Inside Sky: A peek into the world of media
Birmingham City University has always had a perfect relationship with SKY. Every year, for two weeks, 3 to 5 students are chosen to come down to Sky headquarters and experience the media world as it is. I was fortunate enough to be part of this scheme and experience this year.
Getting the Opportunity
The nomination process for this unique opportunity began in November 2023 and consisted of three stages.
Stage 1: In November, a call with the Sky team was set up to give us a general overview of the experience. The application form was also sent to us during this meeting.
Stage 2: Application Process. The application process was simple; five questions were about past work experience, skills, and general knowledge.
Stage 3: Interview. If we proceeded to the next stage, we would have to undergo an interview based on our knowledge of SKY, their work and products, and our personal teamwork experiences and skills.
After clearing all the stages, I was invited to come to the Sky for two weeks in September 2024.
One of the most valuable aspects of this process is the feedback provided at each stage. Whether you progress or not, the insights you gain are invaluable for your future performance and growth.
Knowledge and Understanding
The two weeks comprise work at different content service departments.
Content Handling, Sports ingest, News Ingest, QC, Content QC, Platform QC, News Archives, Media Logistics, Access Services, Live Subtitling, Stills and Sports Archives.
Content Handling:
This department is split into three parts: Removable media, Master ingest, and Dart.
Removable media is responsible for ingesting(Means storing) different media clips and features and rushing them into their system.
Master ingest is responsible for ingesting UHD content like movies
Dart is accountable for recording live games, News, and media, which are then stored on the system for future use.
Sports Ingest:
Sports ingest records for Sky sports news. Whenever the News is some of the live content to be recorded for future News like features, interviews, or breaking News, the ingest spots it, records it, and keeps it in their storing software whenever needed.
News Ingest:
Similar to Sports Ingest, News Ingest records content for Sky News and pulls up clips for the gallery to use during their shows. News Ingest is closely communicating with the NOC (News Operation Centre), which organises News and playouts. This department also uses Dart to record live whenever needed.
QC:
Known as Quality Check, ensures movies and TV shows meet industry standards. It works with Stereo, 5.1, and Atmos programs and ensures no faults or dips in audio or imagery.
Content QC:
Similar to QC, this department checks for the same, with boxset, VOD and OTT content. The checks they do are called spot checks, which usually cover the first one minute, middle one minute and last one minute.
News Archives:
This department serves the newsroom. It supplies footage and looks after the news content. Content from News ingests, Live feeds, House of Commons feeds, American News, Licensing, Content Buying, and Content sharing are some of the archive’s key responsibilities.
News archives also maintain the UK Pool. The UK Pool is a pool of News shared between other news providers and Sky; for example, if the prime minister is about to enter Downing Street, the footage is sent into the UK Pool to share it across different channels and retain consistency. This is also a cost-effective way to get clips.
Media Logistics:
This department is divided into different modules, and each section is in charge of various tasks; some of these modules are Master Materials, Sports Linear, Sports Support, Stores, OTT, OTT Operations, and Promos.
Master Materials: This module stands at the start of the chain in media logistics; it is responsible for ordering new content into Sky and ensuring it has gone through the different stages and is ready to be aired. To order content master materials, use a platform called BSS (Broadcast Support System) to generate a form that is not requested or ordered to send to the product issuer and then wait for their input. Whilst this is being done, they send a list of empty files that must be created on their server so that the content has a place in their system as they arrive from production. After the content arrives, they regulate it to QC and Content QC to complete quality checks. If the content passes the QC, it is passed to compliance to overlook; however, if the content fails QC, master materials will contact the provider to make changes or ask for a corrected format.
Sports Linear: This module ensures that content is ready for airing; they enter metadata for each clip and organise it so that when a program is airing, the gallery and producers can access whatever clips are necessary.
Sports Support: this module is in charge of supporting the sports news team; they recheck content needed for production, manage the library of content, do admin work like emails, and overlook the ACTUS (TV Live recording) to make sure everything is in line with the schedule. They also add and remove content from their storage system when requested.
Stores: This module is in direct contact with the compliance team that approves content; they make sure all the supporting elements on a boxset show are linked to the show, like the synopsis, key image, master image, cover image, duration, and other details.
OTT: This module is responsible for ensuring that the content that is supposed to be available on boxsets and OTT platforms like SSky Go and Sky Glass is ready to view and accessible. If it is available, it is then updated in the system. However, if the content is missing, they then contact the provider to get further details, like when they can expect the content to arrive.
OTT Operations: This module liaises with most of the departments in Media Logistics. The team is in charge of ensuring the schedules are updated. The schedules are sent daily, weekly, and yearly.
Promos: This module manages short-form content. They maintain a list called the missing list that ensures all the promos are in line for playout. If promos are missing, they track them down. Alongside promos, they also work with bumpers, sponsorship ads, and trailers. They also change the media in the playout for the production to use, which is called Recart.
Assess Services:
This department is considered the co-ordinators. They process the content and allocate it to various company contributors. Some contributors to assess services are audio describers, pre-recorded subtitles and live subtitlers.
Audio Describers: are responsible for recreating audio on screen when there are pauses or silences in a movie or TV show. This is mainly done to help the deaf or hard of hearing. It is one of the creative jobs in content services, working from home.
Pre-recorded Subtitling: This type of subtitle preparation prepares subtitles for shows and movies. The subtitles are produced either through pre-written scripts or CC Files, which might come in Word, DOCX, or PDF formats. The captions are then aligned and edited using various software like script extractor and Wincapsq4. Then, quality checks are conducted, and the subtitles are uploaded back to the system.
In the UK, almost 9 million people are deaf or hard of hearing, many foreign language users may not be able to interpret accents, and 62% of adults and 92% of kids listen to shows on mute. Reading captions also encourage children to learn how to read well and fast.
Sky offers 100% of its content with subtitles, which is more than the required amount by the TV regulator OFCOM.
Live Subtitling: work in shifts. They have to be very punctual and quick in their workspace. They primarily use Wo software called Dragon and Q-live to work.
Each week, they decide what shows require live captions and prep them. They are allowed to paraphrase as long as the meaning is not lost. This job involves a lot of communication and teamwork.
Stills:
This department oversees 90% of the imagery produced for Sky. Most of the generated content is used for publicity or marketing purposes. One of their primary clients is the content on the boxsets; they create different variations of the imagery sent to them to be used across the platforms as critical, episodic, text, and more.
Their workflow is split into Request, Source, Re-touch and Delivery.
Request- comes in when they get requested by an internal or external party to work on a project.
Source- when they look for pictures in their library or outsource them through Sky’s freelancers
Re-touch- edit the pictures and add captions according to the requested specs using Adobe Photoshop and Bridge.
Delivery- Upload the picture to their password-protected workspace for content sharing to make it available to clients.
Sports Archives:
This department’s workflow is divided into three parts. Archives, Research and Tape Conversion.
Archives: Sports clips, features, and interviews are sent three times daily to be stored on their system for future use.
Research: Whenever the newsroom requires clips or features that were previously on air to create new content, it contacts Sports Archive for the clips it needs to source
Tape Conversion: Before Ingest (Media Storage) was digitised, everything was secured on tape. The tape media has to be ingested into the digital system, which is done through the systems at the MIC (Media Ingest Centre).