but we – as in humanity – don’t have a choice. So we’ll have to be innovative, as humans are.” LOWER CARBON EMISSIONS WITH REMOTE PRODUCTION ‘Sustainability in news and sport operations,’ hosted by Robin Cramp of Production Park, brought together Lucy O’Brien of EMG, Alex Dinnin of Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe and management consultant Gordon Castle to discuss how live production in news and sports was transformed by the pandemic. A flow of 24-hour coverage requires constant new programming – so during the worst days of the pandemic, the scramble to keep content on air meant finding ways of doing TV without travel, and hence with much lower emissions.
SUSTAINABILITY HAS GONE FROM A CASE OF TICKING A BOX TO SOMETHING WHICH IS ESSENTIAL
“We’re getting more and more requests from clients to see our green credentials,” said O’Brien. “The sustainability part of it will continue to drive innovation, and the goal’s to get to net zero. That’s going to keep driving us forward.” “The next stage is how we can push more of this to the public cloud,” said Castle. “It gives you the ability to try things without building a facility. Traditionally, when you build a control room, they sit there and burn energy 24/7 regardless of use. “With the cloud, we get the chance for more innovation, piggybacking off providers who are competing to be the ‘most sustainable.’” The panel agreed that sustainability and a lower carbon footprint had gone from something nice to have – or a case of ticking a box – to something which is essential. One audience member asked about the power consumption of virtual sets,
which have helped boost high-end remote production. How much did it add to the power consumption of the studio? The panel did not have a figure at hand, but the consensus was that an AR set was certainly less power-hungry than a physical set that needed lighting. Themes of remote production, cloud and increased workflow efficiency were repeated across stands on the trade-show floor, too. The big jump from last IBC was that companies generally had answers to our questions about sustainability – they had thought about the issue. Some responses tended toward sales pitches spinning sustainability credentials of existing products. But a wave of products with lower power consumption, smarter use of materials and applications to help broadcasters become kinder to the environment all seem to be on the horizon. That’s a promising sign.
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THE CLOUD’S CONTRIBUTION TO TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
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