Freedom Studios in New Jersey Offer New Option for REMI Productions
20/04/2021
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 9:30 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The global COVID-19 pandemic introduced a few new words and phrases to the sports-production lexicon. Topping the list: pivot and accelerate. And Clifton, NJ-based Freedom Broadcast Group embraced both when it converted warehouse space where its trucks were parked into studios and control rooms.
Freedom Studios offers plenty of social distancing for production crews.
We sketched out a plan to build two rooms for regional broadcasts and then two more for national broadcasts, four announcer rooms, a master-control room, kitchen, a couple of bathrooms, and an upper area with meeting rooms, says Freedom Broadcast Group's John Brown. When the pandemic hit, we decided to lay down lumber, sketches, and built out our own studios in a warehouse.
The facility currently has four production rooms in different configurations, he says. Each national room can accommodate 11 people, and each regional room can have up to nine; each room also has a separate audio room. Brown adds that there is the possibility of expanding into the adjacent warehouse to create new rooms.
Gear includes Grass Valley Korona K-Frame switchers with 3 M/E, graphics gear from ChyronHego or Ross, 16 channels of Evertz DreamCatchers for replay as well as EVS XT3 servers, and Allen & Heath audio boards.
Kitay Productions President Joel Kitay began working with Brown and Freedom Broadcast when the two companies teamed up four years ago to package productions of New York Cosmos matches. That first REMI experience resulted in the vision for Freedom Broadcast Studios that Kitay and Brown have brought to life.
According to Kitay, more than 300 shows have been done at the studios, many of them with different configurations. Basketball games, for example, had announcers coming into the studios, and football games did not. The Freedom Broadcast team quickly built announcer studios.
The key is, everything in every room was pre-wired so we can swap things in and out, Kitay explains. We have a big enough router that can handle everything, and, if the need arises, we can build a couple more rooms.
Three studios allow announcers like Bill Raftery (left) and Ian Eagle to broadcast safely.
The studios are the latest addition to Freedom Broadcast Group's arsenal, which also includes five trucks designed for six to eight camera shows with up to eight paths of transmission. Since the linchpin of REMI production is a robust IP backbone, connectivity at the studios includes multiple 1-Gbps circuits. However, the truck's mux uplink capabilities enable a strong backup solution when IP is not available or is failing at the site. Brown says the philosophy was to create a facility that allowed the fleet of Freedom Broadcast trucks and the studios to pitch and catch signals between them.
We can send our trucks out and provide a redundant plan to get the signals back into our studios, says Brown. It gives the client one-stop shopping, where we can do the packaging, crewing, and give them a finished product.
The facilities can also tap into trucks from third-party providers, such as Game Creek Video and NEP. CBS Sports was a key client upon the studios' opening, using it for remote production of NFL games, college football, college basketball, the PGA Championship, and more.
The main thing the client wanted was to protect their staff and take them off the road during the pandemic, Kitay explains. We have a solution that allowed their producer, director, AD, BA, and others to work safely from a local facility.
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/04/20/freedom-studios-in-new-jersey-o... |
See more stories from svg |
More from Sports Video Group
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Switch, TATA Communications, Telstra, TVU Networks, Verizon, and More
NAB 2024 in Review: West Hall - SportsTech Buzz From AWS, Appear, Ateme, The Swi...
19/04/2024
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the First Time
NAB 2024 Draws 61,000+ Attendees With More Than Half Attending the Show for the ...
18/04/2024
Ping Pong for the Masses: Bringing an Old Sport to a Brand New Audience With World Table Tennis
Ping pong for the masses: Bringing an old sport to a brand new audience with Wor...
18/04/2024
Fanatical Fans: IMG on Bringing the World of Table Tennis to a New Global Audience for WTT
Fanatical fans: IMG on bringing the world of table tennis to a new global audien...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 17 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
17/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Wednesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full sw...
17/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with the NHL and Version 12 of the Zixi Platform
Live From NAB Show 2024: Zixi CEO Gordon Brooks on Live Cloud Production with th...
16/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Tuesday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 3:15 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing,...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrec's Henry Goodman, Solid State Logic's Tom Knowles on Audio in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: Calrecs Henry Goodman, Solid State Logics Tom Knowles o...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switch's George Lopez on Remote Production, The Cloud, and the Future of Connectivity
Live From NAB Show 2024: The Switchs George Lopez on Remote Production, The Clou...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveU's Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Light Weight Production
Live From NAB Show 2024: LiveUs Steve Wind-Mozley on IP, REMI Solutions for Ligh...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Design's Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Production Switchers, Recent Work in Replay and IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Blackmagic Designs Bob Caniglia on Upgrades to ATEM Pro...
16/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canon's Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera Control App, Enhanced Use of Free Viewpoint
Live From NAB Show 2024: Canons Staff Gives a Tour of New Lenses, Multi-Camera C...
15/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Monday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Monday, April 15, 2024 - 3:00 am Print This Story The NAB Show is in full swing, a...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-End Graphics Tech
Live From NAB Show 2024: Vizrts Nicholas Jameson on the Democratization of High-...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sony's Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connecting Live Production Resources
Live From NAB Show 2024: Sonys Hugo Gaggioni on the Power of Sharing and Connect...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawo's Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes Latest on IP
Live From NAB Show 2024: Lawos Andreas Hilmer Walks Through HOME Apps, Dishes La...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS' Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Production in the Cloud
Live From NAB Show 2024: AWS Julie Souza on the Maturation of Live Sports Produc...
15/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses' Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo HZK14-100mm Lens, Adding Cinematic Feel to Broadcasts
Live From NAB Show 2024: FUJINON Lenses Stosh Durbacz on the Debut of the Duvo H...
