A Blue Chip Science Case Study from Japan: NHK’s $6.5 Million “Cosmic Shore”

Our Case Study from the edge of Space, and 10 years in the making…

“NHK develops a $100K space camera for a US$6.5 million copro that covers the Cosmic Shore.”

Astronaut / camera operator Satoshi Furukawa

We continue our case studies of producers and their projects – this time with a true signature project that originated in Tokyo.

NHK

• NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan’s public broadcaster, and enjoys a reputation for impartial, high-quality programming.
• Funding is entirely by license fees from Japanese households.
• NHK reaches about 50 million households through its four nationwide TV channels:
  • Terrestrial (2)
  • Satellite (2)
• A large staff of directors, producers, and engineers enables NHK to make programs in almost every genre.
• The production departments are Drama, Music, Science, Cultural Programs (History), Education, Lifestyle and Economy, News and Current Affairs.
• NHK is known for its use of cutting-edge shooting technologies to produce high-quality programs.

NHK Science

The Science department enjoys a 40+ year history

• “We produce more than 800 science-related programs (episodes) each year.”
•  “All together, as NHK group, we have about 90 directors/producers.”

Following is the break-down of NHK’s 90 directors/producers:

• “Our Science Programs Division has 47 producers/directors.  They produce variety of programs on science, technology, medicine, space, and so on.
• “NHK Enterprises, NHK’s commercial production arm, holds the Natural History Department with 20 directors/producers. They work mainly on nature and wildlife programs.
• “NHK Educational, the other NHK commercial production arm, has 20 directors/producers. They work on science-related educational programs.

COSMIC SHORE

Background

• NHK Science has enjoyed a 30-year history working with JAXA, Japan’s Space agency as well as NASA
• The partnership produced a stream of blue chip Space-related programs

Moon

• Moon (2008) was the most recent production created from this partnership.
• “Our mission was to capture the surface of the Moon and Earthrise over the horizon of the Moon.”
• 1 hour
• Estimated budget: $450,000
• Copro partners (49’ versions):
  • France Televisions
  • Discovery Canada
  • Nat Geo US
• According to Shin Yasuda, “Moon was a huge success for us. The ratings were exceptional, and the footage traveled around the globe.  It was a proud moment for NHK.”

NHK Technology Lab

• Leadership in television-related technology R&D matters to NHK
  • It is a part of NHK’s mission, and a matter of great institutional pride
• The Lab has been a pioneer in HD, camera optics, Super-HD, and many other fields
• There has been a continuous collaboration between the Technology Lab and  the Science Unit
  •  Joint meetings are held regularly to explore opportunities.

Cosmic Challenge

• NHK’s Science Unit producers developed a vision for a series about the border zone between Earth and Space.
• They asked the Lab to come up with new ways to realize it.
• The platform: the International Space Station (ISS)
• The challenge: to develop the technology that would tell a new kind of Space story.

Content

The NHK has focused mainly on 3 optical phenomena that occur in the earth-space boundary zone

• Sprite – mysterious bursts of light that travel upwards from active storm clouds: they carry powerful electricity from Earth into the upper atmosphere, and are thought to be linked to our weather
• Meteors
• Aurora

Format

• 3 x 1 hours
• HD

Camera

• “Our super-sensitivity HDTV (SS-HDTV) camera is designed to be used by astronauts and can withstand higher levels of radiation in space.”
• “It took 3 years to develop the camera, but that’s only part of the story because it grew out of a 10-year relationship with JAXSA.”
• Shin Yasuda says “It is difficult to put a price tag on the camera, but our engineers estimate US$100,000.”

Budget

• Total Budget of Cosmic Shore (3 episodes) is US $6.5 million +/-.

Production Team

• 1 Series Producer
• 3 Senior Producers
• 3 Directors
• Assistant Directors
• 3 Editors

Development & Planning Phase

• Including camera: 3 years

Capture

• The Japanese astronaut, Satoshi Furukawa was trained in camera operation before blasting off to the ISS.
• He received regular feedback after footage was returned from the ISS, and this improved the quality of the footage.
• Total footage: over 50 hours.

Post

• Shot selection and editing was continuous after footage began to be returned from the ISS

Kick off

• A LIVE kick-off Cosmic Shore event was broadcast on primetime on Sunday, September 18, 2011.
• During four 10-minute link-ups between the ISS and NHK, Furukawa transmitted images back to Earth for broadcast.
• According to Shin Yasuda, “The LIVE program reached an amazing 12% nationwide, which is almost double our usual ratings.”

Audience / Schedule

• Cosmic Shore begins airing in April, 2012
• The NHK flagship weekend doc slot airs around 80 shows / year
• A more technical/educational version will be distributed on NHK’s satellite channel

Read more…

• Barry Walsh covers Cosmic Shore in Real Screen.
• For more information, refer to NHK’s Annual Report