Hello Gary! Charlie Watts and you have been the architects of that event…: would you mind telling our readers what your exact positions are?

I'm a Principal Lecturer and Charlie is a senior lecturer and course leader of the BSc Video and Broadcast course (which we both manage and teach on). We purchased the TriCaster after seeing it at the Broadcast Now 2008 show in March 2009.

What made you think of doing a live streaming of the graduation ceremonies? The Website also mentions a DVD that will be sold to the students afterwards…
Is it something you’re used to doing, or is this new?

It was Gary’s idea and partly came out of talks with the BBC. Main emphasize was to allow oversea student families to see their son or daughter graduate live. DVD aspect is via another company but we may collaborate next year.

The graduation ceremonies were streamed live on the Internet while being broadcast at the same time on a BBC giant screen: how come you got to use that screen?

Actually the BBC have installed four big screens around the U.K, Portsmouth being one of the cities. They are set for the Olympics in 2012 but are used for various other uses as well. We have good relations with the BBC in the South and we established permission to stream out our signal to the big screen as well. So, we managed to broadcast live over the Web - click here for the archives -, and live via the Web to the BBC big screen at the same time.

Who was responsible for the TriCaster and its use on the event: a professional technician or students?

Actually both – Our course is all about teaching students how to use such kit. We teach and champion professional practice and industry standards.

Do you intend on teaching the use of such products to the students in the coming years?

Our course BSc Video and Broadcasting is both academic and vocational in nature. The ability to be able to give students firsthand experience in live broadcasting is crucial to their studies.

How long did it take to the students using the TriCaster to get to know how to handle it?

This came in stages (uninterrupted use within academia is rare) and overall we would suggest a week of solid use.

You said the TriCaster did a splendid job: what do you think is that great about
the product?

The TriCaster has been an essential purchase and has helped take our course to a completely different level. The School of Creative Technologies (of which BSc Video and Broadcast is a part of) is all about giving students real in-the-field experience. The ability to set-up the TriCaster in an external location and produce a professionally mixed outside broadcast is empowering, flexible and incredibly exciting for staff and students.

How far do you think the TriCaster can be an asset for the Portsmouth University students?

We are used to our students producing professional work at a very high level and quite frankly the TriCaster is one of the most important products for education for quite some time. It is an exceptional and reliable product that has transformed our course and made live television easily accessible.