Production 360 Issue V2.1 January-February 2025
Production360º is dedicated to covering the latest developments in the TV & Film media, sport and entertainment industries. From emerging technologies in video production to strategic partnerships between industry giants, Production360 offers a comprehensive overview of the trends shaping the landscape. Whether you’re interested in the latest award winners or innovative solutions for streamlining production workflows, Production360º provides valuable insights and analysis for professionals in the field. #TVBroadcasting #Television #Film #SportsTV #Broadcast #Media #MediaIndustry #ContentCreation #ContentMarketing #LiveTV #NewsBroadcasting #SportsBroadcasting #EntertainmentTV #TVDocumentary #TVProduction #TVShows #TVSeries #TVNetworks #Broadcasters #TVHosts #TVCrew #TVTechnology #BroadcastTechnology #HDTV #4KTV #8KTV #UltraHD #TVStreaming #OBBroadcast #OutsideBroadcast #CableTV #SatelliteTV #BroadcastRegulation
Production360º is dedicated to covering the latest developments in the TV & Film media, sport and entertainment industries. From emerging technologies in video production to strategic partnerships between industry giants, Production360 offers a comprehensive overview of the trends shaping the landscape. Whether you’re interested in the latest award winners or innovative solutions for streamlining production workflows, Production360º provides valuable insights and analysis for professionals in the field.
#TVBroadcasting #Television #Film #SportsTV #Broadcast #Media #MediaIndustry #ContentCreation #ContentMarketing #LiveTV #NewsBroadcasting #SportsBroadcasting #EntertainmentTV #TVDocumentary #TVProduction #TVShows #TVSeries #TVNetworks #Broadcasters #TVHosts #TVCrew #TVTechnology #BroadcastTechnology #HDTV #4KTV #8KTV #UltraHD #TVStreaming #OBBroadcast #OutsideBroadcast #CableTV #SatelliteTV #BroadcastRegulation
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YOUR MAGAZINE FOR SPORT, NEWS, FILM & TV AND EVENTS
V2.1 • JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025
Next-generation live production
How new tech is fuelling live event resurgence
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PRODUCTION360.MEDIA WELCOME
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 3
Welcome to Production 360º
A
very warm welcome to issue 3 of
this new publication. This month
we are focusing on all things AV and
live events, and the ongoing convergence
with broadcast.
This month we have some amazing
insight from a host of industry leaders,
including Darren Jackson, business
development UK & IRL — rental staging
and virtual production, Absen; Dave
MacKinnon, vice-president of product
management, Clear-Com; Chris Scheck, head of marketing
content, Lawo; Dan Maloney, technical marketing manager,
Matrox; Guilhem Krier, head of new business and market
development, Panasonic Connect; Mickey Miller, CEO,
Vislink; and Ben Swanton, founder and CEO of 808 Talent.
This issue arrives as the latest ISE gets underway. As the
show gets bigger and bigger, for me personally it raises
more questions than answers. As a buyer and with the
wealth of information readily available at your fingertips,
do you visit large-scale exhibitions already knowing you
intend to buy? Or are you going with an open mind to look
at options and prices before you make your final decision?
Have you already seen the products at previous events?
Do you have a relationship already with a person or that
company? What is the primary reason for your visit?
The reason I pose these questions is simple: cost to visit.
This applies also to exhibitors but in a different way. Do
you know who’s coming before you get there? Is the deal
almost done, with a canapé and beer at 5pm expected to
be the clincher? Just a couple of weeks ago there was a
discussion on LinkedIn about the ‘ghosting’ that goes on
with prospects and sales people. I get this daily. It’s on an
industrial scale across many industries; there’s interest in
the product, then a follow-up, then nothing.
Let’s be brutally honest. It’s an expensive exercise even
attending exhibitions across the globe as a visitor. It’s even
more expensive for exhibitors and there is recent research
that shows exhibitions represent the largest cost per lead
in the media landscape. Simultaneously, there’s no doubt
that things are really tough out there for many companies
within the chain.
Having worked in other industries, I know that the
signing or agreement to the big deals is often done well
before the news comes from the show floor. Trade shows
are the lifeblood of any industry. They represent a unique
opportunity to meet, network, and do business. However,
do you need to visit or exhibit so many these days? Can
you really afford it? Or is the FOMO factor driving your
expenditure through the roof? Are your sales/marketing
team and other components servicing the customers
and potentials for the rest of the year properly? So many
questions are in the air at the moment, and their careful
consideration can only be beneficial — to individual
companies and the industry in general.
Please enjoy and support this issue. It’s free, accessible
on any device, and with your support we can do so much
more. Thank you.
Chris Cope, Publisher
Production 360º
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 5
Publisher
Chris Cope
chris@production360.media
Contributing Writer
David Davies
daviddaviesjournalist@gmail.com
Production
Dean Cook
deancook@magazineproduction.com
Production 360 Media Ltd,
6 The Forum, Minerva Business Park,
Peterborough, PE2 6FT.
Tel: +44 (0)20 3289 8015
Website: www.production360.media
Production 360 is published six times
a year by Production 360 Media Ltd.
© 2025 Production 360 Media Ltd
The views expressed in Production 360
are not necessarily those of the editorial or
publishing team.
@production360
/production360
3 Welcome to Issue 3
Publisher Chris Cope welcomes readers to the third
issue of Production360, which focuses on the latest
innovations in live event and production technology,
including 5G, IP-based audio, LED video walls and more.
6 Comment: Live Event
Technology Innovation
Contributing writer David Davies looks at some of the
new and emerging technologies that have helped to
ensure the live events market has regained much of its
strength after the interruption and uncertainty of the
pandemic era.
8 Production360 News
As the latest edition of ISE approaches, Production360
offers the latest product and company news from
leading vendors and service providers.
18 Absen’s Darren Jackson: ‘2025 will be
huge for the live events industry’
With an industry newly re-energised by innovative
developments, and a number of major tours in
prospect, this year is likely to be a very successful one
for the live events industry, suggests Darren Jackson,
business development UK & IRL — rental staging and
virtual production at Absen.
20 Clear-Com’s Dave MacKinnon:
‘Virtualisation has been really big
for our business’
From cloud-based intercoms to increasingly
innovative live productions, it’s a hugely exciting time
for the live industry, which has come back strongly
after the challenges of the pandemic era, notes
Clear-Com vice-president of product management
Dave MacKinnon.
CONTENTS
24 Lawo’s Chris Scheck: ‘Expectations
focus on intuitive solutions to
real-world problems’
Simplicity of operation, sustainability considerations
are among the issues currently preoccupying users
in the live production and events markets, suggests
Lawo head of marketing content Chris Scheck.
30 Matrox’s Dan Maloney: ‘The cloud is
having a great impact on live’
The technical marketing manager of the video
technology company for broadcast and pro AV/IT, Dan
Maloney, discusses convergence, and the need for
seamless conversion between AV over IP technologies.
34 Panasonic’s Guilhem Krier: ‘The live
industry came back quickly after Covid’
The head of new business and market development
at Panasonic Connect, Guilhem Krier, discusses the IP
transition, the universal popularity of broadcast-grade
cameras, and the possibilities of AI-based camera
auto-framing.
38 Vislink’s Mickey Miller: ‘Live
production industry is a cornerstone
of growth and innovation’
The rise of 5G bonded cellular connectivity is among
the developments continuing to transform live
production and events, observes Mickey Miller, CEO
of live video transmission and streaming solutions
provider Vislink.
42 Are too many stakeholders sabotaging
your hiring goals?
Competition for top talent remains intense, with
its attendant challenges sometimes accentuated
by overly complex hiring processes. Ben Swanton,
founder and CEO of 808 Talent, explores some of the
most common recruitment pitfalls — and how to
avoid them.
6 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 COMMENT
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
A transformational time for live events
Whilst attendance has returned strongly after the pandemic, there are now some serious questions about the long-term health of the
live industry with so many small and medium-sized venues going out of business. Then there is the great unknown of AI… David Davies
looks at a sector in the midst of a complex transformation.
Back in 2021, as the world began to open
up and live events started to be scheduled
once again, it was by no means uncommon
to hear suggestions that the live industry would
never be quite the same again. Tours and festivals
would take place, of course, but there was a fear
that — after the best part of 18 months spent
mainly at home — it wouldn’t be easy to lure
people back into the sometimes inconvenient,
and often costly, business of attending live events.
It was also posited that — with streaming TV, in
particular, hitting new heights — the countless
digital distractions of home would prove
increasingly tough to circumvent.
If we focus on live music, in particular, many of
these concerns have subsequently proven to be
unfounded, as recent statistics from organisations
such as UK Music and Global Industry Analysts
confirm. According to the latter’s latest report,
Live Music — Global Strategic Business Report, the
worldwide market for live music was estimated
at US$28.1 billion in 2023 and is projected to
reach US$79.7 billion by 2030 — representing a
compound annual growth rate of 16.1%. It’s no
small achievement, especially bearing in mind the
Covid-enforced hiatus.
The recovery appears to have been especially
pronounced in the UK, where the latest report by
industry body UK Music, This Is Music 2024, found
that UK music’s contribution to the UK economy
hit a record £7.6 billion in terms of gross value
added (GVA) in 2023, while UK music exports
revenue also hit a record high of £4.6 billion —
doubtless aided by a strong year of international
touring by major British acts such as Blur,
Coldplay, Depeche Mode and Harry Styles.
GRASSROOTS CRISIS
But away from the attention-grabbing numbers,
spectacular stadium tours and eye-catching new
mega-venues — notably the Sphere in Las Vegas
— it’s clear that, in fact, the industry is not what it
was before the pandemic. Small grassroots music
Reportedly costing $2.3bn, Las Vegas’ Sphere –
which opened with a residency by U2 in late 2023
– attracted global attention for its AV innovation.
