Case Study: University of Tennessee Delivers Live Instant Replay

Instant replay is an integral part of the modern sports broadcasting experience. Partly because of today’s (relatively) low-cost home theater systems, many sports fans find that at-home viewing beats out the experience of being at the stadium—and a significant part of the at-home viewing experience is instant replay. 然而, 如果你在20世纪60年代之前看电视上的体育节目, you would have a better appreciation for how much instant replay really makes the game experience for the home viewer.

Credit for the first true instant replay goes to Tony Verna, who was a director for CBS. In 1963, he successfully ran an instant replay of a 1-yard scoring run by Army quarterback Rollie Stichweh during the broadcast of the annual Army-Navy game. 在超级碗的前几天, the Army-Navy game was considered the most important and most widely viewed game of the year. 仅仅几年之后, Ampex开发了专用的高频段, 彩色光盘视频系统即时回放. The modern instant replay system was born and has continued to evolve over the past 50 years.

Although today’s instant replay solutions serve a similar purpose, 他们和他们的祖先大不相同. The hardware has gone from what has been described as the size of “two Frigidaires” to just a small desktop hardware interface. 在本文中，我们将研究追梦人系统来自加拿大制造商Evertz. The DreamCatcher replay system has replaced many older alternatives in high-end sports broadcast production. I spent an evening with the University of Tennessee athletics broadcast team to see how they use their 400-series DreamCatchers in conjunction with their SEC Network broadcast of a 足球 match between the Vols and Ole Miss.

UT的捕梦网设置和工作流程

UT’s DreamCatcher is set up as two operator positions that are linked together so each operator can see what the other is monitoring. The system can display five inputs and records on a continuous loop for up to 24 hours. 广播部门录制各种各样的体育节目, 包括排球, 足球, 篮球, 棒球, 和网球. 在任何给定的事件中使用六个或更多的摄像机, being able to monitor multiple angles for replay shots is critical to getting the best view of a big play.

The thumbnail views of the various available camera angles are displayed across the top of the interface. UT’s setup designates which angle each system is viewing with a red or yellow stroke around each angle. This minimizes the possibility of both operators getting the same angle and missing a better shot from a different camera. These color designations are also used as names for each system when they’re being cued up to switch to during a broadcast.

SEC/ESPN network director Tom Githens explains the two-operator setup. “在我们的工作流程和正常的广播工作流程中, there are lead replay and R/O (replay only) replay operators,吉滕斯说. “Your lead operators build packages and ‘rollouts’ for in-game storytelling and bumps going to and from breaks; R/O operators focus on dialing back looks and rolling replays, which isn’t to say your lead operators cannot accomplish this, 但通常, 在紧要关头才使用它们.”

运行捕梦器系统

当我下午6点到达工作室时.m., one hour before game time, the room was already buzzing with activity. The mobile camera operators were busy both inside and outside the 足球 stadium, 粉丝们的到来, and the director was coaching the operators on getting the necessary shots. 我整个比赛都坐在罗斯·古德曼旁边, a UT student who’d been operating the Evertz system for about a year, after previously serving as a camera operator for some of these same games.

At my arrival, Goodman was capturing, clipping, and cataloging everything for easy retrieval. 虽然足球不像其他运动那样快节奏, there are still critical moments that can’t be missed due to inattention or distraction. Anyone who’s spent time in a broadcast studio knows that distractions have no place when the red light is on. There’s no instant replay on your broadcast when it’s live and you miss a shot or cue.

After footage is clipped down for length, files are named and tagged for later retrieval. 在古德曼拍了几张粉丝照之后, he dragged them from one column of the interface onto the far right column to build a named playlist. 晚上7点广播开始时.m., the playlist simply had to be started from the DreamCatcher and switched on for the program feed.

音乐, 生活的评论, 图形, and fonts (for titles) were mixed and layered in as needed at the director’s discretion. In addition to the dedicated DC-RCP10 hardware control surface, the operator can use a full standard keyboard for text entry and some navigation. Plus the 7-inch screen on the control surface is touch-enabled.

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