On today’s Videoguys Live, James goes over everything you need to know in order to run a month long streaming event. Including everything from planning, pre-production, production and post production! He will talk about everything that went into the making of NDI November- a month long event totaling 18 live shows across 4 platforms simultaneously.
Watch the full video below:
On today’s show we covered:
1. Planning a virtual event
2. Preparing, testing, and testing again
3. Producing different types of content
4. Tech tips & tricks
Preparation – Coordinate With Your Guests
- How would you like to participate in the show?
- Live in studio
- Virtual LIVE Guest (Zoom, Teams, etc)
- Pre-recorded Guest – Live to tape…
Preparation – Create Your Schedule
- Fill in established time slots with growing audience
- Complement with additional times
- Respect production needs and don’t schedule too close together
- Avoid Fridays and Mondays if possible (at least for our audience)
Preparation – Guests’ Technology
- Ask if they have a preferred way of joining – Zoom, Teams, SRT?
- Do they have access to a PTZ, or studio equipment (Always recommend remote guests wear headphones)
- Set up a test call
- Test in the same environment as the live show
- If the guest cannot make a test call, ask them to join early on the day of the show to allow for troubleshooting
Preparation – Our Technology
Switcher/Encoder:
- TriCaster 1 Pro
- TC1SP Small 14-Button Control Panel
Cameras:
- Panasonic CX-350
- BirdDog P100
- BirdDog PF120
- Panasonic CX-10
AV Switch
- NETGEAR M4250 AV Network Switch
Confidence Monitor/Recorder
- Atomos Sumo 19
NDI Workflow for NDI November
Production – Live Call Connect for Remote Guests
- Preinstalled on TC1 Pro for remote guests using Teams, Zoom, Skype
- LiveCall Connect in use on our TriCaster 1 Pro making it faster and easier to add a guest
Production – Limitations of Live Call Connect for Remote Guests
- If a guest leaves a call, the image is affected for all other guests
- Audio is routed automatically, However all guest audio is combined to one audio input
Production – Epiphan Connect for Remote Guests
- We wanted more control of our guests, so we used Microsoft Teams with Epiphan Connect
- The easiest way to join a broadcast from anywhere
- Make joining your productions as easy as any Teams call
- Mix with isolated audio feeds
- Enjoy total control over who the audience hears in your broadcast with Epiphan Connect, which can isolate participant audio into separate tracks.
Production – Limitations of Epiphan Connect for Remote Guests
- The setup time required can be lengthy (5-10 minutes)
- Being Limited to Teams makes it so when Teams updates, Epiphan Connect may not work correctly
Other Challenges – Using 2 Microphones in Studio
Our solution was to use the Wireless GO II
- Dual Channel Wireless Microphone System
- 2 Microphones to 1 receiver
- Can be used for shooting Product Spotlights
- Small and portable
- Great sound Quality
Other possible solutions:
- Bring in audio via your cameras
- Use an external audio mixer
Other Challenges – Teleprompter
- Our normal guests of Gary, Jim, and James do not use teleprompters for our normal shows
- Our solution was to place a computer monitor directly under the main camera with an open Word Document
- Note: eye contact will not be as good using this method