Photo credit:
Y2kcrazyjoker4
venues where musicians (as well as comedians
and other performers) could learn their craft and
build a following, before hopefully moving on to
larger venues, have always been considered the
engine room of the industry. But due to a complex
web of factors, many associated with rising
operational costs, a significant number have gone
out of business in the last few years — with more
expected to follow in 2025 and beyond.
According to the Music Venue Trust charity,
about 125 grassroots music venues closed in 2023,
with more than 350 remaining at risk of closure.
Additionally, there are indications that the festival
sector, which performed so strongly throughout
the 2010s, has now lost considerable momentum.
Legendary Bath, UK, venue Moles closed
permanently in December 2023, having hosted
Radiohead, The Cure, Oasis and numerous
others in the early stages of their careers.
Photo credit:
Keith Daulby
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA COMMENT
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 7
An estimated 192 festivals have gone since 2019,
while 60 announced postponement, cancellation
or closure in 2024, according to data from the
Association of Independent Festivals.
If, like the present writer, you have had some
of the best evenings of your life watching bands
in small venues, then this can only be a matter
of grave concern. But even if you don’t have this
fondness for clubs and arts centres, the basic
causal link between the availability of venues
where acts can develop and build a fanbase,
and then subsequently having artists whose
popularity is sufficient to fill arenas and stadiums,
is plain to see.
Then there is the issue of new technology,
which is a recurring theme of the interviews in
this third edition of Production360º. Many of the
developments to have emerged in recent years are
positive, and in the view of a lot of our featured
companies they have played a considerable role
in bringing people back to live events postpandemic.
As several contributors note, gig-goers
now often expect a full son et lumière spectacular,
with the audio advances of the last two decades
(sophisticated processing, line arrays and, more
and more, immersive speaker configurations)
increasingly complemented by visual ones (better
lighting, high-definition video walls, graphical
elements and virtual reality).
Whilst you will now find line array technology
in even the smallest venue, it’s unlikely that they
will be able to invest so much in video walls and
interactive elements — especially in the current
climate — but they may feel compelled to at least
make some gestures in that direction to maintain
a market presence.
AI IMPLICATIONS
Then there is the not insignificant matter of AI,
which also makes an appearance in this edition’s
interviews. Quite reasonably at this relatively early
stage, many contributors err on the side of caution
about its probable impact on the live events
industry. Some of the applications are undoubtedly
benign; automated cameras, for example, or
the use of AI to undertake more complex data
extraction and analysis that ultimately yield
improvements to live events in areas such as crowd
management and security.
But there is also a much more unpredictable
dimension to AI. Its impact on recorded music is
already significant, so how might that play out in
the live performance arena? Could it be that ‘live
performance’ in itself will become an increasingly
contested notion? At the very least, it is something
that requires very careful thought and some form of
regulation to ensure that the malign possibilities of
AI are not realised.
Tom Kiehl, chief executive of UK Music, has
referred to the “wild west that is generative
Artificial Intelligence” as one of the “significant
challenges” now facing the sector and urges the
promotion of “changes to the law that safeguard
against unregulated AI, and reject proposals that
fail to achieve this.” With plenty of reckless talk by
politicians at the moment about unlocking the power
of AI, but without a proper understanding of what
this could lead to, it’s a sentiment which everyone
who loves the creative arts would surely second.
Whilst this article has focused on the impact
of change on live music, where it feels especially
acute, major technological shifts are also occurring
in sports. Once again, attendance has come back
London’s 20,000-capacity The O2
continues to go from strength to strength,
hosting a range of music and sports events.
Photo credit:
Heuschrecke
strongly after the pandemic, but there are also
questions of how sport will be viewed in the future.
At home, multi-screen changing of multiple sports
is now increasingly common, as is consumption
via smartphone and tablet. At the stadium, there
is an expectation that the production of data
and graphics will be of a broadcast quality — not
least because it has to compete for attention with
the smartphones that people will be referring to
throughout the event. (No surprise, then, that the
development of 5G networks has needed to be so
conscious of providing sufficient coverage around
stadiums and arenas — something that is still very
much a work in progress as a manageable approach
to network slicing has yet to be finalised.)
Make no mistake — many of the technologies
that are emerging now have exciting possibilities
that could be good for all ‘stakeholders’ in the live
experience, especially the actual attendees. But
there’s also no doubt that we are moving into a
deeply unpredictable period of history where the
absence of appropriate regulation — or even a
complete understanding of how AI could go very
badly wrong indeed — could be catastrophic. So
whilst we should continue to move forward with
the use of new technologies, it’s appropriate that
we do so with a little more caution than might have
been required ten or even five years ago.
8 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
DPA UNVEILS
CORE+ TECHNOLOGY
DPA Microphones has
announced its new
CORE+ technology,
a groundbreaking,
patent-pending
innovation that sets
a new standard
for distortion-free
microphone sound. DPA’s CORE+ eliminates
the non-linearities typically generated by the
membrane and electronic components of a
microphone to redefine what’s possible in sound
capture. The company will unveil the technology
at The 2025 NAMM Show (Booth 18206) and will
showcase it in Europe for the first time during
ISE 2025 (Stand 7P600).
CORE+ neutralises distortion across the entire
dynamic range of the microphone, making
any non-linear artifacts imperceptible and
virtually unmeasurable. This new technology
provides a new level of pure, clean audio for
an extraordinary sound experience, whether
recording or amplifying content. It also reduces
the hassle of unpredictable challenges of live
sound environments, such as when the talent
speaks or sings at louder volumes or on stages
with multiple microphones. Microphones with
CORE+ completely eliminate artifacts, while
enhancing the transparency of the entire sound
image, to provide audio professionals more
freedom to create their desired soundscape.
TASCAM release raises the bar
on IP-based audio innovation
TASCAM, renowned for its versatile
and adaptable audio solutions,
announced the availability of the
new IF-ST2110 Expansion card
and 2.0 firmware for its TASCAM
Sonicview 16/24 Digital Mixing
Consoles. The compact, portable
TASCAM Sonicview solutions offer
an exceptional UX experience, low
I/O latency, and unrivaled audio
quality that has become essential
for live broadcasts, concerts, studio
production, outside broadcast trucks
(OB), and backup/disaster recovery.
The new expansion card brings
full support for SMPTE ST 2110
AV Networks to the TASCAM
Sonicview console at a fraction of
the cost of traditional mixing and
recording consoles making it a
smart investment for those looking
to future-proof their operations for
IP-based connectivity. The popular
TASCAM digital console series and
expansion card recently received the
prestigious 2024 Inter BEE Grand
Prix award for the professional
audio category.
“TASCAM has significantly
enhanced the digital mixing console
landscape with the TASCAM
Sonicview series. This top-tier solution
is recognised for its superb audio clarity, outstanding build quality
and tremendous versatility across. It offers an unparalleled
performance across a variety of production and broadcast
settings. For professionals looking to transition to IP, the TASCAM
Sonicview digital mixing console series coupled with the new
IF-ST2110 Expansion card provides the optimal balance with
regards to performance and cost, making it an exceptional choice
for professionals,” stated Yosuke Matsuno, Executive Officer and
General Manager, TASCAM Division — TEAC Corporation, Tokyo.
The release of the expansion card coincides with the robust
TASCAM Sonicview V2.0.0 firmware update. Added functionality
includes a new gain-sharing Auto Mixer function, designed
to optimize real-time gain control scenarios with multiple
speakers, with specialised functions like PRIORITY and WEIGHT
to enhance group interactions. Support for Ember+ and
SNMP open network control and monitoring protocols gives
broadcasters more workflow flexibility, greater efficiencies and
better performance gains.
www.tascam.com
AK-UCX100
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10 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Empowering individuals at all stages
of their professional growth
COLLABORATION AND INDUSTRY BACKING
In this first vodcast episode, representatives from Ross Video
discuss why industry sponsorship is essential for creating a
more diverse workforce. Their experience underscores how
such collaboration can lead to tangible benefits for businesses,
including greater innovation, stronger employee engagement
and a richer talent pipeline. By joining forces with Rise, companies
can not only broaden the skill sets within their teams, but
also create a more inclusive environment where women are
encouraged to excel and drive the sector forward
SUPPORTING WOMEN, DRIVING CHANGE
Rise, a global advocacy group dedicated to advancing gender equality in the broadcast
media and entertainment technology sectors, has introduced a brand-new vodcast series.
Hosted by industry professional Toria Farrell, who brings two decades of experience to the
table, this initiative addresses persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership and
technical roles.
A COMMUNITY ON THE RISE
Since its founding in 2017, Rise has grown into a dynamic international network of more than
4,000 members and over 25 partnering companies. The organisation’s multi award winning
mentorship scheme has supported countless women in areas ranging from professional
development to networking opportunities. Rise empowers mentees to develop their skills,
broaden their perspectives and inspire future generations entering the broadcast field
AMPLIFYING SUCCESS AND INCLUSIVITY
This podcast launch aligns with Rise’s array of ongoing initiatives.
Alongside the Rise Awards, which recognises outstanding
contributions by women in broadcast engineering, sales and
leadership, the organisation hosts networking events and runs the
Rise Up Academy. Through the Academy, younger talent gains
exposure to the varied career opportunities in media technology,
helping to ensure that the next generation of professionals
reflects a wider range of backgrounds and experiences.
LISTEN AND GET INVOLVED
This first vodcast episode establishes an ongoing conversation
about shaping a more inclusive future for media production.
Listeners can tune in to learn how they might contribute to
increasing representation in every corner of the industry. With more
episodes on the horizon, the Rise podcast is readily accessible
through major streaming platforms. For those seeking to sponsor
or become members, additional information is available at risewib.
com, where a committed community stands ready to champion
gender equality across the broadcast sector.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA NEWS
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 11
Franck Racapé joins Iagona
as Managing Director
Strategy and Development
With a solid
experience in
the Audiovisual
and Digital
solutions sector,
Franck Racapé
— formerly
VP of Global
Communications
at PPDS — will be responsible for
driving and accelerating Iagona’s
strategic transformation. His
expertise in sales performance,
technological innovation and
complex project management will be
a key asset in meeting the challenges
of a rapidly changing market.
