Case study
the 1000 mile run
Anchorage (start)
Northern Route (even years)
Eagle River
Southern Route (odd years)
Wasilla
Knik
Yetna
Skwentna
Finger Lake
Rainy Pass
Rohn Roadhouse
ON THE SCENE Production values have only increased over the years, as the process was refined and the set-up became more professional. Live coverage rivals big-ticket sports, with a studio base, former pros on the mic and on-location reporting
Nikolai
Unsurprisingly, the growth in Iditarod’s fan base unleashed a demand for top-quality streaming content – especially since they’re paying subscribers. When Aldrich was first involved with producing the live stream, only the winners of the event got any real screen time. “Fans of the Iditarod race have their favourite mushers. As a result, they wanted to know exactly where they all were throughout the race. At that point in time, there wasn’t a lot of coverage from the start and finish lines. So, the fans were not only passionate – but rabid for information,” he describes. “I initially decided that we should hang two GoPros in a double box on the arch, then run those back almost 300ft to a makeshift control room. I fed them into a computer and used a double box because we didn’t have the bandwidth to provide HD resolution.” This was a noticeable hit with Iditarod viewers – who were now able to see every single musher participating in the race. “From that point, I saw the roadmap for future live coverage,” insists Aldrich. “We have gradually transformed that finished concept into what it is now: a studio-style show, with two former mushers commentating – and recaps four times a day.” The live stream produced by Aldrich’s team grew to the point of weaving recap clips, fed to them by
the documentary team, throughout the proceedings. This elevated it to a studio level of production. “From there, it has evolved into cameras with satellite uplinks, livestreaming from checkpoints decided along the route. On top of this, everything must be moved by bush plane. There’s capacity, weather – the list goes on. But in summary, my job has progressed from wrangling these two GoPros, to running the whole live production for the race.” CONFIDENCE MONITORING The 2022 Iditarod saw a new technological dimension thrown in, when Aldrich’s team incorporated Multidyne’s Silverbullet series into their workflow.
McGrath
Takotna
Ophir
Iditarod
Cripple
Shageluk
Ruby
Anvik
Galena
Grayling
Nulato
Eagle Island
Kaltag
Unalakleet
Shaktoolik
Koyuk
Elim
Golovin
White Mountain
Safety
Nome (finish)
To ease the burden on smaller villages, the Iditarod was split into two routes (seen above) that alternate each year. The Southern goes through the race’s namesake, now abandoned.
42 FEED:XTREME SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
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