SK Best Practices - Providing Project Feedback 101

The principle "No Man Is An Island." applies not only to life but to video production. Video projects are a collaborative effort, requiring teams of people working to bring their expertise to the table. No matter what stage of the editing process you are currently in, concise and useful feedback will allow these teams to work together in the most efficient way possible - which translates into staying on schedule and in budget. 

Hopefully, your production team is working off of an approved creative brief, storyboard, and production timeline. These documents will be your guiding light when providing feedback, assuming that the initial vision of the video hasn't drastically changed. 

… concise and useful feedback will allow these teams to work together in the most efficient way possible.

Before providing any feedback, watch the cut a couple of times. Try and view it from the eyes of your intended audience - does the content help achieve the goals you've prescribed? From there, it can be helpful to apply the S.M.A.R.T. Criteria to all feedback given to your production team:

• Specific

• Measurable 

• Actionable

• Results-oriented

• Timely

Provide specific feedback on what you'd like to change and the time-code of where it needs to happen. Various online review tools make this kind of feedback easy, such as Frame.io, Dropbox, HighTail, and others. Many platforms allow for markups in addition to comments - a great way to precisely show what you're referencing. 

Make sure that any qualitative changes are measurable and actionable. For example, avoid ambiguous statements such as, "I'd like to have this element more blue." Instead, say, "I'd like to have this element match this color (insert picture, link, or color code here).". Provide reasoning behind the changes - "The copy here makes it seem ____." If there are audio issues, call out exactly what the problems are: "I'm having issues hearing the speaker here." or "The music bed isn't hitting the mark. Can we find something that sounds like this? (Provide a link in addition to your comment). 

The review process is the perfect time to check that your video is on track to obtain the results you've envisioned. Refer back to the creative brief, storyboard, and production notes for guidance. Call out any critical errors you see: mislabeled call-outs, grammar, odd cuts, audio issues, and the like. Your video editor is (presumably) human and will fall prey to general lapses and mistakes. 

Now is not the time to mince words - be succinct and severe - your production team will thank you. If a group of stakeholders will sign off on the final edit, select one to be the final decision-maker. If that's not possible and an impasse occurs, your production team should be able to meditate, explain the rationale behind what they've shown, and help all come to an agreed-upon direction). 

Make sure that all feedback happens in a timely manner. Adhere to the production timeline as much as possible. A seemingly simple change can quickly become a full creative team effort, with updated animations, audio tracks, and video assets. Your production partner will advise you on expected revision turnaround times. 

Finally, keep an open mind throughout the process. Your production team may respond to edits with budgetary, logistical, or timeline concerns - weigh them thoroughly, and make objective decisions. If everyone keeps the big picture in mind and works together, you will create something amazing! 

Stay tuned for our next installment of SK Backstage!

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Pivoting to Digital Events: Live Stream Graphic Elements

The classical performing arts community is facing a pivotal moment. COVID-19 has placed unprecedented restrictions on public gatherings, with seemingly no relief in sight. This new reality challenges the traditional live approach that relies on patrons physically attending performances in a venue. Shuttered doors = lost revenue. 

 Live events are moving into the digital realm faster than ever. Performing arts organizations are smartly following suit. Webcasting has become an alluring option, with a bevy of viable platforms available. Content creators can start with gear as simple as phone or laptop. It's affordable, scalable, and a great way to stay connected with audiences. 

As more performances go digital, audience engagement becomes a critical issue. No longer playing to a captive audience, our content must be able to compete with a range of other media and distractions. Studies show that we have only 10 seconds to capture the attention of video audiences. However, if we can attract the audience, they are three times more likely to watch a live stream rather than an archived video. Webcasts compete with a myriad of distractions around our viewer's home, and the vast amount of content available on the web. 

No longer playing to a captive audience, our content must be able to compete with a range of other media and distractions.

 We've all seen casual "pop-up" live streams. These can be excellent tools when you're out on location, in-studio, at a rehearsal, or backstage. It's best to treat these as short interactions, no more than 1-2 minutes at a time. Use these to generate interest in your main event and keep viewers on the edge of their seats, waiting for "what's next?". Longer performances take a more nuanced approach to keep audiences interested and tuned in to a stream. StudioKurcan is here to help, with our continuing series Pivoting to Digital Events offering pointers on navigating digital media production. 

There are two well-established delivery platforms to take guidance from; Broadcast Television and Video Game Live Streaming. Both media delivery systems use a proven collection of tools to keep viewers engaged and invested. Let's take a look at some of the assets that will help add production value and enhance the viewer experience. 

