Remote production became almost the most important subject in outside (and inside) broadcast in March 2020. For the past few years, innovation research into remote production had been driven by the desire to achieve efficiencies and greater flexibility, often it was more an engineer's hobby. The appetite for remote production was cautious, and viewed as somewhat of a novelty. Then, with the global pandemic raging and physical distancing protocols in place, remote production became about survival, not just efficiency.
The challenge when something becomes fashionable, becomes a buzz word is that everyone attaches themselves to it, whether they’re really doing it or not. Over the last 10 years ‘IP’ & ‘cloud’ have been perfect examples of this, 20 years ago it was the word ‘digital.’
So what is true remote production? Well the utopia would probably be a 5G connection straight off the back of every camera and into the cloud, directors and producers sat in coffee shops or newly built sheds in their back gardens, graphics and VT being controlled by operators in countries with a day rate a fraction of the UK. Utopia is probably a little while off yet though...
So far we have seen some very basic set-ups when BTSport & Channel 4s Sunday Brunch delivered programmes at the start of the pandemic using remote presenter dial-ins. If everyone’s honest these were really no different to the remote guest news links that have been seen for decades. Yet at the other end of the spectrum we see SailGP made almost entirely remotely and producing a high quality live sports output, comparable with any OB truck. Interestingly both these examples were from the same facilities company - Timeline TV.
The sophistication of a remote production are perhaps a reflection of the willingness to take the leap away from the comfort of their traditional way of working. The development of Ip technology goes hand in hand with remote production and early adopters have had a head start. This will only drive uptake further as others see what has and hasn’t worked.
The pandemic provides a unique challenge for all production professionals, many of whom have combined technologies in innovative ways to ensure that their shows continue. These innovations are opening many people’s eyes to the advantages to running productions remotely – talent can join from anywhere, the best production team can be assembled, people’s availability has increased – and we expect that remote production solutions will be in higher and higher-demand as people adjust to this new normal, the potential has yet to be fully seen.