass Valley. He argues that although live productions follow the linear progression of time, it is finally becoming apparent that the non-linear workflows developed in news and post applications “are not only applicable, but are in fact necessary. This means that live productions have to move away from this video mindset and towards a digital workflow.” This encompasses the outside broadcast facilities rolled up to four wallers to provide live links and production galleries. “The OB truck is no longer an ‘island universe’ in which non-standard networking and proprietary file and wrapper types are permissible,” he said. “Now the truck needs to be part of a larger open asset management environment on a standard IT network.” One key factor is implementing solutions that allow all of the sounds and images captured during the live pass to be used in various distribution channels, as opposed to only the line cut output of the switcher. In other words, said Casiccia, there is a growing requirement for integrated systems that enable simultaneous recording of the input to the switchers – ISO cameras being the primary type – and then manage those recordings as a set of synchronous assets. “These can then be used to either enrich the content in post, or create alternate forms of the production for distribution into different delivery media. This is a key factor driving live entertainment towards true non-linear file-based workflows and away from linear ‘tapeless’ practices that, unfortunately, preserve many of the limitations of videotape production.” www.grassvalley.com By Adrian Pennington