Based in Paris, Iagona develops,
manufactures, markets and
maintains self-service kiosks for a
variety of sectors, including banks,
retailers, corporate offices, public
spaces, hotels, hospitals, education,
food and beverage, transportation,
real estate, and more, managing
projects from start to finish.
Solutions Deployed +100,000 •
Dedicated members of staff: 120 •
Years of experience: 33
Commenting on his move to
Iagona, Franck Racapé said: “I am
absolutely thrilled to join the team
at Iagona on the journey to achieve
exponential growth. The quality
of the company and its people
combined with its investments into
product portfolio expansion will not
only set Iagona up as a leader in the
French domestic market, it will also
make the company ready to scale
internationally.”
Pascal Hermandesse, President
and CEO of Iagona added: “This
appointment marks a crucial step
in the evolution of Iagona, which
aims to become a key leader in
the user’s Digitalization journey.
We are convinced that Franck will
contribute to writing a new chapter
of success and innovation in our
joint adventure.
“We welcome Franck to the team,
and we look forward to his next
chapter in the future of Iagona.”
Iagona aims to develop digital
solutions designed to enhance
the user journey and experience,
improve service availability, and
add value to points of sale or
service offerings.
Enabling Sustainable, Scalable
Growth
M&A
Strategy
Trusted advisors to business leaders
of startups and scale-ups in the
Broadcast & Sports Media Industry
since 2014
advisory@808talent.com
www.808talent.com
Coaching &
Consulting
Recruitment
& Search
12 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Kramer introduces new PoE-powered Dante
speakers and high-end installed audio portfolio
Technology at Kramer. “As part of our Panta Rhei ecosystem,
these speakers deliver a complete solution for professionals
looking to streamline installations and maximize performance.”
PREMIUM SOUND, SEAMLESS INTEGRATION
Kramer’s new speaker line delivers crystal-clear audio, optimised
for speech clarity and background music, making them ideal
for conferencing, education, retail, and hospitality settings. With
advanced sound dispersion technology, the speakers provide
consistent audio coverage, eliminating “dead spots” and ensuring
every note and word is heard with precision.
Kramer, the leading company in audio-visual experiences, is excited to announce the launch
of its new line of premium speakers. This broad portfolio includes PoE-powered Dante
speakers alongside other innovative models, delivering exceptional sound quality, sleek
design, and simplified installation for professional environments.
NETWORKED AUDIO, MADE SIMPLE
This portfolio introduces PoE-powered Dante speakers, which enable seamless integration
into networked AV systems. These soakers reduce installation complexity and wiring
requirements, making them a perfect fit for modern installations. Each PoE-powered Dante
speaker has a corresponding passive model with the same industrial design and sound
profile, allowing system integrators to mix and match speakers while maintaining consistent
sound quality and a cohesive look across installations.
“Our PoE-powered Dante speakers are not just about premium sound – they are about
simplifying and enhancing the entire AV experience,” said Dorit Bitter, EVP Product &
DESIGNED FOR SYSTEM INTEGRATORS
Kramer’s focus on system integrators is evident in the speakers’
sleek industrial design and intuitive software. Features like frontaccess
wiring for ceiling speakers and centralised speaker utility
software simplify installation, setup, and troubleshooting, saving
time while delivering consistent, high-quality results.
PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE AUDIO SOLUTION
The new speakers are part of Kramer’s broader audio portfolio,
which also includes DSPs and amplifiers, offering professionals
a complete and integrated solution for diverse audio needs.
The speaker product range features wall-mounted, ceiling,
and pendant models in various form factors, designed to suit
varied environments.
LIVE DEMONSTRATION AT ISE 2025
The new premium speaker line will debut at ISE 2025, with live
demonstrations available at Kramer’s booth (#3D300 in Hall
3). Product samples and bookings will open in Q1 2025, with
deliveries scheduled to begin in Q2 2025.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA NEWS
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 13
LiveU presents its IP-video
ecosystem innovations
LiveU is driven by
its desire to provide
customers with
high-quality live
video contribution,
production, and
distribution solutions
through its awardwinning
LiveU
EcoSystem, enabling
broadcasters, sports
organizations,
and other content
creators to share their
stories globally in
dynamic, engaging ways.
At ISE 2025, LiveU will
present its complete
IP-video portfolio,
underpinned by its
resilient, low-latency
LRT (LiveU Reliable
Transport) protocol.
On show for the first
time will be LiveU’s new
LU-REQON1, offering
a versatile lightweight
tactical video encoder
for public safety
applications —
improving situational
awareness and mission
performance with reduced costs.
Built on an interoperable, adaptable platform, the
LiveU EcoSystem adds efficiency and shortens
workflows across the video production chain,
increasing production value. Its solutions are fast
to deploy and easy-to-use, with flexible payment
terms to suit every business model including PAYG
(pay-as-you-go), subscription, rental and more.
Steve Wind-Mozley, LiveU’s CMO said, “We make
sharing video in real-time, from anywhere, to
anywhere, easy, reliable and efficient. Production
companies, sports organisations and content
creators can produce more content for less effort,
time and cost, enterprise businesses can better
engage employees and customers more costeffectively,
and public safety service professionals
can increase mission performance and security
with reduced costs. For solution integrators, it’s
all of the above with class leading interoperability
thrown in for good measure!”.
G&D, VUWALL AND TRITEC
UNITE TO REDEFINE CONTROL
ROOM TECHNOLOGY
Guntermann & Drunck GmbH (G&D), a provider
of high-performance KVM solutions, is pleased
to welcome VuWall as a new member of
Naxicap’s portfolio of control room technology
companies. Naxicap, a prominent private equity
firm, previously acquired G&D in 2020 and Tritec
Electronic in 2022. With the addition of VuWall,
the group is further strengthened by significant
synergies to transform the control room industry
and deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions
to customers worldwide.
This collaboration combines the strengths
of each company, with VuWall’s expertise in
innovative software development perfectly
complementing the high-performance hardware solutions of G&D and
Tritec. Together, the group offers the most comprehensive and fully
integrated portfolio, designed to streamline operations, enhance real-time
decision-making, and redefine efficiency and user experience in missioncritical
environments.
As part of this partnership, Thorsten Lipp, CEO of G&D, will also serve
as CEO of VuWall, driving the strategic direction of both companies.
Meanwhile, Paul Vander Plaetse, founder and former CEO of VuWall, will
assume the role of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for G&D and VuWall,
leading the group’s global marketing strategy.
“The combination of G&D’s world-class KVM technology with
VuWall’s innovative IP-based video wall solutions is paving the way for
unprecedented market growth and technological advancements for
control room environments,” said Thorsten Lipp. “Our customers will
benefit from seamlessly integrated solutions that not only simplify
operations but also significantly enhance security and boost efficiency.”
14 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Redefine professional video production with
Panasonic AW-UE150AW/AK PTZ camera
Panasonic Connect’s new AW-UE150AW/AK 4K PTZ camera has been
designed to meet the needs of professional broadcasters and content creators,
delivering advanced video quality, operability and efficiency in studio-based
video productions. The UE150AW/AK is the successor to the AW-UE150 – the
PTZ camera of choice for many rental, staging, and broadcast applications.
SEAMLESS COMPATIBILITY FOR IP-BASED VIDEO
The UE150AW/AK supports the NDI® High Bandwidth* protocol, enabling
seamless IP-based, low-latency 4K video transmission. This is in addition to
existing support for SRT and NDI® HX2 protocols, ensuring steady performance
in unstable network conditions.
It is also compatible with 12G-SDI, 2x 3G-SDI, HDMI, and fibre output
formats. This enables the UE150AW/AK to be easily integrated into a variety
of on-site production systems, making it the perfect choice for both remote
production and live streaming environments.
EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO
Equipped with a high-sensitivity 1.0-type 4K MOS sensor, Panasonic’s
UE150AW/AK delivers high quality video. Its wide-angle lens (75.1° horizontal),
20x optical zoom, and built-in auto-tracking functionality make it the ideal
choice for a versatile range of installations.
The UE150AW/AK features an optical low-pass filter (OLPF) that reduces
luminance and colour moiré when filming monitors or LED walls, whilst HDR
(HLG) compatibility delivers true-to-life image reproduction.
Its enhanced Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) minimises image shake during
pan and tilt operations, and upgraded synchronisation of pan, tilt and zoom
presets for a smoother camera operation.
INCREASED COMPATIBILITY FOR ANY ENVIRONMENT
The UE150AW/AK is compatible with Panasonic’s AK-HRP1010GJ/HRP1015GJ
Remote Operation Panel for seamless colour matching with studio cameras,
increasing overall versatility and functionality within broadcasting setups.
“As broadcasters, video production companies and event operators
increasingly emphasize operational flexibility and workflow efficiency, the
demand for IP-based remote production systems and PTZ cameras as
primary tools has grown,” explained Andre Meterian, Director of Professional
Video Systems for Panasonic Connect Europe. “The new AW-UE150AW/
AK camera from Panasonic updates the standard for 4K PTZ cameras, fully
meeting the needs of professionals for compact remote systems offering
flexible operability and efficient production workflows, combined with ultrahigh-quality
video.”
The UE150AW/AK is scheduled for release in January 2025. The camera will
be displayed at Panasonic booth 3J500, Hall 3 at ISE 2025 in Barcelona.
Click here for more information.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA NEWS
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 15
PPDS extends partnership
with Oracle Red Bull Racing
PPDS, the exclusive global provider
of Philips Professional Displays, is
proud to announce a new multiyear
contract extension with Oracle
Red Bull Racing, becoming a Team
Partner while continuing as the sole
supplier of digital displays to the
eight-time Formula One World
Championship winning team for
2025 and beyond.
