Voices of live: Martina Graf-Kloppenburg

I’ve been working as an EVS replay operator for more than 10 years. It all started when I was enrolled in an Audiovisual apprenticeship program at a local TV station. We were working with an external company which owned a fleet of OB units and that’s where I first saw an LSM remote. The machine immediately piqued my curiosity, so I downloaded the user guide a soon as I had the chance, and I began training myself in the OB hall. From there, it all went very fast! I asked the OB crew if I could accompany them at their next event – it was a kickboxing match - and the director trusted me so much this actually became my first job on air! 

I work on both in-house and on-site productions, most of the time for sports like basketball, ice-hockey, or handball matches. 

Every single production I’ve worked on has been special! Telling stories with pictures always makes for memorable moments. It’s also great to get the opportunity to see lots of beautiful places and work with people from around the world on exciting events! 

It can be challenging working on a production on a sport you are not familiar with. It requires a certain amount of studying beforehand – learning the rules, understanding what type of content and action audiences are interested in seeing. Being well prepared is crucial to ensure you’re comfortable when on the spot.

It’s fair to say that 10 years ago, it wasn’t easy being a woman in a man’s world, but fortunately, things are evolving; now I believe it makes no difference whatsoever whether you’re a male or a female EVS operator. If you are motivated and always giving your best, you’ll get the respect and acceptance you deserve.

When EVS launched the new LSM-VIA replay system, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to operate. The controls are basically in the same place, which was reassuring. I like the fact that you can customize the controller individually and make use of shortcut keys for the functions you use the most. And of course, the shotbox feature is a game changer. For many years, I would simply write down all the numbers of my chosen clips on a piece of paper when creating highlights. With the LSM-VIA, you can now organize all of these elements the way you want to be included in one shotbox. You can even access other elements of other operators while they are still working on it. And finally, I can color-code the clips like I previously did – only this time directly on the machine rather than on a piece of paper!