Outside Broadcasting
Outside Broadcasting at Southampton Solent University is part of the Entertainment Technology| group in the Maritime and Technology Faculty. It allows students on our courses to benefit from working in a real outside broadcast environment under the time and quality pressures that this creates. Work is undertaken for both external and internal clients, supporting student learning while providing services to the outside world.
Facilities are based around our flagship Outside Broadcast vehicle| – a 7.5 tonne LDV with full acoustic treatment, a 64 channel audio mixer, surround sound monitoring, and multicamera HD/SD video capability, including Sony DXC-55 System cameras, along with a combined wired/wireless RTS/Telex comms system. The truck is supported by Soundcraft Digital|, The Professional Monitor Company| and RTS Telex|.
The OB Vehicle is backed up by our ‘flight cased’ systems, which allow multicamera SD filming/recording of events where using the truck is not practical. These are based around 2 Sony Anycasts for video mixing, 15 Panasonic HVX-200 Cameras, 2 Mackie Onyx audio mixers and 2 Alesis HD|24 multitrack digital recorders, allowing simultaneous filming/recording of up to 3 different medium-large scale events. In addition we have a wide range of other single camera, recording, editing and post-production facilities available in the Entertainment Technology Centre, including a dubbing/ADR suite, Surround Mixing room and tracklaying/edit suite.
The OB facilities are available for hire by both internal and external clients. A particular relationship has been developed with BBC South, who make regular use of the vehicle, using students as additional crew giving them work experience on network TV. Major events over the past year have included:
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Working with the BBC to produce live network TV broadcast of the QE2 as she made her final departure from Southampton.
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Providing technical facilities for the BBC South's outside broadcast of Children in Need.
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Working in conjunction with the University’s Media School to produce high definition footage of Dance Stage East at Glastonbury Festival for Glastonbury TV.
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Filming and broadcasting live from the country’s largest Heritage Railway event at Eastleigh Works, including providing technical services for a BBC South broadcast.
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Filming the official DVD for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain 25th Anniversary concert at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
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Filming at Chichester Cathedral to support a BBC SCR broadcast of the Christmas Carol Concert at the cathedral.
These are just some of the exciting things our students have been doing using the Outside Broadcasting truck this year, providing fantastic work experience.
Feedback from the technical team at the BBC:
"It did everything we needed for the two events. The QE2 OB was the most complex we have ever done in the South, and it gave us our highest ever regional viewing figures." Martyn Welch, Engineering Manager.
"Solent's outside broadcast truck gave us much more flexible facilities which allowed us to take on more difficult tasks". Media Technology graduate, Gordon Adamson, now an Engineer at the BBC.
Soundcraft, which has agreed to support the Entertainment Technology courses with technology upgrades and training, has some great things to say about our truck: http://www.soundcraftdigital.com/news/recent.aspx?id=372|
Use the menu on the right to find out what other things the students have been doing with this unique resource.