BLAST‘s VP of Technology, Lasse Kempf, recently sat down with IBC – International Broadcasting Convention to discuss the technology and production challenges faced when delivering global esports events.

Speaking on the complexities, Lasse, who is responsible for ensuring productions run as smoothly as possible, commented how a typical event includes between 150 to 250 staff, out of which between 30 and 50 are handling the production. This includes the cameras, the in-game solution team, the network and support staff, the backroom broadcast staff, and everyone else needed to create a large-scale esports event.

“We have our own systems integration team. BLAST has an engineering team because it’s tricky for us to find OB trucks capable of doing the larger shows that we do. Traditional trucks are focused on cameras and replay, that’s how you do traditional sports because everyone is focused on the field, that is where the magic happens.”

The challenge BLAST and other esports tournament organisers face is that a very large part of the audience is outside the stadium, and is watching through various streaming services. Compared to traditional sports, there are no other TV crews from sports channels present, and this means that the organisers need to do it all themselves.

So, what’s the solution? BLAST usually has around 100 cameras available at an event, around 20 observers (people that change camera angles in-game), and uses different equipment depending on the production size and type.

A real undertaking! Read more of what Lasse had to say here!