In this episode of Broadcast2Post, a fascinating interview with the CTO of EVS, Alex Redfern. Discussing Remote Live Production workflows, how production crews are adopting these workflows, and connecting talent and crew from everywhere, Alex Redfern will also get into the implications of recently introduced technology that will enable crews to use remote tools and give a teaser of what is coming next. Key Code is a reseller partner EVS installing broadcast and production systems across the country.  

WATCH: THE FUTURE OF REMOTE LIVE PRODUCTION | FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THE CTO OF EVS

Remote Live Workflows | The Puzzle Pieces

Let’s piece together the different elements of remote live production.

Remote Ingest

Bringing video and audio signals remotely back to a central location for production. Remote ingest can be point-to-point with encoding/decoding, sending, and receiving the signals over the internet. The Cloud can also be used for remote ingesting of files that can be used for playback or video editing.  

Remote Control

With Remote Control, an operator can control devices not located in the same physical location. Elements that can typically be controlled remotely range from video inputs, M/Es, graphics, audio, and lighting. Famously, the NFL is known for having a crew in Culver City, CA, operating the production of multiple football games across the country with remote control elements.  

Remote Access

This is the access to hardware devices located off-site. Typically, Remote Access helps the crew set up, configure, and troubleshoot systems remotely over a secure VPN. It can also be used for file transfer. A great use case would be manufacturer support teams that can access a system from anywhere and help diagnose an issue. However, there are many other applications for remote access outside of IT and IT support- like multi-view monitoring and quality control (QC), to name a few.  

Cloud

Cloud can be broken into ‘Cloud Compute’ and ‘Cloud Storage.’ Regarding cloud implications for remote live production, we’ll mainly focus on ‘Cloud Compute.’ Video Switchers, Graphics, and I/O are just a few parts of the live production workflows that are virtualized in the cloud. While it’s not financially viable to put your entire control room in the cloud, if you have a special client project that requires additional graphics or an extra video switcher- an instance of that server can be spun up in the cloud giving crews instant access to additional bandwidth when needed.