Whether it’s a lecture, performance, reading or panel discussion, every event that gets uploaded to the YouTube channel helps to paint a fuller picture of what’s going on at the University of Richmond. Want to share your event with friends, colleagues or any of the 150 million people on YouTube each month? Here are a few tips to ensure your event will make it on the University’s YouTube channel:
1. Make sure all participants are ok with being on YouTube before putting in the request to A&S that the event be taped.
It’s important you make it clear that the event is not just being taped but that it will be uploaded to the Internet. Few people have a problem with simply being videotaped but not everyone is comfortable being on YouTube. Participants need to know that the University’s channel is public, which means anyone can view every video that is uploaded.
As long as the event’s main participants are O.K. with being online, the event can be scheduled for taping through Arts & Sciences. (If, for example, the professor introducing the speaker is not comfortable being online but the speaker has given consent, the professor can be edited out of the video before it is uploaded to the channel.)
Once you get an informal consent from the event’s participants, E-mail them a link to the video release form. The form can be submitted electronically and goes directly to staff in the School of Arts & Sciences.
2. Contact A&S and request the taping at least TWO weeks prior to the event.
Whether or not the event will be taped depends on the availability of a Telecom technician on that particular day. The sooner the request is put in, the better the chance that a technician will be available to do the taping. As soon as you’ve got participant consent, contact Giavanna Palermo in the School of Arts & Sciences.
3. Think about audio.
When a video is uploaded to YouTube, it goes through two sets of compressions. This basically means that the quality of the video substantially decreases. What suffers most during the compressions is the audio track, which, if poor at the outset, can render the video unwatchable.
Keller Hall and North Court reception rooms are some of the worst rooms on campus for sound. Some of the best are the auditorium in the Gottwald Science Center and the Cousins Theatre in the Modlin Center for the Arts. To help make sure your video has the best audio possible:
• Talk to the speaker(s) beforehand and remind them to speak directly into the microphone, even if they have a loud voice or if the crowd is small.
• Email Kathy Rothert about the room and ask if a sound check is necessary or if any audio-related adjustments are needed. If the speaker is going to be moving, confirm that Telecom will provide a lapel mike.
4. Think about time.
Q&A periods don’t translate well to YouTube because of bad audience audio. If a question/answer session is part of the event, let Giavanna know beforehand so she can tell the technicians that they don’t have to stay for it. Techs are generally more available when they know they won’t have to stay for a Q&A, which could add as much as one hour onto an event
5. If you haven’t worked with A&S to schedule the taping, request a DV tape anyway.
If your department has decided to contract with Telecom to pay for a taping but think that you might want the taping to be uploaded to YouTube at a later date, go ahead and request that Telecom hold the mini DV tape aside for the School of Arts & Sciences (the School will pay for the cost of the extra DV tape). DV tape is the ideal format for getting videos online but Telecom will re-record over the tapes if you do not request it to be held aside.
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