Production Workflow for National Geographics Earth Live posted: 02/08/2017
AMV Creates a Cost-Saving Hybrid EVS-Cinedeck Production Workflow
National Geographic aired a once in a lifetime live show aptly named Earth Live' on Sunday, July 9th. The program showcased the wonders of the natural world, told through the lenses of cinematographers who dedicate their lives to documenting the extraordinary fauna of our planet. Hosted by Jane Lynch, Earth Live' was a two-hour live event that required nearly 50 channels of record (many starting days before the broadcast) to cover live feeds transmitting from twenty-eight locations across 17 countries. The production required heavy-duty engineering and resourceful coordination to pull off a Super Bowl-style live broadcast event, that was simulcast globally on National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild in 171 countries and 45 languages.
The producers of Earth Live' came to All Mobile Video, leaders in live event production, to design the workflow, build the studio set and execute a flawless show. The ingest side of Earth Live' consisted of 50 inbound signals split between EVS and Cinedeck systems. For the two-hour live show, eighteen tier one signals, the ones that would require instant playback or slow motion replay were recorded to EVS, while everything else was routed to Cinedeck ZXs for recording. Animals in their natural environment are unpredictable so it didn't make sense to limit what could be recorded due to cost restraints. The producers really appreciated being able to record every inbound signal so they didn't have to choose what did and didn't get recorded. say Lenny Laxer, SVP AMV. Our engineering team proposed Cinedeck to handle the bulk of recording during the live show and pre-show records for editorial. Using Cinedeck, we were able to bring the per-channel cost of recording 50 channels well within the customer's budget.
Behind the Scenes at National Geographics "Earth Live"
Although Earth Live' was broadcast live, recording and creating b-roll packages for playback started days earlier with Cinedecks writing DNx 145 across twenty-nine channels. Each channel was set to automatically segment every five minutes, recording directly to Small Tree's TZ5 + 15 Small Tree Shared NAS Storage systems. Beyond the cost-savings, Cinedeck features like segmenting and being able to record to a network destination made the workflow possible for the show, says Pat Pamornsut, Director of Acquisition and AMV's resident workflow guru. There were actually 40 available channels of record and playback across ten Cinedeck ZX45s. When a producer saw something they liked, they would ask us to send the clip to edit or push the clip to a shared folder on the Small Tree for playback. We were able to create clips on demand and push them to wherever they needed to go without dropping a single frame.
Pre-Show Workflow
To manage and direct the massive amount of incoming data the Main Transmission Room was custom-built for Earth Live' at AMV's 57th Street Studio. Dubbed the Matrix', it housed all the receivers, routers, EVS and Cinedecks along with a team of operators working hard behind the scenes. The Matrix was ground zero, efficiently managing the ingest, edit and playback workflow for the entire show, says Lee Blanco, AMV's Director of Engineering. When you have 50 inbound signals for live broadcast, you have to micro-manage each one. The likelihood of a signal getting scrambled or disappearing is high and we had to make sure that the incoming signals used during the live show were spotless. This room allowed us to easily handle and direct all the channels. He adds, I'm really quite proud of how well it all came together; two show segments were broadcast from the Matrix' to give viewers a behind the scenes look at how the live show came together.
Live Show Workflow
The show was flawless and the Cinedeck ZX45s recorded without a hitch, says Franklin Holmes, longtime deck operator at All Mobile Video. He continues, I've been a Cinedeck operator since the early RX days and I see Cinedeck continuing to develop solutions for multi-camera projects. For Earth Live' we relied on the improved Multi-Channel Control App. Being able to break a clip and close a file with the push of one button from a single user interface is a big deal when managing multiple channels of record across several decks. James Sheridan, the second Cinedeck operator for Earth Live' adds, Cinedeck is more sophisticated than the single channel recorders out there, but its sophistication is exactly what makes it flexible.
Being able to exceed the customer's expectations in how smooth and effortless the Earth Live' production went, started with a heavy dose of planning and coordination between the show's executives, the post-team and AMV's engineering group. It's rare for anyone to ask for a tape deliverable anymore, says Lee. And we find that because almost every production is file-based, the discussion about production workflow starts with post, which is really as it should be. Pat has been a part of AMV's successes due to his deep knowledge of post workflows. He explains, The success of a project rests on the flow between what production provides to post. It's something AMV recognizes as being critical to the success of a show, so every job we undertake begins with a post workflow consultation.
Beyond Earth Live', Pat and Lee share some other Cinedeck successes. For example, we recently did a 4K project in Miami that required 15 channels of UHD record. Editing in native 4K can be challenging so the client wanted to edit in HD for file mobility and performance. With Cinedeck, we recorded UHD ProRes 444 masters and DNx 36 as the HD proxy, says Le
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
Production Workflow for National Geographics Earth Live posted: 02/08/2017 
