Sporting Stress
Major sports events are probably about as nightmarish as it can get. Unpredictable weather conditions, no rehearsals possible for one-off events, far-from-ideal stadiums and sporting arenas - the producers and engineers who work on Sports Outside Broadcasts learn to think on their feet if they are to survive.
A former co-ordinating producer for the BBC's coverage of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, Martin Hopkins, says "Wimbledon was not built for television. We have to fit all our requirements into the existing structure." That means covering 18 courts, any one of which could have a crucial tennis match on it. The BBC provides pictures for other broadcasters, too, and records matches to hold 'in the can' in case something needs to fill the gaps when matches are cancelled due to the inevitable English rain. Part of the BBC's contract with Wimbledon means it has to cover six courts simultaneously, all the time they are in play .Now the introduction of digital television means viewers are demanding more and more coverage of the same event. It takes two weeks to rig the equipment necessary to cover Wimbledon. The BBC annually imports 150 staff, 57 miles of cable, and a couple of miniature studios to link the programmes and record after-match interviews. Engineering manager Ian Dow says Wimbledon is, in effect, six outside broadcasts - masquerading as just one event - each with its own train of engineers, videotape machines, control rooms, cameras, directors and cables. Don't forget those miles of cable.
Think of the dozens of sporting events that now vie for our attention on free-to-air and pay-TV. Think of the enormous commitment of tiny TVNZ, providing international coverage of the America's Cup yachting race, not just once, but again in 2002. One of the world's smallest national broadcasters managed (with a bit of help) to provide top class coverage, and break new ground with computer graphics to explain to viewers unversed in the mysteries of sailing exactly what was going on. Small, remote controlled cameras aboard yachts gave viewers a sense of what it is like aboard the yachts. And that's the secret weapon of outside broadcasts - hi-tech equipment that comes from thinking outside the square.
