Video Call Center Chosen by Television Network TLC to Enable the Production of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days" Epilogue Show
PALISADES, N.Y. (PRWEB) October 25, 2017 -- The Video Call Center (The VCC) today announced that TLC and Sharp Entertainment have completed production of the Tell All episode of the popular show “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” using the VCC’s revolutionary live video caller production platform and services for television. The show is the first of a variety of programs for which TLC has contracted with the VCC for production services. The two-hour special is scheduled to premier Monday, October 30 on TLC (preview).
Scott Lewers, SVP, Multi-platform Programming & Digital Content, TLC said, “Tell All episodes are one of the fans' favorite components of the 90 Day franchise. We had the challenge of our cast being across the globe and the VCC provided us with a great solution. The reliability of the VCC enables cast members to be fully engaged without the technical disruptions that are so common when video calls appear on TV. We were impressed by the VCC’s quality and professionalism.”
The "90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days" Tell All show used the unique capabilities of the VCC production platform to reunite the show’s cast of couples and their parents, located on four continents, for powerful, intimate, and sometimes heated, face-to-face live video conversations. The VCC enabled TLC producers to provide high-reliability and high-quality live video feeds from locations as diverse as Manila (Philippines), Paris (France), Malaga (Spain), Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Lexington (Kentucky, US) and Davenport (Florida, US) without incurring expensive satellite time and other origination costs.
TLC makes use of a broad suite of technology and support services from the VCC including:
- Flexible acquisition of callers via Internet video call using favorite apps including FaceTime, WebRTC and Skype, and allowing each caller to use their own preferred device.
- Call screening, quality control and scene optimization to ensure the best possible appearance, lighting and connectivity for cast.
- Proprietary methodology and technology to stabilize consumer video caller applications and keep high quality connections open for long periods of time.
- Low-latency live monitoring to ensure that cast members could see each other in real-time to maintain engagement.
- Isolation of return feeds to enable couples to see each other and react to videos.
- High-quality ISO recordings of each caller for use in post-production.
- Facilitation of communication between in-studio guests, production personnel and remote callers for direction and management production.
Matt Sharp, CEO and Founder, Sharp Entertainment added, “The VCC solution fades into the background during production, keeping the cast’s focus on content and not technology. The result is a uniquely immersive experience that allows for the extended conversation needed to allow the most riveting content to emerge naturally.”
“What was unique about this shoot was that the cast and guests may have been thousands of miles apart,” said Larry Thaler, CEO of The VCC, “but the producers wanted them to be able to look into each other’s eyes and react. This required the VCC to provide a stable feed between the cast’s laptops and mobile phones, over whatever Internet connection was available to them, and maintain that connection for as long as three to four hours at a time. Our customized and isolated low-latency return feed and mix-minus systems coupled with our team’s expertise in troubleshooting difficult calling scenarios made this come together well.”
The Video Call Center provides a patented caller acquisition and production system specifically designed to enable live broadcast remotes based on everyday smartphones and popular native video calling apps such as Apple FaceTime and Google WebRTC, as well as Microsoft Skype. By using native apps, participants in a show do not need to download an application. Supporting multiple applications enables the VCC’s call producers to optimize the quality for the conditions in the field. The VCC platform has been used to produce almost 500 live programs for broadcast television and web distribution with more than 5,000 callers and an overall on-air video call reliability exceeding 99%.
About 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days:
TLC’s 90 Day hit franchise has a new prequel series that chronicles the time before the K-1 Visa process begins, from meeting in person for the first time to traveling to a foreign country they barely know or understand. The series follows the stories of Americans who believe they’ve met the love of their lives, a future husband or wife, through various methods including international dating websites and apps. Can online romance lead to true love? Despite challenges including 20-year age gaps, language barriers and daunting three-day boat rides down the Amazon river, these American singles travel vast distances to meet the person they believe is their soulmate.
About TLC:
Offering remarkable real-life stories without judgment, TLC shares everyday heart, humor, hope, and human connection with programming genres that include fascinating families, heartwarming transformations, and life’s milestone moments. In 2017 to-date, TLC ranks as the #6 ad-supported cable network in Prime among W25-54. TLC is a global brand available in more than 89 million homes in the US and 271 million households around the world. Viewers can enjoy their favorite shows anytime, anywhere through TLC GO – the network’s TVE offering featuring live and on demand access to complete seasons. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites and exclusive original video content. Fans can also interact with TLC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), reaching 3 billion cumulative viewers in more than 220 countries and territories to satisfy curiosity and captivate superfans with a portfolio of premium nonfiction, lifestyle, sports and kids content brands.
About Sharp Entertainment:
SHARP Entertainment is a New York-based television production company with a record of creating and producing groundbreaking unscripted television. Founded by producer Matt Sharp in 2003, Sharp has flourished to become one of the industry’s leading production enterprises, delivering thousands of hours of programming and hits across the dial including 90 DAY FIANCE and EXTREME COUPONING on TLC, MAN V FOOD on Travel Channel, PUNKIN’ CHUNKIN’ on Discovery Channel and DOOMSDAY PREPPERS on National Geographic Channel.
About The Video Call Center, LLC:
The VCC is a technology and content development company devoted to handling large numbers of IP Video remotes-by-smartphone and putting them on the air through patented workflow and assistive automation (patents #8,767,031, #9,654,731 and other patents pending). The VCC is both a Facebook Live Media Solutions and Broadcast partner. The VCC licenses its software and provides caller acquisition and production services. VCC has produced hundreds of programs for broadcast and the web for clients such as TEGNA, Fox TV Stations, Discovery and TLC. The VCC’s advanced caller workflows help to expand audience engagement and extend the reach of its clients’ programs. The VCC can be integrated through traditional control rooms or controlled efficiently by the host without a control room. Examples of video caller television programs and complete information about the VCC are available at http://www.thevcc.tv/.
Media contact: Evan Sirof, esirof(at)thevcc(dot)tv
Evan Sirof, The Video Call Center, http://www.thevcc.tv/, +1 (845) 883-2109, [email protected]
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