A partnership driven by innovation
and teamwork, PPDS joined forces
with Oracle Red Bull Racing in 2022
as an ‘Official Team Supplier’, with
the mission of transforming the race
day experience for VIP guests inside
the team’s famous Oracle Red Bull
Racing Paddock Club.
Fuelled by a joint desire to always
lead from the front and never
to accept second best, this was
achieved using displays from the
full portfolio of Philips Professional
Displays — offering live 4K UHD
race coverage, access to exclusive
behind-the-scenes content, links
to the pit lane, and audio feeds
from the drivers and crew — with
the centrepiece being a custom
designed, portable and easily
transportable 10m² Ultra HD Philips
dvLED videowall.
Following rip-roaring success in the
Paddock Club, in 2023 PPDS became
Oracle Red Bull Racing’s exclusive
‘Digital Display Supplier’. Forming
a deeper and more integrated
partnership and extending
beyond race day hospitality, this
included a range of solutions for
use inside the team’s spectacular
Red Bull Technology Campus
in Milton Keynes.
Recent examples include
revolutionising with 13 gamechanging
Philips interactive displays,
the installation of a 110” dvLED
wall in the MK-7 Boardroom, and
the record-breaking 46.25 metre
wide Philips dvLED wall inside the
updated MK-7 events venue, officially
unveiled in September.
www.ppds.com
QxP
Generate | Monitor | Analyze
25G IP | 12G-SDI
A New Form Factor for
Portable Waveform Monitoring
www.leaderphabrix.com
16 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 NEWS
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Alfalite unveils MATIX AlfaCOB &
AlfaMIP technology with new Neopix and
UHD Finepix LED panels at ISE 2025
At its main booth (4R300), Alfalite will
present Neopix, the brand’s flagship
product featuring MATIX AlfaCOB &
AlfaMIP technology. Available in five
pixel pitches—1.5 mm, 1.9 mm, 2.6
mm, 2.9HB mm, and 3.9HB mm—this
premium panel is ideal for Rental and
Film VP XR applications.
Visitors will also have the
opportunity to discover the UHD
Finepix series, another product
powered by MATIX technology.
Specifically designed for critical
applications in Control Rooms
and Corporate settings, the UHD
Finepix panels come in five pixel
pitches—0.6 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.2 mm,
1.5 mm, and 1.8 mm—and are built
using MATIX AlfaCOB (Alfalite’s Chipon-Board
design) or MATIX AlfaMIP
(Alfalite’s MicroLED-in-package
design) for MicroLED assemblies.
The MATIX AlfaCOB & AlfaMIP
technology represents a significant
leap forward in LED panel quality
and durability. Its fully encapsulated
LED modules are built with advanced
materials that protect against
impacts, liquids, and chemicals. As an
evolution of Alfalite’s successful ORIM
technology, MATIX reduces glare and
reflections while offering an ultrawide
viewing angle of up to 175°. It
also enhances thermal dissipation,
color and brightness uniformity,
contrast, and deeper blacks,
providing optimal and long-lasting
performance in a range of conditions.
Additionally, Alfalite will unveil
new Modularpix LED panels for
demanding fixed installations in
Entertainment, Corporate, and Retail
environments. These panels are
available in four pixel pitches: 1.9 mm,
2.6 mm, 2.9HB mm, and 3.9HB mm.
The company will also showcase
its flagship LED panel for rental
companies, Alfalite Litepix
ORIM. Additionally, Alfalite will
feature its collaboration with
Brainstorm, integrating cuttingedge
3D technology for virtual
sets into its VP XR LED panels,
designed for high-demand virtual
production environments.
Alfalite’s second stand at ISE
2025 (4Q350) will focus on outdoor
and mobile advertising solutions.
Partnering with 1Trailer.com, the
company will present an advertising
trailer equipped with Alfalite Litepix
Outdoor screens. This mobile LED
display system is designed to
maximise the impact of outdoor
advertising campaigns, offering
a captivating and durable visual
experience even in challenging
weather conditions.
Riverside TV Studios
“Creating a state of the art facility was a complex
exercise to finance so we were delighted to work with
Adamantean and their creative, collaborative and
competitive approach. They have become a valued
partner to Riverside TV Studios.”
William Burdett-Coutts
Managing Director
Riverside TV Studios and The University of Chichester:
two major new studio installation projects Adamantean
is enormously proud to have financed.
Specialist Equipment
Finance Solutions
To find out more contact us:
020 3858 0161
contact@adamantean.net
www.adamantean.net
Adamantean Limited is authorised and regulated for credit broking by the Financial Conduct Authority – reference number 774119
University of Chichester
“The University of Chichester’s Engineering and Digital
Technology Park has been a ground-breaking development
for the disadvantaged West Sussex coastal region; the
contribution of Adamantean was critical to the successful
completion of this challenging project. Their diligence and
creativity have been greatly appreciated.”
Professor Jane Longmore
Vice Chancellor
18 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 ABSEN
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
From your perspective, what has been the most
important technology trend to impact upon
live events technology and production in the
last few years?
Mesh screens like the AbsenLive JP 8 Pro have
revolutionised the live music industry, despite
similar products existing for years. Their impact
stems from enabling designers to seamlessly
integrate lighting and video into unified, multilayered
designs. This technology allows for
impressive, instantaneous transitions between
lighting and video displays.
Absen’s Darren Jackson:
‘2025 will be huge for the
live events industry’
With an industry newly re-energised by innovative developments, and a
very strong line-up of touring acts and festivals, this year is likely to be
a very successful one for the live events industry worldwide, suggests
Darren Jackson, business development UK & IRL — rental staging and
virtual production at Absen.
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live events industry in 2025?
[Dedicated category brand of Absen focused
on high-end rental/staging market and virtual
production/XR] AbsenLive does see 2025 as
being huge for the live events industry, with some
seriously impressive acts out on tour, with the
likes of Robbie Williams, Kylie, Scissor Sisters,
Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and — dare I say — the
Gallagher brothers (Oasis), so I do believe that 2025
will be a very memorable year for live events, and
that’s not even taking into account Glastonbury,
Leeds and Reading Festivals, etc.
In what ways do you think the pandemic period
changed requirements and expectations in this
part of the industry?
The pandemic forced the events industry to
innovate. Faced with survival, many companies
repurposed their existing equipment and built
in-house studios, allowing them to continue
trading and retain staff. Post-pandemic, the
industry experienced apprehension due to the fear
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA ABSEN
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 19
of resurgence. Only in the last year or two has the
public’s comfort level with large gatherings returned.
If you had to select one recent development
that has been especially important regarding
your presence in this industry, what would
it be — and why?
My extensive experience in the lighting
industry, including significant roles with Martin
Professional and Chauvet Lighting, has provided
a strong foundation for my transition into the
dynamic world of video for live entertainment.
Given Absen’s reputation for excellence and its
pioneering work in immersive experiences, the
opportunity to contribute my skills to a company
at the forefront of technological innovation in TV
shows, festivals, concerts, and other live events
was a compelling and a logical career progression.
How do you expect new technology, such as AI,
to impact the business in the next few years?
Absolutely — I express strong optimism about
the transformative potential of new technology in
enhancing events. I believe that new technology
will significantly improve events beyond current
expectations, citing the use of technology at
[events such as the Glastonbury Festival] as
evidence that the industry is ready and willing to
adopt and leverage such advancements to deliver
spectacular experiences for audiences.
What other technology trends are you
keeping an eye on in terms of live events and
related production?
Now then...I really can’t share tomorrow’s
dreams can I?
Our industry’s remarkable ability to deliver mind-blowing
experiences [continues to endure], even amidst challenges
Finally, is there a recent live event where the
use of technology has really impressed you?
The recent Culture Club tour at Nottingham’s
Motorpoint Arena wasn’t in the biggest venue,
but it showcased everything I love about our
industry. The breathtaking visual quality, the
meticulous programming allowing for seamless
transitions between video and lighting — it was
simply stunning.
This level of detail and innovation, exemplified
by shows [at venues like] The Sphere, as well as
Abba Voyage and Adele’s ‘largest LED Screen’
concert, proves our industry’s remarkable ability
to deliver mind-blowing experiences [continues
to endure], even amidst challenges. Let’s also
mention the latest immersive experience due to
open in London soon [May 2025], Elvis Evolution,
taking entertainment onto yet another level.
We’re delighted when our AbsenLive products are
deployed in such fabulous and exciting locations.
20 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 CLEAR- COM
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Clear-Com’s Dave MacKinnon:
‘Virtualisation has been really
big for our business’
From cloud-based intercoms to increasingly innovative live productions, it’s
a hugely exciting time for the live industry, which has come back strongly
after the challenges of the pandemic era, notes Clear-Com vice-president of
product management Dave MacKinnon.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA CLEAR- COM
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 21
Customers really like
having infrastructure in the cloud,
and the flexibility it provides is
very important to them
From your perspective, what has been the most
important technology trend to impact upon
live events technology and production in the
last few years?
I think the virtualisation of the world, moving to
the cloud, has been really big for our business. For
instance, we launched a product called Gen-IC,
a cloud managed virtual intercom, that also ties
in directly with the stuff on the ground. So it can
be all cloud, it can be hybrid, or it can be private
cloud. We have it live on an appliance, so it can
live anywhere, basically, and it ties in with our
existing equipment.
So our approach to cloud has been that if
you’re new to Clear-Com, you can start with the
cloud and kind of work your way to our other
product lines, or if you’re an existing Clear-Com
customer you can add cloud to your existing
Clear-Com gear.
So it’s really complimentary to what we’ve been
doing, and it’s probably the biggest change. [In
terms of end-user feedback] I definitely hear now
that customers really like having infrastructure
in the cloud and that the kind of flexibility it
provides is very important to them.
