7 minute read
V2R LIVE BROADCAST - Behind the Scenes
August 11th, 2021, was a landmark day for Best In The Desert and its fl agship event, the Maxxis Tires “Casey Folks” Vegas To Reno Presented by Fox Off-Road race due to the Live Broadcast of Time Trials which was held that day. Now watched by over 20,000 enthusiasts, the Method Race Wheels V2R Time Trials Live Broadcast was a major production that Best In The Desert had been working towards for quite some time.
Story by Scot Harden
Photos by Dean Henthorn
What goes into a Live Broadcast, especially one held in the middle of the desert in a remote location during one of the hottest months of the years? The short answer – a lot! Planning for the Live Broadcast began almost three months earlier and was led by Best In The Desert CMO Bryan Folks. Bryan’s personal view of live broadcasts of off-road events was very specifi c and was directed towards providing a type of show that was done on a higher level than previous live broadcasts of off-road races. To do this he knew he would need a great production partner to realize his vision and that’s where Turn2 TV came in and Erin Bryant. Erin too had been working towards full scale live streaming broadcasts of off-road races with his own view and perspective as a production company owner and producer of mainstream sporting events. He too wanted to show the excitement and skill of what goes into off-road racing and knew that the visual component, camera location and drone work was critical. The fi nal component came in the form of Trevor Hocking. His background and experience producing television off-road race programming and shows for Lucas Oil TV provided essential knowledge and experience in the nuts and bolts of putting it all together. Together Bryan, Erin and Trevor applied their combined passion and expertise to launch Best In The Desert into the Live Broadcast arena.
Following is a photo essay that takes you behind the scenes of the effort that was put forth that day by the entire Best In The Desert and the Turn2TV team.
It all starts with the mega-equipment required to broadcast a show like this from the middle of nowhere. This includes a stateof-the-art production semi-trailer and truck with satellite link, a makeshift studio, miles of fi ber optic cable directly connected to each camera location and fi ve of the best drone operators in the business. Factor in the 105+ temperatures that day and the team had their work cut out for them.
Inside the belly of the production truck was where all the real magic took place as teams of producers, directors, graphic artists, and techs all came together to produce the show in real time. This is where a lot of the pre-show preparations came together to provide a seamless integration with what was going on live on the track that day with prepared segments to tell the whole story of what was at stake at Time Trials, the machines and the drivers in attendance.
Imagine lugging a 45 pound camera around for 8 hours running up and down the staging line or out in the fi eld at one of the remote camera locations. The camera guys busted their butt that day and delivered some of the best action footage seen on any off-road race broadcast.
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Drone cameras were a huge part of the Method Race Wheels V2R Time Trials Live Stream broadcast. These guys really raised the quality of the production to a whole new level with some of the best drone work ever done. Scenes featured vehicles leaving the starting line, to pounding some of the long whooped out sections, to wide angle aerial views that gave the viewer a real feeling of the desert expanse. The drone operators used at the V2R Time Trials were some of the best in the business and elevated the quality of the production signifi cantly.
Best In The Desert was fortunate to have Off Road Motorsport Hall of Famer Bob Bower as part of its reporting team. Bob worked hard all day bringing insightful interviews and up to the minute reports from the racers as they were about to leave the line. Bob added tremendously to not only the information provided in the broadcast but also shared some of the fun of off-road racing as well.
Left to right: Jack Korpela, Bryan Folks and Scot Harden
The V2R Time Trails announcing team was led by anchor Jack Korpela. Jack did an amazing job keeping the excitement level high and providing interesting insights through his intimate knowledge of desert racing and the Best In The Desert racers. Color commentary was provided by Best In The Desert’s own Bryan Folks who provided expert analysis and background on the racers as only someone who has raced professionally on both two and four wheels can. Between the two the amount of background and insight as to what was going on during the Time Trials was elevated to an all-new level.
Bryce Menzies on his way to claiming the top spot for the Trick Trucks at Time Trials. Photo by RnR Photos
So, what does the future hold for Best In The Desert and Live Broadcast of its races? I think it’s safe to say you can count on more in 2022. A lot was learned in this initial broadcast and while the overall result was an outstanding success, we certainly saw room for improvement. We are already working on bigger and better plans for 2022. Erin Bryant of Turn2 TV Productions had this to say following the event, “From day one, our assignment was to produce a live stream show that raised the bar for all of desert racing and we think we accomplished that. Producing a live show like this, in these elements, was certainly a challenge. From running miles of fi ber optic cable across the desert to keeping $3 million worth of broadcast equipment cool in the Las Vegas desert in August, our entire team worked tirelessly to make it all happen.” It’s safe to say we will be back. But before moving forward, we want to thank our partners at Turn2 TV productions for making our inaugural foray into live broadcasting such a success. Also, a big shout out to Method Race Wheels for stepping up to be the presenting sponsor of our production. Also Shock Therapy, Rugged Radios and Beta Motorcycles thank you for sponsoring our live broadcast. Last, but not least, thanks to the Best In The Desert Race Operations staff led by Jeff Phillips for putting on such a professional Time Trials. When it was all said and done, we ended within fi ve minutes of our scheduled end time. Not too bad after 7 hours and 30 minutes of racing!
