Avid has released a great article covering their predictions for how the Media and Entertainment Industry will change due to Covid-19. Check out some highlights from that article, below.

As the media and entertainment industry gradually unlocks from months of quarantine, it’s preparing to reenter a world that’s been permanently changed. Above and beyond social distancing and sanitary measures, the film and TV business faces an uncertain future stretching from the foundations of production to the economics of consumption.

However, there are some navigational markers CEOs and CFOs can use to guide their strategic decisions. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Avid predicts that the future of media and entertainment is poised to see large changes:

• An acceleration of existing trends toward subscription models for production technology
• A changing mindset toward distributed workflows and cloud applications
• A growth in niche content from OTT providers

While challenging, the prognosis isn’t gloomy. In fact, the media and entertainment community has an opportunity to re imagine how it creates, produces, and delivers great content.

Check out the full article HERE.

Learn more about Avid HERE.

Check out this video from streamingmedia.com to learn how Covid-19 has changed Live Streaming.

As Covid-19 has mandated the virtualization of formerly in-person live events, streaming producers’ roles and workflows have changed, as Producer and Associate Director Liz Hart and 090 Media’s Alex Lindsay discuss in this clip from Streaming Media East Connect 2020.

streamingmedia.com

Check out the video on YouTube HERE.

Check out some highlights from this report from mynews4.com on one of these workflows in a house of worship.

RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Pastor Mark Morton, of Granite Hills Baptist Church in Reno, has completely changed the way he conducts his church services over the last two months.

Instead of having in-person services every week, he has gone completely virtual.

“We haven’t been virtual but we have lately. We got a new studio and I went from being a Pastor to a Televangelist. We have SlingStudio, and we’re building a new sound booth because I believe we’ll be virtual for the rest of the history of the Granite Hills Baptist Church,” says Pastor Morton.

Although he says nothing can replace the energy an in-person service creates, he is able to reach up to seven times more people through his virtual service.

“That has been an incredible thing to watch. We’ve had people come to faith and Jesus that would not have normally come to church.”

Check out the full article HERE.

Learn more about SlingStudio HERE.

How does a church with no streaming gear or on-staff expertise deliver live-switched, streamed services to hundreds of socially distanced parishioners on a four days’ notice? Legacy Church’s Jeff Leach and Apache Rental Group’s Zak Holley explain how they did it in this interview with Streaming Media’s Steve Nathans-Kelly.

Streaming Media

Right now, the need for live streaming and the ability to be able to meet remotely is at an all-time high. Musicians are streaming live from their homes, teachers are presenting lectures, friends are doing on-line happy hours and the list goes on. But an important question to be asking is, what is the best way to get the information to your audience both now and in the future?

There are tons of great options for remote meetings, one, in particular, that is especially popular right now is Zoom (and yes, Wirecast integrates with Zoom). If you don’t already know, Zoom is a video conferencing software that allows people to either phone or video into an online meeting room. Once in the meeting room, people can conduct an online video conference call. It’s great for taking the place of everyday meetings while working remotely.

COVID-19 has created a need for workers to be able to communicate effectively while remote and the need arose almost immediately. The virus created a forced disruption of office culture, and while Zoom fits most people’s needs for the basics of office life, as remote work continues, people and companies may find themselves looking for more capabilities and different ways to reach their audiences.

Let’s use a real-life analogy from personal experience. A while back, I had a dishwasher that one day, mid-cycle, popped open. I needed the dishwasher to finish so water wasn’t just sitting in it, so we grabbed a mop, stuck it under the handle of the dishwasher and jammed it against the island forcing the door closed. I hate to admit, but this went on for much longer than it should have but it got the job done, it was a lot more cost-effective than replacing the dishwasher, but it was a bit annoying and definitely an eyesore. After months of using the ‘ol mop trick, we caved and bought a new dishwasher.

For some, you may be way smarter and be able to fix the dishwasher yourself or maybe you like the quirkiness of the mop. But for others, the time will come when you know there is something more for you out there.

That’s where Wirecast comes in. It’ll work for your needs now, whether you’re a teacher, House of Worship, artist, non-profit, government agency, broadcaster… you name it but will also scale up and meet your needs in the future. For example, national and local governments are using Wirecast for daily social media and online briefings for their citizens. The communications folks at these government entities wanted to have the extra production capabilities you get with Wirecast, so their broadcasts are more interesting and could contain graphics and titles.

To understand the functionality of Wirecast, it’s important to think of live-production broadcast in three parts:

1. Pre-production
2. Live production
3. Distribution

Check out the full article HERE.

Learn more about Telestream HERE.

The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19 ) is evolving every day.  Please check back here for regular updates on how YouTube is addressing the situation.

Latest Updates

• [13:30 UTC 24 March 2020] Update on adjusted bandwidth usage: Last week, we temporarily defaulted all videos on YouTube to standard definition in the  European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), and Switzerland (CH). Given the global nature of this crisis, we are expanding that change globally starting today. This update is slowly rolling out, and users can manually adjust the video quality. 

