YSTV Does Hunted - Live: Difference between revisions
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We faced several technical challenges on the day, including difficulties getting power and internet to the static cameras resulting in the scrapping of two static locations last-minute. We had several communications issues, including our walkie-talkies not working as intended and issues with the built-in talkback feature of our remote video tool, meaning that static and roaming cameras had almost no communication with the gallery. We also had issues with the studio -> control room feed which was using SRT, this was likely because we were saturating the YSTV -> ITS network and the SRT packets were not prioritised over other traffic. This meant the video feed from the studio was very unreliable and kept dropping out, which was not ideal. This was ultimately fixed by reverting to RTMP. | We faced several technical challenges on the day, including difficulties getting power and internet to the static cameras resulting in the scrapping of two static locations last-minute. We had several communications issues, including our walkie-talkies not working as intended and issues with the built-in talkback feature of our remote video tool, meaning that static and roaming cameras had almost no communication with the gallery. We also had issues with the studio -> control room feed which was using SRT, this was likely because we were saturating the YSTV -> ITS network and the SRT packets were not prioritised over other traffic. This meant the video feed from the studio was very unreliable and kept dropping out, which was not ideal. This was ultimately fixed by reverting to RTMP. | ||
Another large issue we had was lack of techies. Due to illness and no-shows, we had a lot fewer techies than planned which meant that the techies that were there were very stretched. | |||
=== Remote video feeds === | |||
In order to get reasonably low-latency video feeds from static cameras and roaming camera operators who were spread out across campus, we used a remote video tool called [https://vdo.ninja vdo.ninja]. This allowed people to send their camera feed over the internet to the gallery using just their phone and a web browser. | |||
This tool had previously been used in productions during Covid-19, however not on the scale of this production and certainly not when we had people running around campus. | |||
To help get the video feed from people's phones back to the gallery, people were connected to the university's eduroam WiFi network. This did mean that due to inevitable eduroam blind spots, video feeds were at time patchy or were lost altogether. However, due to large scale of the production and people moving around campus very quicky, this was unavoidable. Fortunately, vision mixers were able to cut to other video feeds or go back to the studio or Hunter HQ when this happened. | |||
Another issue we had with [https://vdo.ninja vdo.ninja] was communications. Whilst this tool did have an option for talkback, for reasons unknown this didn't work. This meant that roaming and static camera ops had almost no communication with the gallery; we had to resort to Facebook messenger group chats to enable at least some basic communication. This was very much not ideal. | |||
Despite these technical issues, we were able to capture some really good content and get some really good video footage of the game. Although [https://vdo.ninja vdo.ninja] is a free tool, it worked really well for us, especially considering how many camera feeds were going through this service. | |||
Revision as of 14:09, 1 January 2023
| YSTV Does Hunted - Live | |
|---|---|
| Watch Online | |
| |
| Genre: | Entertainment |
| Broadcast: | Saturday 3rd December 2022 |
| Executive Producer(s): | Dom Hall |
| Producer(s): | Meg Maguire, Alexianne Charlery-Warner, Sarah Maguire, Cameron Fox |
Hunted Live was the fourth installment in the YSTV Does Hunted series and the first to be restricted to the university campus. This allowed us to broadcast the entire event live.
Background
Doing a Hunted episode live had been mentioned several times, mostly as a joke, and the general consensus was that it would not really be possible. YSTV Does Hunted - Live's final form began to emerge in June 2022 after a discussion between Will Stirk and Dom Hall who thought it might actually be technically possible. The date was almost immediately set and ideas slowly progressed over the months. Proper planing started towards the end of October 2022, with a larger production and technical team brought on-board to try and make this a reality.
Pre-Prod Team
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Executive Producer | Dom Hall |
| Health, Safety & Welfare Lead | Rhys Milling |
| Campus Producer | Alexianne Charlery-Warner |
| Hunter HQ Producer | Meg Maguire |
| Studio Producer | Sarah Maguire |
| VT Producer | Cameron Fox |
| Director | Max Roach |
| Campus Tech Lead | Dan Wade |
| Gallery Tech Lead | Jamie Parker-East |
| Studio/HQ Tech Lead | Beth Marsch |
| Graphics Lead | Marks Polakovs |
Setup
Due to how distributed the production was across campus, there were a lot of technical challenges. The studio, which linked the different parts of the game together and kept viewers updated on what was going on, was based in Central Hall. Hunter HQ, which was where the hunters worked on tracking down contestants and interrogating them when caught, was based in the YSTV Studio. Static cameras, which acted as CCTV cameras, were placed at strategic points around campus, including on Central Hall balcony for an overview of campus. A number of roaming cameras (people's phones) went around campus with the teams to capture the action. All the static and roaming camera feeds and the outputs from the studio and HQ were sent to the gallery in the YSTV Control Room which mixed the final output.
We faced several technical challenges on the day, including difficulties getting power and internet to the static cameras resulting in the scrapping of two static locations last-minute. We had several communications issues, including our walkie-talkies not working as intended and issues with the built-in talkback feature of our remote video tool, meaning that static and roaming cameras had almost no communication with the gallery. We also had issues with the studio -> control room feed which was using SRT, this was likely because we were saturating the YSTV -> ITS network and the SRT packets were not prioritised over other traffic. This meant the video feed from the studio was very unreliable and kept dropping out, which was not ideal. This was ultimately fixed by reverting to RTMP.
Another large issue we had was lack of techies. Due to illness and no-shows, we had a lot fewer techies than planned which meant that the techies that were there were very stretched.
Remote video feeds
In order to get reasonably low-latency video feeds from static cameras and roaming camera operators who were spread out across campus, we used a remote video tool called vdo.ninja. This allowed people to send their camera feed over the internet to the gallery using just their phone and a web browser.
This tool had previously been used in productions during Covid-19, however not on the scale of this production and certainly not when we had people running around campus.
To help get the video feed from people's phones back to the gallery, people were connected to the university's eduroam WiFi network. This did mean that due to inevitable eduroam blind spots, video feeds were at time patchy or were lost altogether. However, due to large scale of the production and people moving around campus very quicky, this was unavoidable. Fortunately, vision mixers were able to cut to other video feeds or go back to the studio or Hunter HQ when this happened.
Another issue we had with vdo.ninja was communications. Whilst this tool did have an option for talkback, for reasons unknown this didn't work. This meant that roaming and static camera ops had almost no communication with the gallery; we had to resort to Facebook messenger group chats to enable at least some basic communication. This was very much not ideal.
Despite these technical issues, we were able to capture some really good content and get some really good video footage of the game. Although vdo.ninja is a free tool, it worked really well for us, especially considering how many camera feeds were going through this service.