Videotaping & Webcasting Public

Programs: Access, Learning

Experiences, and Recycling

Erin Blasco, programs

coordinator, Smithsonian National

Postal Museum

@erinblasco blascoe@si.edu

Me & the Postal Museum

• Smithsonian museum but on the small side (40 staff members) for SI

• 35-40 on-site programs each year

• 8-10 programs videotaped & stream live online

• “Online programs” such as a #postalquiz on Twitter and a historic dog’s Facebook page

Public Program Videos Go

OnlineSmart person gives a lecture,

talk, or workshop

On-site audience enjoys the

program. Before and after,

they can engage with program

content online

Flexible set of camera, mics,

and laptops video tape the

talk and broadcast it it live

online

Online, viewers can watch

live, participate in

conversation via social

media, or watch later at their

convenience Later, video can be edited into short clips,

shared, archived, podcast-ed, and more

How This Presentation Might Be

Helpful to You

• Maximize resources by re-using and re-

purposing programs using video

• Reach out to audiences, have a competitive

edge

• Give your audiences access to programming

during a snowstorm, across the miles, at 2:00

in the morning, or in their pajamas

• Even if you can’t do this immediately, the tips

and tools here might be useful in the next few

years

Advanced Organizer• Informal poll:

– What brings you here?

• Blah, blah, blah:– How we do this and

great examples from others

– Lessons learned

– Best practices

– How this fits into the museum education landscape

• Roundtable discussion– Jump in anytime!

On-site and online

programs reflected

on the programs

page

Why I Started Thinking about Programming and

Video

• Social media sparked a demand for access to programs from around the country and for flexible timing.

• At the same time, I was frustrated:

– Almost empty lecture hall

– Content vanished

– On-site interactions dead-ended there

– Online interactions missed out on programmingSparsely attended

lecture

Interest from Facebook

fans

Why YOU Might Think about

Video• Barriers to on-site attendance

• Bring museum programs and content to

schools, senior groups, partner

organizations

• Fit into busy schedules

• Docent on demand

• Save and re-use

• What else?

My Goals• Provide access to programming to folks

beyond my lecture hall

• Archive and recycle program content

• Bring the social element of on-site programs

online, asynchronous and live. Give on-site

visitors ability to engage online, too.

Achieving the Goal of Providing

Access• For 16 programs that had on-site and online

components…

• 19,848 online views (live and canned)

– 7605 live

– 12,243 canned (archived on YouTube or UStream)

• 495 on-site audience members Program Views

Live Online Views

Canned Online Views

On-site Audience

Way

more

than my

lecture

hall

holds!

When Googling Museum Program Video Models…

• I could only find tiny and huge options:

• Little did I know, size is only ONE of the

things that mattered!

Low

budget, grain

y webcam

type stuff

Huge budget film narrated

by Morgan Freeman

I couldn’t find a

medium-sized

model

Menu of OptionsModel The 101

Engagement Level

Audience Pluses Minuses

Video Conferencing

The museum and the viewers have video conferencing equipment. You see them, they see you, all in real time.

Face-to-face interaction through a private video stream. Very engaging for that group.

Classroom, club, special group

Highest level of engagement; video quality is great so your museum objects are crystal clear

Viewers need equipment. The recorded version of the video is less engaging to watch.

Webcasting

Broadcast live video via free sites like UStream. Anyone with internet can tune in. Viewers interact live via social media. When event is over, video remains for future viewing.

Viewers of the webcast interact with each other and the museum via Twitter, chat, or other social media.

Anyone with internet can watch the live video at the appointed time or the archived video later.

Best way to get live interaction with lots of people. Recorded video available online promptly after program.

Recording a copy of the video while broadcasting live stream, can sacrifice some quality. Picture quality isn’t great. People may not tune in to the webcast unless it’s a big event.

Tape, edit, post

The museum makes a video of a program. Video editing software is then used to trim the video to ideal length and delete bloopers. The video is posted online for viewing and commenting.

Viewers and the museum can post comments on the video at any time.

Anyone who can watch a cute cat video on YouTube can access and comment on the video.

Edited video can be more pleasing to watch than raw video. Editing can create multiple versions of the video for different uses, audiences.

There will be a delay between the live program and the video being made available online. Editing is a specialized skill that takes time to learn and do.

Tape and post

The museum makes a video of a program and posts the video online.

Same as above. Same as above.

Posting the video provides access to the program, plain and simple. Workload is low.

Raw video may not be as pleasing to watch online. There may be a delay in posting the video.

Other Decision-Making Factors • Who

– Intended audience(s): online and in person

– What expertise will you rely on? Who will operate, edit, post?

• What– Primary and secondary types of content

– Organization’s quality standards

• When– How frequently will you do this? Just contract out a single

project?

