Formula E and developed for it by Tata, resulting in glass-to-glass latency of just over half a second. FAST GROWTH Gillett adds that, even before the first series began, the production was forced to grow: “The original concept was that all crew – the camera operator for example – would be on radio talkback without programme tallies, tally lights or returns. That was to do an RF coverage production with nothing cabled. It was really small and lightweight. “But as momentum built leading into that first year, it was like, ‘Oh OK, this Formula E is going to be way bigger than we all anticipated!’ That’s when we convinced Alejandro Agag to actually invest more money and go for a fully fledged live outside broadcast. So we stepped into the first production with that and flyaway pods. I remember, at the second race we went to, we had three extra crew members – the pilot, the helicopter and the camera crew engineer – but it was still a really small crew, and at the beginning everyone was getting stuck in, pulling the cables.” As for how the production looks today, Scott says it’s very much a remote production now, with a significant number of crew based in London and a footprint of around 100 people on location as the circus makes its way around the world. Scott notes: “Formula E is a very specialist sport service production, so it’s not just about having cameras set up around the track; we’ve got to have all the different layers of production with them. They’re unique systems to the cars, with 200 different camera angles to choose from. There are nine RF cameras in the pit lane, all sorts of mini cameras built into the circuit and in the garages. THE SPEED OF CONNECTIVITY FROM THE SITE TO LONDON IS INCREDIBLE. WE’RE DOING IT ALL OVER IP NOW
“It’s not something you could ever rock up with in a local OB truck and expect to get up and running in time,” continues Scott. “We’ve always had to have our own bespoke kit that’s only used for Formula E. It’s great because it allows us to build everything for purpose. So these days we’ve got up to about 100 sources that come back from a racetrack to the Westworks facility where we put together the final shows.” On the production technology and what the most important aspects have been in the development of the broadcast, Gillett says speed is the answer. “Latency. For remote production to work, the delay between site and remote has to be literally a fraction of a second. If that latency becomes two, three seconds, it becomes very difficult. So the technology Tata has provided through its partnership with Formula E is really our biggest asset. I can’t do my job in London directing if it’s suddenly a three- or four-second delay; forget it. The speed of connectivity from the site to London, that’s just incredible. We’re doing it all over IP now – it’s an unsung hero.” Scott adds: “The connectivity technology makes it really safe for us to work remotely. It means we can keep adding more layers to the production, with four or five graphics machines or more; a couple on-site, a couple remote. We’ve got an EVS
OUT ON THE TRACKS Following along with vehicles like Mahindra Racing’s Mahindra M9 Electro at the Monaco E-Prix, featuring Edoardo Mortara
WATCH ME! Scan the QR code here to see Aurora
Media’s work on the racing broadcasts
feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook