The technological keys to Mediapro's 9:16 production for LaLiga and TikTok

Miguel Mur, Operations Manager Mediapro, explains how the technological coverage of the match between Real Sociedad and Real Betis developed. LaLiga in 9:16 format for TikTok.

Mediapro has produced, for the first time in Spain and in a major European league, the match of LaLiga Santander between Royal Society y Real Betis corresponding to the day 32 in vertical format (9:16) to TikTok. To do this, we deploy a exclusive technical device for this production managed by a team of 30 professionals.

In the Real Arena of San Sebastián, from a 4K-SDR production unit, were managed 4 exclusive 4K-SDR cameras, 8 cameras coming from the mobile unit (HD) of the international signal and 2 cameras with commentators dedicated to TikTok. That production and contribution of signals in 4K was sent to the Mediapro production center in Barcelona 22@, from where a 4K graphics designed and adapted specifically to the vertical format, and the signal was sent streaming a TikTok through a streaming software live in 9:16 format.

The broadcast could be followed on the official profile of Gol in TikTok thanks to an agreement between Mediapro, LaLiga y TikTok, projecting the commitment to innovation and adaptation of content to new digital consumption formats. The dissemination of LaLiga content in the search for new audiences, digital native users.

Technical challenges of 9:16

From the technological point of view, in the challenge of facing a production in vertical format We find ourselves, in terms of image capture, with two alternatives. The first was to maintain a HD workflow turning all video technical devices (cameras and video monitors) 90 degrees. This meant creating special supports and creating ad-hoc monitoring systems in the Mobile Unit. The second was to take advantage of our knowledge and experience in the workflow 4K (2160p50) in terms of production, the contribution from the stadium and the insertion of graphics, to finally generate a HD streaming with the frame part 9:16.

We decided to go for this second option, which we could implement immediately (since we could work with existing resources) and which, in addition, allowed us integrate Mobile Unit cameras into production 9:16 corresponding to the international signal of the match, achieving a much richer result in terms of user experience. For this, all TikTok signal monitors (both in the cameras and in the Mobile Unit) included marks delimiting the space of the vertical frame. The rest of the 16:9 camera signals were mainly integrated for repetitions of the game's actions, in vertical format.

In reality, the challenge consisted of adapt the frame, traditionally horizontal, to a 9:16 format in the 4 exclusive cameras (master, shorts, right goal and left goal) with x22 and x86 optics of TikTok production. It was important for the camera operators to understand that the action had to occur within vertical space; This change in “way of seeing” the game was also resolved with professionalism. The cameras of the content creators followed the same aesthetic criteria of the 9:16. The integration of the rest of the signals of the international match signal (up to 8 cameras) was done as long as the action was within the 9:16 action zone.

Workflow nativo 4K

Mediapro maintained the graphics workflow centralized system that is applied in all LaLiga productions. The 4K native sound graphics and the first difficulty was the design for a vertical production maintaining, on the one hand, the creative line and requirements of LaLiga, and, on the other, respecting the safety margins of 9:16 and TikTok requests. Additionally, they included the windows of the two tiktokers with the complexity of the little space available so as not to lose focus on the action of the match. Combining these prerequisites and putting in an image an attractive, legible graphic with the necessary information for the viewer were the team's objectives. On the other hand, user interactivity was maintained, so important for the platform, that it allowed the chat to be active throughout the match simultaneously with its own graphics.

As for the sound, we opted for a way of explain the match closer to social networks than in the traditional television way. For this reason, 2 tiktokers were chosen from their homes, also including the image from their webcams.

Once we get the match signal generated in the workflow nativo 4K, we apply a crop to the TikTok signal vertical de 720px x 1280px We generate the streaming to the platform for publication.

The broadcast of the match in vertical format left us with some very interesting audience data, reinforcing the idea that television and digital platforms can coexist as alternative and complementary experiences. The meeting reached 506,000 unique viewers on TikTok, 733,000 views, 1.2M likes, 7,000 shares and more than 68,000 comments in the chat. Very notable data for a historical broadcast which was possible thanks to the exclusive production in 9:16 format carried out by the Mediapro Group.

Miguel Mur

Operations Manager de Mediapro