MUMBAI: Radio France International (RFI), an entity of the AEF Group, leverages Orad‘s solution for automated TV production to record several talk shows in its programme line-up.
The goal is to increase the broadcasting of RFI‘s programmes beyond the availability of on-demand audio contents, while rationalising production costs.
RFI has chosen RadioTV, Orad‘s solution for the automatic production of radio shows, to publish two of its flagship shows on its website and social media channels. A French public radio station RFI‘s long term plans are to rely on Orad‘s solution to offer a sizeable portion of its programmes on different media such as smartphones, tablets, etc.
More often than ever, radio stations give their online audience the opportunity to watch talk shows live, especially political shows.
"Video can give radio the chance to reach a younger, more web-savvy audience, thus broadening its listener base, more so than podcasts. However, we have no intention of getting into video without full mastery of our production costs. In addition, we immediately dismissed single-camera systems, which offer little added value" explains Thierry Fanchon, who is in charge of information systems and technical management at the AEF (Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France)."
Orad‘s RadioTV is a fully automated system based on a voice detection algorithm; as soon as one of the participants speaks into a microphone, the system automatically starts recording video. Transitions from one speaker to the next are done in real time and with no human intervention. For longer exchanges, RadioTV uses a library of pre-defined scenarios allowing, for instance, splitting the screen or offering any other type of visualisation, depending on parameters that are included in the system.
Once the preparation phase was over, the first show to be broadcasted both on radio waves and in video streaming was "L‘invité du Matin" ("The Morning Guest"), hosted by Frédéric Rivi?re, in December 2011. "We chose a two-camera system, since this show revolves around one guest who is a prominent figure in political, economic and social activity, and whose reactions to French or international news are influential. This results in exchanges that are rather guided."
Starting in March 2012, another of RFI‘s flagship shows, ‘Mardi Politique‘ (‘Political Tuesday‘), was fitted with the RadioTV system in a more complex format: "This new show involves four journalists and one guest from the political sphere. In this situation, the system manages four cameras that film the guest (one camera) and the four reporters (two of them are filmed by a single camera), as well as a fifth camera for a wide-angle shot."
Started in April, the show is also streamed live on DailyMotion.
RadioTV also offers many overlay features, allowing users to set up a true window displaying information or to be used as a way to monetize content. "We aren‘t quite there yet, but we intend on moving towards online television as well as tablets or mobile devices."
RFI will soon move to a new location in Issy-les-Moulineaux (southwest of Paris), with larger studios. "We will have 14 studios, in which we should be installing RadioTV systems on a more ambitious scale. The four-camera system was a first step, but we are now looking at every possibility."
