Inside the Jokes: TV Search Technology Yields Creative, Comedic Screenwriting

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Publisher: SMPTE — White Plains, NY
Doc Type: Conference Paper
Content Type: Original Research
Volume: 2010, No. 10, pp. 1–6
Abstract: Problem Statement: “We need a better, less expensive way to monitor TV.” Those were the very words expressed by the writers and producers at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to summarize the pain points of archiving and finding clips in television shows. The two popular Comedy Central programs began airing in HD on January 4, 2010, one year after the launch of Comedy Central HD. The conversion to HD achieved a significant broadcast milestone but also brought new workflow challenges for the engineering teams. A vital part of this new workflow would be inventing a new way to record, archive, and search traditional television for clips, clips which serve both shows' media commentary and witticisms. The shows had previously relied on analog consumer-grade DVRs and low-quality and expensive outside clipping services for their TV clips. After a rigorous evaluation process, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report formed a partnership with SnapStream to meet their TV recording and search needs. Objectives & Methods: Recording traditional TV in HD using a custom in-house QAM plant Enabling keyword search over TV shows, using closed-captioned and program guide data. Integration with Avid and Final Cut Pro, using both file-based and SDI-playout workflows. Archiving of TV recordings for potentially multiple years using petabyte-scale storage Quantitative Results: Implemented possibly the world's largest high-definition DVR, with the ability to record a total of 30 channels of TV, split between The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Each show has its own SnapStream storage to save two to three weeks of most recent television recordings. Integrated with HP's storage solution to create a single video library, currently using 500 terabytes with room to grow into the petabytes. Findings Significance: Archiving a large body of searchable, indexed television, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have carved a new benchmark in the process of creating high-quality, responsive-style entertainment programming. The pioneering architecture and technical workflow created with SnapStream has greatly reduced post-production time and optimized creative collaboration.
Publication Date: 2010-10-01
DOI: 10.5594/M001392
Link: https://doi.org/10.5594/M001392
Author(s): Rakesh AgrawalSnapStream Media, 6730 Long Drive Houston, TX 77087
Keyword(s): Captions, Storage, Streaming
Copyright: © 2010 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

i Weprin A. ( 2009 , December 17). “‘Daily Show’ and 'Colbert Report Going HD In Jan. 2010,” Broadcasting and Cable . Retrieved September 8, 2010 from http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/440932_Daily_Show_and_Colbert_Report_Going_HD_In_Jan_2010.php . EXTERNAL
ii Stelter B. ( 2010 , August 29) “’Modern Family and ‘Mad Men’ Win at Emmys,” New York Times . Retrieved September 8, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/arts/television/30emmys.html?src=mv . EXTERNAL
iii http://www.tivo.com/ . EXTERNAL
iv http://www.shadowtv.com/ . EXTERNAL
v Lawler R. ( 2009 , December 24) “The Daily Show and Colbert Report changing video capture tech for the switch to HDTV,” HD.engadget.com . Retrieved September 1, 2010 from http://hd.engadget.com/2009/12/24/the-daily-show-and-colbert-report-switching-up-video-capture-tec/ . EXTERNAL
vi Patel P. ( 2009 , December 23) “WITS GET QUICKER: Houston Company to Help Stars Search for Comic Material,” Houston Chronicle . D : 1 , 6 . EXTERNAL

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Rakesh Agrawal; Inside the Jokes: TV Search Technology Yields Creative, Comedic Screenwriting, SMPTE Meetings and Conferences ( October 2010); SMPTE, 2010. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/M001392

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Rakesh Agrawal; Inside the Jokes: TV Search Technology Yields Creative, Comedic Screenwriting, SMPTE Meetings and Conferences ( October 2010); SMPTE, 2010. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/M001392

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Rakesh Agrawal; Inside the Jokes: TV Search Technology Yields Creative, Comedic Screenwriting, SMPTE Meetings and Conferences ( October 2010); SMPTE, 2010
doi: 10.5594/M001392
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/M001392

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<li>
Rakesh Agrawal; <cite id="bib-10-5594-m001392">Inside the Jokes: TV Search Technology Yields Creative, Comedic Screenwriting</cite>, SMPTE Meetings and Conferences ( October 2010); SMPTE, 2010
<span class="doi">10.5594/M001392</span>
</li>