I. Interstitial Graphics are full-screen graphics that separate the main section of a broadcast. These graphics help control the flow of broadcast and break up show segments. Typical interstitials are: 

• Waiting Room Graphics play at the top of the broadcast and are an easy way to communicate to viewers when the stream will start. These can be static graphics or animated with factoids, sponsorship information, trivia, and teasers of the upcoming show. 

• Opening & Closing Credits are full package videos that that start and stop the stream, just like a standard broadcast show. These packages introduce hosts and set the tone of the show. 

• Break Graphics are perfect to use when you need a moment off the camera or need to transition to a new segment of the show. 

I. Break Graphic Assembly & Composite.

II. Overlay Graphics are pieces of media that play over the main content - most generally the host or performance. Their primary purpose is to provide information and create a more dynamic experience for viewers. These graphics are usually pre-produced and used when needed. Here are the most common types of overlay graphics:

• Lower Thirds are the ubiquitous overlay, seen in nearly every live show. These graphics sit in the lower third part of the video window. They can display name & title slates or incorporate a news-style crawl/ticker for a more dynamic presentation. 

• Bumps or bumpers are short 5-10 second pieces of content that traditionally come between the show and commercial break. We have a little more flexibility on a webcast. These can be channel identifications, an animation referencing the show you're watching (great for late attendees to get up to speed), or call-to-action pieces.  

• Snipes are short animations that tell viewers what's happening next on the show. These can reference show segments, other channels, or future events. 

• Call-outs bring attention to a specific area of the screen or highlight an item or idea.  

• Takeovers play on both the top and bottom of the screen.

• Bugs are small graphics situated generally at the lower right-hand side of the screen, used for station logo or channel identification.  

II. Various Overlay Graphics.

III. Alert Overlays rely on pulling live data from online sources and displaying them over your stream. Likes, shares, follows, and comments can be aired live in real-time on top of the broadcast. These are a fantastic driver of engagement but do take a little bit of set-up to work flawlessly. We will dive deeper into these in a future post. 

All of the aforementioned graphic devices will help drive excitement to your stream. Adding a suite of broadcast graphics to your stream will help you present a professional and polished broadcast to your followers. Creating these packages can be done rather simply, with programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, and Premiere (and, of course, their open-source alternatives). Numerous stock element sites like Envato Elements and Storyblocks offer readymade customizable animations. StudioKurcan is always available to help you create dynamic graphics as well! No matter your approach, remember to keep all asset backgrounds transparent, follow these standards for the best results:

  Stills: .png format, transparent background.

 Motion: .mov format, RGB+Aplha.

So, how do you use all of these elements during an actual webstream? Let's take a look at a live stream developed and activated for Opera On Tap Las Vegas. "Opera On Tap Live! In your Living Room " was the inaugural OOTLV webcast. Ten of the OOTLV Divas worked up stellar performance videos recorded in their own homes, and a live webcast streamed from Co-Managing Diva Emily Kurcan Stephenson's living room.  

The broadcast started with a simple waiting room graphic, an animation of the Opera on Tap national logo. Future iterations of the webcast waiting room scene will include OOTLV factoids, sponsor call-outs, and a live countdown timer. 

Waiting Room Graphic Animation.

When the host was ready to go, a 48-second opening credit video played, introducing the show and hosts. Design elements from this video appear throughout the broadcast in the form of lower thirds and Interstitials. 

Opening Credits for the Opera On Tap Las Vegas Live! show.

Throughout both the host and performer scenes, liberally applied overlay graphics introduced individuals, asked for donations, and informed viewers about various social media destinations. During host scenes, overlay elements were triggered live, maintaining flexibility - allowing a call-to-action to play while the host is describing it. Overlays were baked into each performer video to alleviate system resources during playback. 

Baked-in overlays during performance videos.

Careful planning ensured that all graphics shared similar design elements, adding a level of visual cohesiveness to the broadcast. Pre-production is key here, making sure you’ve covered every situation you can think of.

Lower Thirds Animations.

Social Media Call-Outs.

Thank You Overlays.

For the Grand Finale, all singers performed a multitracked rendition of The Rainbow Connection. Red Giant Plural Eyes made this an easy project on the pre-production side, synching ten singers recording in remote locations to a master audio track. 

Grand Finale Video.

As with any broadcast show, OOTLV Live! is a living creature. There will always be aspects of any show that can be improved. Future iterations of the broadcast will include alert overlays, support for multiple hosts, and more audience interaction pieces. 

In upcoming installments, we will dig into more programming and technical considerations. Stay tuned to the SK Backstage Blog for more insights on live streaming, design, media, and more! 

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