Did you hear the booming commands of the marching contingents during the live telecast of the Republic Day parade? Well, it was all thanks to the highly sensitive microphones deployed by Doordarshan, to ensure that even the minutest sounds, including the footsteps, were audible on the telecast.
Come January 26, viewers from India and abroad tune in to watch the Republic Day Parade and the public broadcaster goes the extra mile to put together a telecast that gives viewers a front row seat with an authentic feel. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, this year too, DD made elaborate arrangements for the live telecast.
According to officials, DD mounted a production of a scale never seen before, with a focus on integrated coverage from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the National War Memorial.
A hydraulic frame, set up at a height of 80 feet, offered a bird’s eye view of the parade. Six Jimmi Jibs, which are triangular crane systems carrying cameras, were also deployed.
Live footage was captured on 48 cameras and enhanced lenses, with a focus on several new angles and views. A wireless mobile buggy camera was also deployed to bring close views of the marching contingents. Several robotic cameras were also deployed for the telecast. In fact 360 degree view cameras were also placed. The telecast was screened on 50 monitors controlled by a production room on Rajpath.
The public broadcaster also placed robotic cameras and screens in the President’s enclosure to ensure coverage from all possible angles of the parade.
Prasar Bharati CEO, Sashi Shekhar Vempati, tweeted that the public broadcaster had made the parade accessible to the hearing impaired with sign language commentary on DD News, on its Youtube channel and a special audio commentary on AIR for the visually challenged.
“Spare a thought for the several hundred staff of producers, engineers, technicians and assistants of @DDNational @DDNewslive @AkashvaniAIR who have dedicated themselves to the cause of public broadcasting during these challenging times of a pandemic, to bring the parade LIVE (sic),” he tweeted.