JVC Streams 1,400 ft Tightrope Walk

JVC has claimed it saved a substantial amount in costs for ABC affiliate WWSB during the filming of Nik Wallend's 1,400-foot-long tightrope walk across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The event was shown live on the Discovery Channel on June 23, but WWSB used the built-in streaming capabilities of the JVC GY-HM650 ProHD mobile news camera to provide live coverage of press conferences and other events from Arizona.
With a two-person team, anchor Lauren Dorsett and creative service producer Charlie Yeagley, who handled shooting duties, the station provided live coverage of Wallenda's arrival and press conferences, as well as stand-ups from the event.
WWSB had previously covered Wallenda's tightrope walk across Niagara Falls in June 2012, where the station had coordinated with another ABC affiliate for satellite uplink time.
Jack Dillon, director of engineering of Calkins Media Broadcast Division, which is part of Pennsylvania-based Calkins Media and includes WWSB, WTXL, and WAAY, said the use of the GY-HM650’s built-in live streaming capabilities for live shots saved WWSB roughly $10,000 for satellite truck rental, as well as additional uplink fees.
"We covered a local story 1,500 miles away at a cost of travel for two people," Dillon said.
WWSB used a Verizon 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot, which Yeagley kept in his pocket during live shots. Most of the time, the GY-HM650's live delay was around two seconds, which Yeagley attributed to a "great 4G network" in the region.
"The camera setup worked during every live shot," he added.
"The quality of the output was unbelievable, considering we were using the camera with only a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot."
The GY-HM650 also streamlined the workflow. Between locations, while Dorsett was driving, Yeagley would use the camera's built-in clip trimmer to edit specific clips, which he would then upload via FTP to a shared site for the company. As a result, the individual files could be edited at WWSB or other Calkins Media stations and newspapers.
The Wallenda coverage was WWSB's first use of the camera's built-in streaming. The network is now using the technology regularly to produce live shots from Venice, Fla., which is about a 30-minute drive from the station.
pro.jvc.com
(IT/JP)