John Howard’s Post

TDious Thoughts volume IV: “🎵All you got to do is LISTEN!🎵” A commercial for the new SONOS headphones stopped me in my tracks the other day. It began with a dry vocal of Robert Lamm, cofounder of the band The Chicago Transit Authority, and a retooled version of his 1969 song that was a B Side from the band’s first album. The song is called “LISTEN.” My initial thoughts were that the creative director at the agency for SONOS has EXCELLENT musical taste, and how completely apropos this extremely obscure song is for promoting a listening device: LISTEN! So much of my personal success in the broadcast industry can also be summarized by that word. The times I felt I was in lock-step with, if not a beat or two ahead of my production team and announcers were because I LISTENED. The times I felt I was behind or underprepared for a moment I can, likewise, directly attribute to a momentary lapse or inability to LISTEN. To ultimately make it in the industry as a producer or director, anyone who is lucky enough to land a job … ANY job … in sports broadcasting will ultimately have to prove themselves at a lower level and work their way up. For all of the original broadcast networks, the do-or-die job has always been that of the Broadcast Associate, or BA. Aside from being the lowest among the traveling production hierarchy (coffee runs, copies, A/V setups for meetings, all on TOP or the core research, graphics and idea-pitch responsibilities), this role teaches its occupants how to really LISTEN. You must first learn to LISTEN amid the audible chaos before you can react with a graphic to support the situation. Then you begin to learn to anticipate and, if you’re really good, you later learn to be almost clairvoyant with your producer. But it ALL starts at the most basic level with learning how to multitask amid the cacophony of noise of live TV production … and LISTEN! I am cursed (it’s truly a curse) with the ability to not only hear, but to comprehend details of, not only what my announcers are saying, but every audible conversation happening in a control room at once. I simply don’t possess whatever filter most people have to be able to tune out that which isn’t immediately pertinent to the moment. And I hate it. I’m sure a good psychiatrist would have a field day with my long list of neuroses but I WISH I knew how to turn this one off. The flip side, however, is that it has saved my bacon and that of my directors many times. TDs, if there’s one bit of advice I can offer that has nothing to do with video switchers, teach yourselves how to LISTEN so that you may learn to comprehend everything happening around you. The art of processing that which you need first is critical, but knowing what everyone else is planning could be infinitely beneficial to you, as well. Perfecting that skill, along with the ability to multitask and perhaps make yourself ready for any of the potential scenarios being cooked up around you will only make you better!

TDious Thoughts volume III: The Value of SLATES! Anyone who has ever worked on a show with me knows my obsession with SLATES! Not only do I find the process of creating them within the Adobe Suite oddly soothing, what is most rewarding is knowing at a glance that the correct signal is going to the correct destination. In the chaos of setup, especially on a single-day set/shoot/strike, these little 1920x1080 identifiers could be the difference between your EIC and v2 having a really good, smooth day, or chasing their tails for hours. And I slate everything: Switcher Program, Clean Program, Aux Feeds, Iso Feeds, Camera Returns, Telcos and everything in between! I make slates for all of my EVS outputs with motion so that, during FAX, we can see actual movement and not simply have to trust that the image I’m seeing in the monitor wall isn’t frozen. In the IP world, that level of image verification is crucial. For EVS outputs that I trigger (usually via Switcher Machine Control but occasionally with the old school GPI), I will overlay a Frame & Field TC stamp that begins at 00;00;00;00. This is important if I’m using an animation to wipe to that EVS as I trigger it. When recording that transition back, the TC shows me exactly where the EVS is in the roll when it clears the wipe. That way I can measure the frames then move the Play trigger in either direction to ensure that I’m not wasting footage under the wipe and that it rolls exactly where and as it should. The challenge today is that the newer K-Frame XP has two fewer Image Store channels as compared to before. While the ability to slate 10 paths has been diminished to 8 via the Image Store, you can still accomplish your goals with a little creativity. From using macros to grab slates to individual keyers, to usage of the Spot Box, there are lots of ways to send these identifiers where they need to go all at once. All it takes is a little time and inginuity but I promise your friends in engineering, video, and on the receiving end of your transmission (with regard to your Telco slates, and if applicable, maybe your EIC can assign the truck’s 16 Channel “Talker” underneath the Image Store router points on the TX panel to help with the audio channel ident when it’s time for TX check-in!) will THANK YOU for it!

