39 NEWS Royal Wedding
what resulted from the speedy development process was nonetheless, “a very interesting on-demand environment and an end- to-end workflow that was powerful and scalable”. The final verdict must rest with Sky News, of course, and Westbrook is evidently pleased with the results. He also hints that the project could constitute an important first step towards the greater use of AI for live event coverage. “The project proved that it is possible to analyse video live and provide additional information to our users in real-time,” he confirms. “However, at this stage it still needs the human moderation layer prior to publication. Most people were recognised by the software, but the editorial oversight is still required to ensure that incorrect identifications do not go live. It has opened up a new avenue of storytelling for us; applying machine learning to video is giving us new opportunities in the live and on-demand space.”
MOST PEOPLE WERE RECOGNISED CORRECTLY BY THE SOFTWARE DURING THE EVENT , BUT THE EDITORIAL OVERSIGHT IS STILL REQUIRED
identified by either machine or human. “We knew it couldn’t be 100%,” agrees Elemental Technologies’ chief marketing officer, Keith Wymbs. “There were going to be all degrees of flavour there – from [a more immediate identification] that might be possible with a normal commentary in real-time, such as you might typically find with ‘red carpet’ coverage, to [a slightly less rapid] identification by eye by an operator. And there was also the possibility of mismatch, of course.” But Wymbs feels that
The Royal Wedding – full 4K and UHD production
The Royal Wedding also served to underline recent advances in UHD camera and RF technology, with several leading providers supplying systems to help deliver full 4K/UHD production. BSI supplied three of its UHD Real Freedom RF Camera systems with integrated UHF camera control. These delivered aerial shots of the Windsor Long Walk as well as views by the Victoria Barracks and roadside. Data transmitters were established at every receive point to enable camera control and remote control of the link path, ensuring that the RF transmission could be adjusted as required. Meanwhile, Broadcast RF provided a total of 17 wireless radio camera systems to multiple OB providers working with broadcasters including BBC, Sky News, ITN, CBC and ZDF. Along with nine of its RF engineers, the company also provided a bi- directional, multi-service, point-to- point link with redundant backup, which was used to connect the remote OB at the Windsor Castle Pub to the OB at the Long Walk Domestic Compound. The link carried several bi-directional video streams as well as programme sound and talkback channels.
With pressure on RF spectrum inevitably at a premium, there was a need to achieve optimum spectrum efficiency. To this end, Broadcast RF’s Nick Fuller worked with Ofcom PMSE on a wireless camera frequency plan designed to ensure every available frequency was allocated to the benefit of the various RF vendors. Ofcom PMSE was able to open up access to more than the usual range of RF spectrum for the event, although even with this “there were literally no spare channels left on the day”.
COMMANDING VIEW UHD Real Freedom RF Camera systems delivered aerial shots of the Windsor Long Walk
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