• [18:00 UTC 19 March 2020] I’m a YouTube Creator, how can I help? You’ve asked us how you can help with the evolving COVID-19 situation, and as a YouTube Creator, here’s something you can do now → Spread the word to stop the spread. If you choose to use YouTube to share content urging people to #StayHome, consider videos that are helpful, fun and informational and tag #StayHome and ___ #WithMe (e.g. #StayHome and cook #WithMe). For inspiration, check out our channel. 

• [17:00 UTC 16 March 2020] Protecting our extended workforce and community: We are taking the steps needed to prioritize the well-being of our employees, extended workforce, and the communities where they live, including reducing in-office staffing in certain sites. We will start relying more on technology to help do some of the work normally done by reviewers, which may result in some accidental removal of content that does not violate our policies. This may affect additional types of YouTube user and creator support and reviews, such as applications for the YouTube partner program or responses on social media.

Check out the video on YouTube HERE.

Check it out, below.

In this video we discuss how the Covid-19 outbreak has affected how we put on our productions.

With a free tool called Skype TX you can embed skype calls from any device into your production with a very simple set up.

NewTek

Learn more about NewTek HERE.

Check out some highlights from the article Below

With the timely topic of the Coronavirus cutting back on business travel and forcing companies to transition to more remote work and meetings, we have on video LiveStream expert Paul Richards from StreamGeeks to provide some guidance on making a rapid transition to more virtual meetings and events.  

You’ll also learn the power of live-streaming and content marketing and how it helped Paul build a Side Brand with a dedicated fan base. And how this was all inspired by one of his early videos taking off out of nowhere to sell out one of their new products.  

And it’s not just about Likes and Shares. It’s about how building your brand around the idea of being helpful will actually increase your sales in a big way. 

Watch This Episode To Learn How To Transition From In Person To Virtual Meetings and Events, Plus Increase Sales Exponentially With A Side Brand

ziotag.com

Check out the video on YouTube HERE.

Check out the full article HERE.

Check out some of the finer points of the article below.

The coronavirus will leave an enormous impact on how we consume, how we learn, how we work, and how we socialize and communicate.

Welcome to the brave new world of COVID-19. 

While it is too early to assess the damage caused by this global pandemic, there are signs that it will permanently change the way society functions. From its impact on the global economy to our daily lives, COVID-19 will leave an enormous impact on how we consume, how we learn, how we work, and how we socialize and communicate. 

Streaming becomes the new way forward for content consumption

Streaming content online has become massively popular over the past decade. As movie theatres close and live events get canceled left and right in the face of a global pandemic, streaming will become an even more critical and dominant way to deliver content to the consumer. From concerts to sporting events, what was once considered prime events for large in-person audiences will be forced to stream them to homebound fans instead. 

Although live events will eventually return after the current crisis, I predict that more fans and consumers will instead stay in the comfort of their own homes and watch events that are streamed or broadcasted live instead of paying for expensive tickets, lodging, and even more costly concessions to attend events in person. Streaming movies at home, already a popular option, will surge in popularity, with companies like Netflix and Disney reaping the benefits. At the same time, the live entertainment industry and theatre business will suffer. 

Social media as savior or societal destroyer

Society runs on information and connections, and we live in an age where both are immediately accessible, anytime, anywhere from a multitude of devices. With platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, users can share information with only a simple click. 

However, as good as social media (and the internet at large) is for sharing information, it is also terrible at filtering the right information to share. Since its outbreak several weeks ago, social media platforms are rife with misinformation. From quacks peddling “cures” that do nothing to prevent contracting the virus, to racist and xenophobic posts blaming entire nationalities and their diet as the source of the pandemic, social media has struggled to deliver the correct information and prevent incorrect ones from trending.

In the interest of preventing social media from becoming a cesspool of wrong “facts” and fake news, platforms must strengthen their moderation policies and actively censor content that is false, defamatory, and outright fabrications. Only through the right information can the public understand what is going on and increase their chances of survival. 

The spread of telecommuting and online learning

As a strategy to contain potentially infected people and prevent the virus from spreading further, businesses and schools will heavily rely on the internet to keep business running. From online learning to telecommuting, many aspects of our daily lives that used to involve face to face contact will be moved to cyberspace.  This shift to internet-based work presents both advantages, challenges, and potentially a detriment to the education and business communities. 

For some businesses, telecommuting can be a boon for their bottom line. Imagine a company that can run its entire operation staffed by workers who work from home. No need to lease large office spaces. No need for long commutes. Flexible hours and working in your pajamas (or anything you want to wear). With telecommuting, you can hire a  geographically diverse group of employees without worrying about where to house them or relocate them. 

In terms of education, online learning also comes with some advantages. For a long time, schools and colleges have resisted online instruction, and institutions that do have been regarded as inferior. However, with a rapidly spreading virus and a campus full of people in close contact, schools have no choice but to turn to online classes as an alternative, albeit temporary, solution. By letting students learn from home, colleges can allow more students to take the same class simultaneously, while students who missed lectures for any reason can make up with video streaming. 

