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MillimeterBeyond Web Video
Apr 13, 2009 12:00 PM, By Franklin McMahon
Faster pipes and processing have cleared the way for web broadcast.
All of Digital Juice’s packages are composed of prerendered content that can easily be previewed and selected via the company’s Juicer 3 software.
The last several years have seen dramatic shifts in how we view video on the Web and how we produce web video. First of all, bandwidth has constantly expanded. Standard broadband (3Mbps) has given way to turbo broadband (6Mbps to 10Mbps). Now even faster options are emerging, such as Verizon’s FiOS, which clocks in at 50Mbps. The days of nervous excitement while a technician comes to hook up your T1 line (1.5Mbps) are long gone; not surprisingly, faster pipes have paved the way for larger and better video.
The term “HD web video” is even murkier than the format wars we’re accustomed to in HD production; nevertheless, it’s impossible to ignore the amazing picture quality that’s now pumping through the World Wide Web. Five years ago, web video at 640x480 and 30fps dazzled, but in 2009, it’s so low-res and so ... five years ago. The once-acceptable 320x240 video clip is now just about extinct. As a consequence, audiences expect both more content and more production value. As qualified producers step in to fill demand, there’s more competition for eyeballs. So in order to gain traction with an audience, you’ll need to produce your program well and often—and therefore quickly.
Luckily, there are compelling low-cost software solutions for efficiently producing web-video programs whose polish justifies their newly expanded window and higher resolution. In this article, I discuss methods for producing professional-looking web-video programs—focusing on recording, effects, music, and distribution, as well as some important production tips for creating a successful web video.
Live web-video production
In years past, interfacing a production studio with a PC was a big challenge. Installing boards in your Mac/PC and timing various cameras and external switchers—it all got complex quickly. Today, savvy media artists know that the studio is the actual computer. More recently, all-in-one software programs that follow a live-production paradigm have emerged as simpler, more efficient alternatives to the more complex postproduction software suites.
Telestream’s Wirecast provides everything needed to switch from multiple cameras; mix in content (images, logos, and clips); cue up titles; and chroma-key in backgrounds—all on a desktop computer. You can record to hard disk or stream out live using QuickTime Streaming Server either in 4:3 or as HD in 16:9. Cameras can be a combination of HDV, FireWire, DV, or USB. Everything is digital, so there is no syncing or timebase problems. Keying is accelerated by the GPU.
Continue the discussion on Crosstalk the Millimeter Forum.