Next in our series of blogs on Gravity Media’s core services, we look at program production – the cornerstone of Input Media’s offering.
Every year, Input Media makes hundreds of hours of programs, promos and digital content for some of the world’s leading broadcasters and sports federations. Sport dominates the landscape, and we’re proud to list prestigious federations such as FIFA, UEFA, The FA and the ITF (International Tennis Federation) among our many long-standing customers, as well as exciting new relationships with the likes of the British Darts organization and Cage Warriors.
A big team of producers, editors and technicians are based at our Production center in west London, and from there we cover everything from highly crafted documentaries to fast-turnaround highlights packages, creating both traditional programming and bespoke social media content from domestic and international events.
Most recently, The FA Cup 3rd round offered one of the busiest weekends ever for the team. We captured and delivered every kick of the ball for traditional broadcasters around the world, as well as millions of followers on social media.
The heart of the broadcast operation were the 32 World Feeds we produced across the weekend, including coverage from 21 outside broadcast units at various grounds. It was an immensely complex and demanding operation, with a production and technical crew of 80 working back at the center.
Alongside the traditional, long-form output, it was also our first opportunity to deliver a multitude of in-game digital clips and short-form content for the FA. This certainly proved popular, with the digital clips gaining around 26 million views on Twitter alone, and is a feature we repeated for the 4th round weekend in late January.
Elsewhere, the Input Media production team continues to support various customers with documentaries and post-produced shows. For example, we create preview and review content before and after each round of The FA Cup; and our bespoke documentary programming for BT Sport has included A Life of Two Halves – the story of former Spurs star Fabrice Muamba who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
Post-produced programming requires a great deal of planning, attention to detail, patience and creativity to capture the right shots that best tell the story. The editing process is just as important, building sequences that bring the story to life and ensuring we deliver a high-quality finished product. Later in the year, we’ll showcase our coverage for the BBC of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup to show you just how we do it.
