A   S t r e a m i n g   M e d i a   P r i m e r :  

H O W   D O   I   M A K E   ( G O O D )   S T R E A M I N G   M E D I A ?

If possible, shoot exclusively for streaming

 Video in essence is about light, 

In many situations, video will be shot for a wide variety of uses, and intended for output 

and no matter what quality level 

to several different mediums. But the  keep it simple  rule that works so well for a short 

streaming media project, might yield footage that would translate into a very boring 

you're shooting for, you need 

production for a longer, larger format production. Conversely, if streaming media is not 

to consider how you light your 

the primary objective of the shoot, you might not end up with any footage at all that 

subject. If you're shooting beaches 

will stream well. 

in the Greek islands under the 

So, if you are shooting an event or other production with the intention of creating 

world's most stunning natural 

multiple versions for a variety of uses, and if you have enough budget and peoplepower 

light, you have few worries a 

to do it, you should consider shooting concurrently with multiple cameras and/or crews. 

Have one camera or crew shoot for the best streaming media footage possible, while the 

little sunscreen won't cure. But 

other camera or crew shoots the wider angles, pans and zooms, and gets more of the 

if you shoot a talking head in 

action you'll want for the videotape or DVD version. 

a fl ourescent lit offi ce, or a band 

This is not such an unrealistic notion when you consider that adequate quality DV 

on a stage rigged with a panoply 

camcorders are so well suited to capturing footage for streaming, and that they are so 

of different colors and levels of 

reasonably priced for either purchase or rental.

lamps, you're going to spend 

Keep the lighting as even as possible

thought and effort getting 

While lighting effects such as complex shadows or lens fl are may add interest to the 

good footage. 

composition of many of the movies you admire, streaming is not the place to experi 

 Tim Tully

ment with your tricky lighting repertoire. Those complex shadows, hotspots, and other 

Streaming Media.com

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forms of contrast just make the footage more diffi cult to compress, leaving unwanted 

artifacts rather than added interest. The more even the light is, the better it will com 

press. Use bounce cards to minimize hard shadows outdoors; indoors, keep your lighting 

soft. Avoid camera mounted lights they generate hotspots unless heavily diffused. 

  remember that the detri 

A standard 3 point lighting kit that can be rigged with umbrellas, bounce cards, 

mental effects of strong colors 

and/or diffusion is a worthwhile investment that will handle most any situation 

and complex patterns will be 

you'll encounter when shooting tight subjects for streaming media.

even more severe than those same 

Action! (just don't move around very much) 

effects on tape.  

The whole point of putting video on the Web, rather than just still images, is the added 

 Logan Kelsey and Jim Feeley

dimension that action brings to the experience. But, when compressed, more action in 

DV Web Video Magazine

31

your video whether that action is due to subject movement, camera movement, or to 

complex transitions equates to a higher data rate in the fi le you want to stream. So, 

in order to successfully stream action packed video, you would need an audience you're 

sure will be connected at a high bandwidth, and/or you would need to make the size of 

  you'll always get the best 

your image frame smaller. Unfortunately, the current limitations of the Internet mean 

results if you start with a clear, 

that streaming a video of an athlete's  talking head  to endorse your footwear product 

will work much better than streaming a video of the team in action on the playing fi eld. 

clean audio recording, preferably 

Video with relatively stationary subjects will produce better streaming media than video 

using a separate microphone that 

with lots of motion or rapid scene changes.

isn't mounted on the camera. 

Consider using  bluescreen  

Keep the audio level as loud 

If you have the equipment and the expertise, bluescreen can be an excellent technique 

as possible without driving the 

for achieving quality streaming video. According to Kelsey and Feeley,  By shooting on 

meter into the red this is 

bluescreen [or greenscreen] dropping the background and compositing your subject 

especially critical in DV, where 

on top of a digital still image you'll have a background that will be noise free and rock 

namic Medianamic Mediay

steady. 

33

 A background that does not change from frame to frame is easier to compress, 

y

too much level can result in some 

and leaves more bits available for what does change your subject. But Kelsey and Feeley 

particularly nasty distortion.  

also warn that lighting and shooting  good  bluescreen takes lots of experience, and the 

 Steve Cunningham

post work required can be time consuming and/or costly. (Although we'd like to note 

obe Dobe D

Streaming Media.com

32

that Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects software provide the tools you need to do 

dd

it yourself with relative ease). 

AA

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30   Shooting Video for the Web: Equipment,  by Tim Tully, Streaming Media.com, http://www.streamingmedia.com/tutorials/view.asp?tutorial_id=35

31   Shooting Video for the Web,  by Logan Kelsey and Jim Feeley, DV Web Video Magazine, May 2000

32   Creating Audio for the Web,  by Steve Cunningham, Streaming Media.com, http://www.streamingmedia.com/tutorials/view.asp?tutorial_id=38