Following the beat
Post categories: Proms, Proms 2009, Royal Albert Hall, behind the scenes
|10:21 UK Time, Sunday, 26 July 2009
MaestroCam made its debut at last night's Prom. I was going to say 'on schedule' but technically we were behind schedule as the BBC 2 broadcast was a 'deferred relay' beginning half an hour after the concert started at 7.30. Even for insiders the technicalities of a deferred relay are still a bit of a brain-fryer because you think, 'what's actually happening to the programme - how can you start transmitting something while it's still being recorded?' Well I suppose it's like putting a programme on 'live pause' on your satellite box, then waiting for half an hour before resuming playback - only on a much larger scale. Even so I'm not at all sure how it really works!Editorially we were very pleased with MaestroCam - between Friday's orchestral rehearsal and the show, our commentator Matthew Rowe had thought a lot about his remarks, and struck an ideal balance between conveying the insights gained from his preparation of the score and his spontaneous reaction to conductor Sir Charles Mackerras's ways of communicating his intentions to the orchestra.
The issues were mainly technical - in the first half we had some problems with synchronisation when the MaestroCam and the linear output were in the same frame; we largely resolved these in time for the second half but, although the next MaestroCam evening is a live, simultaneous relay, with fewer potential pitfalls, we'll want to make sure there are no further problems with synching: it's very off-putting for the commentator and it doesn't look good if the conductor appears to be following two different beats! We also moved the 'inset' conductor box from the top to the bottom of the frame so that it would be less likely to obscure the orchestral players' heads.
One final thought: as we sat in our small interactive production studio in BBC Television Centre, a couple of miles away from the Royal Albert Hall, however much we were preoccupied with the technicalities of producing this new service, we could sense the atmosphere in the Hall, and were fully aware of the sheer quality of the playing from the BBC Philharmonic; it was a privilege to witness such collaborative music-making in a performance led by one of the great conductors of our time - Sir Charles Mackerras.
Please use the Comments system here to let us know what you thought of the service. And if you missed the concert, the good news is that as well as watching it on the iPlayer, you can view the MaestroCam coverage here on the Proms website - it will be going live on Sunday.
If you enjoyed the coverage, there are four remaining MaestroCam Proms to look out for:
Prom 31 - 8 August - BBC Two broadcast Saturday 8 August, 7.00pm
Prom 38 - 13 August - BBC Four broadcast Thursday 13 August, 8.00pm
Prom 48 - 21 August - BBC Four broadcast Friday 21 August, 7.30pm
Prom 57 - 28 August - BBC Four broadcast Friday 28 August, 7.30pm
Prom 38 - 13 August - BBC Four broadcast Thursday 13 August, 8.00pm
Prom 48 - 21 August - BBC Four broadcast Friday 21 August, 7.30pm
Prom 57 - 28 August - BBC Four broadcast Friday 28 August, 7.30pm
In the picture - the MaestroCam team (l to r): Resource Manager Bill Cole, Sound Supervisor Adrian Harding-Jones, Red Button Producer Rhonagh O'Donnell, Commentator Matthew Rowe, Interactive Producer Graeme Kay
If you wish to enjoy the Maestro Cam after the Proms then visit the Proms website. Each edition of Maestro Cam will be available on the Proms website until the very end of the season!
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