Usage supercharged for Sky 1 and C4 shows

Shine TV has expanded the use of LiveU technology for the latest series of The Heist and Celebrity Hunted.  

LiveU was used for previous runs of Sky 1’s robbery format The Heist and Channel 4’s celebrity version of Hunted but its use was supercharged for their new runs.

LiveU created a production gallery, captured onscreen footage and made a nationwide filming and comms system for the shows, with UK partner Garland Partners seeing technology supply and providing support.  

The second series of The Heist used HEVC with five LU600 units and five LU300s; and saw significant growth in usage of LiveU’s smartphone app LU-Smart, with 30% more footage captured through the tech.  

A key challenge for producers and directors on the show, which follows nine contestants tasked with hanging on to £1 million made during a bank robbery as former real-world detectives chase them, was following what the main cameras crew shot, while keeping abreast of what the ‘thieves’ were doing.

The contestants used the LU-Smart app to send footage back to the low-res production gallery in addition to low-res feeds from the main cameras. This footage was also kept on the phones for use in the show. 

Shine TV exec producer Tom Hutchings, praised the effects of HEVC, saying: ”The images were crisp and clear even at 1Mbit/s. Using LiveU to create a low-res production gallery to allow the storytellers to understand the action as it unfolds, and to be able to communicate easily with all parties, was essential.” 

Meanwhile, Celebrity Hunted series three saw LiveU used when an LU600 HEVC was placed in a helicopter alongside a Cineflex gimble on the front, with the feed from the former fed into the LU600. This was combined with audio from the hunter’s microphone, with audio sent back to the helicopter using the nationwide comms system.  

Hutchings said the method was used four times and did not drop out once. 

LiveU regional sales director Paul Shephard, said: “It’s very pleasing that our implementation of HEVC encoding is also allowing Shine TV to reap such impressive real-world benefits alongside its expanded use of LU-Smart.”

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