In this post, we’re sharing the ten key questions you need to answer before you go live.

To better understand what it takes to move in-person events online, we sat down with Emma Stones from the Garden Museum in London to get her perspective. With a wealth of experience around in-person and online events and festivals, Emma was able to talk us through how the Garden Museum found success by shifting their event series online.

Based on our conversation with Emma, as well as our own experiences with live events, we came up with the following questions that will help you succeed with online events.

1. Who is Your Audience?

It all starts with who you are trying to reach. If you’re lucky, you might have an existing audience to tap into, such as people who used to attend your events or patronize your business in person. If you’re starting more from scratch, try to do as much research as possible before getting started to build out detailed viewer personas.

The more information you have on your audience, the more likely you are to craft content they’ll want to watch. And it will inform many other decisions down the road, such as your pricing and delivery methods (more on those below).

2. Will They Actually Show Up?

This question is formulated specifically to help you put yourself in your viewers’ shoes. Why should they take time out of their busy day to attend your live stream or watch your video?

It takes more than you’d think to motivate people to take a specific action. The longer your event or video is, the greater the opportunity cost for your potential attendees.

It has to be worth their while. How will you stand out from other competing demands on their attention? Why do they have to attend your event, today?

3. How Will Your Audience Register for the Event?

Even if you already have a large following, you’ll still need to figure out how to get your attendees registered for the event. This is just as important for your audience as it is for you.

For your viewers, you can set up a registration page and workflow that sends email reminders. This will make it easy for them to add the event to their calendars, and you’ll be able to keep track of how many people will attend and capture important information, such as name and email.

Are They Willing to Pay for the Experience?

While you’re figuring out how you plan on getting folks to register, you should also consider if you plan on charging them for joining your live stream. If you’re replacing an in-person event or trying to drive new revenue with this series, charging for events might make a lot of sense.  Explore this guide to learn more about paid virtual events.

4. What Kind of Audience Interaction Do You Want?

One of the best parts about creating a live stream is that it’s one of the best ways to interact with an audience outside of being in the same room with them. You’ll need to decide just how interactive you want it to be.

You just want to deliver a message in real time, or maybe you’ll want direct feedback and discussion. The latter would require additional software like live chat or a commenting feature for your guests to leave comments or questions.

Depending on your format, you may need additional team members available to field questions, moderate, or pass questions on to your speaker to respond in real time. 

5. What Kind of Equipment Do You Need?

Equipment is going to be an important part of your live stream setup. It can range from the bare minimum like a webcam and microphone, all the way to top-of-the-line video production equipment. 

A professional setup will take your production value to a whole new level. This type of setup might include lights, cameras, tripods, microphones, and more. For a full run-down on the equipment you may need, explore our “How to Film Yourself for a Professional Result” post.

6. How Are You Streaming it to Your Audience?

There are a ton of ways you can reach your audience with live video nowadays. Deciding on which avenue to go down will vary depending on the type of content you are trying to present to your audience. 

Are you trying to reach a broad audience? Hosting live events through social media may be the way to go. This is best if you already have a large audience on one of the many social platforms that offer live streaming.

Do you want complete control over your production? Opting for a professional video hosting service might be the right move. Professional services give you more control over your brand presentation, and give you access to privacy settings and video marketing tools like lead capture or calls to action. Some software also allows you to multi-cast your event to social media platforms, making it the best of both worlds.  

Are you planning for a ton of audience interaction? Trying a video conferencing application may work best. This is great when you have multiple speakers, panel discussions, or need direct audience interaction. 

7. Who Are the Hosts?

All the planning in the world is great, but you’ll need someone who can actually present the information. Hosting can look easy, but it actually can be a lot of work. You’ll need someone comfortable on camera, good at asking questions, and quick on their feet if anything goes wrong. 

Typically this may fall on the shoulders of someone in your marketing department but be sure to ask around your office and assess people’s willingness to being on camera. Once you pick a host, be sure to run through these 27 tips with them to help them appear more natural on camera.

8. How Will You Keep it Interesting?

Beyond having great information to share and a captivating host, consider adding additional elements. This could be video segments, photos, statistics, screen captures, and more. Ask yourself what sort of additional elements will help you convey your message even more effectively.

