BBC Outside Broadcast is throwing two brand-new trucks, 15km of video cable, 27 VTRs, 30 cameras and 100 technical staff at the coverage of this year's Glastonbury Festival, writes Sam Espensen.As

BBC Outside Broadcast is throwing two brand-new trucks, 15km of video cable, 27 VTRs, 30 cameras and 100 technical staff at the coverage of this year's Glastonbury Festival, writes Sam Espensen.As part of the one of the biggest OB set-ups of the year, the festival's crew will also use three on-site edit suites, three film units, 20 radio mic channels, 12 radio talkback channels and 7.5km of sound cable as they strive to deliver more than 32 hours of programming across the weekend to BBC2 and BBC3.BBC OB admitted that with all the resources needed to increase and improve coverage this year, the budget has gone up by around 10%. However, no one would go on the record and say exactly how much money the company is committing to the event. The BBC Resources department will also use Glastonbury Festival to try out its two brand-new multimillion-pound OB units. Unit 10 - a double expanding, fully integrated, digital widescreen production unit with VT edit and slo-mo areas - and Unit 25, a smaller production unit, make up part of the five-strong OB unit team. In all, more than 30 vehicles will be involved across the weekend. Jon Mason, engineering manager for BBC OB, told Broadcast that the biggest advantage of the new trucks will be the reduction in setting up and testing time. The BBC will also provide coverage of the festival's dance tent for the first time this year - but for the Sunday night only. Mason explained that it's a "question of budget, we're using the facilities we have to the best effect". One obstacle is the location of the tents and the issue of trying to move OB kit around the site. "It involves moving one scanner from the One World stage to the Dance tent on Saturday night, he said. "Logistically it's quite complex, and there are curfews on traffic after a certain time - so when you finish filming after midnight and then re-rigging for the next day it's a bit of a nightmare." His answer will be to get as much de-rigging and pre-rigging done as possible. Camera crew will also get the chance to try out the BBC's new DRC wireless digital cameras, which will be used to bring live footage from around the site and camping areas.The Glastonbury Festival runs from 27 to 29 June at Worthy Farm in Glastonbury. The live coverage starts on BBC2 from Friday.

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