PoRtfolio
CCA Graduation Tour
Project Details
Client
Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA)
Industry
Education & Schools
Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), based in Harrisburg, PA, is a top-tier K-12 public cyber charter school serving students across Pennsylvania. CCA offers a flexible, personalized learning experience with a comprehensive curriculum, supported by certified teachers and a wide range of extracurricular activities. With its commitment to student success and innovative virtual education, CCA helps students thrive academically while preparing for future opportunities.
About the Project
Challenges & Solution
Skynine Delivers Seamless Video Production and Broadcast Support For CCA's Graduation Tour
In association with Spirit Sound and Lighting, Skynine embarked on a week-long mini-tour, providing video and broadcast support for Commonwealth Charter Academy’s graduations across Pennsylvania.
Before leaving the office, we prepared a broadcast package for review and approval by the client in advance of the graduation tour. This package included standby screens, ICE (in case of emergency) screens, lower thirds, a remote graduate slideshow, multi-window overlays, stinger transitions, as well as content for each arena’s ribbon boards. We place tremendous value on a well-designed, on-brand livestream package that ties the entire production together.
Efficiently Deploying Video: Skynine's Tactical Cabling Setup
The adventure kicked off by loading a 53-foot tractor-trailer with all the production equipment and heading to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA. We quickly deployed our FlexPack (flypack) system and ran a multi-channel trunk of tactical fiber optic cabling to send and receive video from five cameras to five displays, while also tying into the venue’s network a few hundred feet away.
Following the first successful broadcast, the team continued on to produce subsequent graduation livestream productions at the Liacouras Center (Temple University, Philadelphia), Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), and a double-header at Giant Arena (Hershey, PA).
Integrating Broadcast & Cinema Techniques
Our approach to producing the graduation livestreams demonstrated the convergence of broadcast and cinema equipment and styles—an approach we have used for many years. We used Blackmagic Ursa Broadcast G2 cameras, complemented by Fujinon Digipower77 box lenses for wide and close-up stage shots, and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema cameras for mobile gimbal and audience-wide shots. All cameras were remotely controlled from our flypack location, simplifying camera shading and matching. We even had pan/tilt and zoom/focus control of the unmanned audience-wide shot from our switcher!
We implemented barcode scanning technology to generate lower thirds for each graduate in real-time. As each graduate approached the stage, their unique barcode was scanned, automatically triggering the display of their name on-screen. This seamless integration ensured that every graduate was recognized promptly, enhancing the viewing experience for both in-person attendees and remote viewers.
Additionally, we provided picture-in-picture for the local screens and stream to show sign language for the hearing impaired. This was independent of the local recording, which we chose to record without the picture-in-picture to preserve the program.
