Technology in the broadcast industry has become very sophisticated, very quickly. Open any industry trade publication and you’ll see reports on artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, 8K, the list goes on. Although the infrastructure behind television in terms of shooting, editing and distributing TV shows is racing to incorporate new technology, on the programme making side we’re still seeing the same kind of shows that we’ve been watching for years. The question we’re asking is: when will programme creativity catch up with technology?
At Trickbox we’ve begun to see a shift in broadcasters’ incorporating sophisticated technology into the creative side of their programme making. We recently supported the live stream from the Coronation Street cobbles in Manchester for the Big NHS Singalong Live. This was a one-off ITV event produced by Endemol Shine North, which saw the NHS Choir joined by popstars and celebrities in a unique, live singalong celebrating the NHS’ 70th anniversary. The event went out live on ITV with streams from Abbey Road Studios in London and other parts of the country, including Manchester. The project was run by One Ten who positioned an OB truck at the Abbey Road Studios. The concept was that all the sites would sing at the same time, and all the feeds were synced in the truck and broadcast live on ITV as one song. This was a live prime time production that relied on sophisticated technology to ensure the highest quality programme and it worked perfectly.
We’ve begun to see a shift in the light entertainment genre. We’ve recently provided OB facilities for several new broadcast gameshows that are utilising different forms of AI for the gameplay. It’s rare when the overall creative concept of a TV show is borne out of new and emerging technology.
It will be interesting to see how TV production courses at the training level incorporate technology into their creative modules and if that brings a greater shift in traditional television formats.