TDious Experiences volume II: The Remote Broadcast Production Technical Director [Mobile Unit Setup Part 2b - Transmission, Feeds, Switcher Mapping & Keyer Layering] At about this point in the setup I huddle with the EIC to discuss outbound feeds. From transmission to emergency failsafe scenarios, we discus it all. We identify router outputs to accommodate all video feeds that I will need to manage: from booth monitors and talent positions, to any screens or house courtesy feeds, these destinations are all ultimately fed by router outputs. Even though those router destinations will all live on my TD router panel, I utilize switcher auxes to feed certain router points. Switcher auxes offer the quick access to some feeds and are easily controlled by switcher macros, bus links or E-Mems with the safety of having that ultimate router layer in case of emergency. Booth desk monitors that may be visible in an on-camera are all fed upstream by switcher auxes so that I can flip them to a nice show logo or something other than the inherent camera feedback you would otherwise see. The same goes for screens feeds, or other house courtesy feeds: during rehearsals and commercials those are always setup to go to a wide beauty. Protecting our talent and ensuring that the house is protected from anything we may show in commercial is critical. Switcher Auxes feeding those router outputs allows quick and easy control of those feeds. Now that the monitor wall is routed and all of its sources have been named in the UMD (under monitor display) and now that the EIC, Video distribution team and I have a plan for where everything is leaving the truck and landing within the venue, I actually begin my source patching, mapping and keyer assigning process. One thing to remember when mapping your panel: M/E3A doesn’t need to be mapped into M/E3A. Likewise, M/E2A should never be mapped into M/E2A. There are only two places where all of the M/Es you’re using should be mapped: PGM and to the AUX Bus. Be smart about your mapping and don’t waste space on things you not only don’t need, but that could get you in real trouble. […concluded in Part 2c…]

TDious Experiences volume II: The Remote Broadcast Production Technical Director [Mobile Unit Setup Part 2a - Routers, Managing Feeds & Switcher Setup Tips] Since the advent of the GVG 3000 Production Switcher in the mid-90s I have been enthralled by the way different TDs map sources to their panel. Unlike studio environments where multiple TDs may share the same panel setup, the mapping and philosophies among remote sports & entertainment TDs can vary greatly. It all comes down to accommodating for all of the show’s visual sources while maintaining a certain level of personal comfort. We ask ourselves, in 1/100th of a second, where does my mind instinctively want the hand to land for “that source” on this show? As with any form of human reaction, this is a product of repetition commonly referred to as “Muscle Memory.” For shows with more than 10 cameras or so, I often use an Excel or Google Sheet to pre-plan my base panel mapping in my home office or on a flight prior to setup. This saves a ton of time, especially if it’s an abbreviated setup. With very few exceptions (specifically with regard to Golf coverage), my button mapping is relatively consistent across every show I do. For example, button 1 on the unshifted side of the panel is ALWAYS Camera 1. ALWAYS. [Now this is where *you* say, “But JoHo! You just said I should map for my comfort!”] Correct. But if you have the ambition to ultimately work on the “BIG SHOWS,” remember that consistency [i.e. muscle memory] is key. GET comfortable with Camera 1 on Button 1 NOW! When I am finally able to sit down at the switcher, the very first thing I typically do is verify that all of the switcher’s OUTPUTS are where the EIC expects them to land. It goes without saying that poking around in the Engineering Menu of any switcher is fraught with peril. ***It is not for those who don’t 100% know what they’re doing.*** Any changes, no matter how minor, that aren’t documented and approved will cause major issues downstream. Next I move over to Source Definition to verify that all keyable sources (Fonts, Bugs, Telestrators, the SpotBox, etc.) are all paired with their appropriate key channels and that sources not needing a key channel aren’t erroneously assigned one. Likewise, be sure of the key type. Even if I know I’m going to have key sources that are pre composited (as opposed to overpainted fills) I will leave “Shaped Key” disabled in the ENG menu and mange that function at the keyer level. [continued in Part 2b…]

