International. Sony PlayStation takes esports further with PlayStation Tournaments: XP, the new competitions that bring the PS5 community together. By combining a high-level tournament with professional broadcasts, players compete in EA Sports FC 25, Tekken 8, Fortnite, and ASTRO BOT video games.
The event is open to players from all over the world and ranges from the qualifying stages played online to an energetic live final, where competitors form teams based on PlayStation's iconic figures (triangle, square, circle, cross), with a view to winning cash prizes and bragging rights.
High Viz Media implemented a meticulously planned and orchestrated audiovisual workflow to immerse fans in that environment, which is based on the ATEM Constellation 8K switcher and the ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel, which allow the content to be covered and broadcast live on the Internet through Sony PlayStation's Twitch and YouTube channels.
Sam Deans, an independent producer and broadcast director, worked closely with High Viz Media and was responsible for directing the production and mixing of images, where he encountered a number of challenges, including the high volume of audiovisual signals. "We were using 42 sources in the image mix," Deans said. "In addition, we only had 36 hours on site to do everything, including assembly and disassembly. It was an incredibly ambitious timeline for a production of such magnitude and complexity."
Deans hinted at the outstanding benefits of the ATEM Constellation 8K switcher, as it does not require referencing or synchronizing sources at a given resolution or frame rate when processing tournament images. "In addition, since the mixer supports the audio signals integrated into the video inputs, it is extremely useful when capturing shots of plays in the field of esports," he said.
The ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel was also a diligent technical addition to the team, allowing them to handle the considerable amount of audiovisual sources and mix images quickly and dynamically, which is ideal for tournament coverage. "ATEM's API (Application Programming Interface) dynamics were used for subsequent compositions and custom control systems, allowing for complex cuts with multiple mixing benches between races," said Deans.
The space had a circular stage where 12 game booths customized for PlayStation 5 (PS5) were arranged, each equipped with audiovisual and network systems, in order to capture the movements of the players. There was also a dedicated studio for live commentators, as well as a joint webcasting area, where five Twitch content creators streamed footage using different styles and streamlined production equipment with access to the main competitor signal and camera feeds.
The workflow relied on DeckLink Duo2 capture and playback cards to upload the content to the vMix program so that all the images could be viewed in the same program. A Blackmagic Videohub 40x40 12G SDI matrix switcher was also used to distribute the hosts' signals to the five computers used to transmit content over the Internet.
On the other hand, one of the key requirements was to add graphical overlays to each PS5 signal before it reached the mixer. DeckLink Quad 2 capture and playback cards were used to process three video game signals on four computers with the vMix program installed. "These cards are ideal, as any SDI port functions as an input or output, so it's an inexpensive and amazing way to add 12 channels of graphics to a production," Deans said at the end.
