Critical Skills for Streaming Producers - Chapter Details
by Jan Ozer

Chapter 1:    The Streaming Landscape
Chapter 2:    Designing Your Set
Chapter 3:    Lighting the Set
Chapter 4:    Streaming Related Shooting Skills
Chapter 5:    Correcting Audio and Video Problems
Chapter 6:    Choosing a Codec
Chapter 7:    Choosing Output Parameters
Chapter 8:    Production Work Flows
Chapter 9:    Encoding Basics
Chapter 10:  Encoding with the Adobe Media Encoder
Chapter 11:  Encoding with Apple Compressor

Chapter 1: The Streaming Media Landscape

This chapter introduces new producers to streaming technology, describing terms like bandwidth and detailing how and why motion degrades video quality.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Video Quality Directly Relates to Data Rate
• Motion Degrades Streaming Quality
• Given Sufficient Data Rate, You May Not Have to Care
• Limiting Extraneous Motion
• A Short List of Streaming Dos and Don’ts

Resources:

Video:

• Streaming Technology Fundamentals

Chapter 2: Designing Your Set

Set design can make or break a streaming shoot, especially because some sets that work very well for traditional broadcast look awful when compressed for streaming. This chapter is designed to assist streaming producers with their in-house and on location set design. It starts by reviewing set design and clothing usage among broadcast and corporate sites, and then makes specific recommendations about how to create sets for streaming production.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Choosing a Background for In-House Use
• Common Mistakes in Set Design
• Creating Effective On Location Backgrounds
• Backgrounds for People of Color
• Dressing for Streaming Success

Resources:

Videos (large screen Flash and H.264 and iPod format)

• Creating Backgrounds for In-House Use
• Creating Compression Friendly On Location Backgrounds
• Sets Used by Internet-only Broadcasters
• Dressing for Streaming Success

Checklists:

• On-Location Set Design Checklist
• Clothing Checklist
• Draft letter to talent regarding clothing to wear to a streaming shoot

Chapter 3: Lighting the Set

Lighting is the most important factor in high quality streaming video but an unfortunate afterthought for many streaming shoots. This chapter is designed to assist new streaming producers as well as experienced producers making the switch to streaming. It includes research detailing lighting usage among traditional broadcast, Internet-only broadcast and corporate sites.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Lighting Fundamentals
• Flat or Three-Point Lighting?
• Setting Up Three-Point Lighting
• Creating Flat Lighting - Dual Key
• Creating Flat Lighting - Single Key
• Creating Flat Lighting - Single vs. Dual Key
• Lighting the Background
• Checking Exposure on the Set
• Lighting for Chroma Key (zebra patterns)

Resources:

Videos:

• Lighting Fundamentals
• Flat or Three-Point Lighting
• Setting up Three-Point Lighting
• Setting up Flat Lighting
• Checking Lighting on the Set (zebra patterns)

Worksheets:

• Setting Up Three-Point Lighting
• Setting Up Flat Lighting

Chapter 4: Streaming Related Shooting Skills

You can’t produce good streaming video without good video, which involves knowing how to choose your shots and how to position your subject within the frame in those shots. This chapter identifies classic shots like medium shots, long shots and close ups and details Rule of Thirds positioning to help new producers get up to speed quickly. It also helps experienced shooters learn how they need to change – and not change – their shots when shooting for streaming.

The chapter then describes which camera settings to use for maximum streaming quality and how to soften the background for producing an attractive, and easily compressible look. Finally, it illustrates how shooting in progressive mode can increase the quality of your streaming video and how to work around interlacing artifacts when interlaced cameras are your only option.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Minimize Motion During Shooting
• Ignore the Safe Zone
• Framing Your Shots
• Shot Usage – Sequencing
• Shooting for the Small Screen
• Using Rule of Thirds Positioning
• Camera Settings for Optimum Quality
• Shoot Progressive Video When Available
• Producing a Soft Background

Resources:

Videos:

• Progressive vs. Interlaced Comparisons (five – low motion talking head, high motion talking head, sports, and high and low resolution real world shots)

Worksheets:

• Shooting Skills
• Interview Storyboard
• Executive Briefing Storyboard
• Training Storyboard

Chapter 5: Correcting Audio and Video Problems

No video shoot goes perfectly, and usually you’ll have to tweak the brightness, contrast or color values of your video. You know your editor has multiple scopes and other visual tools to assist you with these tasks, but may now know how to use them.