14/04/2024
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas
SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2024: Sunday's Latest From Vegas By SVG Staff Sunday, April 14, 2024 - 12:41 am Print This Story The NAB Show kicks off today, a...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions' Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth and Supporting Freelancers with the ProCrewz App
Live From NAB Show 2024: Program Productions Bob Carzoli on Investment Growth an...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appear's Thomas Bostrm Jrgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed McGivern on Backing the Continued Growth of Live Sports
Live From NAB Show 2024: Appears Thomas Bostr m J rgensen, Alex Pannell, and Ed ...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagi's Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers to The Cloud and the Exciting Growth of FAST Channels
Live From NAB Show 2024: Amagis Dan Marshall on Migrating On-Prem Data Centers t...
14/04/2024
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Video's David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Major Product Intros
Live From NAB Show 2024: Ross Videos David Ross on Celebrating 50 Years with Maj...
14/04/2024
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting Solution
NAB 2024: NHL, Verizon Business, and AWS Roll Out 5G-enabled Cloud Broadcasting ...
12/04/2024
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL...
12/04/2024
NAB 2024: Suppliers Continue To Expand Networked-Audio Offerings
NAB 2024: Suppliers Continue To Expand Networked-Audio Offerings New and updated products boast IP and ST 2110, software systems, virtual control By Dan Daley,...
12/04/2024
Amazon Prime Video Chooses Onsite Production Path for Its 27 NWSL Matches
Amazon Prime Video Chooses Onsite Production Path for Its 27 NWSL Matches The streamer made its league debut with the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup on March 15 By Kr...
12/04/2024
ESPN Rides Wave of Women's-Hoops Momentum Into WNBA Draft Production at Brooklyn Academy of Music
ESPN Rides Wave of Women's-Hoops Momentum Into WNBA Draft Production at Broo...
12/04/2024
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mimir's Andr Torsvik on Enabling Remote Collaboration Through the Cloud
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Mimir's Andr Torsvik on Enabling Remote Collabor...
12/04/2024
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman
Inside the MultiVersus NHL Face-Off Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's D...
11/04/2024
Case Study: Inside ESPN's Monday Night Football AR Graphics Launch
Case Study: Inside ESPN's Monday Night Football AR Graphics Launch By SVG Staff Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 8:18 am Print This Story | Subscribe Stor...
11/04/2024
All Love: Creative Media Producer Jhalen Wingate on Capturing South Carolina Women's Basketball's National Championship
All Love: Creative Media Producer Jhalen Wingate on Capturing South Carolina Wom...
11/04/2024
Miami Marlins Leap Into Artificial Intelligence With 2024 Team Open
Miami Marlins Leap Into Artificial Intelligence With 2024 Team Open The Famous Group played a pivotal role in its third consecutive project with the club By Kr...
11/04/2024
SPORTEL Rendez-vous Buenos Aires Four Weeks Away!
SPORTEL Rendez-vous Buenos Aires Four Weeks Away! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Thursday, April 11, 2024 - 10:46 am Print This Story | Subscribe...
11/04/2024
Sinclair Turns to Generative AI for Language Translation in Original Content
Sinclair Turns to Generative AI for Language Translation in Original Content Audio for Tennis Channel's Petko Unfiltered will be translated into Spanish By...
11/04/2024
In Final Masters for Sean McManus and Verne Lundquist, CBS Sports Aims To Provide a Grand Sendoff
In Final Masters for Sean McManus and Verne Lundquist, CBS Sports Aims To Provid...
10/04/2024
Viva Las Vegas: Inside the Design of CBS Sports' Super Bowl LVIII Graphics Package
Viva Las Vegas: Inside the Design of CBS Sports' Super Bowl LVIII Graphics P...
10/04/2024
WWE 30,000-Sq.-Ft. Studio Complex Opens; Sony Verona LED Wall Is Deployed for Virtual Production
WWE 30,000-Sq.-Ft. Studio Complex Opens; Sony Verona LED Wall Is Deployed for Vi...
10/04/2024
Inside Look at Sony's NAB 2024 Booth and What Advances To Expect in Cameras, Switchers, the Cloud, and More
Inside Look at Sony's NAB 2024 Booth and What Advances To Expect in Cameras,...
09/04/2024
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most-Watched Hoops Broadcast of Any Kind Since 2019
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most-Watched H...
09/04/2024
2024 Sports Emmy Nominations: ESPN Leads the Way With 58 Nominations; CBS Sports Nabs Four Nods for Outstanding Live Special
2024 Sports Emmy Nominations: ESPN Leads the Way With 58 Nominations; CBS Sports...
09/04/2024
Canon's Newest Portable Lens Sets New Zoom Standard for Form Factor
Canons Newest Portable Lens Sets New Zoom Standard for Form Factor By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director Tuesday, April 9, 2024 - 9:35 am Print This Stor...
09/04/2024
Setting the Foundation: How College Football Is Driving the Next Generation of Network Graphics Package
Setting the Foundation: How College Football Is Driving the Next Generation of N...
09/04/2024
ShotTracker Helps Big 12 Make Data Fun for Fans; Voice Commands Bring New Level of Control
ShotTracker Helps Big 12 Make Data Fun for Fans; Voice Commands Bring New Level ...
09/04/2024
SVG College Sports Media Awards 2024: Today is the Final Deadline to Submit Entries!
SVG College Sports Media Awards 2024: Today is the Final Deadline to Submit Entr...
09/04/2024
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most Watched Hoops Broadcast of Any Kind Since 2019
2024 NCAA Women's Championship Blows Away Ratings Records, Is Most Watched H...