BERGEN, NORWAY: Sky News Arabia, the new 24-hour free-to-air Arabic news channel, launched in May using a Vizrt system to deliver its live news graphics. Vizrt says it is the sole news graphics provider for the Abu Dhabi-based channel. This is a departure from the news graphics workflow used by Sky News in the United Kingdom, sister channel to Sky News Arabia, which uses both Vizrt and another provider.
The channel has a variety of uses for real-time 3D graphics, such as the screen furniture of multiple tickers, side panels, maps and Breaking News alerts constantly animating around the video window. In addition, the news content includes full-frame 3D animations in its stories, as well as displaying maps and background story graphics displayed on a large video wall in the studio. The Viz World map server allows news producers to generate animated 3D maps from their newsroom system, providing useful geographical context for every news story. Everything is generated with a consistently branded look that is uniquely Sky News Arabia.
System efficiency, which could deliver breaking news first, was the primary objective in designing the Vizrt workflow. This was achieved by building in a high level of automation into the graphics templates used by operators and in the newsroom. This provides a very high quality 3D animation, with consistent branding ready to take to air within seconds of a story breaking. This can be added to and enhanced as more information becomes available throughout the day.
This results in two distinct workflows to deliver a well-rounded channel output: Templated news graphics (by the graphics design company, Astuce Media) integrated with Sky News Arabia’s iNews newsroom system for fast population by producers and editor. These are enhanced by longer, full-frame graphics designed by the in-house design team, who can respond quickly to news priorities passed to them by the editorial team. These graphics can be built into the story video, to explain key points, as well as used interactively by the studio talent on the Newswall in the studio.
Sky News Arabia launched on schedule on May 6, 2012.
