Category: Trade News

  • Stream Deck for Zoom Meetings

    Stream Deck for Zoom Meetings

    UPDATE: My setup for Zoom has evolved and somewhat less dependent on StreamDeck now. You may want to check out my new Blog Post with our updated Zoom setup for TV interviews.

    This week I purchased a Stream Deck XL ($235) to help streamline our video productions with Zoom remote guests.

    Since the COVID-19 crisis hit mid-March our community television station scrambled to adapt and help disseminate important information. Zoom quickly became the go-to platform for setting up meetings and remote show guests.

    In the past few weeks, we’ve produced more than a dozen programs using Zoom. Initially, we had an in-studio host and multiple remote guests displayed on an in-studio monitor. Now, most of our interview shows a produced entirely on Zoom.

    Despite the limitations, we are making every effort to maintain high production values, focusing on:

    • Good Clean Audio
    • Well Composed Shots (eyes on the upper third!)
    • Shot sequencing, Close Ups / Multi-Box Switching
    • Graphics, Lower Thirds, Etc.
    • Open/Close Music
    • Still Store for Inserts

    Our existing television studio was not set up well for the shift in production style. This prompted us to build a temporary video production console on several folding tables right inside our studio.

    Adding Steam Deck XL into the Workflow

    Using the Zoom keyboard shortcuts certainly helps the production value. I find myself using Shift-Command-W (Mac) constantly to switch between Speaker view and Gallery View in Zoom. To me that’s the key to using zoom for video production. You can force a better cadence of switching that matches the conversation.

    I do wish there was a way within Zoom that I could force a certain camera view to appear full screen, similar to the normal workflow of a video production switcher. Zoom does offer a “spotlight video” option which does this, but it’s not mapped to a keyboard shortcut and requires too many mouse clicks to make it useful.

    Another shortcut I use often hides the control panel buttons on the lower part of the screen.

    The Stream Deck XL simply automates the keyboard shortcut process and reduces keystrokes to a single button. Allowing new users in the video production environment to get up to speed faster and with better results.

    TIP – ENABLE GLOBAL SHORTCUT

    Enabling global shortcuts really helps the Stream Deck configuration. This setting allows the shortcuts to work even when Zoom is not in focus.

    We’re also using VLC shortcuts to play intro/outro music.

    Bottom row of buttons on our Stream Deck are all shortcuts for Zoom.

    Then I added several shortcuts to websites we use for our live broadcasts.

    A work in progress, but thought I’d share what we have setup so far. If you’re using Stream Deck for video production I’d be curious to hear your use case.

  • Backing Up Large Video File Collections to AWS Glacier Deep Archive

    Part 1 – Why AWS Glacier Deep Archive?

    Backing up large collections of raw video footage and edit masters remains a real challenge for anyone working in the video production world. As the Executive Director of a local community media station, I’m responsible for maintaining a Synology NAS which currently holds 55TB of final edit master videos. The idea of incorporating “Cloud Storage” into our backup procedures has always interested me, but the expense has held me back.

    Until recently, our backup was rudimentary. We utilized Archive.org, which is a wonderful organization operating an online digital library of print, audio, and video works. They allow users to upload high-quality MPG2 files to be added to the collection and unlike YouTube, they offer the ability to download your original upload at any time.

    For us, this was a win-win. Archive.org provided a FREE way for us to share our content, preserve it for the future, and have an offsite backup if we ever needed it.

    We love the Archive and will continue to support them. The main goal of keeping our content open and available to the public for decades to come is just amazing.

    That said, the Archive is NOT a backup solution, but given our budget constraints, it was a quasi backup. We frequently said, “If the Synology NAS went up in flames, at least the videos would not be lost forever”…but the recovery process might take that long.

    When I learned about Amazon’s Glacier Deep Archive service earlier this year I was instantly intrigued and thought this might finally be a perfect solution for our needs. At “$1 per TERABYTE per month” they certainly had my attention.

    Glacier Deep Archive is a new product offering by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that falls under their S3 Storage product line. Deep Archive is the lowest cost storage class. When Amazon released the new storage class on March 27, 2019 their press release highlighted several use cases including media and entertainment companies:

    “there are organizations, such as media and entertainment companies, that want to keep a backup copy of core intellectual property. These datasets are often very large, consisting of multiple petabytes, and yet typically only a small percentage of this data is ever accessed—once or twice a year at most. To retain data long-term, many organizations turn to on-premises magnetic tape libraries or offsite tape archival services. However, maintaining this tape infrastructure is difficult and time-consuming; tapes degrade if not properly stored and require multiple copies, frequent validation, and periodic refreshes to maintain data durability.”

    Amazon Web Services Press Release, March 2019

    There is some “fine print” to be aware of, although none of it’s a real concern for me. There are additional charges for recovering your data and the data is not instantly available, retrieval time is up to 12hrs, but that’s the trade-off for the low cost. Again, not a big deal for my use case. You can check out the Amazon S3 Website for more specifics. The whole idea of Glacier Deep Archive is LONG TERM storage, files that you need to keep and don’t want to lose but may never actually need to access if your local files remain intact.

    For media professionals, I see Glacier Deep Archive as a great tool for:

    • Wedding and Event Videographers who want to backup raw footage, master files, and other assets.
    • Community Media Stations (PEG Access) looking to backup programs and raw footage.
    • Local Production Companies, again for all the same reasons.

    Before I share my workflow and experiences with AWS Glacier Deep Archive let’s jump back for a second and talk about backup best practices for just a minute.

