![](//www.4rfv.com/images/no_image.jpg)
Live From the FIFA Women's World Cup: FIFA's Florin Mitu, HBS's Stefan Wistuba Discuss Groundbreaking Workflows Live coverage is produced from a hub in Sydney; non-live content, from London By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, August 10, 2023 - 1:39 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The production philosophy that FIFA and HBS have embraced for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand raises the bar when it comes to new concepts in remote production. It is the largest and most prestigious event on which the teams producing the live match coverage are based not at the stadiums but at a central production hub. And it could be a game-changer.
IP flypack capture kits at each of the 10 stadiums transport the audio and video signals to the hub. At that hub, in Sydney, are four main galleries where production teams that historically would work in a truck in a car park go about their business of producing world-class World Cup coverage.
Florin Mitu, head of broadcast production, FIFA, and Stefan Wistuba, project director, HBS, sat down with SVG Co-Executive Director Ken Kerschbaumer at the Women's World Cup IBC in Sydney Olympic Park to discuss the new workflows, IBC operations, and much more.
HBS's Stefan Wistuba (left) and FIFA's Florin Mitu in the FIFA Women's World Cup IBC
This year, FIFA and HBS have a new philosophy for production: the match production teams are working in galleries at a hub here in Sydney instead of in trucks at the stadium. How have things been going?
Mitu: From a FIFA perspective, I can say we were looking forward to doing something like this setup with the remote production. Sustainability is a big factor in everything that we are doing and what we are planning going forward, and this has allowed us to see in the real world how it would work.
In general, we can say it works well. It obviously involves some challenges in the planning phases and at the start of the tournament until it started working like a well-oiled mechanism. But we're very happy so far.
It's more sustainable, but what are the benefits you have seen with the production teams?
Mitu: My feeling is that it creates a team atmosphere that also achieves the consistency we're so keen to have at the World Cup. Everybody is in the same building and working in different galleries, but they also stay in the same hotel so it's easier for them to talk to each other and exchange experiences and learnings. Of course, there is the downside that they never see the cameramen, but, nevertheless, everyone has managed to adapt to the setup, which is working well.
Wistuba: I agree. We took the approach that, in all areas of the event, we wanted to do things differently. Not just the live side of the production but also the non-live-content-production side, which is being done out of a hub in the UK and in a streamlined way from the IBC.
In every aspect, we want to be more sustainable and challenge ourselves. We had five production teams working across 10 stadiums, so how does that all work from a centralized perspective? It worked out well, but the setup phase was demanding as we had not only to deal with the live side of rehearsals and checks but also to integrate all the other sides from FIFA, like FIFA Football Technology and Data and FIFA Infotainment. A big number of feeds had to be routed properly between the live hub, IBC, and non-live hub working in a different time zone.
The first week was tough. Even with great facilities like we have here, nothing is ever plug-and-play. You work through a lot of long nights getting everything resolved. The goal is to have a remote production where the viewers don't notice a difference from a cutting perspective or replay perspective, and that has been achieved.
I also think the production teams feel good being in the remote facility. They have a comfortable environment to work in, and things have settled down, and they are in a groove. They're not traveling; [they are] able to walk to the live hub. They're rested and have been able to produce a lot more games individually, compared with previous tournament rotations. If they had to travel, we would need as many as 10 production teams for this event.
We're also using a lot of the local Australian and New Zealand camera operators and teams and marrying them up with the international teams, which has worked out very well in terms of quality, leaving a legacy, and reducing the carbon footprint.
And a lot of those local production people have been working this way for a few years so I am sure that must have made you more comfortable with wanting to work this way.
Wistuba: One hundred percent.
Mitu: We employed four directors who have all done remote productions at some time, not just during the time of COVID. The only one who had not is Sebastian Von Freyberg from Germany, and he has felt very, very comfortable working remotely.
The World Cup hub gets busy hours prior to match kickoff.
Another important step we, together with HBS, had undertaken was to bring in three new directors to the FIFA World Cup setup. Jamie Oakford from the UK and Freyberg from Germany have done World Cups before, but Gemma Knight from the UK, Angus Millar from Australia, and Danny Melger from Netherlands are new to the World Cup, and we're very comfortable with their work. It's a very important game for FIFA to have new blood on board. Back to working remotely, the fact that they can look to Sebastian and Jamie and work with them helps their development as FIFA World Cup directors.
How are camera meetings and production-team meetings held?
Wistuba: I think it's more than just camera meetings on the day of the match; it's also briefing the ops, and especially the local ops that haven't been working with
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
19/05/2024
Missed any of our product coverage during your busy week? The TV Tech weekly product and services news wrap-up provides links to all of our coverage from May 13...
19/05/2024
LeVar Burton will host the new game show Trivial Pursuit on The CW, while Raven-Symon will host Scrabble....
19/05/2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to debates, set for June 27 on CNN and September 10 on ABC....
19/05/2024
Young Sheldon signs off after seven seasons on CBS, when the series finale airs Thursday, May 18. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik reprise their roles as Sheldon Co...
18/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Bundling is back in a big way, with all the major streaming companies and many pay TV operators exploring ways to simplify the consumer experie...