We’ve seen a resurgence in live event spaces, touring companies
and rental companies through 2023 and 2024
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live events industry in 2025?
It continues to be a very important part of our
business. Of course, live has gone through so many
fluctuations over the last five years with Covid and
everything that it can be hard to get a baseline for
where it’s growing and where it’s maybe not growing
so much. But I would say that, in general, we’ve seen
a resurgence in live event spaces, touring companies
and rental companies through 2023 and 2024;
everybody’s been updating their equipment.
To be honest, I had wondered if attendance
at live events might plateau [after Covid],
but in 2024 it really came back strongly and I
think that is going to continue. So that’s been
very encouraging.
22 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 CLEAR- COM
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
If you had to select one recent solution or
service development that has been especially
important regarding your presence in this
industry, what would it be — and why?
One of the differentiators for Clear-Com is that
when we develop a new product it has to fit in
with our existing family of products and work
in an integrated fashion. We don’t do one-off or
‘orphan’ products that were developed for a single
requirement and then kind of live off on their own.
So once again with Gen-IC, we have a product
that has helped accelerate a lot of other product
development in other areas because they all
integrate with [this solution]. Raising the bar
with cloud has raised the bar with all of our
other products, which is pretty cool; having been
in this industry for a while, I know that’s not a
common outcome.
In what ways do you think the pandemic period
changed requirements and expectations in this
part of the industry?
I used to work in the live event space in the Bay
Area and I would say that the pandemic cleared
out a lot of the low-end players. The ones that
survived were the more professional operations,
and they expanded to kind of take over the market
share from a lot of the more local, niche promoters.
[In terms of our own business] if we have more
large touring companies and rental companies
buying our gear and doing more shows — as has
been the case — that’s positive.
From a consumer standpoint, if I’m going to
pay for a concert I think it does have to be a very
dynamic experience these days, so there is an
expectation of things like [high-quality] video
walls, augmented reality and so on. When I was
growing up and going to concerts, the venue
was often a bar with a large floor and a stage,
and [that was about it]. The expectation is a lot
higher now and I think that [especially postpandemic]
people have increased expectations
of the production, even from smaller venues and
touring groups. And as part of that, they do need
a reliable communications partner who provides
professional communications tools, and that is
what we provide.
How do you expect AI to impact the business in
the next few years?
It’s an interesting one, and it’s also so early [in
the overall history of AI]. I do feel there are
some vendors out there who are sort of throwing
AI at a product, which does risk muddying the
waters for consumers. Because when they go
out to buy something and it says this has an AI,
or is using an AI, they need to get an answer
to the question ‘how is it using AI’? They’re
likely to become sceptical of the claims, which
they should be.
So by contrast we’ve been thinking very
carefully about AI — working out exactly how
we want to use it and how it can bring real value.
Our engineering team does hackathons, too,
which are kind of fun and do provide a means
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA CLEAR- COM
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 23
Photo credit: TED Conference LLC
Photo credit: TED Conference LLC
Photo credit: TED Conference LLC
of tackling some of these new technologies and
hopefully establishing some basic parameters
[ for their application in broadcast and live
communications]. So we’re certainly looking [at
AI for various applications], but it has to be in the
service of something that’s actually productive.
What other technology trends are you
keeping an eye on in terms of live events and
related production?
It’s not perhaps as exciting as AI or cloud, but
the RF space around live events is getting more
contentious. Go to an NFL game, for instance, and
there’s video, telemetry, cameras, microphones
and everything else. So the RF space is getting
more congested and cellphone companies are
taking more spectrum away. And that is absolutely
a worldwide issue, too.
So one of the things that we as an industry
need to continue working on is how we protect
our customers and that RF space for these
AI has to be in the service of something that’s actually productive
communication platforms. Many of the issues
they experience come from congestion of RF, so
it’s vital that [all vendors] continue to innovate
from an engineering standpoint so that capacity
and reliability can be further improved in those
contested environments.
Finally, is there a recent live event — not
necessarily one that your company has been
involved with — where the use of technology
has really impressed you?
I’m a die-hard sports fan, including of baseball
and football, so I’m often [at San Diego’s Petco
Park venue] to watch the San Diego Padres, the
baseball team there. They often do concerts or
fireworks shows after games as well, and I would
say that the technology they’re using to facilitate
all of that has come a long way.
Whether it’s the pitch and clarity of LED walls,
or the communication systems that are being
used — which are often all IP — there are so many
cool innovations that have come into the sports
world recently. [That’s also evident] in on-screen
coverage, where the use of new technology to
do real-time analysis of the field and highlight
specific aspects — for example, where the defence
in a soccer match isn’t playing as tough as they
should be — is really exciting.
The whole ‘technologisation’ of sports and live
entertainment in the last few years is pretty cool,
and no doubt it will continue to develop in a very
interesting way.
24 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 LAWO
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Lawo’s Chris Scheck:
‘Expectations focus on
intuitive solutions to
real-world problems’
Simplicity of operation, sustainability
considerations and the possibility of
cloud-based production are among the
issues currently preoccupying users in
the live production and events markets,
suggests Lawo head of marketing
content Chris Scheck.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA LAWO
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 25
From your perspective, what has been the
most important technology trend to impact
upon live production and/or live events in the
last few years?
From Lawo’s perspective, there have been three
trends that users have been wanting to address for
some time. The first is related to simplicity: today’s
operators expect the learning curve of their tools
to be as shallow as possible, with a user interface
that hides the underlying complexity from those
who do not need to deep-dive into technical
aspects not directly related to the task at hand.
Expectations focus on intuitive solutions to realworld
problems, such as the ability to quickly make
the required tweaks while staying in the flow. A
well-oiled platform approach, where software apps
and hardware devices combine to provide ideal
outcomes is perceived as a big plus in this respect.
Secondly, the desire to be mindful of ESG
considerations and an outfit’s carbon footprint
has encouraged operators to reconsider their
hesitations regarding SMPTE ST2110-based IP
technology and to embrace resource-pooling
where one solution can be leveraged by different
users at different times. Distributed and remote
setups, i.e. access to processing capacity that may
very well sit in a different geographic location,
have become all but a given.
Finally, while the jury is still out on whether
the public cloud is indeed the ideal solution,
running processing and other services in the
form of apps that support all relevant transport
and compression formats on generic servers,
has been gaining traction. Today’s technical
requirements evolve at such a breathtaking
pace that it no longer makes sense for broadcast
vendors to design their own hardware, which risks
becoming obsolete on the day the first units ship.
With a view to future agility, users are advised
to select processing apps whose functionality is
completely decoupled from the hardware they
run on. Only this will allow them to migrate their
processing tools from one platform to the next
without impacting the processing efficiency,
which only stands to benefit on an increasingly
potent compute platform. This can be achieved
with microservice-based apps that run in socalled
containers. The latter benefit from a direct
connection to the CPUs and/or GPUs, doing away
with the need for a proprietary operating system,
which inevitably slows computational processes
down enough to cause unpleasant latency issues.
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live production industry,
including a wide range of events, in 2025?
Broadcasters are well aware that unserved
audiences no longer wait for them to deliver the
expected content. They simply switch to other
channels — or should we say, platforms — that
provide what they want to watch on their mobile
devices and TV sets. For a while, it looked like
focusing on live sporting events was a sure-fire way
of securing satisfactory viewing figures.
Yet while top- or second-tier as well as niche live
sports coverage are still popular, attention spans
are shrinking among younger audiences. To keep
viewers engaged, broadcasters have therefore
adopted augmented reality, ways to enable a
26 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 LAWO
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
yet migrated to IP and the benefits it provides
were forced to reconsider their workflows and use
whatever was available to satisfy demand.
In the process, the broadcast industry realised
that top-notch quality was less important
than keeping the content coming. As a result,
compromising on quality ceased to be frowned
upon. Today, conducting interviews using video
conferencing applications is totally acceptable
in situations where no camera crew can be sent
on-site fast enough to cover breaking news before
the competition does. This development may also
explain why broadcast vendors need to be able
to support transport standards such as NDI, SRT
and others alongside the SMPTE ST2110 suite of
standards for both signal ingest and playout as
production environments become more diverse.
The adoption of distributed and remote production workflows is
one of the big takeaways that has outlived the pandemic
(partially) customised viewing experience and
other strategies.
With its long-standing focus on delivering the
right tools for live production, Lawo has become a
supplier of choice to production service providers
that cover events that are watched by billions.
The year 2024 has been especially successful in
this respect, and 2025 is off to an excellent start
in this respect.
In what ways do you think the pandemic period
changed requirements and expectations in this
part of the industry?
The adoption of distributed and remote production
workflows is one of the big takeaways that has
outlived the pandemic. While the groundwork
was laid well before the pandemic, broadcasters
with a functional IP infrastructure were clearly
at an advantage at the time. Those who had not
If you had to select one recent solution or
service development that has been especially
important regarding your presence in this
industry, what would it be — and why?
When HOME was released and implemented in all
existing and new Lawo products, people thought
that it was just another way to control broadcastcentric
hardware and software, and so were
surprised to learn that third-party vendors were
invited to turn their own products into HOME
natives. Two years later, the first HOME Apps were
released as an agile and flexible alternative to
bespoke hardware.
Despite the industry’s first forays into publiccloud-based
production, Lawo knew that
most broadcasters were uncomfortable with
surrendering ‘physical ownership’ of their content
and the cost involved in getting media assets into,
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA LAWO
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 27
and out of, the cloud. This is still very much the
case. Being platform-agnostic, HOME Apps can
run anywhere: on generic servers — which make
most sense when they are arranged into a private
cloud — in the public cloud and even on central
processing or graphic units alongside software
from other vendors.
Along with HOME Apps came the unified
platform approach that allows users to first look
at what they need to achieve and then decide
on how to get there, irrespective of whether the
tools run on bespoke FPGA- or generic CPU/
GPU-based hardware. Today’s users want to be
able to swap processing tasks within seconds
rather than minutes, and to use them where it
makes sense: close to the source or destination
to avoid network overload (edge computing), or
somewhere central, ie. close to other processing
apps to ensure minimal latency.
