Yle Integrates Dramatify and CuePilot for Live Classical Concert Program, 'Classical Trancelations'
Dramatify and CuePilot, a live production management platform, teamed up to deliver an end-to-end production management system for Finnish broadcaster Yle’s production of “Classical Trancelations,” a symphonic rendering of popular electronic dance music tunes.
The concert at Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena, performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Ahjo Ensemble Choir with artists including Saara Aalto, Paleface, Reino Nordin and Kasmir, was streamed live and later broadcast on TV. Yle’s TV director, Rami Lindholm, spearheaded the production, combining Dramatify and CuePilot for a fully digitised production process.
Content-making hadn’t been digitised — until now
“Content-making or directing has not been digitised. We use digital systems like old-fashioned paper — we write scripts and plan shots on paper, shared files, and copy-paste from one system to another,” said Lindholm. “The whole point of Dramatify is that you need only one system where you can handle the whole production. There are systems for Hollywood movies and for news, but most entertainment and music shows are done with Word, Excel, Google Sheets.”
A script tool built for entertainment, married with CuePilot
Yle had already used CuePilot for three years as its directors’ tool for shot planning and cueing on music programmes. “After first using Dramatify, we still had manual paperwork,” said Lindholm. “The rundown/script and the cue sheets from CuePilot for cameramen and control room personnel didn’t match.” Lindholm married the two systems for the first time in the “Classical Trancelations” broadcast. “We use the combined Dramatify-CuePilot solution for classical music when there is no timecode. When there is timecode available, you don’t need the cue sheets, because cameramen have iPads — CuePilot cues the vision mixer automatically, as the director has planned. When you see it, as a producer or director, you wonder why this hasn’t been done before.”
“We’re mostly working with scripted shows, but with live music, where there are tightly scripted camera cues and so many demanding elements, Dramatify can suit the needs of any live producer,” said Annika Lidne.
A first of its kind — with more to come
“We’ve focused specifically on high-end live show production for years, and we’ve looked at integrating with other systems. Rami brought us together with Dramatify, and ‘Classical Trancelations’ is the first production of that kind,” said Per Zachariassen, CEO of CuePilot. “It makes sense, as we’re both in the automation business, and we look forward to further collaboration.”
“We’ve seen a really fruitful result from using Dramatify and CuePilot. A lot of directors like pen and paper — they think computers are somehow stilted. I feel it’s the opposite,” said Lindholm. “All the things that can be automated should be, because you then have more time to be creative.”