The beginning of September saw Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, in association with Channel 9 and Triple M, kick off the 2025 Brisbane Festival. The Helm, a global expert in cinematic broadcast solutions for live productions, was invited to provide a new approach to timecode distribution and synchronisation for the event.
The event featured fireworks courtesy of Foti International Fireworks and fighter jet flyovers by the Royal Australian Air Force providing entertainment for around half a million people that descended on Brisbane’s waterfront.
Riverfire continued The Helm’s long relationship supporting Foti International Fireworks. Paul Barrett, Co-Founder and CTO at The Helm, said: “As rock solid timecode delivery was critical for the event, we took a hybrid UHF and SD-WAN approach. Our team deployed two constant transit UHF bases on key buildings, providing both frequency and geographic diversity. The fireworks barges then received the signal via two radios, ensuring clear and reliable timecode delivery.”
Leveraging 5G, Starlink and fixed connectivity, a robust SD-WAN was created using The Helm’s inventory of bonded modem solutions linked to its private cloud servers, extending from the festival site to as far as the Channel 9 Network on Mount Coot-tha, where the timecode not only triggered the audio playback but also ensured seamless co-ordination with other on-air commitments. This combination of technologies enabled rapid deployment and a level of flexibility not previously available to the event organisers.
Barrett added: “What made this project so rewarding was seeing broadcast and live event workflows merge so effortlessly. By combining UHF, SD-WAN and cloud control, we were able to deliver absolute precision and reliability across every part of the production.”
Tim Pack, technical director at Brisbane Festival, said: “This year, we engaged The Helm to provide technical expertise for delivering timecode to multiple locations across Brisbane City for Brisbane Festival’s Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust. The team's expertise and the service they provided were flawless throughout the process. I highly recommend their services and will definitely engage them again for next year's display!”
Tim Gray, Foti International Fireworks, concluded: “I would like to thank Paul and Nick from The HELM for their expertise and energy in delivering the timecode and soundtrack streaming. Despite a short turnaround and multiple stakeholders involved, their organised and collaborative approach helped deliver a great result and we look forward to working with them again”.
Image credit: @brizzypix