Graphics systems
Jun 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Michael Grotticelli
On-air graphics push the limits of imagination … at a price.
Cost-effective models
For broadcast networks and independent station groups across the country, sharing resources and reducing redundant processes has become standard production practice. These days, if you want to stay competitive, you have no choice.
For the Media General Broadcast Group, this philosophy has been extended to the creation of a centralized on-air graphics production initiative and the implementation of an innovative workflow that saves capital and gets packages on the air faster. In the news business, faster time to air means higher ratings.
From its Broadcast Division headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, Media General has put together a team of digital design artists that produce design elements for the entire station group. It supports 23 full-power television stations in various midmarkets across the Southeast United States. The group is helping each station beat its respective local competition with the latest breaking news story and improving the on-air look of its diverse newscasts — all with fewer resources and less duplicate processes than the company used in the past.
Known as Media General FX (MGFX), the graphics hub is providing Media General stations with every type of on-air graphic element, from over-the-shoulder headshots to 3D maps, program bumpers and teases. They're using template-based graphics authoring and workflow tools from Miranda Technologies, in tandem with other graphic creation systems (After Effects, Photo Shop and Curious Maps), to create and distribute standard- and HD graphic elements in both the 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Participating stations simply order graphic elements from MGFX, and they become available via the Internet, sometimes within minutes of the request.
MGFX general manager Jim Doyle says that while economics certainly played a large role in setting up the project, the current driving factor is trying to achieve an inherent efficiency in how graphics are produced and used across the station group. It has helped Media General improve the quality of its newscasts and increases the quantity of graphics available to its stations on a daily basis.
Other stations groups, such as Sinclair Broadcast Group, have deployed similar centralized graphics production hubs.
With a rich history steeped in hardware- and proprietary software-based graphics systems, the name Chyron has been synonymous with on-air graphics for many years. This year, while the company continues to offer its stand-alone HyperX systems for graphics production, it has also taken a decidedly different approach to helping station groups create graphics economically.
The company's Axis Web-based graphic tools provide a “Distributed Centralization” strategy that the company said brings stations substantial cost savings. The new software-as-service concept leverages “cloud” computing, whereby graphics elements are stored in a remotely located server, controlled by Chyron. The idea behind cloud computing is that it allows broadcast groups to have access to the high-quality graphics tools, via subscription licenses, without buying the actual hardware and software normally required. Gannett's 23 stations have adopted the Axis SaaS model and are using it on a daily basis.
How much is too much?
CNN used Vizrt’s holographic-effect technology during the presidential elections in 2008.
Remember that graphics can become too distracting. When CNN used the Vizrt holographic-effect technology during the presidential elections in 2008, it was not without some consternation. Executives at CNN apparently felt they needed to ensure that viewers knew the virtual reporter was not in the studio, so they defocused the edges of the virtual effect. This made the interviewee looks cartoonish, like a cheap “Star Trek” analog video effect.
During NAB, Vizrt and a company called STATS presented a live demonstration at the company's booth, which showed how problematic the technology can be for an inexperienced “guest” to use the system. The audio delay between an interviewer and interviewee can be quite disarming for someone not used to it.
The technique requires that a semicircle of small cameras is positioned around the guest standing against a green screen in a remote studio. In the main studio, a single camera is fitted with special sensors that help position the virtual guest next to the live guest. The system uses STATS' video processing and tracking technology, in tandem with Vizrt's real-time tracking and rendering software. The impression of the holographic interview is completed in fractions of a second, and multiparticipant interviews are possible.
With current graphics technology, anything is possible given the right budget and talented artists. It all depends on the desired audience and the on-screen image you are trying to portray. Ratings and revenue will follow.
Michael Grotticelli regularly reports on the professional video and broadcast technology industries.
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