Day Four – Technical and Infrastructure

The final day of Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited’s (PCBL) Strengthening Media Resilience (SMR) training programme covered a wide range of topics, focusing on technical specifics of production equipment facilitated by Dave Clarke, Shane Ormsby, Karl Schodt, and William Maria.

Dave Clarke – Disaster Recovery and Resilience

Dave Clarke is the Managing Director of Waicomm and runs the PCBL technical helpdesk for our broadcasting partners across the Pacific. He led a session on Disaster Recovery and Resilience outlining the various types of disasters, the wide-ranging impact of them, and providing guidelines to create a Disaster Recovery Plan.

He also shared a range of examples from across the Pacific, going into specific detail of the realities faced when dealing with a disaster. Dave provided first-hand accounts of disasters he deployed to, relaying first-hand experience and challenges.

Dave Clarke leading his session on Disaster Recovery Planning

Shane Orsmby – Mobile Journalism Kits (Mojo Kits)

Shane Orsmby is a broadcasting specialist with over 30 years of experience in the television industry currently focusing on international broadcasting, working on several projects across the Pacific. He facilitated a session on the set up and use of Mojo kits PCBL deployed to the Pacific and how to get the most of out of them.

Shane provided a refresher on the basics of using the Mojo Kit and its functionality, comprised of a phone, handheld gimbal, and receiver for wireless microphones. These kits are compact and easily deployed at a moment’s notice, enabling our broadcasting partners to respond rapidly in areas where traditional production equipment can be cumbersome.

Karl Schodt (left) and Shane Ormsby (right) discussing Mojo Kits and PacHub infrastructure

Karl Schodt – PacHub infrastructure

Karl Schodt has over 25 years of production experience and aids in the delivery of PasifikaTV as Broadcasting Operations Manager. He facilitated a session about the Pacific Hub connectivity (PacHub) PCBL has deployed to the Pacific, going over the LiveU equipment we use, how it functions and what is possible going forward. Karl also shared creative work arounds that some of our broadcasting partners have used to overcome challenges they have faced.

PCBL also interviewed LiveU Pacific’s Country and Sales Manager which can be found here

William Maria – TVNZ

William Maria is the Media Operations Manager at TVNZ. He currently leads the Playout & Distribution team responsible for the Broadcast & Transmission of TVNZ’s flagship channels – TVNZ1, TVNZ2, TVNZ Duke and Pasifika TV.

He started his session by providing a history of TVNZ’s involvement in the Pacific, from 1988 to the present-day partnership with PCBL. William then explained the multi-faceted role of TVNZ in the delivery of Pasifika TV as a content aggregator, creator, playout provider, uplink and distribution provider, as well as the technical support and media training they have provided.

“Seeing the increased participation and positive feedback from more broadcasters than ever before has marked this year’s SMR training as a major highlight for PCBL,” says PCBL CEO, Natasha Meleisea.  ”We endeavour to remain relevant and deliver the breadth and depth of training requested by the broadcasters.”

As PCBL looks towards the future of broadcasting in the Pacific, it will expand its SMR  programme to include tailored training, enabling broadcast partners to build expertise in specific areas to navigate the changing media landscape.