THE VIDEO GUY
01-27-2009, 05:19 AM
It?s that time again. PGL Toronto is approaching and I?ve noticed some post inquiring ?will there be a live stream and video production from the Toronto event??? and the answer is yes. Fear strikes my body as I commit to this? as the basic requirements to provide this service one often takes for granted... internet and power! ?so let the record show? assuming these services are plentiful, which I?ve been assured that they are, there will officially be a main stage and a live video stream covering most of PGL Toronto.
I?ve learned some things now having produced a couple PGL live streams. After speaking with many of you, I?m painfully aware of all the problems you have seen in the past? and am also painfully aware of many problems that you don?t see. Listed below are potential / current hurdles that may arise and hinder your PGL live stream experience? and the solution to each problem or ?hurdle? as I see fit.
Hurdle ? Crew? There is never enough bodies to run the event efficiently... you can only multi task so well and still put out quality without compromise.
Solution ? Deal! The mystery right now behind every upcoming PGL event is predicting attendance numbers. Bigger attendance and growth is obviously what we are striving to attain? yet for all the increase of bodies, there is increase in work. Entries for stats, graphics and supers? spreads an already thin crew even thinner. Will PGL live stream have faults? Absolutely. Can you watch the event from your living room, bathroom, iphone? Yes.
Hurdle ? The Internet? There is no such thing as too much bandwidth! This is always something that ends up being sort of hit or miss but we have been in contact with ustream.tv and will be featured on their main page as well as progamingleague.ca with chat on the PGL main page.
Solution ? Wired line! Past events have actually been served up via wireless internet which at the best of times can be flakey. We will have a dedicated internet line to our venue so hopefully this will be a non issue.
Hurdle ? The announcers? fail! Thank you? I don?t take it personally. If it sounds like we don?t know what were talking about sometimes during the matches, your half right. The other side to it is, I?m simultaneously operating a camera, writing down notes and capturing video? all with only two hands. If it sounds like I?m thinking? I am. I would love to not do it.
Solution 1 ? TBA. I?m open to ideas here but one of the options was to interview some players and have guest commentators from other teams do some commentating. Your thoughts?
Solution 2 ? Graphics! We just got done creating some slamming graphics that pay homage to another gaming league? cough cough? so needless to say they look familiar and have been tweaked to reflect a PGL look. Video Guy gives two thumbs up!!
Hurdle ? Statement ?I want to see it all!?
Solution ? Come to Toronto. That is the best option. We will focus most of the coverage mainly on Halo 3. We will likely attempt covering the finals of the other games, but at the moment, primary video coverage will be Halo 3.
Hurdle ? Statement ?Noobs are flooding the ustream chat and the video service crashes.?
Solution ? Admins. If you know you are not going to be in attendance and are going to be glued to the computer either way, we might as well promote you to rule the chat room with an iron fist. The answer to the next question you have if you are interested in helping is no?sorry? but know that we really appreciate your help and that by volunteering you will be the envy of all your friends and if selected can boot people from the chat at your discretion.
Hurdle ? Statement ?What?s coming up next? What am I watching now??
Solution ? We have implemented some awesome technology onto the live feed that will help facilitate this? a clock. There will be a running clock that displays the local Toronto time and when games should be coming up? who?s playing? and other goodies like visual brackets and stats to fill the dead spots between games. Also, we should have the ability for near instant playback of each of the games so we may even try to cut together some quick "player of the match" clips and replay them after each of the matches. Ustream has also since implemented on screen text overlays that should also help us indicate what you are watching on the screen. Is this footage live or a rebroadcast of an earlier event? will now be a question of the past.
Hurdle ? Statement ? I want to watch game X again. When will it be showing??
Solution ? After the event is over, we will be posting most of the games to the PGL website as well as the PGL youtube page. Not every game on the stream will be there but we will try to upload most of them? specifically the finals of each gaming event.
