BBC adopts new post production process for 'Eastenders'

‘EastEnders’ is breaking new ground in post production following BBC Post Production’s successful adoption of the Avid Adrenaline editing platform.
This forms part of a re-examination of the way that the programme is made and also includes the installation of the latest version Unity storage system and new digitising stations in the Studio galleries.
The move follows a series of workshops with the EastEnders production team, BBC Post Production and BBC Studios aimed at examining the workflow from acquisition to transmission.
As the ambitions of the show have increased, the programme has evolved to become less static and increasingly cinematic in its approach to filming and editing. BBC Post Production began to look at new ways of working and assessed various editing and storage solutions.
After investigating the options, BBC Post Production installed a 2GBit Unity with 4TB of storage, six new MediaStation XL digitising workstations and four Adrenaline editing workstations. The Adrenaline is capable of integrating all current Avid media formats, DV and in the future compressed HD, all of which can be stored on the Unity system and seamlessly edited together on the timeline.
The new Unity system offers EastEnders better media security and improved system stability. In addition, the greatly increased media capacity allows for all of the EastEnders-related work to be edited on site and generate potential cost savings.
Following a successful pilot of the new kit on one block, the phased upgrade of all the studio digitising, editing and dubbing facilities at EastEnders has been completed in September. The post team led by Jan Deas have managed the transfer from the old equipment to the new without interrupting the programme making schedule.
Jan Deas, Editor, BBC Post Production comments: "Migrating one system to another without interruption to the production of a 52 weeks a year show presents enormous challenges. We have managed to adapt the way we work and the equipment to meet EastEnders post production requirements and are still discovering new features to enhance the programme. Investing in this generation of equipment can be seen as a building block for the future and a versatile platform for further production integration."
(SP)