Two machines, two jobs
When people ask what sits behind the lower thirds and replays they see on screen, the honest answer is not exciting. We run graphics on one machine and replay on another, and we keep them separate on purpose. If a replay clip is being cued while a name caption is going to air, neither task should be waiting on the other for processor time or disk access.
Tom Whitcombe, who operates both for us, treats each machine as a single-purpose tool. The graphics machine holds templates, fonts and the data for the show. The replay machine records every camera feed and holds the clips. Neither is used for email, browsing or anything else, and neither is updated in the week of a show.
That separation also helps when something goes wrong. A fault on one desk never takes the other with it, and the operator knows exactly where to look first.
Templates built before the day
Lower thirds, scoreboards and caption bars are built as templates well before we arrive on site. We agree the look with the client, set fonts and colours, and decide where names, titles and scores will sit on a frame. During the show, the operator changes the text inside a template rather than designing anything live.
This keeps spelling errors down. We ask organisers for a written list of names, roles, sponsor wording and any scores or running totals, and we check every caption against it. A name spelled wrongly on screen is one of the most visible mistakes in live television, and it is almost always avoidable with a proper list.
Templates also let us vary the pace. A quiet song might carry a single small caption, while a busy awards segment needs several in quick succession. The templates are ready for both.
- Names and titles supplied in writing
- Fonts and colours agreed before the day
- Spare templates for late changes
How instant replay actually works
Replay depends on one simple habit: every camera feed is recorded continuously from the moment the show begins. The operator does not need to guess what will matter. When something worth showing happens, they mark the point, pull the clip from the camera angle that saw it best, and hold it ready for the director.
Helen Marsh, our technical director, calls the replay in the same way she calls any shot. The operator confirms the clip is cued, the director decides when it airs, and the vision mixer takes it to programme. The clip then plays at the speed the director asks for, normal or slowed.
Good replay is mostly about restraint. A clip that arrives ten seconds too late is worse than no clip, so we agree beforehand which moments are worth showing and which are not.
Checks we run before going live
Every graphics and replay setup goes through the same routine before a show. We check each template against the supplied names, play a test clip from every camera, confirm the output reaches the vision mixer at the right size, and look at the whole picture on a monitor to be sure captions sit inside the safe area of the screen.
We also test the unglamorous parts: power, cabling and the link between machines. A loose lead found at the check costs a minute. The same lead found during the show costs far more.
Because mid autumn events often run in early darkness, we also check that caption colours stay readable against stage lighting, which can look very different from the rehearsal room.
- Test clip from every camera
- Captions checked against the written list
- Safe area confirmed on the monitor
- Power and cabling inspected
Keeping the setup simple on purpose
We could add more software, more screens and more automation, and some productions do. For most of the concerts, festivals and stage events we cover, though, a plain setup is the safer one. Fewer moving parts means fewer things to explain to a new operator and fewer things that can fail in front of an audience.
When a client asks for something more elaborate, such as live scores pulled from a data source or animated transitions, we say clearly what it needs and what could go wrong. If it adds risk without adding much for the viewer, we recommend leaving it out.
The aim is that nobody notices the graphics operator at all. The captions are right, the replays arrive on time, and the show carries on.
What we ask of you beforehand
Most of the preparation that makes graphics and replay work well happens before we arrive, and much of it depends on information only the organiser has. A running order, names and roles spelled as the people themselves prefer, sponsor wording, logos in usable file formats and any scoring rules all help us build templates that need no changes on the day.
We also ask who has the final say on wording. When a caption needs correcting during a show, it saves seconds to know the one person whose answer settles it.
If some of this is not ready, tell us. We would rather plan around a gap than discover it live.
Real-time graphics and replay come down to preparation, separate machines for separate jobs, and a routine of checks that never gets skipped. Our operators work from written lists and ready templates so that nothing is improvised in front of an audience. If you are planning an event and want to know how this would work for it, write to us through the contact page and Priya will pick it up.