How To Get Started With Online Video/Streaming
During this time many churches have been forced into doing church online. We've all had to figure out not only how to put out quality content, but do it week after week. Some have chosen to live stream on Sunday morning, others have decided to pre-record the service. As the current reality sets in, more and more are now asking ”where do we start with this online thing?”.
So let's jump in, where should you start? I'd suggest that largely depends on how much you want to take on. Some will want to purchase a camera, lights and microphones while others will either by knowledge or by other limitations choose to keep it simple and use what they already have available and thats ok.
The Basics
There are some basics, that apply either way. These things will help you achieve the best results no matter what equipment you have to work with.
Proper lighting. Lighting can either make or break your shot no matter what camera your using. You can read more about getting good lighting in my previous post here.
Good framing. When it comes to framing there are a few basic things to keep in mind.
2A. Headroom - this is the amount of space between the top of the subjects head and the top of the frame. Generally you want their head as close to the top of the frame as possible without cutting off parts it. When there is too much headroom, the shot looks unnatural.
2B. The rule of thirds - the rule of thirds comes from the photography world as a guide for helping to frame a more interesting shot. If you split you frame into 3 equal parts both vertically and horizontally and place your subject on one of the horizontal dividing lines with their eyes on the top vertical dividing lines, it can add more interest to your shot.
2C. Leading lines - these are elements within the foreground or background of a shot that naturally draw the eye into the subject. This can be be accomplished with shelves, bricks, sidewalks, anything that gives a line in toward the subject.
2D. Contrast between subject and background. If the background too closely matches the subjects skin or clothing color, they may appear to blend into the back drop. For example a grey shirt in front of a grey wall may make the subject appear to be a floating head.
3. Good Audio. If you can use an external microphone, it helps get clear smooth sound. Generally the closer you can get the mic(s) to the source the better. If the only mic is the one built into the camera still try and get as close as possible while still maintaining good framing. When it comes to capturing the music well, check out my post on 3 reasons its hard to get a good broadcast mix.
What Do We need?
There are also some specific things to consider on either side of the buy new equipment/use what we have choice.
Let’s start with the buy new equipment option.
Cameras: when it comes to cameras there are a couple options that I’d recommend starting with beyond using your phone. There are all in one type cameras where the lens and body are built into one platform. These keep things simple because there is not much need to extra parts to attach to the camera its all self contained already.
A couple that I really like are:
The second type is The DSLR/mirrorless route. These are nice because you have more options for look based on what lens you use. They can give a more cinematic look without the cinema camera price tag.
A couple options that I like are:
Getting good glass (lenses) is almost more important than what camera you buy. Prime lenses (lenses that don't zoom) generally have a wider aperture which leads to a shallower depth of field (you can read more about that here) There are also a bunch of great zoom lenses that give more flexibility. Be sure to get the Lens mount that matches your camera or an adapter
Some solid lenses are:
Lighting:
You can read more about lighting for video here
Don’t forget your tripod.
It’s important to stabilize your video and get your camera at the proper height to make the shot look good. If the camera needs to move its important to have a tripod with a fluid head to keep movement smooth.
Audio:
A shotgun mic typically gets the most natural sound and can remain out of frame.
If you don’t have XLR inputs on your camera as is the case with most DSLR and mirrorless style cameras, you may want to look into an external recorder.
But We Don’t Have A Budget for This
For those that want to make it work with what they have or spending very little, there are a few things you can do to improve your shot quality.
Stabilize
make sure your shot is stable and that the lens is at the same height as the subjects eyes. If yours shooting on your phone, maybe think about a basic tripod.
External microphone
most likely you already have an audio mixer that you could tie into your phone or camera. With a basic adapter cable or mobile interface. There are also extremely effective shotgun style microphones (made for video) that can connect directly into your phone that are very reasonably priced.
Find good lighting. Standing beside a window from the correct angle looks great. You can read more about lighting for video here.
Live Streaming.
Many are still choosing to stream live to maintain the community feel of all watching together. Lets look at some simple steps with a few different options.
Step 1. Choose your platform.
There are many options when it comes to places that people can consume online video. There are free options like, Facebook and YouTube as well as paid services that provide a solid back end that allow you to stream onto any page you want with multiple resolutions for people watching with various speeds of internet connections.
Step 2. Choose your streaming device.
You can stream from something as basic as your phone (if your using your phone as the camera) to something as complex as software that can send out multiple streams simultaneously. There are also dedicated hardware encoders that convert your video internally and upload it to your chosen destination directly. The advantage with hardware is that it is only made to do one thing and they generally do that very well.
Software:*
OBS
Wirecast
Vmix
*with software options you will need to be able to get the video signal into the computer.
Deck Link
Mini Recorder
Mac or PC?
It doesn’t really matter as long as it has a reasonably fast processor and a reasonable graphics card. Something a little nicer than the “Best Buy special” Is recommended, but you also don’t need a fully decked out Mac Pro.. In my experience you can get something reasonable for between $1500 and $3000 depending on what options you want. Be sure to use wired internet whenever possible.
Hardware:
AJA Helo
Step 3. Choose your user interface
if you’ve already chosen to stream to Facebook or YouTube, then the interface is already available for you. (Although you can also use YouTube to feed video to other places as well). But there also some other options. You can stream directly to a page on your website or use a third party page like Church Online platform from life church. Church Online can be linked directly to your website, and provides a public and private chat that your organization can moderate. Not to mention its free.
If you would Ike discuss further what you can do to get started with online video, send me a message, I’d love to talk with you.