9. What Happens After the Event?

You just absolutely crushed your event. Now what? This is an important question to consider since your audience is probably thinking the same thing. 

Are you sending a follow-up email? Do you have additional material for attendees to look into directly afterward? Do you have a call to action for attendees? Will there be a recording of the event available for those who couldn’t make it live? Great follow-up will help keep your audience coming back for future episodes.

10. What Metrics Will You Track?

When it’s all said and done, you’ll most definitely want to take a look at how each event performed. Tracking metrics during and after each broadcast will allow you to better understand how you’re performing overall. 

You should look at metrics like: watch time, peak views, average minutes watched, location, and more. The more information you can acquire from your viewers’ watch habits, the better decisions you can make moving forward.  

Asking yourself these 10 questions will set you up for success when planning a compelling live-stream series. Hammering out the details, growing an audience, and hitting your stride while going live may take some time, but it will be worth it.  In the comments below, let us know what types of live events you have planned for the future. 

The post 10 Questions to Ask Before You Launch a Live Stream Series appeared first on SproutVideo.

Still, a lot of that work looks pretty different compared to a year ago. Video production has been fundamentally changed by the pandemic in important ways. Here are the five changes that will shape the future of video production.

The Experience on the Ground

To better understand these trends, we spoke to Cara Yeates, current partner and Head of Production at Trigger Creative, a video production studio. She joined Nick LaClair, Creative Director at SproutVideo, for a round of mezcalitas in the second episode of our Cheers series, where we celebrate important people and topics in the video industry.

Cara has been working on video shoots as a producer during the pandemic, and is responsible for keeping her crew healthy and safe. Watch below to hear what she has to say about the important safety guidelines to follow on set, and what the future holds for video production.

Keep reading for the top five takeaways from Cara’s experiences on set.

1. Health and Safety First

Health and safety on set has been an ongoing issue in the film industry for a long time. From unending shoot days with heavy gear, to dangerous stunts, there are many risks for those behind and in front of the camera.

In some ways, the film industry was primed to adapt to this challenge, despite its reliance on large groups of people and events. Between union and guild guidelines, and the protocols for stars and high-powered subjects on set, many working in film are accustomed to highly regimented procedures. Granted, this is a whole other level of complexity, but prior experience carefully following important regulations certainly helps in times like these.

The pandemic pushed the health and wellbeing of cast and crew members to the forefront. New guidelines from different guilds and organizations have codified those practices and helped productions of all sizes to be safer for everyone involved.

Those new habits won’t necessarily go away as the pandemic ebbs. After all, a shoot can be derailed by illness, even if it’s not during a pandemic. And, some of the practices are helpful for more general well-being, like limiting a shoot day to ten hours.

There has been a problem in the film industry with overworking people… I think it’s really a safety issue. Properly scheduling your day for 10 hours of shooting is going to keep everyone safe and on track in the long term.

– Cara Yeates, Trigger Creative

Granted, we don’t expect most productions to maintain rigorous testing and on-set medics if they aren’t warranted. Still, if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that safety has to come first if you want to be able to do anything else.

2. Hybrid and Online Events

As work has picked up again for the video industry, much of the productions pertain to replacing or extending live events that would typically be held in person. While we’re eagerly anticipating a return to in-person events of all shapes and sizes, online-only or hybrid events are going to stick around for the long term.

Why? Because the pandemic has shown that they work for many types of events and gatherings. In some cases, they even offer distinct advantages. Just because in-person events will become possible again doesn’t mean they’ll obviate the need for an online component, or always be the best solution.

For example, large concerts, conferences, and festivals have been live streamed for years. After a crash course in how to do that over the past year, smaller events that would not have bothered before now have the capabilities and equipment to do so.

Importantly, consumer expectations have shifted. If you can’t attend in person, there’s the assumption that you’ll be able to attend virtually. In turn, that will drive how events are designed and marketed. This, more than anything, will keep the online and hybrid event model around for the foreseeable future.

3. Leaner Productions

Part of being able to produce video during the pandemic has meant doing more with less. After all, having fewer crew members on set reduces the risk of transmission and helps keep everyone safe.

