And here I am at the ASB – the studio equipment block. The studio with a huge LED screen – 2 meters high and 15 meters long, with six cameras and 32 light sources on the engineering ceiling. There’s a special console for these lights, through which brightness and color are controlled. The position of the lighting devices had to be manually adjusted using a long poker and scaffolding (a ladder on wheels with a platform). All this is separated by a soundproof door and a glass wall, so we can see each other but not hear (sometimes there’s hustle in the ASB). And a curtain that spans the entire wall, needed so that guests in the studio aren’t distracted by us if necessary.
And so, for example, we’re preparing for the news live.
The operator with an assistant adjusts the cameras and lights, moves furniture to marked spots. For such frequent broadcasts, there are already marks for the table, chair, cameras, presets for the lights. The director’s assistant studies the news (script), checks that all the stories from the editors have arrived in a specific folder in the network. Marks which ones are there, which aren’t, sets up the playlist with stories, breaks. The person responsible for the screen sets the background on it, usually also on presets. Presets are saved settings. They are used everywhere for repeatable processes. Titles are being prepared. And for the news – we had a small animation with the weather forecast at the end of the news. All titles in the stories are set by editors. The prompter formats the text for the announcer on the prompter computer. The director oversees everyone and makes adjustments if he dislikes something. The announcer gets makeup, a radio microphone is clipped on, a mini-earpiece in the ear, so he can be prompted during the broadcast. He warms up, reading the news and tongue twisters.
And then, the broadcast. The studio control gives a countdown from 10 to “go”. The director warns the announcer about this in his ear. And the director’s assistant launches the news intro from his computer. The director, accordingly, chooses the right video input. And in the studio, on their mini director’s console, they switch the video input from PlayOut to the studio. The studio is live.
The operator at the control desk manages the cameras (zoom in, zoom out), the director chooses which camera to broadcast. More precisely, not the camera, but the video input. On the console, the main video inputs are cameras 1-6, VMIX (assistant’s computer), skype in 4 channels, Live in 4 channels (these are the operators’ cameras outside, streaming via 4G), titles (with an alpha channel – transparent overlay), video from a computer for video bridges and others.
The prompter scrolls the text, the announcer reads it, looking straight into the camera. The thing is, under the camera, horizontally to the floor, there’s a prompter monitor, and directly in front of the camera, there’s polished glass at a 45-degree angle – in it, the announcer sees his text. It turns out that the camera films right through this glass, and it seems to the viewer that the announcer knows all this text by heart and therefore looks into the camera without looking away))
And then the announcer says: “More on this story…”. And the director commands “Launch!” – the assistant launches the edited story, the director chooses the corresponding video input. The story lasts a couple of minutes – everyone is busy with their tasks (you can even run to the bathroom if the story’s length allows). And sometimes, a file from the editors doesn’t arrive, then the news script is adjusted. The announcer is warned that we’re skipping such-and-such news, the prompter also removes it. 10 seconds before, the assistant warns everyone – the work continues.
In the end, the weather, and farewell. The operator gives the camera a pull back, the finishing jingle. And in the studio control, the countdown when he must take over the broadcast. Launches the next show and on his console switches back to his playlist.
And that’s not all. If the editors didn’t manage to prepare everything for the broadcast, then the reading of missed news by the announcer in the studios follows. I.e., the prompter scrolls – the announcer reads. All of this, of course, is recorded and sent for re-editing of all the news with additions of what was missed in the live broadcast. If everything went smoothly, then the recorded news is simply transcoded into H.264 format, and this file goes into Play Out for repeats.
In the studio control room, after these procedures, work is bustling. The duration of the news can’t be precisely predicted, so the entire playlist shifts off its schedule. Adjustments begin, switching one show for another (a couple of minutes longer or shorter). Intervals, intros, commercials, educational clips, etc., are shuffled. The main goal is to get all the primary programs back to their scheduled start times.
And sometimes, the opposite happens. A live broadcast is underway, and the command from the studio control is “Stretch for another 3 minutes and 45 seconds.” This is whispered to the hosts. Using their skill, they can finish the broadcast with up to 5 seconds of precision.
It turns out that the ASB is a single organism with a significant number of people who must work smoothly and synchronously. Everyone must perform their function clearly and on time. One mistake, and the entire broadcast coughs.
Well, dear readers, I think I’ve slightly unveiled the mystery behind the screen. Like you, I used to watch movies or shows without realizing the amount of work put into them. I’ve even edited videos myself, choosing shots, effects, and spending a day or more to create something special (lasting about 10-15 seconds). Then proudly showing it to family, “Look what I made,” and they’re like, “Okay, turn it on; I’ll come over in a sec.” Both funny and sad)
If you need quality video content – write or call, we’ll do everything. Good luck and success!
A short video review. Illustration for this article. It’s about that studio I’ve been telling you about.
