NZ Live introduces Hawk-Eye Smart Production Solutions

NZ Live introduces Hawk-Eye Smart Production Solutions
New technology automates live event broadcasting

Independent broadcast and production services company NZ Live is set to revolutionise live sports production in New Zealand with the introduction of the Hawk-Eye’s SMART Production system, an automated video production system.

The solution allows for the production of live events – not just sports – lowering the cost of production, through the deployment of intelligent software and automated cameras.

In a unique deal, NZ Live has secured the exclusive rights to the technology however, in all other territories, Sony offers Hawk-Eye directly.

NZ Live says the system can achieve massive savings in staffing levels making live television production much more accessible to sports and other live events.

Sales and operations director Ray Standidge says for a standard horse race, the production team could be reduced from 14 people to only four which is a 70 per cent saving in manpower costs.

“For a basketball game the manpower savings are even more – from 20 to four and for a cricket match we can reduce personnel from 30-plus to only six.

“The cost of producing sport at all levels of competition can be significantly reduced.
This also means that it becomes more commercially viable for lower tiered sporting competitions to be produced, streamed and / or broadcast live.

“Traditionally this has been cost prohibitive because large Outside Broadcast trucks have been required which often cost well in excess of $10 million each.”

So how does this happen? The Hawk-Eye system is more portable than a traditional outdoor broadcasting rig, easier and faster to set up and requires just a handful of people to produce a professional live broadcast, instead of traditionally large production crews, Standidge says.

As a result lower-tier games, concerts and other events can be put on air or delivered over the internet by streaming service providers such as Lightbox and Netflix at a more realistic price, he says.

“This blows the market open as, until now, only the biggest sporting codes and the biggest games have gone to air.”

Software is at the heart of the system; Hawk-Eye runs on high-end IT servers says Standidge, who describes Hawk-Eye’s system as a technological marvel: “This is an intelligent, an system which can be used to produce a number of sports or to produce any other live event, such as studio shows, concerts or anything else,” he reveals.

While the ‘brains’ of the Hawk-Eye system is the software, it controls any number of high-definition (HD) or ultra-high definition (4K) cameras set up around a cricket field, tennis court, netball court, basketball court, harness, thoroughbred or greyhound racecourse or concert stage.

Other sports will follow. These robotic cameras can also be complemented with traditional manually operated cameras if required. The software is programmed to follow the action, switching between camera angles, long or short shots, in response to what happens on the field, event centre, racecourse or studio.

All cameras and production elements are controlled by Hawk-Eye, including the insertion of graphics overlays and replays – features viewers have come to expect from a live broadcast – fully automated.

Standidge says the Hawk-Eye system is flexible, providing for a range of setups which can include manually operated cameras, and delivering a dedicated internet feed to support fan interaction through social media channels.

“But probably the most important feature of Hawk-Eye is that there is no compromise in the viewing experience. Audiences won’t know the production is automated. If anything, with 4k ultra high definition and the elimination of human error such as focus or camera wobble, Hawk-Eye is in many respects a step up.”

Standidge says the introduction of Hawk-Eye’s SMART Production is great news for national sporting organisations. “It will save costs and make it financially feasible for more sporting codes to get their events broadcast live. And as an independent production services company, NZ Live makes it easier to deliver productions to rights holders including broadcasters.”

Content owners now have more options to get their events produced and broadcast in a market previously characterised by little choice. By lowering the cost of production, more events can be covered and that means more work for specialised crews to put content on New Zealand screens,” he concludes.

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