There is every reason to think that we will happily bring back certain roles and team sizes when necessary. However, the reality is that after a year of doing without, many crew members and talent have learned new skills that reduce the need for additional team members.

For example, at SproutVideo, members of our marketing team learned how to set up our own DSLR camera kits and film ourselves so we could keep producing video while working remotely. Before, we would have relied on our in-house video team to handle the setup and filming in our office studio.

While we’re greatly looking forward to getting back to the studio, we can now be more nimble, and produce more video no matter where we’re located. If you’re setting up or expanding your own home studio, check out our guide to the video studio upgrades that are worth your while.

Many teams have made similar investments, and learned new skills that won’t go away when the pandemic does. We expect many will continue to produce more video with less, while welcoming back the extra helping hands when and where it makes sense.

4. Production Partners

Pre-pandemic, most production studios would typically handle all shoots for a project, even in far-flung locations. Today, with travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, shoots on location have only been possible with the help of local film crews on the ground.

In many cases, these partnerships have been so successful that studios expect to continue working in this manner going forward. After all, the partnerships offer several benefits. For instance, there’s the cost savings in terms of time and money on travel, and the local expertise for scouting, logistics, and regulations.

I was nervous at first because you’re really putting your baby in someone else’s arms, but I’ve found really amazing, passionate filmmakers all over the world to work with.

– Cara Yeates, Trigger Creative

With new connections, and the technology to make it possible, production partners expand the scope of what studios can achieve. Importantly, they also save time and money. For those reasons, we think production partnerships are here to stay.

5. Remote Crew Members

After a full year of being forced to be remote, well, we’ve gotten pretty good at it. Now, it’s second nature to loop people in via video to participate in any aspect of video production.

It’s not just the partnerships with studios and film crews in different locations. It’s also the clients needing to approve shots, or the director of photography, or the team broadcasting the stream live. All you need is a live video feed, and anyone, anywhere, can contribute to the shoot.

Of course, there is a certain energy and excitement that comes with being on set. Nothing can ever truly replicate that or replace it. However, the efficiencies gained by this technology will ensure remote crew members remain the norm going forward. It just might not be the entire crew.

What trends do you see emerging from the pandemic as video production resumes? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The post The New Normal for Video Production appeared first on SproutVideo.

In this post, we’ll be going over the life and work of Dr. James West, inventor of the electret microphone, which represents around 90% of all microphones produced today. We’ll explore his childhood, professional life, and other impressive endeavors of the 90-year-old inventor. Keep reading to gain some nerdy knowledge about microphones along the way.

The video below is the first installment of our new Cheers series, where we raise a glass to important people and topics related to the video industry. This episode is centered around Dr. James West and his contributions to the world of video and beyond. Join Courtney Purchon, Head of Marketing, and Ikey Ajavon, Marketing Content Strategist, as they share stories from Dr. James West’s life and accomplishments.

Early Life

James West was born during a particularly difficult time in U.S. history. Born in 1931, he not only had to grow up during the Great Depression but also deal with life as a Black man in America during the Jim Crow era. This was a time when most public places were segregated, and people of color faced widespread discrimination and racially motivated violence.

Thankfully for all of us, in spite of the difficult time period he grew up in, he had a particularly strong interest in how things worked from a young age. The quote from Dr. West below perfectly exemplifies this point. 

Sparking His Interest

One event in his childhood left a lasting impact that pushed him toward his path as an inventor. In an attempt to fix an old radio he found, a young James West proceeded to connect the radio to a light socket, as regular outlets were not commonly installed in houses at this time. Ultimately, he was electrocuted, but thankfully was not injured in the incident.

“I had to understand electricity. And today, I can go in a socket and re-wire it without turning the main off, because I know how AC floats, and DC, for that matter.”

Dr. James West

Typically, people tend to shy away from events that harm them, but for Dr. West, this only intensified his interest in how things worked. 

Overcoming Cultural Setbacks

Throughout his career, Dr. West had to overcome adversity. As many of us can relate, choosing a professional path to follow is stressful enough as we enter our college years. Dr. West, however, had to choose a path with the pressures of what was acceptable for Black people at the time. He started on a pre-med path, but ultimately switched to physics to follow his passion. This move wasn’t supported by his parents, who believed the likelihood of a Black physicist making it during that time was low. 

