The HELM Develops New Timecode Approach for Brisbane Festival

	"What made this project so rewarding was seeing broadcast and live event workflows merge so effortlessly," adds Barrett. Photo: @brizzypix

The beginning of September saw Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, in association with Channel 9 and Triple M, kick off the 2025 Brisbane Festival in spectacular style, with fireworks courtesy of Foti International Fireworks and fighter jet flyovers by the Royal Australian Air Force providing jaw-dropping entertainment for around half a million people that descended on Brisbane's waterfront. The HELM, a global expert in cinematic broadcast solutions for live productions, was invited to provide a new approach to timecode distribution and synchronization for the event.

Riverfire continued The HELM's long relationship supporting Foti International Fireworks. "As rock solid timecode delivery was critical for the event, we took a hybrid UHF and SD-WAN approach," says Paul Barrett, co-founder and CTO at The HELM. "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 extensive 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 organizers, the company says.

"What made this project so rewarding was seeing broadcast and live event workflows merge so effortlessly," adds Barrett. "By combining UHF, SD-WAN and cloud control, we were able to deliver absolute precision and reliability across every part of the production."

"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," says Tim Pack, technical director at Brisbane Festival. "I highly recommend their services and will definitely engage them again for next year's display!"

"I would like to thank Paul and Nick from The HELM for their expertise and energy in delivering the timecode and soundtrack streaming," concludes Tim Gray, Foti International Fireworks Pty Ltd. "Despite a short turnaround and multiple stakeholders involved, their organized and collaborative approach helped deliver a great result and we look forward to working with them again."