Thanks to the ability to subscribe to the entire
From a content-creation perspective, generative AI is already
proving extremely powerful
HOME Apps offering at a fixed price designed to
match the processing capacity users actually need
on a day-to-day basis, and substantial efforts to
provide appropriate asset and network security
for a networked infrastructure, this approach is
beginning to resonate with broadcasters keen on
delivering more with less.
How do you expect AI to impact the business in
the next few years?
From a content-creation perspective, generative
AI is already proving extremely powerful. It is, for
instance, possible to feed a generative AI engine
with some information to get usable video footage.
Lawo sees many potential applications for this,
provided such services are used wisely and in an
ethical manner. A system of checks and balances
therefore appears indispensable, especially since
AI solutions tend to “hallucinate” in certain
situations, which leads to undesirable outcomes.
Similarly, on the audio side, music written
and performed by AI engines is beginning to
scare songwriters and performers alike, while
artificially generated voice-overs for videos and
live commentary for broadcasts manage to fool
a growing number of listeners into believing that
28 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 LAWO
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
just one reason why Lawo’s HOME Apps were
developed from scratch, leveraging a microservice
technology that is ready to leverage the power of
even more potent future developments.
they are listening to a human.
AI is being used to good effect for the generation
of closed captioning, which used to be a timeconsuming
task and can now be prepared within
minutes. Outside of content creation, we believe
AI will add massive value in an assistive role.
In the broadcast industry, talented
mathematicians nevertheless continue to create
evermore advanced algorithms that help audio
engineers, for instance, cope with a rapidly growing
workload. The beauty of such automation algorithms
is that they don’t require training and are very
deterministic in terms of the results they deliver, thus
providing broadcast operators with predicable, highperformance
and low-latency outcomes.
What other technology trends are you
keeping an eye on in terms of live events and
related production?
Although Lawo has been working towards this goal
for a number of years with its unified, open HOME
platform and HOME Apps, we take a keen interest
in initiatives centred on virtualising hardware and
the benefits this brings in terms of shrinking the
hardware real-estate even more than is possible
with generic servers that are currently used for
literally any processing task broadcasters require.
Initiatives such as leveraging shared memory
aimed at reducing latency to an insignificant
level look very promising in this respect. The
ability to play a key part in such a scenario is
Finally, is there a recent live event where the
use of technology has really impressed you?
The Olympics in Paris were an excellent example,
and showcase, of how far the broadcast technology
has come over the last few years. For some
events, 5G and other new technologies played an
important part, while remote production scenarios
and immersive audio were used extensively.
Everything remained manageable despite the
awe-inspiring number of sources that needed to
be routed to all required destinations — often in a
variety of formats and resolutions.
This is testament to the creativity of the
broadcast industry and the host broadcaster,
who gladly adopted everything vendors had to
offer, provided it served its purpose of delivering
flawless live coverage of some of the most intricate
events from a technical point of view.
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PR CAMPAIGNS?
hello@pagemelia.com
Let’s change that.
30 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 MATROX
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Matrox Video’s Daniel
Maloney: ‘AV over IP is
elevating live production
workflows’
The technical marketing
manager of the video technology
company for broadcast and pro
AV/IT, Daniel Maloney, discusses
convergence, and the need for
seamless conversion between
AV over IP technologies.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA MATROX
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 31
…there is always a
balancing act to be achieved
between quality, bit-rate
and — [critical] for live
applications — latency
From your perspective, what has been the most
important technology trend to impact upon
live events technology and production in the
last few years?
One trend is the whole convergence between
technologies that you see happening. For example,
in live events, there is a real mix of pro-AV and
broadcast technologies now, and what we
expect to see spin out of that is more demand
for enterprise- or broadcast-[grade] video.
Simultaneously, you see that the live event people
are pioneering some innovative new ways of using
those large LED display walls, so that whole side of
things is very interesting, too.
But I would also highlight video over IP, which
has really impacted upon almost every facet
now — from acquisition on the camera side and
transport using standard IP switches, all the way
to the displays. [This includes] the whole ability
to receive highly compressed or uncompressed
signals so that the need for HDMI and SDI is
gradually decreasing.
I expect you will continue to need those [older
formats] for a while yet, although more and more
video processing is taking place using IP and a
common single cable. Of course, there is always a
balancing act to be achieved between quality, bitrate
and — [critical] for live applications — latency.
You want the audio and the video to both be in sync
and as close as possible to what’s happening live,
because often there is a projection behind the talent
and you don’t want an offset between what’s being
presented and the live [content] on the screen.
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live events industry in 2025?
Matrox Video has traditionally had two key
tranches — broadcast technology and pro-AV
technology. In developing those technologies,
the core tech has been repurposed to the
various tranches. So, for example, we’ve been
doing SMPTE ST 2110 uncompressed video and
H.264 compressed video for many years now [in
both markets]. And increasingly we see other
companies also finding the benefit of going
more into the live production area [by providing
support for] ST 2110.
One of the most interesting initiatives in the last
couple of years in the standards space has been
IPMX, which takes advantage of all the benefits
that ST 2110 brings, but adds some of the missing
puzzle pieces that mean it can be adopted in a
broader set of applications. So that’s been a key
focus for us for a number of years now — helping
to contribute to the IPMX specification through
the VSF and AIMS, and then implementing it in
our own products.
32 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 MATROX
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
IPMX had really great momentum in 2024, and
we expect that there will be [even more adoption]
for live applications in 2025.
In what ways do you think the pandemic period
changed requirements and expectations in this
part of the industry?
One of the things that impacted the industry most
[during the pandemic] was that many engineers
and professionals had to learn to live with the term
‘good enough’ — simply because that due to the
restrictions they were not able to put on the same
type of productions they would have been used to
before. It might have been the case, for instance,
that they couldn’t get the same full uncompressed
capabilities or be able to use the vision mixer that
they were used to. It could be that they had to deal
with software-only tools, and one outcome from
that might be that they did some really interesting
experimentation along the way. Matrox Video
offers a number of remote production and remote
operation tools — making use of the internet and
cloud — that certainly helped those who required
that the “show go on” during the pandemic.
Now that the Covid restrictions have been gone
for a few years, some people have reverted back
[to previous approaches] for a variety of reasons.
But, increasingly, cloud is now having a great
impact because it gives you a lot of flexibility and
you can pay as you go — as opposed to investing
in an all-in-one system that might be sat for weeks
on end doing nothing [in-between events].
If you had to select one recent solution or
service development that has been especially
important regarding your presence in this
industry, what would it be — and why?
There are a number of video over IP technologies
that Matrox Video provides, and for every one of
the markets we’re in we make our infrastructure
boxes to convert — for example — from one
baseband format to the video over IP format of
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA MATROX
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 33
choice. That’s been really successful for us, and we
continue to do that.
What has also become more clear is that
there’s more than one AV over IP format in
some environments, including live. You may
want to use one format to move video through
your local facility, but then employ another to
convert that to another format to go remote. For
example, you might want to use NDI, which is a
very popular format in live, but also have an ST
2110 or IPMX island of equipment because it’s
better suited to some of the other productions or
production requirements.
That raises the question of how you bridge
the [different AV over IP technologies], so we’ve
introduced a number of gateway products —
including the Matrox Vion IP Video Gateway that
we showed at IBC 2024 — to take one IP format
and/or codec, and convert that to another IP
format and/or codec, allowing all equipment to be
shared using the same physical IP infrastructure
and switches out without having to convert
into SDI and back to another format. It helps
installers and keeps things simpler, and that’s
where we see real interest moving forward with
our product line.
How do you expect AI to impact the business in
the next few years?
That’s a very tricky question! As far as our own
technology is concerned, [the most obvious area]
where AI could help is in encoding efficiency. If
you have an AI and somebody who’s analysing that
understands the space they’re in, then it’s possible
to make better decisions as to how to efficiently
encode the content. It could be something as
…I do think there are plenty of ways in which AI can undertake
real-time analysis of the video and enhance the viewer experience
simple as just analysing the content, but also
understanding the type of content played at
different times of the day. For example, selecting
different codec parameters for daytime television
or a ‘talking heads’ interview programme versus
a concert production — the parameters would
be quite different. So I think AI could go very far
in determining what the best encoding formats
would be in [different areas] of live production.
There are also applications on the delivery
side. For instance, in the cloud, the live content
could be curated in different ways and the
receiver — the viewer — could be fed all sorts of
additional interesting content related to [the main
programme], with AI used to curate the additional
information that viewers might be interested in
seeing. It’s not my area of specialty, but I do think
there are plenty of ways in which AI can undertake
real-time analysis of the video and enhance the
viewer experience.
What other technology trends are you keeping
an eye on in terms of live events and related
production? Is there still a push towards higher
and higher video resolutions?
I would have said that [even higher resolution] is
now no longer so important except I’ve recently
been looking into some of the immersive video
things that Apple is promoting — for instance with
its VR Pro headsets — and that really does provide
an extremely immersive experience, and one of the
keys for them to provide those experiences is very
high resolutions because you want to be able to
look throughout the whole space that you’re in.
[More generally] I expect that we will see a
lot more VR in the marketplace. It’s still pretty
bleeding-edge today, but if the production tools
are created — and not only at the very high-end
— and if it’s possible to participate in a variety of
other events when you’re remotely located, I think
that you will see VR having an impact in live.
Finally, is there a recent live event or
experience — not necessarily one in which
your company has been involved — where the
use of technology has really impressed you?
I don’t get out to see as many events as I would
like, but I have been to The Sphere in Las Vegas,
and that it is an amazing experience. I saw a movie
there, and as well as the visuals the audio was out
of this world with so many speakers and the use of
directed audio giving the potential of everybody
receiving slightly different sound depending on
which area they’re situated in.