    3-2-1 Backup

    Peter Krogh’s 3-2-1 Backup Strategy is a well-known best practice adopted by IT professionals and the government. The 3-2-1 concept is rather simple:

    3. Keep at least three copies of your data
    The original copy and two backups.

    2. Keep the backed-up data on two different storage types
    Multiple copies prevent you from losing the only copy of your data. Multiple locations ensure that there is no single point of failure and your data is safe from disasters such as fires and floods.

    1. Keep at least one copy of the data offsite
    Even if you have two copies on two separate storage types but both are stored onsite, a local disaster could wipe out both of them. Keep a third copy in an offsite location, like the cloud.

    With the 3-2-1 Backup goals in mind, I’d like to share my experiences with AWS Deep Archive in Part 2 of this blog post. I’ll share the workflow I’ve established after running into some issues initially.

    Keep in mind, I’m new to the AWS platform and I’m a media professional, not an IT genius. I am a tech geek and enjoy the challenge of learning new things. If you have any feedback, tips, or suggestions please feel free to post in the comments.

    Part 2 – Backup to AWS Glacier Deep Archive using CLI
    Coming Soon

  • LastPass Unlocked Event

    Last Thursday, October 3, 2019 I had an opportunity to attend LastPass’s UnlockedCybersecurity & Identity Trends event in Boston, MA.

    The panel of security experts included:

    • Bill Cheswick, Computer Security and Networking Researcher
    • Gerald Beuchelt, Chief Information Security Officer/Vice President for LogMeIn
    • Steve Gibson, Software Engineer, Security Researcher, and Host of the Security Now Podcast. grc.com

    I’m a big fan of Twit.tv, Leo Laporte, Steve Gibson and I use LastPass every day. So I was really excited to attend the event knowing I’d be participating in an engaging and fun conversation around security, passwords, and learn more about Steve’s solution for passwords, the SQRL project.

    The full-length video of the discussion is available on YouTube, which I’ve embedded below.

    Twit’tv Coverage of the Cybersecurity & Identity Trends Unlocked Event
    October 3, 2019 – Boston, MA
    Twit.tv’s Leo Laporte at the LastPass Unlocked event in Boston, October 2019
    Steve Gibson – grc.com
  • Just Another Game

    Insights from Super Bowl XLIII TV Director Mike Arnolds

    From a Television Production standpoint treating the BIG GAME like it’s “just another game”, as much as possible, might sound strange at first but the approach makes sense. In a recent article on thebroadcastbridge.com, Super Bowl LIII Television Director Mike Arnold shared some insights on how he approaches the game.

    Failure is NOT an Option

    With over 100M television viewers and advertisers taking chances with $5M ads, the stakes could not be higher for all the creative professionals involved with the production of the Super Bowl.

    CBS will be deploying 115 cameras for the coverage this year, which is truly incredible and part of the mystique for viewers. I think we all have a vision in our mind’s eye of a single director staring at a wall of 115 monitors faced with the impossible task of choosing the exact right camera at just the right moment.

    Obviously, it’s not quite like that but we know the task requires great experience and skill developed over many years in the industry. Although there’s 115 cameras, many of them of specialty cameras such as the pylon cams and extra angles for special situations. Director Mike Arnold points out that from his standpoint, there’s no need to keep eyes on all 115 cameras.

    “I try to my focus on my key 20 cameras and let other people worry about the rest,”

    Super Bowl LIII Director Mike Arnold (via thebroadcastbridge.com)

    Just as the football teams should avoid getting overly hyped up or alter established routines, nor should the TV Production Staff. Treating the BIG GAME like it’s “just another game”, as much as possible, is logical and the recipe for success.

    Focus on Story

    Storytelling is always the key a concept that is focused on in the classroom and what drives every script, every outline…what is the story we’re telling. Although Football is a live event and unscripted, there’s always story.

    The Broadcast Bridge article highlights storytelling, explaining how shot sequencing and the use of close-ups help to expose the emotion, the anguish, the elation of the game.

    Paying Attention to the Announcers

    Lastly, I want to point out the importance of having the visual match what the viewer is hearing…from the broadcast team in the booth.

    Arnold said this year his shot selection will often shadow CBS Sports on-air announcer Tony Romo’s commentary, because the former quarterback has gained a reputation for seeing the entire field from a player’s perspective and how plays develop.

    The Broadcast Bridge

    You can check out the full article on The Broadcast Bridge.com

  • Video Production Trade News – Week of November 12, 2017

    Each week I share select trade news articles with students enrolled in my New England Tech video production classes. It’s critical in any field to remain current, follow emerging trends, examine best practices, and learn about various challenges that face the industry.

    Below are some articles from the past week that were discussed during class:

    1. NBC to Make SkyCam Main Camera for Titans-Steelers

    Trade Publication Source:
    TVTechnology – http://www.tvtechnology.com/business/0011/report-hdr-tv-shipments-to-reach-nearly-48m-in-2021/282201 

    2. Snapchat Usage by Media Companies

    There are two announcements this week by major media companies that plan to use the Snapchat platform. 

    Conan O’Brien Launches Comedy Show on Snapchat
    Trade Publication: Broadcast & Cable
    http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/conan-o-brien-launches-comedy-show-snapchat/170052

    ESPN Launches ‘SportsCenter’ Segments on Snapchat
    Trade Publication: Multichannel News
    http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/espn-launches-sportscenter-snapchat/416529

    2. On this Date in Radio history – Lee de Forest

    On November 13, 1906 Lee de Forest patented the Audion tube.

    Trade Publication: Media Confidential
    http://mediaconfidential.blogspot.com/2017/11/november-13-radio-history.html