I reckon that it doesn't have to be full HD quality for the initial TV media, the more common 720 format will do. To further narrow down the data processing amount, you can limit the amount of footage to for example:
- Two winning dives (2 x 5 minutes), the 5 minute interview with the winners, the one special performance of the day 3 minute + 3 minute interview and finally an intro and closing vid basically for setting, summarising the day - 5 minutes. A total of 31 minutes of video a computer can upload through the night - hands free - with an FTP program. I'm sure you can easily cut this number of video minutes down even further.
The only things your pre editing media person needs to do are:
- To collect the relevant footage of the 4 cams (surface, below surface, bottom, and interview cam)
- Apply a basic colour filter to the UW shots so the water looks blue, and process the rough footage into the 720 "MPEG4" format,
- Upload 1 time to a remote server. (accessible by the public media through password system)
Now the Deeperblue and other reporters can download the footage and do their own cut and do voice overs.
For sponsorship purposes, make sure your interviews are made in part front of a sponsor wall depicting your sponsor's names'.
You can upload to the same Server:
- PDF with the written daily report / press release.
- Photo's - with short descriptions.
- PDF with an explanation of the most common freedive terms used. (something you can have prepared way before the comp, I've got such a list on my site, but I think that there are better ones elsewhere)
Maybe an Audio interview in MP3 format.
Now if you need to go really low bandwidth, and even old TV format (~ 512x376) and the shortest clips won't do, you can go with a bunch of good photographs in combination with MP3 audio interviews. Flash slide show comes to mind.
What kind of upload speed can be achieved from the best connection from the island?
Maybe some rich guy has a better satellite connection from his boat?
I think with You, Herbert, and Martin there is plenty of rivalry, but indeed you may need to exaggerate it a bit on camera and during interviews? (I like the Umberto quote about Pipin: "I don't like him as a man" LOL) I know William Winram also has his ideas how to draw more media attention. Maybe he can provide some ideas or some act in the drama department? You could ask a local doctor for some scaremongering talking about squeezes, decompression, clogged sinuses, perforated eardrums, and other minor difficulties we freedivers are dealing with.
You can ask the participants to put some more danger and difficulties and character into their answers during interviews, have some cool nicknames the viewers can recognise and identify with. For instance Sara Campbell's "Mighty mouse" nickname.
And if you're really desperate you can do the unashamed discipline