These are the main concerns I have noted with the live stream that will inevitably come up. Any other issues that come to mind and/or that will surface during the event, feel free to post them so we can address them as best as possible so we can to make PGL T.O. a successful event and broadcast.
Hurdle ? Statement ?When will this post end??
Solution ? Fin.
THE VIDEO GUY
I?ve learned some things now having produced a couple PGL live streams. After speaking with many of you, I?m painfully aware of all the problems you have seen in the past? and am also painfully aware of many problems that you don?t see. Listed below are potential / current hurdles that may arise and hinder your PGL live stream experience? and the solution to each problem or ?hurdle? as I see fit.
Hurdle ? Crew? There is never enough bodies to run the event efficiently... you can only multi task so well and still put out quality without compromise.
Solution ? Deal! The mystery right now behind every upcoming PGL event is predicting attendance numbers. Bigger attendance and growth is obviously what we are striving to attain? yet for all the increase of bodies, there is increase in work. Entries for stats, graphics and supers? spreads an already thin crew even thinner. Will PGL live stream have faults? Absolutely. Can you watch the event from your living room, bathroom, iphone? Yes.
Hurdle ? The Internet? There is no such thing as too much bandwidth! This is always something that ends up being sort of hit or miss but we have been in contact with ustream.tv and will be featured on their main page as well as progamingleague.ca with chat on the PGL main page.
Solution ? Wired line! Past events have actually been served up via wireless internet which at the best of times can be flakey. We will have a dedicated internet line to our venue so hopefully this will be a non issue.
Hurdle ? The announcers? fail! Thank you? I don?t take it personally. If it sounds like we don?t know what were talking about sometimes during the matches, your half right. The other side to it is, I?m simultaneously operating a camera, writing down notes and capturing video? all with only two hands. If it sounds like I?m thinking? I am. I would love to not do it.
Solution 1 ? TBA. I?m open to ideas here but one of the options was to interview some players and have guest commentators from other teams do some commentating. Your thoughts?
Solution 2 ? Graphics! We just got done creating some slamming graphics that pay homage to another gaming league? cough cough? so needless to say they look familiar and have been tweaked to reflect a PGL look. Video Guy gives two thumbs up!!
Hurdle ? Statement ?I want to see it all!?
Solution ? Come to Toronto. That is the best option. We will focus most of the coverage mainly on Halo 3. We will likely attempt covering the finals of the other games, but at the moment, primary video coverage will be Halo 3.
Hurdle ? Statement ?Noobs are flooding the ustream chat and the video service crashes.?
Solution ? Admins. If you know you are not going to be in attendance and are going to be glued to the computer either way, we might as well promote you to rule the chat room with an iron fist. The answer to the next question you have if you are interested in helping is no?sorry? but know that we really appreciate your help and that by volunteering you will be the envy of all your friends and if selected can boot people from the chat at your discretion.
Hurdle ? Statement ?What?s coming up next? What am I watching now??
Solution ? We have implemented some awesome technology onto the live feed that will help facilitate this? a clock. There will be a running clock that displays the local Toronto time and when games should be coming up? who?s playing? and other goodies like visual brackets and stats to fill the dead spots between games. Also, we should have the ability for near instant playback of each of the games so we may even try to cut together some quick "player of the match" clips and replay them after each of the matches. Ustream has also since implemented on screen text overlays that should also help us indicate what you are watching on the screen. Is this footage live or a rebroadcast of an earlier event? will now be a question of the past.
Hurdle ? Statement ? I want to watch game X again. When will it be showing??
Solution ? After the event is over, we will be posting most of the games to the PGL website as well as the PGL youtube page. Not every game on the stream will be there but we will try to upload most of them? specifically the finals of each gaming event.
These are the main concerns I have noted with the live stream that will inevitably come up. Any other issues that come to mind and/or that will surface during the event, feel free to post them so we can address them as best as possible so we can to make PGL T.O. a successful event and broadcast.
Hurdle ? Statement ?When will this post end??
Solution ? Fin.
THE VIDEO GUY