This chapter details how to use waveform and histogram monitors, and details the tools and workflow for correcting your video in Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro. Then it describes how to remove random pops and clicks and background noise from your audio as well as normalize and apply audio compression in Apple Soundtrack Pro, and Adobe Soundbooth and Audition.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Perfecting Video Quality
• Fixing Brightness and Contrast
• Color Correction in Premiere Pro
• Audio Cleanup in Adobe Audition
• Audio Cleanup in Soundtrack Pro
• Working in Adobe Soundbooth

Resources:

Videos (with example files so you can work along with the tutorial):

• Perfecting Video in Premiere Pro
• Perfecting Video in Final Cut Pro
• Perfecting Audio in Adobe Audition
• Perfecting Audio in SoundTrack Pro

Worksheets:

• Perfecting Video in Premiere Pro
• Perfecting Audio in Audition
• Perfecting Video in Final Cut Pro
• Perfecting Audio in Soundtrack Pro

Chapter 6: Choosing a Codec

This chapter identifies the questions to ask when choosing a codec for in-house and external use. It also details the impact of recent announcements like Microsoft Silverlight and the inclusion of H.264 in the latest release of the Flash Player.

Those wanting to focus on codec quality can view test videos in Flash, H.264, Windows Media and RealVideo formats and watch a slide show comparing frame captures from those files.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Background
• Choosing an External Codec
• Choosing a Codec for Internal Distribution
• What About Codec Quality?
• Codec Summary

Resources:

Videos:

• Comparative videos in Flash, H.264, Windows Media and RealVideo formats
• Slide show with comparative frame captures from these videos

Chapter 7: Choosing Encoding Targets

Once you’ve chosen a codec, you need to choose encoding parameters like data rate, resolution and frame rate. This chapter presents extensive market research illustrating broadcast and corporate usage of these parameters, as well as other factors to consider when making your configuration decisions.

Since typically you’ll be shooting at a much higher resolution than your targets, you’ll have to scale your video to your targets, and this chapter details how to preserve the correct aspect ratio during this operation.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Finding the Optimal Video Configuration
• Finding the Guideposts
• That Whole Square Pixel Thing

Resources:

Tables:

• Table 7-1. Summary of streaming video file parameters by corporate and broadcast category
• Table 7-2. Average data rate of web sites at 15 and 30 fps.
• Table 7-3. Audio data rates by codec.

Chapter 8: Production Work Flows

After choosing your targets, you have to identify the optimal workflow for producing your files. This involves many decisions, including where to scale and deinterlace your video (editor or encoding tool) and which intermediate format to use when not encoding in your editor. Beyond these high level decisions are details like which presets to use when producing streaming video in your editor.

This chapter presents the gritty details you need to know to optimize the quality of your streaming video. It presents comparative files illustrating the deinterlacing quality and the effectiveness of noise reduction filters in the various editors and encoding tools so you can choose the right tools. It details the workflow alternatives for Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro, and their respective pluses and minuses. It describes how to optimize deinterlacing quality in both editors. Then it shows how to create customized presets for streaming production in both editors.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Where to Scale and Deinterlace?
• Should You Use Noise Reduction Filters on Your Video?
• Which Editing Preset should you Use?
• Which Intermediate Format Should You Use?
• Streaming Production Workflow - Adobe Premiere Pro
• Working in Final Cut Pro/Compressor

Resources:

Tutorial Videos:

