Perfect Live Production Setup for Mixing, Switching, and Streaming
When your students are creating a live production, whether it’s your regular newscast or a special sports game for social media, you need an end-to-end IP solution that’s flexible, portable, and affordable. That’s exactly what you get with the Switchblade M7, Kiloview E2 encoder, and Skaarhoj Air Fly controller. Take a look at how each piece of gear works in the system.
Affordable Gear for the Content Creator
As a High School Media Arts teacher, I have access to thousands of dollars of gear in a TV studio. Students learn how to operate high-tech broadcast cameras, increasingly capable DSLR cameras, and switcher boards that allow us to film a real TV production. But there are two pieces of equipment I bought recently that changed the game for productions on-the-go.
Free Video Editing Software for Students
While your school computers might have the same video editing software like the pros, students don’t have the same access at home. Some students don’t even have computers. But that shouldn’t stop you from editing your films and newscasts remotely. We gathered our favorite free video editing programs for your computers and phones.
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.
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.
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.
Hands on Review of the New IDX VL-4X Charger
Our student work force operates at a very high level of production that actually competes with most local production companies in terms of quality. In order to get many hands on gear at the same time, we search for budget friendly products that can stand up to any expected abuse in the field. The VL-4X is a slim, lightweight 4-channel charger that is portable and affordable, making it a perfect fit for our needs.
Tricks and Tips for Chroma-Key
Chroma-Key of course, works by substituting another texture, color, background in place of a very specific color. Principally we are talking about Chroma-Key, sometimes called Digital-green. It is a very bright, chartreuse green. Chroma-key is now relatively easy to accomplish, but here are a number of things that will help you to produce the best effect.
A Graphics Solution You Have to See to Believe
I recently got my hands on NewBlueFx’s Titler Live 4 and that was the answer. I used Titler Live at my previous school for our sports shows but I never used it for news. One of the things I remembered about Titler Live is how easy it was to build graphics. One of the things I was most excited about with Titler Live 4 was the integration of spreadsheets into the serving of graphics info.
Mic Types for Your Production
Have you wondered about HiZ versus LowZ, dynamic versus condenser, cardioid versus omnidirectional or shotguns and lavaliers versus handheld and boundary mics? Throughout this article, we will take a look at impedance, the two major ways microphones work, microphone pickup patterns and microphone styles. So sit back, relax and proceed through this quick look into the sometimes confusing world of microphone choice.