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UFC delivers the ULTIMATE HD experience

Oct 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY TIM O'TOOLE

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, combining the beauty of martial arts with the raw power of boxing, wrestling and kickboxing. Twenty times a year, fans attend UFC events to experience the intensity up close and personal. A worldwide fan base watches the action via pay-per-view and free broadcast television. Ensuring those fans feel as close to the action as possible is a concern that constantly drives us forward in terms of innovation and quality. That's why this year we made the leap from simply producing the events in HD to distributing them in HD as well.

The goal: HD distribution

Editor Anthony Petosa works on a UFC feature with Avid Media Composer Adrenaline in Manchester, England.

In June 2003 we began producing all UFC events in HD. However, because of bandwidth limitations, we were restricted to distributing those productions in SD. We wanted to distribute in HD so that we could bring the full beauty of HD images to our home viewing audience.

We reached that goal in February 2007. Of course, more bandwidth on the distributor side helped, but the key enabling technology was the Avid DN×HD 145 codec, coupled with the company's Media Composer Adrenaline systems. This setup allows us the ability to work efficiently in HD and provide viewers with the ultimate in broadcast quality. In addition, the production team appreciates the space-saving advantages for long-term storage provided by the DNxHD codec. (We also duplicate every tape and store them in a secure, off-site facility for long-term needs.)

Coordinating dual HD/SD operation

When we first began discussing a move to HD, our goals were clear: to replicate the SD workflows we use for the skillfully orchestrated TV production. Unlike wrestling, there is no fake drama; the action is real. UFC productions require a great deal of coordination. Video and audio elements need to be preproduced; high-end graphics and effects need to support multiple video formats and standards; lighting and staging must be set up properly; and, of course, flawless capture of the live event is crucial. Finally, there is the additional need to store the content for reuse on the Web, other original TV programs and home video.

Editing director Curtis Edge works on an Avid Media Composer Adrenaline system in a UFC on-site editing facility.

Avid delivered a one-two technology punch that has helped us make the move to HD without leaving the SD audience behind. We now rely on a nonlinear editing department that is completely based on Avid systems and a 32TB Unity MediaNetwork shared-storage system. We also have two Mac-based Media Composer Adrenaline editing systems, six Media Composer software applications, two Mojo SDI hardware accelerators, and a Deko 3000 hybrid on-air graphics system.

A strength of the systems is their ability for dual, simultaneous HD and SD operation. For example, the Deko can handle files created in both a 4:3 SD window and a 16:9 canvas flawlessly. That's particularly useful when creating an SD file with Adobe After Effects and then using it for the HD telecast. By simply telling the Deko the program is in HD, the SD image is ready to go.

Preproduction elements

Each UFC event begins with putting together scripted feature segments, clip reels and interviews with the fighters. Curtis Edge, editing director for UFC's parent company Zuffa, begins working on each three-hour pay-per-view production in his Las Vegas-based editing suites.

An assistant editor and freelancer prep pretaped elements using Media Composer Adrenaline systems in the primary editing suite, and two workstations equipped with Media Composer software and Mojo SDI hardware in a secondary edit suite. These elements include fighter clip reels, historic event footage and prevoiced features to fill in graphics templates.

Those systems tie into the Unity MediaNetwork, where show templates are accessed and additional pretaped elements are assembled. Material stored on the Unity system is also easily reused in other programming, including in teasers, on venue projection screens or on the UFC Web site.

While Edge and his team work on the video elements, UFC graphics designer Howard Zryb and his team assemble multilayered graphical information bars that are placed over the live action. PhotoShop files are placed into the Deko system, where Zryb integrates them with text, background video clips, fighter stats and bio information, and other elements.

The hybrid system's interoperability with third-party products makes our jobs a lot easier. The ability to work with Adobe, for example, lets us read complex files natively, which is important in maintaining the highest level of image quality possible. In addition, the system's ability to read information from Microsoft Excel means that a fighter's name, weight and age can be imported automatically. Along with saving time, this feature also greatly cuts back on embarrassing input errors making it to air.

Once pre-assembly of elements is completed, the editing team exports the media to a Digidesign Pro Tools system and adds sound effects to the template. A music mix and voice-overs are also laid down. Audio producer Mike Sak, owner of Kill the Messenger studio, does all of the sound design with Pro Tools. Those completed elements are then loaded into an EVS XT2 server for playback during the live event.

Even after loading the completed elements onto the server, the Media Composer systems' work is not done. A copy of all show packages is transferred to the editing workstations for last-minute editing on the day of the fights. Depending on the show, we will rent as many as five additional Media Composer Adrenaline systems to use in the live broadcast edit facility to handle the workload.

Here again, the third-party integration is a key benefit. At any point during a live match, a producer can call for any of the files to be played out from the server. The editing systems then allow for elements to be dropped into those prerecorded segments to make them appear as if they are live.

We can also input and output in both HD and SD formats simultaneously. Not having to input and create content twice introduces time and cost savings because it doesn't require a second staff. In addition, it allows us to serve SD viewers in an even better way because the image quality from HD ensures the SD image is as great as it can be. Using 4:3 center cutting of the action, we can deliver perfect HD and SD content.