Marketing

Some data from the Aarhus conference via Thorsten:

video: one high-res DSLR on a tripod per room, set to wide-angle film
the entire front part of the room, and leaving enough resolution to
software-zoom into anything that's interesting. Give it enough flash
memory & battery life to film several hours w/o maintenance

sound: I'll have to ask, but the quality was awesome - some hand-held
recording device able to home in on speakers even in a large room (or
at least recording in a way that this can be done retroactively),
obviating the need to pass around hand-held microphones.

Something to stick into a conference kit pelicase easily IMO, and
trivial to setup/operate. Some more work with post-processing of
course.

Bjoern Michaelsen suggests doing live streaming from the next LibreOffice Conference, if possible, so I'll look into that too.

I will investigate two options: a cheap one, and a more expensive one, and see what our budget capability is. Italo has two cameras we can use -- we need to find out if they support streaming. He also mentioned ustream.tv as an option.

OK, here's the results of my research into two options: low and high budget. The former could get us some good videos for the next conference and is easy to work with. The latter brings in the possibility of live streaming and dedicated audio from presenters, at the expense of more complexity and requiring more people to be involved during the filming.

LOW BUDGET OPTION

• Camera: Panasonic HC-V180EG-K HD camcorder – €204 - with 50x optical zoom. Good reviews. Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/Panasonic-HC-V180EG-K-intelligenter-Weitwinkel-Bildstabilisator/dp/B01AI1M3DW/

• Accessories: tripod (€20), camera case (€20), 64GB SD card (€28), extra batteries (pair, €23)

• Sound: Hand-held recorder: Zoom H1 - €98 - has good reviews, and if we have it near a loudspeaker during a presentation we should be able to avoid picking up too much other noise in the room. A simple option, long battery life. Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/ZOOM-H1MB-H1-Handy-Recorder/dp/B016KFJ982/

TOTAL: €393

HIGH BUDGET OPTION

• Camera: Canon Legria HF G30 HD camcorder - €980 - includes WiFi support for viewing the output via a computer, which opens up streaming possibilities, albeit with added complexity (syncing the audio, having someone control the camera and someone else control the computer, need to encode video on the fly). Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/Canon-Camcorder-400-fach-8-Lamellen-Irisblende-OLED-Touchscreen/dp/B00CE5DGDW/

• Accessories: tripod (€22), camera case (€22), 64GB SD card (€28), extra battery (€32)

• Sound: wireless microphone: Movo WMIC60 - €148 - means we can have full control of our audio. Presenter attaches a small microphone and carries a small box, and we receive the audio for recording. A more complex option as we have to record on a laptop, mic up every presenter, check for interference, and replace batteries more often. Amazon: https://www.amazon.de/Movo-WMIC60-Drahtlosigkeit-integriertem-164-Fuß-Range/dp/B00TKOIA1S/

TOTAL: €1232

That being said, can you check with Sophie/the LibOCon organizers if they do video recordings on their own?
Just to avoid re-inventing the wheel - however, even if there's local organization going on, it might make sense to give it a "dry run" during LibOCon and make a best practice cheatsheet :-)

Italo says we have the budget for the high-end option, so will check it again today and then proceed with the order.

Italo says we have the budget for the high-end option, so will check it
again today and then proceed with the order.

Let me know if you need support for the order or payment
If you order outside Germany (I don't recommend doing so) be aware we
can't do VAT reverse charge, so do not provide our VAT ID please.

Was waiting for marketing budget approval, and found out today that Kendy is away, so asking Thorsten to give his OK, then can place order.

Everything (except for tripod) has arrived, and all seems to be working correctly. Will work with Sophie to add the equipment to our inventory database, and get familiar with all the features in time for LibOCon.

The video and audio equipment has had real-world use -- I've recorded four community members talking about how they got involved for #1978, and all looks and sounds good. Will work on that community video on return from LibOCon.

Adding a note to create a wiki page with short info on using the camera and radio microphone, for others who borrow the equipment.

So these are the videos made so far, using the new equipment:

• Contributor interview with Ashod Nakashian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR4CJ8sAxm0
• Contributor interview with Jona Azizaj: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FhOQgcXoUA
• Contributor interview with Jaskaran Veer Singh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXJ6OrL2e0Y
• LibreOffice Conference 2016 roundup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTRiwoYu-_8
• LibOCon closing session highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpJjkXLvWOs
• LibOCon group photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeKy04M3eH0

The camera works well in different lighting conditions, and the audio equipment does a good job too (although better inside). I will make a wiki page providing basic instructions that we can give when we lend out the equipment for other events.

Wiki page with quick start guide created:

https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Marketing/Video_equipment

Also circulated the info on marketing-priv@ so that others can borrow the equipment.

Just a note that parts of the "Join the LibreOffice community" video was made using this equipment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir6KiKfnWCw

If I get it right, everything is in order so we can produce videos, and we "just" have to do this on the next event, right?
FOSDEM comes to mind, so my proposal is to set this to Q1 and aim or some FOSDEM talk recordings
Sounds sensible?

After FOSDEM, there's also a Hackfest, which might also be good for some interviews/shots

I will use this equipment to record the talks in the Open Document Editors devroom at FOSDEM (there will already be video equipment there, but ours may be better).

In addition I'll start planning slots to interview people.

Got interviews lined up with the team and various other members of the community. Will do more chasing up this week before FOSDEM.

Updates: I operated the FOSDEM camera for talks in the devroom, and also used our TDF video equipment for interviews with eight people. I'll edit and upload these over the coming weeks.

I've uploaded the FOSDEM '17 devroom presentation videos to our YouTube channel, and blogged about them with a playlist here:

https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2017/02/22/libreoffice-fosdem-17/

(I operated the video equipment on the day to switch between side-by-side and fullscreen modes, to add some variation, but that ultimately didn't have an effect, annoyingly.)

Very happy to see this coming to life! :-)