BILLERICA, MASS.: When the Olympic Torch was carried through the small town of Magherafelt in Northern Ireland on June 7, the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB) covered the event with a two-hour live production that was anchored by a Broadcast Pix Granite 5000 Video Control Center. Streamed live to www.neelb.tv, the program was also displayed on large public screens in the town centre as well as in nearby Belfast and Derry.
The show began with coverage of a Guinness world-record event, as more than 3,000 children representing 31 schools created the Olympic rings at a local arena. The students then lined the streets for the torch procession. According to Peter Simpson, manager of neelb.tv and director of the production, nine cameras were used during the shoot, including a helicopter-based camera for aerial footage of the record-breaking rings formation.
A studio was constructed in a local church hall, equipped with three robotic cameras that Simpson controlled through the Granite in neelb.tv’s production truck. Coverage also featured two roving reporters stationed near three microwave links positioned along the route. A 30-minute edited highlight program is available on the Web site, and the complete program will soon be available on DVD from Magherafelt District Council.
