How to assure good quality of video recordings

This article deals with achieving great quality for video recordings at events like conferences etc. Both OOoCons at Barcelona 2007 and Beijing 2008 showed significant quality issues for the results of the video recordings, that could have been prevented by better preparation.

Good quality video is the result of good preparation by the three critical groups

• The Organisational Team
• The Speakers
• The Media Team

For the most part these groups are separate entities in the lead up to the conference. The better that each group prepares, the better the result.

Organizational Team

The Organisational team's work should end with the start of the conference. Their attentions must needs turn to the attendees and speakers once the conference has started. For that reason they must be ready two days before opening to hand off to the person I will call the Venue Manager.

The Venue manager

will be liaison between the organisational team and the Media team. He should not be Speaker liaison. His responsibility will be purely technical, looking after rooms, making sure they're unlocked at the right time, equipment is in place and working, ensuring each room's media team are onsite and ready to go at the right times, heating, lighting and the guy who has direct contact with the venue's maintenace staff. Ideally he would be a professional at this and even more ideally an AV professional.

Timetable in the lead-up to the conference

Inventory

• At the earliest opportunity after booking a site, get an inventory of equipment at each venue. Normally venue management will be able to supply lists of:
  • What is in each venue
  • What extra equipment is available
  • Establish ideal what the ideal equipment levels should be

• Once the inventory is in hand match it with what would be best possible requirements. For instance, some venues may have fixed microphones and in which case there may not be wireless receivers in the venue. Establish this before hand so the the inventory can be brought up to spec.

• Identify alternative sources of equipment. Some extra equipment will invariably be needed to bring the venue up to standard, additionally radio mikes and receivers can be fickle. Use a supplier for these who is also capable of supplying emergency backup at short notice.

• In the days immediately prior to the conference have all the equipment checked and do sound and video tests.

Event Type

Establish the type of presentation: ie Workshop, Panel Discussion, Instructional Presentation or Argumentative Presentation. Each has different technical and venue requirements. This should be finalised a month out from the conference so that the team is ready for.........

Venue Assignment

Besides the type of event/presentation other factors come into play. If I were to do a presentation on OOo in year 1 to 5 classroom activities, I would require a much smaller venue than say Simon Phipps debating the future of SUN in OOo with Mike Meeks. Panel discussions need for instance, more than one camera: one wide shot, one close up and an Audience rover and so a bigger mixing desk and more crew.

These should be established well out so that the Venue manager can make adjustments to inventory well before the event.

Speakers

Presentation Preparation

Practice and know your material. Confidence translates into better more consistent sound levels and visuals. Lack of preparation leads to the Camera taking shots of the top of head (as speaker looks down at notes or laptop) or back of head (as speaker reads off the screen). Practice using a remote slide changer.

• Abstract,
• type of session (see above),
• timing,
• likely audience

should be made available to the Organisational team as early as possible

Venue Preparation

Be available for a sound and lighting check before the session starts. Besides making it easier for the crew it also gives you time to get comfortable in the room. Check the venue out before the day starts.

Communication

Contact the organizers, if nobody is available for a test

Trust

The Media team, they can hear and see you better than you can and they are amongst the audience. If you're not sure about anything; ask!

The Media Team

In the best possible world the media team would be a professional team, however the costs would often be prohibitive. A team of enthusiastic amateurs under professional guidance and training, would in most cases achieve excellent results as long as there was time set aside in the leadup to bring these people up to speed. Again it's about preparation

Preferable equipment

• An AV professional for every lecture room
• (Semi-)Professional cameras
• Lapel Microphones for the speakers
• Handheld microphones for the audience (questions)
• Four-channel mixer
• Lighting (strongly depending on the overall environment)
• Spares for microphones, cables, light bulbs etc.