School Tech Director Shares How His School is Posting Lessons Online
Christ Episcopal School’s Director of Technology Bob Krieger was overwhelmed when the Louisiana governor announced that schools would need to shut down and move online to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Using Google Meet, Blackmagic Design’s ATEM Mini switcher, and other online resources, Bob successfully got his school up and running online in just 4 days.
Capturing Audio for Classroom Streaming
Presenting classes online is becoming more common every year. Streaming video of the instructor is quite easy, and using a wireless mic provides great audio from the instructor. In addition, it is rather straight forward to add a second camera to capture video of the students. The challenge, however, is to capture audio of student questions and interaction.
Streaming to a Pre-Created Facebook Live Event
If you randomly go live on Facebook, your audience is primarily determined by who’s online at that very moment. Of course, people who log in later can still watch the video, but you’re missing out on a prime engagement opportunity by not catching them while you’re still live. In fact, people engage with live videos at 6 times the rate they engage with pre-recorded videos. Your goal as a streamer is to drive traffic to your live video while it’s still live.
Sophomore Slump: It’s Not the Class, It’s You
We all do it. We all get so frustrated that we say something we shouldn’t or handle a situation in a way we shouldn’t. It happens. I tell my students that I still have to work on my teacher filter. Sometimes it works harder than others. Last week, I must have needed a firmware update because the filter didn’t work.
A Video Solution for Online Learning
Many schools and universities have canceled classes to prioritize health concerns. While many districts have pre-existing infrastructures to support online learning, some schools are left wondering how they can effectively educate and interact with their students when classes aren’t meeting in person. Sometimes, it’s not enough to add a voiceover to a slide deck. Certain class material requires discussion and demonstration. Live video conferencing can recreate the classroom environment online.
What Bitrate and Resolution are Best?
The higher the resolution and bitrate, the higher the video quality - right? Not exactly. What happens if you’re watching a video online and it starts buffering? You probably close the window. So there’s nothing stopping someone from doing the same thing to you if your video quality is poor.
Audio for Live Streaming 101
67% of people say quality is the most important factor when watching a live video. Yes, that includes video and audio. Sometimes, audio quality is even more important.
What Video Production Careers Can I Get?
As a Video Production educator I often am asked, “How can I make money doing this?” That is a great question and worthy of an answer. Often times when people think of careers in Video Production their focus is narrowed into a small corner of the industry. In actuality there exists a wide gamut of jobs that are viable and realistic career options for those that wish to pursue them. This short article will list some of these options and hopefully pursue them in greater detail in the future.
Scott Pelley’s Lessons for Aspiring Journalists
I recently started the second semester of my junior year at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Phoenix, Arizona and much to my surprise, a well-known figure in journalism welcomed me into this jam-packed half of one of my most important years of college. Insert Scott Pelley, journalist and author who has been a correspondent and anchor for CBS News for more than three decades.
Reed College of Media at West Virginia University
West Virginia University is an R1, land-grant institution located in Morgantown, West Virginia. It’s home to 30,000 undergraduate students. The WVU Reed College of Media is an accredited student-centered journalism school that has been graduating journalists and strategic communicators since 1939.
The Gateway to Streaming: ATEM Mini
The following statement is not hyperbole…. The ATEM Mini is as close to a perfect switcher for someone who is just starting to stream as you will get. There. I said it…. As close to perfect as you can get. FOR SOMEONE NEW TO STREAMING! If you are new to streaming or have never streamed and your administration is forcing their hand a bit on you starting to stream, keep reading.
Esports in Education
New Esports in Education book shows how student broadcasters are finding careers in esports! Esports is an interesting new sport where students are competing at the high school and college levels nationally. At the high school level, esports players are not only competing to win tournaments but also to gain scholarships to prestigious universities.
Tom White Unboxes the New V-600UHD from Roland
Our favorite sports editor/reviewer Tom White is at it again! Let's watch as he unboxes the newest product from Roland, the V-600UHD, perfect for the academic market.
#SpaghettiGate2019
SpaghettiGate2019 was on! We got a little bit of a pop of the first hit in the show, and when we returned after the Thanksgiving holiday, the full-court press was on! We did hits every day about SpaghettiGate2019, including one day where we did look lives from outside the office of every administrator in the building and a conference room where a "called meeting" was in session.
Sophomore Slump: 2020 Vision
2020 Vision is going to be the most cliche thing of the year. That and the “roaring 20’s.” I want to share my vision for 2020, which is to inspire something in you. My goals are not for everyone. I don’t know that I would even call these goals. I hope that I make progress in building my program. That’s it. I want to build my program. The plan is the key…
Try a Tripod
A tripod's purpose can be described in the famous Three S Theory, which I just made up. Tripods keep it Steady, keep it Straight and keep it Smooth. Put a camera on a tripod and it will be steady. It won't bob, wave or float, assuming it's locked down. It will sit there like a rock until you get ready to move it. That's steady.
The Flimsy Shirt and Tipsy Tripod
This saying is true in many areas of life, including visual storytelling. Our tools extend beyond our cameras, lights, and microphones to the various tips and tricks that we acquire along the road of practice made perfect. These useful techniques become the difference between knowledge and experience, which yields wisdom. To this effect, here are some helpful hints that might assist you in becoming a little better with your tools.
Right Where I Need to Be
Long-time, no talk. A lot has changed since my last School Video News blog post, which was a prompt and now, slightly cringy summary of my first semester of college at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Phoenix, Arizona. I am now a junior, nearly three full years in, and I feel I owe you a timeline to fill in the rather extensive gap.
The Roland V-600UHD: Big Bang With Big Potential
On the surface, the V-600UHD is a standard switcher. Eight channels of video, a T-bar, audio meters, and of course the cut and auto buttons that are standard issue with all switchers. On the back, there are 4 HDMI and 2 SDI inputs paired with audio in. As for outputs, you have 1 SDI out, three HDMI outs, of course a multi view out and a pair of XLR outputs for audio. Again, pretty standard stuff… But just like frosty, there is a lot of magic under that hat.
Veteran’s Day Documentary - Part 3 - Ken Burns
To say that Ken Burns is a hero to me would be an understatement. Just take a look at his collection of documentaries over the years, and you will see that he is probably one of the most significant historical filmmakers of all time. Getting his attention just a few years after we started producing documentaries at our school was a career highlight for me and a pretty unforgettable teaching moment for our students.