• Producing a Custom Project Preset in Premiere Pro
• Importing a Premiere Pro Project into a Project
• Producing an Intermediate AVI file in Premiere Pro
• Producing an Intermediate MOV file in Premiere Pro
• Producing an Intermediate MOV file (with Noise Reduction filtering) in the Adobe Media Encoder
• Producing a Custom Preset in Final Cut Pro
• Changing a Preset in Final Cut Pro
• Creating a Compressor Preset
• Rendering in Compressor

Comparative Videos:

Chapter 9: Encoding Basics

This chapter describes general encoding parameters like variable bit rate and constant bit rate encoding, and the detailed specifics of producing H.264, Flash and Windows Media Video. You’ll learn the subtle distinctions that can make a huge difference when producing in any of these formats, especially the new “tweaking” parameters in Windows Media Video and the difference between H.264’s main and baseline profiles.

Partial Table of Contents:

• VBR or CBR?
• Producing for Streaming Servers
• Understanding Key Frame Settings
• Standard Audio Encoding Parameters
• Configuring Your Audio - Channels
• Encoding Flash Video
• Windows Media Technologies 211
• QuickTime Production and H.264

Resources:

Videos:

• Windows Media File in VBR mode
• Windows Media File in CBR mode
• Windows Media File produced by Windows Media Encoder
• Windows Media File optimized and produced via command line
• H.264 Main Profile, fully optimized
• H.264 Baseline Profile

Chapter 10: Producing in the Adobe Media Encoder

You’ve made all workflow, format and encoding parameter decisions; now it’s time to implement them. This chapter details a variety of operations in the Adobe Media Encoder, including how to produce Flash, QuickTime and Windows Media files (including multiple bitrate videos), and also how to convert 16:9 input to 4:3 output.

The materials also detail how to use use Premiere Pro’s chromakey filters to create Flash video with an alpha channel.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Part I: Adobe Media Encoder Overview
• Part II: The Encoding Work Flow
• Part III: Producing H.264 Files with AME
• Part IV: Producing Flash Video
• Part V: Producing Windows Media Files
• Part VI: Advanced Topics
• Cropping and Aspect Ratio Conversions
• Using Adobe Device Central
• Chroma Keying in Adobe Production Studio

Resources:

Tutorial Videos:

• The Premiere Pro to Adobe Media Encoder Workflow
• Producing H.264 Files with the Adobe Media Encoder
• Producing Flash Video Files with the Adobe Media Encoder
• Producing Streaming Windows Media Files with the Adobe Media Encoder
• Producing Progressive Windows Media Files with the Adobe Media Encoder
• Cropping and Aspect Ratio Conversion (16:9 to 4:3)

Chapter 11: Producing in Apple Compressor

You’ve made all workflow, format and encoding parameter decisions; now it’s time to implement them. This chapter details a variety of operations in Apple Compressor, including how to produce H.264 videos, Flash Videos using the Adobe and On2 QuickTime Exporter, and Windows Media Video files using the Flip4Mac QuickTime Exporter.

The materials also detail how to use Final Cut Pro’s chromakey filters to create Flash video with an alpha channel.

Partial Table of Contents:

• Part I: Overview
• Part II: The Encoding Workflow
• Part III: The Final Cut Pro/Compressor Handoff
• Part IV: Producing H.264 Files With Compressor
• Part V: Cropping and Aspect Ratio Conversion (16:9 to 4:3)
• Part VI: Using Compressor’s Filters
• Part VII: Working with Flash Video
• Chroma Keying in Final Cut Pro
• Outputting an MOV File with Alpha Channel
• Part VII: Working with QuickTime Export Components
• Part VIII: Outputting an FLV File from Compressor
• Part IX: Customizing Windows Media Settings
• Part X: Job Chaining in Compressor

Resources:

Tutorial Videos:

• The Final Cut Pro to Compressor Encoding Workflow
• Understanding the Final Cut Pro to Compressor Handoff
• Producing H.264 Files with Compressor
• Converting 16:9 videos to 4:3 Output
• Producing Flash Video Files with the Adobe Flash QuickTime Export Component
• Producing Flash Files via On2’s Flash Video QuickTime Export Component
• Producing Windows Media Files with the Flip4Mac QuickTime Export Component

See Also:

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