It’s often been the case that venues in Vegas
have [raised the bar] in terms of using new
technologies, but even by Vegas standards they’ve
gone above and beyond with The Sphere.
34 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 PANASONIC
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Panasonic’s Guilhem Krier: ‘The live
industry came back quickly after Covid’
The head of new business and market development at Panasonic Connect, Guilhem Krier,
discusses the IP transition, the universal popularity of broadcast-grade cameras, and the
possibilities of AI-based camera auto-framing
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA PANASONIC
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 35
From your perspective, what has been the most
important technology trend to impact upon
live events technology and production in the
last few years?
The transition to IP — everything being internet
protocol-based and network-based — is clearly the
biggest trend. It’s also one of the biggest challenges
on the market today [due to the need for people] to
buy new products, undertake training for the oldschool
technical staff, and so on.
Then of course, and linked to that, we have
cloud production, which is very important as
well. And then we should also mention remote
production, which is growing a lot, and AI.
Everybody’s talking about AI!
So there are several major trends that are
shaping the industry at the moment, I think.
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live events industry in 2025?
Well, it’s a big part for sure. In terms of
percentages, it depends on whether we focus
on what we call the ‘pro AV business’, meaning
everything that has to do with switches, cameras
and how to process the pictures. But then we
might also include the products that we call
‘visual’, which includes displays, projectors and
everything that is used to display the picture.
In both cases, I would say it’s at least 30%
of the business.
Then the other major part of the equation is
corporate, which is a big part of the business for
pro-AV, visual and broadcast.
In what ways do you think the pandemic period
changed requirements and expectations in
this part of the industry? Has there been a
resurgence in the market since Covid receded?
Well, there definitely was a big disruption during
Covid because the usual live events could not be
achieved or broadcast as usual. But I would say
that it actually came back quite quickly after the
pandemic. A lot of people were eager to get back
to how things were before the pandemic, and were
keen to restart the live events, sports and so on.
[One consequence] is that investments were
reduced in comparison to what was done during
Covid. The reason for that is that, for us, a lot
of people invested in cameras with streaming
capabilities, and other equipment, during the
pandemic. The same applied to the education and
remote learning market as well because, all of a
sudden, there was this massive need to broadcast
content, which made for a very dynamic period.
You can also include the IP transition in
that because a lot of people who invested in
streaming also began to look into protocols such
as SRT [Secure Reliable Transport]. Altogether
it meant that several things all took off in the
same time period.
36 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 PANASONIC
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
If you had to select one recent solution or
service development that has been especially
important regarding your presence in this
industry, what would it be — and why?
I would suggest that it has been the rise of our
broadcast-grade cameras for a wide variety of
events and applications. If you go back 20 years,
the quality was already there and we had products
that were used in, let’s say, some of the lower-end
and entry-level stuff. But as the years have passed
and the technology became much better, we
spent a lot of time and money developing some
very nice products that could match broadcast
specs in terms of requirements. And as a result,
they are now basically ubiquitous; you see them
everywhere on TV sets, capturing concerts and
other live entertainment events, and so on.
Along with our PTZ cameras, it’s probably the
type of product of ours that’s found in the most
applications and environments.
It also fits very well with this whole trend we see
of automation, so for example you don’t need to
have camera operators for everything. Along with
IP, solutions that support automated workflows
are very highly requested at the moment.
How do you expect AI to impact the business in
the next few years?
This is quite a tricky one to predict, because
obviously it took off extremely quickly having
not been a huge trend prior to Covid. But then at
a certain point the whole ChatGPT story kicked
in and it became interesting for many different
types of market, not just for generating texts and
brochures. Now we are going through a stage, I
think, where people are trying to figure out how
AI might be implemented in the broadcast and
production world.
My expectation would be that this trend will
get stronger and stronger because, once again,
it’s linked to the IP transition and automation
trend. Which means that the logical next step is
to not only have everything automated through
IP, but then also have some kind of intelligence
to manage it properly on top and replace some
aspects of the human action.
Now, how all that is going to materialise exactly
in the future is difficult to know. I can say that one
thing we are working on at the moment is to use
AI especially to help with the framing, and what
we call the auto-framing of the production, so
that the cameras can actually frame presenters on
their own — and in a realistic way. Mimicking the
human touch to such an extent that it’s actually
usable on the air, for example.
The biggest difference is that, in the corporate
market, we are mostly talking about meeting
rooms, so it’s usually small spaces with people
seated in specific positions. It’s much less tricky to
achieve auto-framing in that kind of environment
than in live events where you’re talking about
bigger spaces and it’s less predictable.
But I expect that, with time, we will see more use
of AI for cameras capturing live events. So that, in
the end, the camera operator is mostly monitoring
what is going on and making adjustments, as
opposed to actually moving the cameras on his own
and doing 90% of the work manually.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA PANASONIC
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 37
What other technology trends are you keeping
an eye on in terms of live events and related
production? Is there still a push towards
greater resolutions?
The resolution story is not so important now. We
see that a lot of people are still really happy with
HD, and let’s say they would mainly require higher
resolution not for the sake of having more precise
pictures, but to have more pixels to play with. So
for example, if you’re shooting an advertisement,
you might do so in 6K or 8K — not to produce an
8K movie, but because it’s then possible to crop
inside the picture and reframe without zooming
into the pixel or losing quality. That is why you see
so many people shooting in 4K or 6K, but in the
end broadcasting in HD.
For live events, where the content might not
be recorded [ for posterity so much] we tend to
use larger sensors and higher resolution for value
reasons. The first reason being to simulate a
longer zoom range, so for example you can
use your 4K sensor but then crop an HD part
of it. All of a sudden, that allows you to mimic
a 2x additional zoom on top without losing
quality, while the pixels will be used for what
we call stabilisation of the picture. Therefore,
it’s moving or whatever, it’s more stabilised
because some of the pixels around the picture
will be cropped.
So — to cut a long story short — we are still
working on 6K, 8K sensors and those kind of
things, but not so much to get more precision or
details in the pictures, but instead so that people
can zoom inside of the picture without the need to
acquire or rent super-expensive lenses. That whole
approach makes a lot of sense, I think.
Finally, is there a recent live event — not
necessarily one that your company has been
involved with — where the use of technology
has really impressed you?
A recent project that was especially interesting
was the Eurovision Song Contest, which in terms
of our involvement was basically managed by
Creative Technologies. [Editorial note: As Official
Event Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest,
Creative Technology delivered all audio, lighting
and video to the event in Malmö, Sweden. For a full
case study, please visit https://ct-group.com/aus/
projects/eurovision-song-contest-2024/.)
Creative Technologies is a long-time partner
for us and has been using our high-brightness
projectors, studio cameras, PTZs and Kairos
[live video production platform] for many years
now. For this concert, they put together an endto-end
ST 2110 workflow, which as you know is
increasingly prominent in the broadcast and AV
world these days. What they created with the
media servers, image processing, LED controllers
and so on was really nice and technologically
very interesting. We provided a key part with our
Kairos KC2000S1 system, which tied everything
together with capabilities including several
custom multiviewers for operators as well as
ingress and egress of baseband video.
Obviously that was a really great, high-profile
project to be involved with, and a further
continuation of the long relationship we’ve had
with Creative Technologies.
38 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 VISLINK
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Vislink’s Mickey
Miller: ‘Live
production industry
is a cornerstone
of growth and
innovation’
The rise of 5G bonded cellular connectivity is among the
developments continuing to transform live production
and events, observes Mickey Miller, CEO of live video
transmission and streaming solutions provider Vislink.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA VISLINK
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 39
From your perspective, what has been the
most important technology trend to impact
upon live production and/or live events in the
last few years?
Over the past few years, the emergence and
refinement of 5G bonded cellular connectivity
have transformed live production and events. This
technology allows for rapid deployment, enabling
producers to set up quickly and operate effectively in
both urban and remote environments. Its adaptability
has opened new possibilities for how live content is
captured and shared, meeting the growing need for
immediacy in news, sports, and entertainment.
Key Vislink customers in news and sports
broadcasting have already embraced bonded
cellular solutions to enhance their production
capabilities. For instance, major news networks
have utilised these technologies to deliver breaking
news from remote or high-stakes locations,
ensuring uninterrupted coverage. Similarly, sports
broadcasters covering international events such as
marathons and cycling races rely on bonded cellular
connectivity to provide real-time updates from
challenging terrains. These examples underscore
the versatility and reliability of this technology in
diverse scenarios.
An equally important trend is the increasing
demand for supplementary content. Producers
are now expected to generate material for
promotional use, social media engagement, or
as value-added offerings for subscribers. This
shift highlights the evolving nature of storytelling
and audience engagement. Bonded cellular
connectivity has become an indispensable
enabler, ensuring seamless and reliable content
delivery even under challenging conditions.
Bonded cellular connectivity has become an indispensable
enabler, ensuring seamless and reliable content delivery even under
challenging conditions
As a contributor to your business, how
important is the live production industry,
including a wide range of events, in 2025?
The live production industry represents a
cornerstone of growth and innovation as we
move into 2025. The global broadcast market is
projected to grow significantly, with industry
analysts predicting a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of around 5.5% over the next few years
(MarketsandMarkets, 2023). By 2025, the market
size is expected to exceed $300 billion, fuelled
by advancements in technology and increasing
demand for high-quality, real-time content.
Notably, certain regions are experiencing
40 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 VISLINK
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
particularly robust growth. For
instance, Asia-Pacific is emerging
as a leader in broadcast innovation,
driven by substantial investments
in infrastructure and the rapid
expansion of streaming platforms.
Countries such as India and China
are witnessing exponential growth
in digital content consumption,
creating new opportunities for live
production technologies.