TDious Experiences volume II: The Remote Broadcast Production Technical Director [Part 1: Mobile Unit Setup] Ask any 5 Technical Directors (TDs) to describe their role leading up to a live broadcast production and you’ll get anywhere from 5 to 50 different answers. That’s because the role has a number of seemingly dissimilar responsibilities that, in any other occupation, might be split among several different people. For example, a concert pianist generally doesn’t have to tune their own piano, assign the notes to the keys, build the conductor’s podium, compose the transitions from movement to movement, then ultimately play a three hour concerto on that piano nonstop, simultaneously monitoring each note on the piano offline to ensure tonal quality while performing LIVE before an audience of millions! Actually, that’s probably not the best analogy; a piano only has 88 keys. The world’s most popular Video Production Switcher, the Grass Valley Kayenne panel & K-Frame, has 1,326 buttons (or “keys”), 6 knobs, 4 fader bars and a joystick. The pianist in this scenario has the luxury of concerning themselves only with their ultimate performance. Everything else is taken care of for them. Not so for a remote TD. If it’s going to be a visual element within the show, it ultimately passes through the TD in one way or another. Video that will be mixed into the production itself must pass through the TD’s video switcher, while other signals, such as video going to monitors in the control room, can pass directly via the router. The router of a television mobile unit is the signal distribution core for any production. Any video or audio source that is going to be part of the production must exist within the mobile unit’s router. The TD is responsible for ensuring the correct video lands in the appropriate place in production monitor wall, its layout determined by the producer & director, as well as video switcher and all router control points in the control room. This is the part of the engineering setup that takes the most time to accomplish. The Engineer in Charge (EIC) is the sole manager of the router grid. It is critical that all inputs to the router and outputs from the router be managed by one individual. From there, especially in the IP world of media transport, every department has the ability to manage their own routing needs. It’s at this point that the TD can finally begin to focus on building out their “piano.” This begins with switcher input & output (I/O) documentation. Traditionally this is generated by the EIC, but with the increased flexibility offered in the IP world, this becomes a joint effort between the EIC, the TD and a dynamic document, such as a shared Google Sheet. In Part II I’ll delve into the mindset of the TD as they begin laying out sources for the production on the video switcher’s panel, as well as some important things to keep in mind when doing so. If you have Qs, thoughts or ideas for future TDious posts, drop a DM!

TDious Experiences volume I: Engineers In the live remote production world my best friends are that show’s ENGINEERS. The people assigned to make your TV Truck or OB work to our mutual client’s specs are, without fail, among the smartest people in any room they enter. In turn, their best friend is correct information. There’s an adage in the industry that the only thing worse than NO information is WRONG information. Correct information, including hardware and / or software that are to be installed on the TV Truck for that show, is critical to the success of your setup and show. Next in their priority list is the show’s technical setup schedule & the communication of timelines for milestones. If your goal as the show’s TD, for example, is to perform a tape facilities check (FAX / FACs) at 3p, followed by the camera fax at 4p, the engineer will know to prioritize EVS issues over, say, a camera that isn’t seeing Viewfinder Return 3. Communicating the schedule & timeline of milestones early will allow everyone to self budget their time and keep all moving along the same timeline. Engineering Prioritization: This goes hand-in-hand with milestone expectations. Department heads should always communicate their needs to engineering as early (and, most importantly, correctly) as possible, but with the understanding that there will always be other elements that take priority. Some areas of the remote world, however, typically require more attention from engineering during setup than others. With the advent of UIs such as NEP’s Total Facility Control (or “TFC”) this process is becoming better than it has been since the days of self patching. But the closer a show is to its first outbound transmission (be it a TX check or a hit into another show), the priority then clearly shifts to any unresolved transmission issues. I know that’s a “Well no DUH, JoHo!” kind of statement, but that first outbound transmission time shouldn’t ever come as a surprise to your engineers. Surprises always = a log jam for some or ALL later. Clear, accurate communication is always the key to resolving any issue before it ever becomes an issue. The ever evolving roles of our engineers in 2024 is quite fascinating to think about, actually: in less than one generation we have gone from a patch & solder analogue world of hardware minded engineering, to an IP and a code writing / programming base with some hardware components almost existing as an afterthought, but still needing the occasional solder nonetheless. Talk about shifts in the paradigm? Now the programming requirements of new OB engineers is in line with year 2 expectations of a broker at Morgan Stanley (HEY! Don’t you get any ideas! We’ll find you…and they don’t have anything for you to SOLDER!). Let’s all continue to encourage honing those the physical skills - like soldering - FIRST. Those are the skills that require the most physical finesse the *first* time whereas, in programming, there’s always a way to “UNDO LAST!”