Tech Center: AXIS Graphics & G3

By Frank Macek

Welcome to the future of television graphics - the AXIS system from Chyron.

As you have noticed if you are regular WKYC viewer, we made a significant operational switch October 15th that changes the way we bring viewers the graphics seen on our television broadcasts. This is similar to the change that other station groups, like Fox, have made recently where all their owned and operated stations use the same basic package of graphic elements - further enhancing brand identity.

Unfortunately there is a human cost involved in this change - the days of large, local graphic departments are over for Gannett's 23 television stations thanks to this new web based technology. Almost overnight, our world has transformed to one where anyone in our newsroom can build graphics. And anyone can work anywhere at anytime with the new system - at your newsroom desk, at home or a laptop on a liveshot.

How times have changed.

In the old days, a producer would order a graphic from our local art department which would then design and send it to our computerized newsroom system that interfaces with the Deko Playback controller in the control room. When Deko was added over a year ago here at WKYC, the system replaced our graphic operators - two on the evening shift - whose job it was to build playlists and do everything that the computer system does automatically today.

Starting this month, Gannett inaugurated a brand new graphics hub operation in Denver called "G3" or the Gannett Graphics Group. The hub is located at KUSA-TV with a staff of about 20 artists. As previously reported, 30 other positions were eliminated company wide, including here at WKYC.

The core of AXIS is a web based service that a producer can log into and utilize templates designed by "G3". These include OTS (over the shoulders), full screens, lower thirds and split screen boxes used to toss to remotes. Most of the new animations and graphics were designed by Pyburn Films and were made specifically for our Gannett stations.

AXIS gives us the ability to select any graphic in the company database to use for our stories - including those from our other stations. If the story is national, we can all share the same graphics which saves time and energy. Why make the same graphic 23 times? The bottom line here is efficiency.

While most of the graphics and maps can be designed by our own producers, more complex projects like special opens, news series, and graphic re-enactments are ordered from "G3" who then sends them via FTP to our station for immediate use.

This is just one of many changes coming to local television. With technology exploding and economic conditions worsening, stations are being forced to look for more efficient ways, like AXIS, to maintain the level of product that will be needed for on-air, the web and mobile technology as it emerges.

If you would like to see a very cool demo of Chyron's Axis, CLICK HERE

Read more articles on the Director's Cut Blog