Sports broadcast production faces some of the greatest challenges in storytelling and “on the spot” analysis. Being able to react quickly and provide viewers with fresh visuals is one of the strengths of WASP3D’s Sports Graphics Workflow. Integrating live data from scoring boards and multiple other sources, such as social media, is just the beginning of 3D Sports graphics and requires different ways of presenting the story. Be it sophisticated full-frame graphics, comparative sports charts or OTS instant clip presentations, or using interactive graphics through WASPi Mimosa, Tracked Virtual Graphics or Augmented Reality Graphics, the WASP3D Sports workflow addresses Real-time Sports graphics productions within the studio and in the OB van at the same time. Broadcasters Globally opt for our Custom Sports Graphics Packages to handle projects like FIFA.
Routine Operations
Daily operation simply requires loading a playlist in the Sting Client playlist manager and selecting from a list of quick templates (i.e. name straps, tickers, OTS, full frame graphics etc. already made available by the Graphics department) and populate the relevant day’s information into the custom-made data entry forms of individual scenes of the template.
Data entry can be manual or automatic depending on the channel’s requirement (databases, RSS feeds, etc.) and these custom forms are specific to each scene thus greatly reducing the possibility of errors.
For example, a Sports graphics template may have been created by the Graphics department as “generic” to a sport like basketball. The template design would include a variety of scenes specific to commonly expected events (i.e. scoreboards, comparison charts, penalties, player profile, etc.) which require the relevant day’s match information to reflect team line ups, player statistics, venue information, etc. Such “data entry” requirements can be automated in the design phase by creating specific custom data forms and identifying the corresponding data sources (i.e. databases, feeds or even excel sheets or odbc). For specific producer decisions, such as player comparisons, the operator can simply access the custom data form in the specially designed Panel Playlist and access images, videos and graphics elements to quickly populate graphics via drag & drop. The WASP3D WAX Asset Exchange module provides users the flexibility to search for assets based on metadata and displays a thumbnail view of media assets for enhanced pictorial view and ease of navigation.
The Panel Playlist is always loaded and all that is needed is to enter\modify the data of the relevant event’s information to play or change on-air. The inter-scene & intra-scene triggering functionality automatically manages the transitions between different scene elements or the scene itself. The transition can be automatically triggered by live data or by an incoming scene making the presentation more dynamic and sophisticated. There is no scripting required to manage the interaction between templates.
Environments using OB-Vans
In this case, the WASP3D workflow offers reduced hardware workflow alternative using NewTek’s Tricaster platform. WASP3D’s Frame Sting Server interfaces directly to several Tricaster models to provide a simple but effective, template based graphics system. The self-contained system includes the Sting Client playout manager and the Kernel controller database which can synchronize to the studio Kernel controller database and replicate the necessary assets and content for the particular venue.
Remote production
Using the DataBuzz module, sports producers can remotely assemble a new presentation and visualize how the associated real-time 4k Sports graphics and animations of the scene will actually behave on air. Sports Producers thus have the option to create “on the fly” Sports graphic designs using the available graphics to create a rundown without any boundaries. Templates can be accessed from different folders and multiple instances of these templates can be posted in the rundown to show the information graphically without any interaction with a graphic designer.
The DataBuzz module allows a Sports Producer to literally assemble a variety of new graphical presentations in a scene and assigning data at will. For example, making a quick comparative bar/pie chart is a matter of filling on a form and assigning labels and data.
The resulting presentation can then be assigned to a specific playlist at the studio to go on air. This can be achieved using a notebook computer.
Social media graphics "on the fly"
Oftentimes, breaking news explodes in social media first but the amount of content is so overwhelming that sorting and finding newsworthy “jewels” becomes time consuming or difficult to manage. WASP3D’s Social Media Tree system automatically sifts through content and discards undesirable items (i.e. bad words via custom dictionaries, blocked topics or users, custom rules) to present Producers with valid content. Producers can then decide how the content will go on air, be it under a specific topic, scene of a particular playlist or even multiple playlists. Social Media content can thus be delivered quickly and accurately while the news remains hot.