On the other hand, not everything can be solved by moving online. Businesses in personal services, retail, and food and beverage businesses will suffer under this crisis, as personal interaction is still an essential part of those industries. Although, I suspect delivery platforms such as Amazon and UberEats are likely to see a boom in business as people are confined to their homes. 

Meanwhile, although some classes can be successfully taught online, specific disciplines are impossible to instruct through the internet. From lab work for chemistry to the arts, these classes must be conducted in person. The closing of campuses would also negatively impact students, who paid thousands of dollars to colleges for room and board. Worse, for many international scholars, campus closures might mean they have nowhere to go.

A social species learning to communicate without personal interaction

Communication is more than just words. While many of us text, email, and speak on the phone on a daily basis, a large part of human interaction is based on observing non-verbal indicators, such as body language and facial expression. Without them, we are unable to detect specific nuances such as sarcasm, anger, or humor. This might become a challenge as many people are confined to their homes with only phones and computers as our only ways to connect with each other. 

On the one hand, there are tools on hand to eliminate the gap. Most phones have cameras now, and Facetime and video conferencing can improve the quality of remote communications and alleviate misunderstandings. However, the use of video would largely depend on your connectivity and connection speed, which leads to my final point:

COVID-19 virus disease is serious. It is officially a global pandemic, and it has already disrupted many facets of our lives, encompassing work, school, and entertainment. While it is too early to determine the long term impact of this crisis, I am confident in saying that this crisis will trigger drastic changes in our lifestyles going forward. 

zdnet.com

Check out the full article HERE to learn more.

Why SlingStudio?

You can stream or record your event using a smartphone, but SlingStudio gives you the ability to easily add additional camera angles, compose lower-thirds on the fly, import graphics, integrate audio mixers and microphones, and much more. Most importantly, SlingStudio is affordable, very easy to use, and quick to deploy.

Featured & Benefits

Affordable – You can get started for $999 MSRP with just the SlingStudio hub and still show multiple angles. One camera can be hard-wired directly into hub using an HDMI cable and Apple and Android smartphones can connect as additional video sources using the free apps.

Easy to use – SlingStudio is used by middle school students, church volunteers, independent content creators and video novices. When used with an iPad, it’s literally as easy as drag-and-drop.

Multi-camera – Engage your audience by easily switching between wide shots, close-ups, PowerPoints/presentations, etc.

Works with your existing gear – SlingStudio works with practically any camera that outputs clean HDMI, whether that’s a fancy camcorder, consumer video camera, action cam, or DSLR.

Wireless – Not only can SlingStudio wirelessly bring in multiple video sources using the CameraLink transmitters (300ft range), but the entire system can be run off battery power for at least two hours.

Portable & versatile – An entire SlingStudio kit, with accessories, can fit into a small backpack and a multi-camera production can be set up on-site in less than 15 minutes. 

One time purchase – SlingStudio is a one time purchase of the hardware. There are no ongoing subscription fees and all our apps are free.

Non-proprietary – SlingStudio is a lot like a traditional video mixer/switcher. It uses non-proprietary HDMI ports (input and output), creates standard MP4 (H264) video files, accepts audio inputs via a ⅛” mini stereo jack, etc.

Reach your audience on multiple platforms – SlingStudio can stream directly to Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo with just a few clicks, or you can stream to virtually ANY streaming service using the universal RTMP protocol. You can also stream to multiple platforms at the same time using a third-party multi-casting solution like Restream.io.

Important Things To Know

A Mac desktop/laptop or iPad is required to run the main SlingStudio Console app. Windows is not supported. However, both Apple and Android smartphones can be used as video capture devices.

SlingStudio can operate completely on battery power for at least two hours (accessories required), but you may plug in for power for longer productions.

Make sure you have the correct HDMI cables for connecting your video devices. While TVs use standard HDMI, your cameras may use mini HDMI or micro HDMI.

SlingStudio is only available for sale in the US and Canada.

Popular Use Cases

Churches – SlingStudio is already used by hundreds of churches across the nation to stream services, community events, and more. The system can easily integrate with existing audio mixers to bring in “house sound”.

Public Affairs & Corporate Communications – SlingStudio is a popular solution for corporate communications, press conferences,  governmental affairs, legal depositions, etc. because it can be easily operated by in-house staff at a moment’s notice; no outside vendors or production crews required.

Schools & Remote Learning – With schools and institutions scrambling for remote learning solutions, SlingStudio uniquely stands out as the most affordable, portable and versatile solution that can be used all around campus, from the classroom to the auditorium.

Community Outreach – As people are asked to stay home for extended periods of time, it becomes all the more important to feel connected to one’s community. Use SlingStudio to broadcast band performances from local venues, show behind-the-scenes operations of local businesses, help promote fundraisers, interview local officials, etc.

Two Way Conferencing using SlingStudio – While SlingStudio was designed to be a one-way streaming device (one-to-many), it can also be used for two-way teleconferencing alongside popular services like Zoom, Webex, GoToMeeting, BlueJeans, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, etc. To do so, simply run your teleconferencing software full-screen on a computer and feed that source into the SlingStudio.

Learn more about SlingStudio HERE

Read the original article HERE