18/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the June Open Commission Meeting schedule...
18/05/2024
Matthews Studio Equipment has introduced Grip Rail, which the company said offers a better way to mount equipment on location, in the studio, or on the fly....
18/05/2024
In a notable development in the industry-wide effort to address privacy concerns while improving efficacy of marketing efforts in a cookieless ad landscape, IAB...
18/05/2024
Missed any of our product coverage during your busy week? The TV Tech weekly product and services news wrap-up provides links to all of our coverage from May 13...
18/05/2024
DHD Elevates the Art of Podcast Production
Brie Clayton May 17, 2024
0 Comments
Hero image: the DHD DX2 base and expansion modules
Latest-generation ...
17/05/2024
Aerojet Rocketdyne has worked to modernize facilities at its Camden, Arkansas, l...
17/05/2024
The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise rules governing low power TV stations (LPTV) in a number of areas, including online ...
17/05/2024
Demystifying Post-Production: Introducing Cinema 4D Particles Week 4
Brie Clayton May 17, 2024
0 Comments
With the spring release of Maxon One, we...
17/05/2024
Takashi Yamazaki Film Godzilla Minus One Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 17, 2024
0 Comments
Hero image credit: 2023 TOHO CO., LT...
17/05/2024
Sterling Event Group Streamlines Live Event Productions with AJA
Brie Clayton May 17, 2024
0 Comments
Live event productions only happen once, which ...
17/05/2024
Muster Ngobi, product manager at LYNX Technik tells TVBEurope how the ever-evolving media industry provides a truly dynamic working environment
By Matthew Corr...
17/05/2024
NEW YORK As declines in linear TV viewing make the ongoing popularity of live sports, particularly football, central to financial success of the TV industry, th...
17/05/2024
During Netflixs second Upfront presentation to advertisers, Amy Reinhard, Netflix's president of advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growt...
17/05/2024
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has added to its leadership team for news by promoting Jeff Kiernan a veteran journalist and general manager of Scripps'...
17/05/2024
Top executives from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently insisted that their joint venture to launch the Venu Sports streaming bundle in the...
17/05/2024
ESPN has announced that its coverage of Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut in the Indiana Fever versus the Connecticut Sun season opener was the most-watched WNBA g...
17/05/2024
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
Brie Clayton May 16, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design announced today that Yoic...
17/05/2024
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vo...
17/05/2024
The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation took place Wednesday, May 15 at ...
17/05/2024
Season 25 of The Voice wraps on NBC Tuesday, May 21, with performances from The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson, Lainey Wilson, Muni Long, Thomas Rhett and ...
17/05/2024
New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network d...
17/05/2024
Netflix, a newcomer to the advertising business, said it plans to launch an in-house advertising technology platform....
17/05/2024
Netflix shared some programming projects at an upfront presentation in New York. Those include the basketball-themed comedy series Running Point, a Mindy Kaling...
17/05/2024
Plex is offering movie and music collectors a 20% discount off its Lifetime Plex Pass as part of its Geek Week sale....
17/05/2024
Giant media buyer GroupM said it named Toby Jenner as global president, Group M Clients, a new position at the company....
17/05/2024
Smaller advertisers are increasingly buying connected TV programmatically, according to a new report from FreeWheel, Comcast's ad-tech unit....
17/05/2024
TCLtvPlus, the streaming app on smart TVs made by TCL, has added live linear channel from music-video programmer Vevo....
17/05/2024
StackAdapt said it made a deal to integrate data from Samba TV into its programmatic advertising platform....
17/05/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa gets a rude awakening when Kgosi blackmails himDon't miss Friday, 17 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem ...
17/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Dorothy is blown away by Ona's sketches for her w...
17/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle has a visit from her past that leaves her very unsett...
17/05/2024
WO Traffic provides a solid foundation from which stations can manage, execute, and scale end-to-end ad trafficking and sales, both today and into the future. W...
17/05/2024
Broadcast Innovation in India: How AI and Automated Production Helps Smaller Spo...
17/05/2024
SVG Sports Cloud Production Forum Gives Refresher Course on Cloud-Based Tools, E...
17/05/2024
WNBA Tip-Off 2024: Scripps Sports Constructs New Studio for Second Season of WNB...
17/05/2024
SVG College Summit 2024: Auburn's War Eagle Productions Breaks Down How They...
17/05/2024
Back to All News
Netflix & Shondaland Announce the Song List and Soundtrack for...
17/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 16 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
17/05/2024
Prison Journalism: Letter to my mothersThabo Mthembu was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2014 to 2019. Read Thabo's story
by Thabo Mthembu
17-05-20...
17/05/2024
Paul McCartney becomes UK's first billionaire musicianMusic icon Paul McCartney has become the UK's first billionaire musician, according to the Sunday ...
17/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Sakhile advises Tiny against sabotaging PetuniaDon't miss Friday, 17 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke ...
17/05/2024
RT has today announced that Operation Transformation (OT) is to end after 17 seasons. As series come to an end each year, RT undertakes an editorial review to...
17/05/2024
By Craig Anderton
When I heard about binaural beats, I was interested-I like beats, and I'm into binaural audio. But this has nothing to do with either o...