RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel Embrace Hybrid Production for The American Rodeo Sneaky Big Studios, Rush Media, D2 Journey, Skycam to play big roles for this two-day event By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, March 6, 2020 - 11:43 am
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If the old Wild West was a high-stakes shootout to strike it rich, The American Rodeo in Dallas is bringing justice to its western roots. Since 2014, the annual event pits two dichotomies of the sport against each other for a $1 million prize: the elite class from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and those willing to make a name for themselves through four days of qualifying. For the richest two-day event of its kind on Saturday, March 7, RFD-TV and The Cowboy Channel are blowing the production roof off AT&T Stadium with a traditional broadcast and a quad-box viewing option with the help of Rush Media's onsite infrastructure, Sneaky Big Studios' at-home support, D2 Journey's transmission services, and multiple systems from Skycam.
This is the first time anything like this has ever been done in the world of rodeo, and, because of that, getting the onsite production crew as well as the Sneaky Big-based production team in time' will be critical to success, says Ben Grafchik, director, business development, Sneaky Big Studios. This project is unique in the sense that we are utilizing multiple sites to produce two different shows. Utilizing a local crew in Phoenix as well as IP-based transport allows us to execute this production at a cost-effective price.
Inside the House: Rush Media Solidifies Primary Onsite Foundation
In the bowels of AT&T Stadium, the production will start with the hard work of Rush Media.
Rush Media will be responsible for multiple facets of the show, from production and crew to RF cameras around the venue.
We'll be packaging this production with The Cowboy Channel, says Will Wright, VP, business development, Rush Media. We'll be securing the truck and crew and assisting in the technical and production management of this show. We're incredibly proud to work with The Cowboy Channel as well as with Sneaky Big and Skycam on this production.
In addition, the company is involved in ideas on the creative side as well, which include a handful of cameras that will greatly improve the quality of the broadcast.
We've worked with [Inertia Unlimited President] Jeff Silverman on bringing in some specialty RF cameras, including [ones] on the barrels for the barrel-racing portion of the event, he continues. We also are bringing in a wearable RF POV camera that will be put on the rodeo clowns, bull fighters, and others involved in the rodeo to give very unique and dynamic shots.
From Far, Far Away: Sneaky Big Studios Lends Offsite Hand for Broadcast, Multifeed
Situated in Scottsdale, AZ, nearly 1,000 miles from the venue, Sneaky Big Studios will be one of the major players in the at-home production. Its equipment will be on hand in support of Rush Media's in-person work.
We will be providing a complete production-control-room setting, says Grafchik. For this event, we'll be using our Grass Valley Karrera K-Frame switcher, Studer Vista V audio console, and Ross Xpression graphics system.
One of the bigger projects that the company is handling this year is an application typically seen on ESPN's presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship. Similar to the network's MegaCast, most notably the Command Center, Sneaky Big is constructing an amalgamation of four camera feeds to be shown on one screen on RFD-TV's sister network, The Cowboy Channel.
Sneaky Big Studios developed the graphics for the quad-box format that will be shown for the first time on The Cowboy Channel.
Our animation department designed the entire MegaCast graphics from the ground up, Grafchik says. We worked closely with The Cowboy Channel to ensure that they got the exact look that they wanted.
To add another at-home wrinkle, Haivision's MakitoX video encoder will feed the new quad-box format to RFD-TV/The Cowboy Channel headquarters in Nashville.
Although the bulk of the workload will be handled at its home base, engineering support will be available for onsite teams to ensure that workflows and communications operate at the highest level possible.
The Middleman: D2 Journey Combines Both Locations' Efforts
For a massive production with a huge number of moving parts, there needs to be a conduit linking the teams. In this case, D2 Journey will be tasked with bridging the gap between the sites.
D2 Journey is providing its Transport4 appliances at both AT&T Stadium and Sneaky Big's production facility in Scottsdale, says Grafchik. D2 Journey's appliances will transport multiple channels of video in frame-accurate synchronization with ultra-low latency around 200 ms. They will also supply multiple channels of comms, which will integrate into Sneaky Big's existing 4-wire comms infrastructure, as well as tally and serial data transport.
D2 Journey's transmission backbone is an open circuit with back-and-forth accessibility. Onsite staffers can send information to Sneaky Big and receive different information from Scottsdale. The overall system that will be in place can be complex.
[Outbound] signals are encoded and transmitted over the public internet back to Sneaky Big's production facility, Grafchik explains. They are decoded and the video channels de-embedded and routed into the production switcher. Two return video paths for program and iso [feeds] will also be transmitted in the reverse direction from Sneaky Big to the site. For communications and IFB, the analog line-level inputs and outputs of the existing 4-wire comms facilities at each end will be connected to D2 Journey'
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RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel Embrace Hybrid Production for The American Rodeo Sneaky Big Studios, Rush Media, D2 Journey, Skycam to play big roles for this two-day event By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
