Learning lessons on Cloud Production/REMI Production

Since early 2020 and the onset of the pandemic, the use of cloud production and REMI solutions has become popular and widely integrated into the production processes of many networks and production companies.

However, we began beta testing and producing shows utilizing remote production six years earlier, in mid-2014. I was tasked by “TAPP TV,” a company founded by Jon Klein and Jeff Gaspin, to determine the best way to produce the Sarah Palin Channel remotely.

The challenges were considerable: the show needed to originate from Palin’s home in Alaska with only a single producer onsite. It was a subscription channel (SVOD), so we had to produce it cost-effectively without the expense of satellite links or existing technical infrastructure. Content had to be recorded remotely, sent to an editor, reviewed for notes, and then finalized for upload to the CMS for distribution. Additionally, multiple team members from both Palin’s and TAPP’s teams across the U.S. wanted to watch the recording sessions live. Finally, the technical setup needed to be simple enough that a novice could activate everything, allowing the remote team to take control once the system booted up.

In 2014, however, internet service was not as robust as it is today. In that part of Alaska, the best I could get was an inconsistent 5Mbps bidirectional service. Off-the-shelf production software like vMix or cloud-based offerings like Grabyo didn’t yet exist, so we needed cutting-edge solutions.

Through industry connections, we discovered Teradek and Jon Landman, whose company was just a 1.5-hour drive away. I visited them to see what they were developing. They were in the early stages of deploying a cloud service called Core. Though it wasn’t a complete solution, it was close. Using their small encoder, which connected to the internet for live streaming, the stream could be directed to a URL in the cloud for recording. At that time, cloud recording was a transport stream that required transcoding to an editable format. This recording was then accessible by the editor in California through the Teradek user interface.

This approach solved the recording method: camera to Teradek encoder, streaming to Core, download for editing, and upload of the finished show to the CMS. Core also provided signal monitoring via a web interface. Onsite, we managed the camera, lighting, audio, IFB, and teleprompter. However, challenges arose when the producer could no longer be onsite, which required us to fully remote the teleprompter setup. Sarah would run the prompter during shoots, but all script work and changes had to be done remotely on a laptop in the studio.

Initially, this seemed manageable, but the additional internet traffic from teleprompter adjustments interfered with the streaming output from the encoders, resulting in cloud recording breakups and unusable footage. To resolve this quickly, we added a camera operator and recorded locally. After the shoot, the recorded footage was played back through the encoder to create a usable file for transcoding and editing.

This was a key lesson: cloud recording is valuable, but a local backup is essential in any remote production infrastructure.

We applied this lesson in our next project, an SVOD channel for Herman Cain, produced from his office and radio studio in Georgia. This time, we set up cameras for local recording, bypassed the Core system, and streamed multiple camera feeds live to fixed IP addresses and decoders at the editor’s location. The editor used Atomos recorders to capture the SDI output directly. With local recording, any streaming issues could be remedied by uploading backup footage. While we could have recorded locally and uploaded afterward, the show’s turnaround time from shoot to distribution was only four hours, making it impractical to upload three cameras’ worth of footage within that timeframe.

Why share these stories? Because even with today’s advanced cloud production services, we still incorporate a local recording backup in every remote production setup.