How’d they do that? Technical challenges to ‘The Colbert Report’ in Iraq

While doing my usual morning skim of Colbert-related news, I clicked on this story thinking it would just be another summary of the impressive “Operation Iraqi Stephen” shows. Boy, was I wrong! This article goes into great detail over the technical and production aspects of the shows and even managed to give me, a complete idiot where this stuff is concerned, a sense of the behind-the-scenes efforts. From TV Technology:

Colbert Goes Commando in Iraq
by Claudia Kienzle, 08.12.2009

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While USO productions typically involve transporting two or three palettes [sic] of gear and a few people, “The Colbert Report” needed to transport a 30-member crew and over 13 palletes [sic] of gear, done over three separate trips. This meant filling the interiors of C130 and C17 military cargo planes with people in helmets and flak jackets—including editors, camera operators, and writers—and production elements such as sets, props, theatrical lighting, editing systems, and audio gear, not to mention office equipment. The military dedicated over 200 troops to assist in construction and setup of the facility, as well as logistical support and housing for the crew.

“Given the opportunity, we would have pre-fabricated a high-end production control room or even a flypack in New York and moved it over to Iraq ready to go. But we didn’t have the luxury to ship such large cargo,” said Jeremy Tchaban, production manager for “The Colbert Report.” “As a result, we had to supplement our equipment complement with video cameras, production switchers, and monitors from a local source, Coaxial, a Kuwaiti event production company; and this meant we would have to work in PAL, the native format in that part of the world.”

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For example, the most complex, blue screen effect was created live for “Formidable Opponent,” a segment where Colbert appears live in both sides of a split-screen simultaneously and debates himself about a controversial issue; this time the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. While this live split-screen effect is no problem at all for the big Sony switcher back home, Pretnar said that, for the Iraq shows, he needed to use two of the small switchers at once.

. . .

“Pretnar was punching up buttons on the three switchers as if he were playing three pianos at once,” Tchaban said, “so the gags would be staged with the full live effects to capture the natural laughs we wanted from the troops.”

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Read the full article here

I’d strongly recommend that you read the full story; it was an extremely interesting look at a lot of things that normally fly under the radar for us watching from home.

And again, thanks to everyone at the USO, in the military, and with the show who put in such fantastic efforts!