Field testing, Aussie style.
Field testing, Aussie style.
Transcend Trails takes Pulse on an outback adventure in preparation for race day.
Transcend Trails takes Pulse on an outback adventure in preparation for race day.
Photos courtesy Transcend.
Photos courtesy Transcend.
They say practice makes perfect and a dry run for a livestream makes it perfect too.
That's what happened last weekend when the teams from Transcend and Pulse got together to demo broadcast the first 25 km of the Transcend Ultra, a 65 km Ultra trail race that takes place on June 25th along the Avon Valley outside of Perth, Australia.
They say practice makes perfect and a dry run for a livestream makes it perfect too.
That's what happened last weekend when the teams from Transcend and Pulse got together to demo broadcast the first 25 km of the Transcend Ultra, a 65 km Ultra trail race that takes place on June 25th along the Avon Valley outside of Perth, Australia.
The demo broadcast took place in Walyunga National Park, an hour outside Perth.
The demo broadcast took place in Walyunga National Park, an hour outside Perth.
The test run was an opportunity to test several firsts for both the Transcend and Pulse teams, who were distributed across the world on four different continents.
The test run was an opportunity to test several firsts for both the Transcend and Pulse teams, who were distributed across the world on four different continents.
"A quality, engaging and affordable event live broadcast concept 18 months ago became a reality on the 18th of Feb 2023. Overall our test broadcast was a great success!
The region our 65km Transcend event covers is limited by phone reception, steep and technical terrain which makes capturing fast or even slow moving trail runners quite difficult! In partnership with Pulse.TV we are in the process of achieving something very special and bringing our amazing landscape and the athletes that traverse the course to potentially every digital platform in the world!"
"A quality, engaging and affordable event live broadcast concept 18 months ago became a reality on the 18th of Feb 2023. Overall our test broadcast was a great success!
The region our 65km Transcend event covers is limited by phone reception, steep and technical terrain which makes capturing fast or even slow moving trail runners quite difficult! In partnership with Pulse.TV we are in the process of achieving something very special and bringing our amazing landscape and the athletes that traverse the course to potentially every digital platform in the world!"
Shane Johnstone
Shane Johnstone
Transcend
Transcend
#CONNECTIVITY
A remote location with internet powered by SpaceX's Starlink internet service. This setup worked very well and opened our eyes to the future potential of outdoor event streaming in more remote locations.
#CONNECTIVITY
A remote location with internet powered by SpaceX's Starlink internet service. This setup worked very well and opened our eyes to the future potential of outdoor event streaming in more remote locations.
#REMOTE FEED MANAGEMENT
Remote management of streams by a studio production team in downtown Perth and the Pulse team in South Africa. The feeds were used by the team at A'Live and Streaming in Perth to power their studio broadcast. The Pulse team were responsible for technical oversight, ensuring the streams were coming in smoothly.
#REMOTE FEED MANAGEMENT
Remote management of streams by a studio production team in downtown Perth and the Pulse team in South Africa. The feeds were used by the team at A'Live and Streaming in Perth to power their studio broadcast. The Pulse team were responsible for technical oversight, ensuring the streams were coming in smoothly.
#IN THE STUDIO
Integration of Pulse Studio, our tool for broadcasters that brings Pulse's technology into broadcast feeds. Pulse Studio was used by Travis, the director based in the studio, as a means to control which streams from the field are shown on the primary broadcast feed. Pulse Studio provides various view configurations that focus primarily on either the video or a map showing where the video is coming from.
#IN THE STUDIO
Integration of Pulse Studio, our tool for broadcasters that brings Pulse's technology into broadcast feeds. Pulse Studio was used by Travis, the director based in the studio, as a means to control which streams from the field are shown on the primary broadcast feed. Pulse Studio provides various view configurations that focus primarily on either the video or a map showing where the video is coming from.
The studio stream.
Pulse Studio tool for broadcast and commentary feeds.
"To be in a studio south of Perth, receiving multiple live feeds from runners in a semi-remote location north of Perth, via the Pulse app, and then to be producing a polished looking broadcast using a mix of the live feeds together with in-studio commentary and VOD’s…. For me it was just one of those - “what an amazing time to be alive” moments!"
Travis Morrison
Travis Morrison
A'Live and Streaming
A'Live and Streaming
#CAMERA SETUP
Testing an amazing DIY handheld GoPro camera + power bank + WiFi antenna contraption built by the Transcend team for capturing on the go. Look at it! Isn't it beautiful?!
While this setup worked incredibly well, the feedback from the team was that running with a handheld unit can get rather heavy. It’s important to keep the weight and other practicalities of handheld and mobile devices in mind for events like this.
#CAMERA SETUP
Testing an amazing DIY handheld GoPro camera + powerbank + wifi antennae contraption built by the Transcend team for capturing on the go. Look at it! Isn’t is beautiful?!
While this setup worked incredibly well, the feedback from the team was that running with a handheld unit can get rather heavy. It’s important to keep the weight and other practicalities of handheld and mobile devices in mind for events like this.
#TEAM COMMUNICATION
Also trialed were the operational aspects, such as communication between teams out in the field and teams in the studio. For this, a number of Slack channels were set up for various aspects of the operation.
A central channel for everyone, and then smaller individual channels that could keep the conversations more focused, especially for those on the go who don't have much time to go through busy conversations while sweat is pouring into their eyes!
The lesson learned here is that simplicity is better; too many channels can overwhelm those out in the field who are trying to focus on capturing great content. A central overseer and distributor of communications is useful when teams reach a certain size.
#TEAM COMMUNICATION
Also trialled were the operational aspects such as communication between teams out in the field and teams in studio. For this, a number of Slack channels were set up for various aspects of the operation.
A central channel for everyone and then smaller individual channels that could keep the conversations more focused, especially for those on the go who don’t have much time to go through busy conversations while sweat is pouring into their eyes!
The learning here was that simple is better, too many channels can overwhelm those out in the field trying to focus on capturing great content. A central overseer and distributer of comms is useful when teams get to a certain size.
#PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING
The key to success was, and will be, planning and communication. Shane, the head honcho at Transcend, and his amazing team are showing the way in this regard. A dry run of this scale might be an entire event for some, but to output a seriously great livestream on the 25th of June, the input and learnings gained through post-mortems and sharing of notes will make all the difference!
Find out more about the Transcend Ultra Trail at transcendtrails.com.
#PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING
The key to the success was and will be planning and communication. Shane and his amazing team are showing the way in this regard. A dry run of this scale might be an entire event to some, but to output a seriously great livestream on the 25th of June, the input and learnings gained through post-mortems and sharing of notes will make all the difference!
Find out more about the Transcend Ultra Trail at transcendtrails.com.
"Transcend is no longer just a ‘local’ event. The sport of trail running from a spectator perspective has been so limited to a few course access points along long remote trails. Evolving technology, some passionate content creators and trail runners the option of an engaging and affordable full broadcast is here! However as we have discovered this still takes a lot of ground work but together we are refining the processes and it can only get better from here! We are so excited to do the Transcend broadcast full gas on the 25th of June with Pulse TV and Alive and Streaming."
Shane Johnstone
Shane Johnstone
Transcend
Transcend
Pulse is a streaming platform built for sport. Use our livestream and on-demand options to take your event to a new level.
Pulse is a streaming platform built for sport. Use our livestream and on-demand options to take your event to a new level.
