designing, creating and maintaining a streaming media enhanced web site With Ken DeBlieu With Ken DeBlieu

~Site Design~ We meet with clients and establish their expectations.

What is the goal of the site? Who will design the site? What media is available and practical to use? ~Important Questions~

S ingle media format? M ultiple media formats? Real Media, WM, QT or Flash video? S till images, Flash, IPIX virtual realities, combination? ~Formatting~

Meetings may require several sessions to hammer out concept or design issues. The entire operation will involve education and compromise. The entire operation will involve education and compromise. ~Meetings~

Be sure to involve a writer for the site verbiage. Put together a story board for the video production. ~Initial Steps~

Don’t use streaming media just because you can. It must add dimension to the site. Don’t use streaming media just because you can. It must add dimension to the site. The client should know something about the media. ~RULES~

Stick to simple HTML page presentations with text links. Primary and secondary pages that do not exceed 65 k to 75 k in size. ~RULES~

~Secondary Pages~

Bandwidth: -target audience and complexity of the presentation determines the size of the videos. Bandwidth: -target audience and complexity of the presentation determines the size of the videos. 180x160320x240 ~Establishing Size~

As a guide, KYSS. Keep Your Site Simple As a guide, KYSS. Keep Your Site Simple Include a link to download the appropriate video players. Include a link to download the appropriate video players. ~Media Players~

~Production equipment notes: Good quality digital video camera Good directional microphone Extra batteries, long audio cable ~Production Checklist~

The production is greater than the sum of the two parts. The best video will be degraded in encoding. Be sure to shoot the best quality video possible. ~Remember~

Any effort on part of the audience to view or hear the production detracts from the quality of the production Cultivate partnerships in order to share equipment or knowledge.

On site pre-production meeting with all involved. Go over the storyboard, establish who will shoot, handle audio etc. Establish protocols and stick with them. ~Production~

A s you become more experienced, try other types of equipment and techniques. E stablish and maintain control over the talent, crew, spectators and environment. ~Maintaining Control~

Shoot with a good, solid video tripod! The video you shoot will look and stream better. Rent equipment if possible, or purchase used from a rental company.

~Editing~ Premiere, Avid, Final Cut Pro, Media 100, Vegas or iMovie. Watch the transitions! If possible, use a straight cut. If not, use a short dissolve.

~Encoding~ Use Cleaner or Procoder Try default settings first Experiment with frame rate, contrast, audio quality and levels.

Good sites to check: news and community based information exchange Streaming solutions:

~Streaming Policies~ Should you encode videos at different bandwidths? Should videos be re-encoded every six months because new video codes become available? 16 x 9 ?

The future of streaming video is unlimited. Minimum of investment to start. With a bit more investment, videos will become more informative, sophisticated and fun! ~Future~

All it takes is and idea, some effort, dedication and determination. If you ever wonder who’s watching, remember, it’s available to the whole globe. ~Closing Points~

Evaluations! Thanks!