– Live streaming or canned video? Will people tune in live? How quickly do you want your video to appear online during/after?

• How– Budget? Maybe share equipment with a nearby site?

• Where– Flexibility, transportability, fixed studio, storage, lighting,

acousticsCurator by an

object is different

from curator at a

podium

Inspirational Examples

• Art Babble– “free flowing

conversation, about art, for anyone.”

– Created by a folks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art to showcase video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives.

Inspirational Examples

• MOHAI Minute– Museum of History

and Industry (Seattle, WA)

– A series of quickies that take you on a time-traveling journey to some of Seattle's most fascinating historic spots.

– Silly, fun, and a great way to sample MOHAI themes and topics

Inspirational

Examples

• National Air and

Space Museum

live webcasts

and archive

• 866 people

watched this live

online

• Over 3,000

people watched

later

Best Practices in Providing Access

to Programs through Video• On-site and online are two different

programs! Each audience has needs to meet

• “Providing access” is more than hitting “record.” Be as good a host for online folks:– Provide handout

– Comfortable setting

– Online exhibit tour

– Solicit feedback

– Say thank you

– Offer something special

– Unique PR plansFront door for

online viewers

Providing Access Continued:

PowerPoint Slides

• Share presenters’ PowerPoint slides using SlideShare

• Or pull slides directly into the video feed and toggle between the speakers’ face and slides

– WireCast software makes this quite easy (plus lots of other features). You can install a free screen sharing program on the laptop that is projecting the speakers’ slides and have that beam directly to your streaming video laptop.

“Picture

in

picture”

shot

Best Practices: Archiving &

Recycling Program Content

• Create short highlights clips

• Embed video into blog posts, website, and Facebook pages, not just YouTube channel

• Many ways to re-use and repurpose: podcasts, in exhibits, QR codes, etc

• Offer content in non-video formats: tweet/Facebook fun facts, for example

Scan the QR code to

watch a clip of the curator

discussing this artwork

• Integrate social mediafor questions and comments before, during, after

• Use a hashtag so viewers can chat

• Bring on-site visitors into the online conversation: tell them where to re-connect with content, share with friends

• Share related content

Does anyone have a

question for the

curator?

Welcoming

webcasting page

Try to Limit the “House Keeping” Introduction

because it Irritates Online Viewers

• Silence cell phones

• No flash photography

• Complete the survey; onsite folks win a prize if they complete the survey

• Upcoming programs

• Exhibit openings

• Introducing the speaker

• Let’s get to the show!

Faceplants: Stuff I Wish I’d

Known• Live vs. canned

– “Live” is nice when it’s an astronaut but not always

key

– Museum-quality objects but they’re just fuzzy

pixels

• Realism about engagement

– Most people watch/spectate, not engage

– Coming up with a way to evaluate these programs

is tough.

• Not everything is recyclable

– A 45-minute video is really, really long; editing is

hard

• Tips

– Prepare the speaker

– Be prepared for reticent speakers, fear of the

“foreverness” of digital video

Program Videos & the Museum

Education Landscape

• “Open Education” & personal education

plans

• Beyond lectures – teaching skills, action

• How can online participants really shape

online programming and have it respond

to their interests? Can they re-mix it?

Roundtable

• What do you wish you could do with

video?

• What barriers are there? What models

does your organization use?

• What other ways can programming have a

lasting impact and not disappear after the

program?

How To Webcast• Create a free account on Ustream.tv or other free live stream

website. This is your “channel” where fans call follow and view your videos. You can embed the live channel onto your museum website if you want.

• Use a video camera that is compatible with webcasting (has a FireWire port). Use a computer or laptop that also has this port.

• Plug camera into the computer via FireWire port.

• Use built-in microphones on camera or purchase external mic.

• Hit “record” on your camera to record the video to the camera’s tape or drive. This is a great backup/archival copy.

• Hit “begin broadcast” on your Ustream page. Hit “begin record” to save the video to your channel.

• Program begins. Use Ustream’s chat box to interact with viewers or another social media outlet.

• When the lecture is over, hit “end broadcast.” You will be prompted to save the video. After some processing time, the video will be viewable on Ustream and able to be posted on YouTube, your site, etc.

• End the recording on your camera. Retain the tape as an archival copy of the program.

Possible Shopping List

• Canon XHA1 video camera: $2,900– I opted for High Def but you can get a camera in

the $300-800 range that will be awesome

• External XLR mics: $350

• Batteries for mics: $15

• Tripod: (found one for free)

• Lighting kit: $199 (optional)

• Editing software: $99 (optional)

• WireCast software $470 (optional)

• Filmmaking 101 class: $700 (optional)

Cheaper

than

paying

contractor

s

I’d love to hear from you!

Erin Blasco, programs

coordinator, Smithsonian National

Postal Museum

@erinblasco blascoe@si.edu