Innovative Sports & Entertainment Media Production Director | Technical Director | Vision Mixer | Advisor Opinions & observations expressed are mine alone
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…]
