live broadcast

shaw and partners iron series.

Surf Life Saving Australia Replay operator Four rounds, three states

The replay cabin: monitors, controller and comms in a demountable on the sand

Sunrise over Newcastle Beach before the first race of the day

the role

replay, on sand, at sunrise.

Ironman and ironwoman racing on some of the best beaches in the country, broadcast live. I ran replay across the Iron Series, from Newcastle and Maroubra down to Miami on the Gold Coast, and through the Australian Championships.

Surf racing is a hard sport to cover. There is no fixed field of play, the athletes disappear behind the break, and a race can be decided by a body length on the sand after twenty minutes of swimming, skiing and paddling. The replay desk has to find that moment fast, because the only way a viewer at home understands what just happened is if they see it again immediately.

That meant marking every finish, every buoy turn and every wipe-out as it happened, then getting the vision back to air before the next heat rolled. Between races I built the packages that filled the breaks, and cut the clips that went out to social while the round was still running.

The rig travels between rounds and gets rebuilt on each beach, often in a demountable a few metres from the water. Same kit, same workflow, different sand.

the detail

what the desk covered.

what I ran

Multi camera replay, live to broadcast
Every finish, buoy turn and incident marked on the fly
Between-race highlight packages
Finals and presentation packages
Social clips turned around during the round
Rebuild and recalibration at every new beach

why it is hard

No fixed field of play, the course moves with the surf
Athletes vanish behind the break mid race
Finishes decided by a body length on sand
Pre-dawn builds and long, hot days
Salt, sand and glare on every piece of kit

the series

four rounds, three states.

The rig gets pulled down and rebuilt on every beach.

Newcastle round of the Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **Newcastle**Newcastle Beach, NSWFirst light over Newcastle Beach. Ironman racing starts early, so the desk is live before the sun clears the headland.

Maroubra round of the Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **Maroubra**Maroubra Beach, SydneyA packed Maroubra on finals day, with the course running the length of the beach and the crowd on the promenade above it.

Miami round of the Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **Miami**Miami Beach, Gold CoastHome ground. The Gold Coast round runs against the skyline, which is about as good as a backdrop gets for surf sport.

The Aussies round of the Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **The Aussies**Australian ChampionshipsThe Australian Surf Life Saving Championships, the biggest week on the calendar and the longest days on the desk.

on site

behind the broadcast.

Click any frame to open it full size.

the desk, mid race, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **the desk, mid race**Every camera on the one grid, so a finish can be found and marked while the next heat is already starting.

first light, Maroubra, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **first light, Maroubra**Cameras set and levelled before dawn. Surf racing does not wait for the light to get good.

the course at dawn, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **the course at dawn**Course marked, banners up, nobody on the beach yet. The quietest twenty minutes of the day.

skis and boards, ready, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **skis and boards, ready**Craft lined up on the sand at sunrise, waiting on the first event of the morning.

the Miami setup, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **the Miami setup**Same kit, different beach. The rig travels, so the workflow has to be identical wherever it lands.

between rounds, Shaw and Partners Iron Series — **between rounds**The reason surf sport films so well: the location does half the work.

live sport, cut to broadcast standard.

From a single camera at a club carnival to replay on a national series, the standard is the same. Tell me what you have coming up.

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