Northampton Saints
The World Cup Starts here
By St Kenneth
September 6 2011
Today, the Rugby World Cup started for me.... for many others, this has been something that has already been going on for months and years. I work as a Studio Engineer for ITV at their London Studios on the Southbank of the river Thames. Today, the Rugby World Cup set began to take shape in our Studio 2. Since the early hours of this morning, the stage crew have been assembling the set whilst the lighting lads have been pointing and moving lamps to their hearts content.
The set is quite large, and not complete as I write, so I can't give you the low down of what it exactly looks like, but needless to say, there is a table in the middle and chairs for presenters and experts to sit on!! Behind is a projector system that takes one moving video image, splits it into four parts and displays the resulted image onto a huge backdrop using four projectors.
A rugby ball shaped stand is to camera right with three screens on it, featuring moving images of team badges etc etc. And not to disappoint, there is an analysis area with one of those interactive screens made so popular by SKY. However, there are no stairwells or corridors in sight...(see Rugby Club thread earlier in the week)
I haven't seen the title sequence yet, but my money is on something that will feature the Haka and Maori warriors. As for the theme tune, well I'm yet to hear "The World in Union" coming out of the Sound Control Room.
I mentioned earlier that for some, the Rugby World Cup has been something that has been going on for months and years already. The planning that goes into a tournament of this scale, like Olympics and Football tournaments, is just beyond anything that most people can comprehend, so I will endevour to try and explain a little about how matches over there, get to be on our screens over here (hopefully)
Over in New Zealand, in Christchurch I'm led to believe, there has been a huge media centre built, called the IBC. In fact, the media centre was one of the buildings to be damaged in the earthquakes quite some time ago now. The media centre is a massive switching centre, routing out signals from the various grounds around New Zealand onto the fibre optic and satellite links that will get the pictures back here.
All the games will be covered by TVNZ, so I'm told, who will make their pictures available to the entire world. This feed is known as the World Feed and will have on it a full 1080i HD picture with various audio channels on it. A full 5.1 Dolby mix (surround sound), a stereo mix and a referee's microphone channel. On the World Feed there is usually no commentary, just the sound effects of being in the stadium. This World Feed is offered to the various outside broadcast trucks from the other tv stations on site, for them to mix on their own commentary and any pitchside cameras used for interviews etc.
So leaving the ground will be a World Feed and an ITV feed both with their own backup circuits, going to the IBC building in Christchurch. These feeds will get there on fibre optic paths or via satellite links from each of the grounds.
The route from New Zealand to the UK is quite unbelievable. Leaving the IBC building, the World main and backup, and the ITV main and backup will go via fibre optic to Australia, then on a fibre cable system that travels across the bed of the Pacific Ocean to America, across the States and on another fibre across the Atlantic, ending up at a company called Globecast who are based in Grays Inn Road, London, the same building as the National ITV News. From there, the signals are fed over to the London Studios and then down to the studio.
These signals, although following the same sort of route from New Zealand, are kept well and truly apart, so that if one fibre optic trunk gets damaged, the other paths will remain unaffected. Even for the short distance between Globecast and the London Studios, the different main and backup paths go in different directions across London and into the building from different sides.
Within the London Studios, there is a room called Lines MCR (Master Control Room) where all these paths come in and out of the studio complex. It's just undergone a £300,000 refit so that it is able to cope with the demands of the World Cup. Between this room and New Zealand there will be 10 seperate feeds coming in, (from the IBC and also from team hotels and various other locations) and three feeds going the other way to carry the studio output, an ITV off-air signal and a high quality path in case we have to send the outside broadcast over there any material that has to be used in the programmes.
Come the knock out stages, all the main and backup paths are increased in number as additional backup paths come across from New Zealand via satelitte to the Napa Valley in California and then back up and down from space to hop over to Britain. This is because those matches will be presented from New Zealand and not from the studio. In the group stages, if the feeds from NZ die, you can come back to the studio for a chat to fill the gap, however, if all the presenters are over there, there is no studio to fall back on, hence the need for further backup paths.
I'm sticking my neck out here, but I'm pretty confident that if it happens in New Zealand, it should get back to London. However, if the company that does ITV's transmissions stick to form, they will accidentally cut to a commercial break just as Ashton is about to swallow dive over for England's first try. Anyone remember Steven Gerrard's goal for England in the World Cup?
During the week, the studio side of things will progress with the equipment rigs being completed and rehearsals taking place so perhaps I will write some more then. It will give me something to do at 3am Thursday morning when we are doing a rehearsal for the following days first match.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:06:08:03:08 by St Marlowe.
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin
Tetleys Block F E143
very interesting read indeed Ken.
Saint til I die
One thing though, why set up in Chch? They had another 4,9 shake just the other day.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:06:10:38:52 by Bob Stainsby.
Rarua, I don't know why the choice of Christchurch was made initially, I sort of assumed it would be in Auckland as that's where most of the New Zealand TV world is based. I think the decision and build was done way before the first major earthquake so it made it near impossible to switch locations at a later date.
I have done the trip to Wellington and it is indeed a long way. Fortunately for me I turned left when I got on the plane which helped a lot.
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Benjamin Franklin
Tetleys Block F E143
A good friend of ours (local) runs a small OB company who specialise in sports events and have the news contract for Sky for the England team at RWC. i.e. the interviews with the England team at their base etc. Pete was telling me before he flew out to get things set up, they use satellite links back to Sky in the UK, uploaded directly from their van. I guess that's usual for mobile broadcasting like that. Mind you, they got set up and then found the satellite they had been allocated space on didn't have a footprint covering NZ so had to rapidly organise a new uplink to more suitable one.
I'm not sure of the cost between using fibre and satellites or indeed which are considered 'safer'. All I do know that the 10 incomming feeds to London and the 3 going the other way are booked for the entire tournament.
World order has been restored as I've just heard "World in Union" being played out of sound control.
My only experience of something similar, is trying to get a good old fashioned ISDN Codex to 'talk' to the studio, I got it working eventually, but relied on a mobile phone for reportage!!
Broadcast technology really has come a long way in such a few years.
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