Against all odds, Dr. West graduated with his degree in physics from Temple University in 1957, and joined the team at Bell Laboratories as an acoustic scientist. He chose Bell over other institutions because their organization was more diverse than others at the time. 

“When you put a bunch of nerds together, it kind of normalizes things,” West says. “But one of the other reasons that I joined Bell Labs was that I met and saw other black scientists.”

Dr. James West via United States Patent and Trademark Office

Following in the footsteps of his mentor, W. Lincoln Hawkins, the first Black researcher at Bell Labs, Dr. West would go on to produce many great inventions, including his most famous: the electret microphone. 

The Invention of the Electret Microphone 

In 1962, Dr. James West and co-inventor Gerhard Sessler created the first foil electret microphone. However, like most great inventions, there was a happy mistake that led to this invention.

While fixing a pair of headphones, Dr. West accidentally short-circuited them, which unexpectedly got the headphones working again. However, they were now operational without a power source, whereas before, they had required a 500 volt battery to work.

In effect, Dr. West had created a version of the invention he would later patent. The headphones were able to work without a power source because the short-circuited headphones were holding a charge. When the headphones were short-circuited, Dr. West inadvertently created a dielectric material that could hold a charge for a period of time, also known as an electret.

“I couldn’t get this phenomena and what I had observed out of my head,” West says. “It was there in kind of a permanent way. I began to try to unravel this problem and understand, a least a little bit, what was going on.”

Dr. James West via U.S News

Dr. West and Sessler eventually found a way to create a material with a long-lasting charge by utilizing Teflon. Their final product would be able to hold a charge for about 100 years, essentially guaranteeing the condenser component of these microphones would never need an external power source.

While other components of the microphone still require some power, the charge required to operate is significantly lower. Options like phantom power, or very small batteries, usually 1.5 – 5 volts, usually suffice. Billions of electret microphones have been made since they began selling commercially back in 1968.

You’ll find these types of microphones in a wide variety of devices, from phones to baby monitors, and especially in microphones used for video. It’s safe to say our lives would be very different without this invention. To learn more about microphones and how to optimize them for your video projects, explore the audio section of our video library.

How Microphones Work

Microphones were around long before Dr. James West and Gerhard Sessler joined Bell Labs, albeit not quite as efficient. To understand just how impactful their invention was, it’s important to have an understanding of how microphones actually work.

Microphones work by capturing sound waves and converting them to electrical signals. This happens over the course of a few steps. Sound waves pass through an object called a diaphragm. This movement is then measured and transformed into an electrical signal.

Traditional microphones would rely on a battery to help perform this task. And, these microphones required a lot of power, which made them bulky and expensive to replicate. The electret microphone, as mentioned above, has its own charge and doesn’t require a battery. This makes the whole process more efficient, smaller to produce, and cost-effective.

Awards & Activism

While Dr. James West may not be a household name in the video world (yet), he has gotten a lot of recognition in the scientific community. Over the course of his long career, he’s gotten numerous honorary doctorates, medals, and honors. 

In regards to activism, his journey as a Black inventor inspired him to provide as much help as possible to those who would follow in his path. Throughout his career, Dr. West spent time mentoring women and underrepresented minorities as time would allow. Dr. West has said he’s most proud of his work to set up the Corporate Research Fellowship Program while still working at Bell Labs. This program funded, mentored, and graduated over 600 Ph.D.’s over 30 years. 

James West Today 

Dr.West continued on his path to make the world a better place after retiring in 2001. He’s currently working as a professor at John Hopkins University, serves on the board of directors of the Ingenuity Project, continues to mentor students, and is working with his daughter’s company to bring a digital stethoscope to market. 

All things considered, this 90-year-old inventor doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon. Dr. James West’s legacy extends far beyond his inventions. His inspiring journey through life’s challenges will continue to inspire far into the future. Let us know your favorite fact about Dr. West in the comments below.

The post Cheers to a Trailblazer: Dr. James West appeared first on SproutVideo.