YLE INTEGRATES DRAMATIFY AND CUEPILOT FOR WORKFLOW FOR LIVE CLASSICAL CONCERT PROGRAM, ‘CLASSICAL TRANCELATIONS’
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YLE’s TV director, Rami Lindholm, spearheaded the production, using both Dramatify and CuePilot in a combined integration to enable a full digitization of the TV director´s production process.
Content-making has not been digitalized – until now
“Content-making or directing has not been digitalized. We use digital systems like old-fashioned paper. We write scripts and plan shots on paper, shared files and copy-paste from one system to another,” said Lindholm. “Digital content-making should mean that once we input something, it should be outputted everywhere online. The problem with shared documents is that we can not output the data from them.”
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Content-making has not been digitalized – until now
“Content-making or directing has not been digitalized. We use digital systems like old-fashioned paper. We write scripts and plan shots on paper, shared files and copy-paste from one system to another,” said Lindholm. “Digital content-making should mean that once we input something, it should be outputted everywhere online. The problem with shared documents is that we can not output the data from them.”
Continued Lindholm, “The whole point of Dramatify is that you need only one system where you can handle the whole production. There are systems for Hollywood movies and for news, but most of the entertainment and music shows are done with Word, Excel, Google Sheets, etc.”
A smart live/studio script tool custom built for entertainment
When Lindholm first heard about Dramatify in 2016, he called CEO Annika Lidne to ask if the product could handle live entertainment production. YLE had already been using CuePilot for three years. CuePilot is YLE’s directors’ tool for shot planning and cueing on music programs.
“After first using Dramatify, we still had manual paper work,” said Lindholm. “The rundown/script and the cue sheets from CuePilot for cameramen and control room personal did not match.”
Lindholm essentially married Dramatify and CuePilot, for the first time, in the ‘Classical Trancelations’ broadcast.
“We use the combined Dramatify-CuePilot solution for classical music when there is no timecode,” said Lindholm. “When there is timecode available, you don´t need the cue sheets, because cameramen have iPads. CuePilot cues the vision mixer automatically, as the director has planned. When you see it, as a producer or director, you wonder why this has not been done before.”
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A solid live production platform
While Dramatify at the time worked with drama and episodic programming, the company teamed up with YLE to develop what is possibly the world’s most advanced live/studio entertainment script tool, replacing both previous Excel and Avid iNews, neither suited – but often used – for entertainment. The focus was an easy-to-use and fast script tool accessible for an entire production team, featuring teleprompter text export and a dark mode that allows the production to go completely paperless.This has provided a solid live production platform for YLE. Similarly, CuePilot’s automated cueing delivers tight camera mixes, ideal for live pop music.
“We are mostly working with scripted shows, but with live music, where there are tightly scripted camera cues and so many demanding elements, Dramatify can suit the needs of any live producer,” said Annika Lidne.
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Dramatify-CuePilot marriage enables faster adoption for directors
As for YLE, the Dramatify-CuePilot marriage enables faster adoption for directors.
“We have plenty of engineers and plenty of content-makers, but very few people are interested in both sides,” said Lindholm. “CuePilot’s team understand both sides. They are content-makers - they are all directors and yet really invested in their technical development. It is very simple to use, everybody can learn it in minutes.”
YLE currently uses CuePilot for shot planning and 15 directors use it all the time. All of YLE’s ballets, operas and classical music concerts are planned with CuePilot. Pop music also uses the automatic cueing when there is timecode available from the band or from a music file.
“We have focused specifically on high-end live show production for years, and we have looked at integrating with other systems. Rami brought us together with Dramatify and ‘Classical Trancelations’ is the first production of that kind,” said Per Zachariassen, CEO of CuePilot. “It makes sense, as we are both in the automation business, and we look forward to further collaboration.”
Automate,then you have even more time to be creative
One of the biggest breakthroughs for Lindholm was seeing how his creative team took to the combined Dramatify-CuePilot system.
“We have seen a really fruitful result from using Dramatify and CuePilot. A lot of directors like pen and paper. They think that computers are somehow stilted. I feel that it is the opposite,” said Lindholm. “All the things that can be automated, should be, because you have more time to be creative.”