I was asked to provide camera work for the NAACP's 880 campaign's panel discussion on Health Care Reform in order for the live-stream to be the best it could be.

There are three things very important for live-streaming:

(1) Stable Internet Connection

(2) Good Audio Source

(3) Cameraman Operator's ability to perform ballet

The stream itself was broadcast on UStream.com, a free service which allows both embedding the stream on a personal site and recording of that stream. A negative for this service is that you cannot edit what is actually put up later- in this case, it was a problem because the first ten minutes or so, the camera was just pointing at the back sign while we waited for the speakers to come up and start. A better solution would have been to point the camera at the audience milling around until the event actually starts. Therefore, while watching the above recording, you have to jump ahead until the event actually starts. A second solution would have been to broadcast it live but not hit "record" until right before we were positive it was starting.

1. The stable internet connection in this case was a snap- I plugged a 25 foot CAT-5 into the outlet provided into my MacBook. Voila! Stable, good connection. It IS possible to broadcast over wireless (provided you can connect) but the reception would be spotty and likely to fail. I don't recommend it.

2. The audio was fine, except apparently they had a bad mult. I am positive the bad sound was not on my end, since the boom mic I eventually plugged into my camera functioned perfectly, and it uses the exact same plug and cord type as the extension does. I also borrowed someone else's cable to double check... nope... the mult wasn't cooperating. Fortunately, my boom pinpoints sound to wherever I've zoomed into, and so even though the sound quality was diminished, it still sounded great.

3. I say that I need to perform ballet partly in jest. When working a single camera, it's not difficult to scroll side to side and point at each speaker in turn. The challenge comes when it's time to take questions from the audience.

Since the camera is acting as the ears and eyes of the viewer, I have to point the camera at the speaker in the audience, hold, turn rapidly back to the front, and then slow, zoom back in, and face the front again. The key is to do that without making anyone seasick, plus, you never know exactly where you will be shooting in the audience and "hunting" is a bad idea.

You essentially have to be able to turn the camera level and stable, and yet be looking up and scanning the audience at the same time so you can see where you will be ending. Sometimes, the person is sitting, and then other people are in the way. Sometimes, the guy right in front of you puts his head directly in your field of view and you can't do anything about it.

Ah, well, that's how live broadcasts go! This one went nearly perfectly (the audio being plugged into the sound system would have made me a lot happier) but it looked great and there were over 600 people watching it live while I shot!