Hey, sorry it took me so long to reply to this, I'm having trouble managing my time recently. >> Some thoughts on the videoteam - >> >> For the videoteam form whatever mail archives I was able to read, >> there seem to be 3 rooms in which there would be cameras. Now I do not >> know how many cameras you have but as have viewed many videos of >> debconfs of number of years have enjoyed the most those which had 2 >> cameras, one focused on the speaker and the other which had slides, so >> the best would be to have 6 cameras and 3-4 people recording it. The >> one which would be on the speaker would need some sort of mount/lever >> especially during the Q&A to cover 180 degrees between the speaker and >> the audience. This would need good reflexes as well as smooth >> transitions, somebody who knows the camera intimately (not me), while >> the other camera needs to be looked once in a while to see it has not >> shifted from the slide place. Any sudden jerks/vibrations/nudges near >> the camera could off-set it but it wouldn't need to be constantly >> looked through as the one put on the speaker. There will indeed be 3 rooms streamed this year. We use 2 cameras per room, one taping the speaker and the other for the audience. The slides are not captured via a camera but with the help of a box plugged in the speaker's laptop. All this is live-mixed to create the output we want. >> Now there are 3 parts as I understand to how the video shoot will happen :- >> >> a1. Maybe 2-3 days before the debconf people would be seeing how the >> cameras are functioning and training interns or volunteers as to how >> to shoot as well as tips of what not to do. Yeah, we start building the setup at the beginning of DebCamp. This year we will test out a new setup in the BoF room so we will mainly try to make it work :D As for training, we do offer training during debcamp, but also during debconf. Some people arrive late and still wish to help out, and it's ok. Good chances I will be in charge of this. >> a2. Doing all the wiring and testing that both audio and video works, >> live streams at least to the adjoining halls/rooms if and when the >> rooms are full, fixing what doesn't work or hiring stuff locally if >> needed. I did read that some audio gear would need to be hired/sourced >> locally. We are still looking into options for the hardware. I have done my part yet but I have to compare the prices of rental vs shipping the hardware we have in Paris. More on this on our mailing list (debconf-video@lists.debconf.org)! >> b1. During the conference just seeing that the locally as well on the >> web the chanels are working properly and if something breaks down >> either to fix it or to pass the message to whoever can fix it. We monitor our streams and machine automatically, but also have someone look at IRC to be sure we did not miss anything. >> b2. Making sure everything is recorded onto tape or whatever media is >> being used and checking once in a while that it is going good. I am >> sure there are tools/scripts which already do this sort of things, We feed on hard drives since tapes are messy. Twice per day we sync this on our servers. >> c1. Editing and post-processing - This would be probably be the >> hardest of all. Somebody would have to do the unenviable job of >> editing, polishing so all the important interactions are recorded >> while cutting away which is unnecessary while maintaining small sizes >> for the final output. This is indeed done manually, but is not as bas as you think it is. We are thinking of replacing the software we used last year (veyepar) by another one (the CCC's one), but this will depend on the time I will have to build and test the new one. >> c2. If there are two cameras in the main conference room, then making >> sure those video streams are synced properly along with the audio >> stream. This is all done live during the talk. Audio should not be out of sync with a proper setup. If that is the case, the audio stream was out of sync too and we don't want that. >> c3. Upload it the archive site. Do automatically at the end of the reviewing process. >> Now I'm guessing you would be looking for full-time interns/volunteers >> for a. and b. while c. would take the month, month and a half it >> usually takes for viewers like me to enjoy. Not full-time volunteers no. We are a core team of a few people building the setup before hand and making sure there will be video, but during the conference a lot of people help out with labor, sometimes only for a few hours. >> Now, if I'm selected for the travel and accommodation brusary without >> conditions , as a first-time attendee I wouldn't want to be there >> full-time on the video team. I could dedicate sometime say 2-3 hours >> but somebody would need to train me as I have no clue about video >> cameras. I don't know if that works for the video team or not. In >> your shoes, you would probably be looking for full-time interns or >> volunteers and I would probably be a bad choice. So it would be good >> if you clarify if you are looking for full-time volunteers only or >> part-timers will do ? In fact this should be clarified at the very >> beginning by all the three teams who are on that page. This is not >> told/known anywhere. We will host training sessions on the different softwares we use for video. This will be broadcasted on IRC during the conference. Feel free to join! >> There is another thing if some sort of volunteer training program is >> put up would be helpful to not just people who are volunteering now, >> but also people who would volunteer or try to record mini-debconfs in >> their own country after going back to their country. If somebody from >> the subtitling team would be there, s/he could guide those who want to >> help put up subtitles. This could be named as "Video recording, >> streaming and subtitling 101" or something similar. Video is a lot of job. I've joined the team last winter and I'm only starting to graps how things work. IMHO the best way to learn how to do this is to join the videoteam for the preparation of the next DebConf! For mini-DC, from what I understood normally people from the team fly out to help with video and train people. One thing is sure, our wikis and not good and we should document things better. Hope this answers your questions! -- pollo
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