This week Telstra Media boosted its media production capability with the opening of its Chief Entertainment branded studio complex on the old ABC campus at Gore Hill, on Sydney’s lower north shore.

The state of the art creative services facility incorporates broadcast TV and digital media production, and high definition fibre connectivity and distribution to the world.

The new “Chief” 100% owned by Telstra, has been built in response to an increasing production slate across Telstra’s broadcast, IPTV, Online and Mobile platforms; and to meet the growing demand of Telstra’s rostered agencies and business partners. The powerful new facility reflects Chief’s decade plus years of production and digital media knowledge, the best of Telstra’s network solutions and input from the Industry’s best minds.

David Thodey, Telstra’s outgoing CEO has been a supporter of the expanded production capability since its inception and Chief Marketing Officer Joe Pollard sees the new capability as the catalyst that will enable connected experiences to Telstra and its partners, and be the lynchpin to their online video portal Ooyala and international satellite services acquisition Globecast.

Chief CEO Hamish Cameron who has headed the business since its inception describes the studio as a collaboration point for creative ideas and technical solutions. “We’ve been producing and streaming video content for over 14 years, we have a really strong team of award winning creative and technical staff, and our technical back-end is world class.

It’s a really exciting time for Telstra, agencies and clients that want to work in this integrated environment. We’re keen to provide a creative campus where clients can access resources as required, a complete production package, or tap in to one of our new-media distribution solutions”.

Chief already has a very strong broadcast slate. It’s two new 100 square metre Live TV studios are producing Channel 7’s Bill Woods hosted The Clubhouse, programs for Racing Victoria, NRL HQ, The Low Down as well as content for the SportsFan, BPM music and BigPond Movie Extra channels for Telstra’s T-Box service.

Chief also records and packages video on demand content of all NRL games for online and streams these to the commercial radio networks. It records and packages SANZAR Rugby for international distribution, streams the ANZ Netball Championships and brings in all thoroughbred racing from Victorian tracks for VOD packaging.

Essentially the new capability allows:

• • Long form TV program production
• • Short form TVCs, Promos, Branded content, Highlights, Web films
• • Camera crews
• • Outside broadcasting
• • HD Editing
• • Motion graphics
• • 3D animation
• • Talent/Voice over recording
• • Audio production
• • Studios – live TV
• • IPTV channel production, programming and distribution
• • Ad insertion/Traffic management
• • Live streaming
• • Video on demand
• • Media logistics
• • Content licensing
• • Catalogue / Library management
• • Secure encoding
• • Metadata enrichment
• • Digitisation
• • Broadcast playout

To achieve this the Chief facility hosts:

• • 2 x 4K edit suites
• • 8 x HD edit suites
• • 2 x 100m2 HD live studios with control rooms
• • Make up and Green Rooms
• • Downstream control room
• • Digital audio post production and music studio
• • Live event master control and presentation
• • Centralised digital media ingest and secure digital encoding

And for the technical buffs Chief’s connectivity includes:

• • Direct redundant fiber connectivity into the Telstra Internet Backbone
• • Telstra DVN fibre connectivity with national and international broadcasters and major venues via a mix of HD and SD links
• • ISDN services for Radio streaming and Broadcast communications
• • HD and SD video encoders
• • Audio encoders
• • On premises transcoding server for delivery to multiple CDNs

Chief’s Commercial Production unit, which is focussed on outside broadcasts and location shoots, is also benefiting from the move to Gore Hill. The team can now draw on networked production facilities to support Telstra and outside Agency marketing activities, producing high end TVCs, corporate programs, branded media and social media content. Mike Purcell who heads the commercial team said “We have a really great team of producers, directors, DOPs and editors who come from a diverse range of backgrounds. This puts us in a very good position to cover a broad range of specialist needs. The team can come up with the ideas, set up the shoots, provide really creative direction and ensure a great outcome”.