While defence and public safety
remain essential sectors, the
broadcast industry’s agility and
rapid adoption of new technologies
make it a significant driver of
innovation. Live production spans
a diverse range of applications,
from breaking news coverage
to global sports spectacles and
entertainment events. Its vitality
and growth potential underscore a
broader confidence in the sector’s
ability to adapt, innovate and
thrive. As we look to the future, the
broadcast industry’s role in shaping
media landscapes and connecting
audiences worldwide will only
grow in importance.
In what ways do you think the
pandemic period changed
requirements and expectations in
this part of the industry?
The pandemic catalysed profound
shifts in how live production
operates. One of the most notable
changes has been the move
toward individualised setups for
each camera, reducing reliance
on shared or pooled equipment.
This evolution not only improves
operational flexibility, but also fosters
innovation in equipment design
and deployment.
Additionally, the adoption of
cloud-based production workflows
has accelerated. Cloud production
offers unparalleled flexibility,
allowing teams to collaborate and
manage productions remotely with
ease. This approach minimises
physical infrastructure requirements
while enabling real-time editing and
distribution. Camera management
tools have also emerged as a vital
asset, empowering operators to
control and configure cameras
remotely, further enhancing
efficiency in multi-camera setups.
A prime example is LinkMatrix,
a remote management tool
designed for seamless control of
multiple camera feeds.
The rise of remote production,
initiated during the pandemic, has
since become a defining feature of
the industry. This approach enables
streamlined operations, reduces
on-site personnel, and aligns with
sustainability goals. The pandemic’s
lessons have set a foundation for
resilient and adaptive production
practices that continue to evolve.
If you had to select one recent
solution or service development
that has been especially important
regarding your presence in
this industry, what would
it be — and why?
One recent development that stands
out is the increasing accessibility of
automated production tools. These
advancements empower smaller
productions and niche events to
achieve professional-quality results,
democratising access to high-caliber
content creation.
These solutions also address
the growing need for additional
material, such as behind-thescenes
footage or promotional
clips for social media. Tools like
[Vislink advanced AI system that
automates professional sports
production without the need
for an onsite camera team or
director] IQ Sports Producer are
instrumental in helping achieve
these goals by automating and
enhancing production workflows.
By simplifying workflows and
enhancing efficiency, such tools
reflect the industry’s commitment
to innovation and inclusivity.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA VISLINK
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 41
Immersive technologies, such as AR and VR, are opening new
dimensions for audience engagement
How do you expect AI to impact the business in
the next few years?
Artificial intelligence is poised to play a
transformative role in the broadcast industry’s
evolution. Its applications range from automating
routine production tasks to supporting backend
operations and generating supplementary
material. For instance, AI-driven systems are wellsuited
for predictable formats like racing events,
where they deliver precision and consistency.
Looking ahead, AI will also empower content
producers to tailor material for specific
platforms and audience segments, driving deeper
engagement through personalisation.
This capability allows broadcasters to deliver
customised experiences while streamlining
workflows, ensuring efficiency and scalability. AI’s
role as a catalyst for creativity and operational
excellence underscores the optimism surrounding
technological advancements.
What other technology trends are you
keeping an eye on in terms of live events and
related production?
The landscape of live production is shaped by
several emerging trends that promise to redefine
the industry. Remote production continues to
gain traction, bolstered by advancements in
connectivity, including the rollout of 5G networks.
These developments ensure greater reliability and
flexibility for live events.
Budgets, however, are becoming increasingly
constrained, making it essential to collaborate
with suppliers, equipment and teams that can
adapt to quick turnarounds and tighter financial
parameters. The ability to deploy kit that can be
set up quickly and efficiently, while maintaining
reliability, is critical in this environment.
Flexibility and adaptability in workflows
and technology have become indispensable
for meeting these challenges without
compromising quality.
Immersive technologies, such as augmented
reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are opening
new dimensions for audience engagement,
creating interactive and memorable experiences.
Sustainability is another critical focus, with the
industry increasingly adopting energy-efficient
equipment and eco-friendly practices. These
trends reflect a forward-looking, ambitious
approach to innovation and growth.
Finally, is there a recent live event — this does
not need to be one your company has been
involved with — where the use of technology
has really impressed you?
A recent example of technological excellence in
live production was the Beyonce halftime show
during the Christmas Day NFL game. The event
demanded impeccable execution, with multiple
camera angles and seamless coverage capturing
the energy and artistry of the performance. This
production exemplified the power of cutting-edge
technology in delivering unforgettable experiences
and showcased the industry’s potential for
creativity and collaboration. AVS utilised 10 Vislink
HCAMs to cover the event, ensuring seamless and
reliable broadcast quality.
[In conclusion the industry] is on an exciting
trajectory, fuelled by technological advancements
and a shared vision for innovation. As we embrace
new tools and approaches, we’re building a future
defined by creativity, sustainability and global
connectivity. The resilience and ambition of the
industry are a testament to its strength, offering
a confident outlook for continued growth and
transformation.
42 | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 808 TALENT
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA
Are too many
stakeholders sabotaging
your hiring goals?
Competition for top talent
remains intense, with its
attendant challenges sometimes
accentuated by overly complex
hiring processes. Ben Swanton,
founder and CEO of 808 Talent,
explores some of the most
common recruitment pitfalls —
and how to avoid them.
PRODUCTION360.MEDIA 808 TALENT
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 | 43
The competition for top talent is fierce in
the fast-moving broadcast, media and
sports production industries. Yet despite
recognising the need for skilled professionals,
many businesses find themselves entangled in
overly complex hiring processes that mirror the
bureaucratic red tape of public service RFPs.
These drawn-out procedures, laden with too
many stakeholders, a lack of accountability, and
inefficiencies harm the candidate experience and
can tarnish a company’s reputation.
As a recruitment and talent acquisition
thought-leader, I’ve witnessed how such pitfalls
can hinder companies from securing the talent
they desperately need. Let’s delve into the
common challenges posed by overly convoluted
hiring processes and explore how organisations
can streamline their approach to attracting and
retaining top talent.
THE PITFALLS OF TOO
MANY STAKEHOLDERS
Bringing key decision-makers into the
hiring process is essential for alignment and
confident decision-making. But there’s a balance
to strike. When too many stakeholders get
involved, what should be a focused, efficient
process can become complicated and drawn
out. Here’s how that can impact your ability to
secure top talent:
1. Slower progress, higher risk: Involving the
right stakeholders strengthens hiring decisions.
But when too many voices are part of the
process, it can create unnecessary delays. In
a fast-paced talent market, timing is critical
— waiting too long to make a decision can
mean losing exceptional candidates to quickermoving
competitors.
2. Diverging priorities: Different leaders will
naturally have different perspectives on what
makes a candidate the right fit. While these
insights are valuable, too many competing
views can create confusion and slow
momentum, making it harder to move forward
with clarity and confidence.
3. The candidate experience matters: For
candidates, an overly complex hiring process
can signal indecision. Long interview rounds
with multiple stakeholders can leave them
feeling unclear about the role — or even
disengaged. This increases the risk of them
losing interest or choosing another offer before
a decision is made.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
AMONG HR MANAGERS
Another critical issue in modern hiring processes
is the lack of accountability. Hiring managers often
defer decisions or shift responsibility to HR, or to a
“joint collaborative hiring decision”, resulting in:
• Indecisiveness: Without a clear owner for
the hiring decision, the process can drag on,
causing companies to lose candidates to more
decisive competitors.
• Poor communication: Candidates frequently
experience long periods of silence due to
disorganised workflows, eroding their trust and
interest in the company.
• Missed opportunities: Top talent won’t wait
around for a company to get its act together. A
lack of urgency signals disinterest and can drive
candidates to competitors.
THE IMPACT OF SLOW
HIRING PROCESSES
A sluggish hiring process doesn’t just frustrate
candidates; it actively damages a company’s
reputation. Here are the key consequences:
• Negative candidate experience: In today’s
digital age, candidates share their experiences
online. Slow or poorly managed processes
often result in bad reviews on platforms like
Glassdoor, deterring future applicants.
• Brand perception: Companies known for
inefficient hiring practices risk being perceived
as disorganised or indifferent, which can hurt
their standing in the industry.
• Lost talent: The best candidates are typically
off the market quickly. Delays mean losing out
on top-tier professionals who could have made
a significant impact.
HOW TO FIX THE HIRING PROCESS
Streamlining your hiring process is essential to
attracting and retaining the best talent. Here’s how:
1. Limit stakeholder involvement: Identify
the key decision-makers and keep the group
small and focused. Clear role definitions and
decision-making authority can drastically
improve efficiency.
2. Empower hiring managers: Hold hiring
managers accountable for moving the
process forward. Provide them with the tools
and support they need to make informed
decisions swiftly.
3. Optimise Candidate Experience:
Communicate transparently and consistently
with candidates. Provide timelines,
updates and constructive feedback to
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keep them engaged.
4. Set clear timelines: Establish firm deadlines
for each stage of the hiring process. This not
only keeps the process on track, but also
signals to candidates that your organisation
values their time.
5. Leverage technology: Use applicant
tracking systems (ATS) and other
recruitment tools to automate routine tasks
and provide visibility into the process for
all stakeholders.
THRIVING ON AGILITY
We all know how the broadcast, media, and
sports production industries thrive on agility,
creativity, and precision, so it makes sense for
your hiring processes to embody these same
qualities. By cutting through unnecessary
complexity, empowering the right decisionmakers,
and putting the candidate experience
front and centre, your organisation can attract top
talent while strengthening its market reputation.
The goal isn’t to limit valuable input — it’s
to ensure the process stays focused, decisive,
and respectful of everyone’s time, particularly
the candidates. A drawn-out, unclear
process sends a message about how your
organisation operates.
All of which means it’s important to challenge
outdated practices. Simplify decision-making so
you can deliver a hiring experience that stands out
for all the right reasons. Because in a competitive
industry, how you hire reflects who you are — and
first impressions matter.
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