To prepare for the production of a new science series, San Francisco PBS station KQED asked National TeleConsultants (NTC) to devise a workflow plan that would leverage its digital HD tools to create a complex, multiplatform show.
"QUEST" spotlights local San Francisco Bay Area science, environment and nature stories, and is presented via multiple delivery platforms, including a weekly half-hour HDTV program, weekly radio segments, a Web site and unique educational guides.
While the show isn't the station's first cross-platform project, it is "editorially managed and structured differently from any of our other projects," said Jeff Clarke, president and CEO of Northern California Public Broadcasting.
The NTC analysis of workflow requirements for "QUEST" began with a series of interviews to determine the scope of the multiplatform production. After several days of interviewing the show's senior executive producer, business manager and various members of the "QUEST" team responsible for different platforms, NTC created a report that identified how the show would be produced and what technology would be needed.
"You can't simply repurpose content for the different platforms and still produce the best material," said John Footen, NTC director of software systems engineering and one of the authors of the report. New technology, like Avid Interplay, however, exists that can improve the workflow of a multiplatform production. "It is not tremendously more expensive to produce for all platforms in parallel, and the benefits are tremendous from a creative standpoint," he said.
For more information, visit www.ntc.com.
