Shooting Video for Streaming
15
However, blue screen and green screen work is technically challenging and should not be
attempted unless you have the experience and equipment to do it correctly. Simply shooting an
actor in front of a blue backdrop generally does not work. There are very specific ways you
must design the set and lighting to ensure good results. Proper testing is critical, and poorly
shot material cannot usually be fixed in post-processing. Using a professional camera is
required for good results.
Streaming Audio
Audio production values are often overlooked when creating streaming media, but are critical
to achieving professional results. As with video, the goal is to produce as high-quality and
noise-free an audio signal as possible.
You should use high-quality audio equipment and remote microphones whenever possible to
reduce camera noise. You should also try to minimize any unnecessary noise in the audio signal
such as wind or street sounds (for example, cars or construction). Shotgun mics may be useful
for minimizing background noise, and lavalier mics often work well for interviews.
Use AIFF or WAV with high quality settings for mastering the audio.
If you are recording a voice-over in a studio, use professional equipment. The microphones that
come with computers cannot match the quality of a professional-grade microphone. If you are
recording directly into a computer, beware of hard drive noise. This is often hard to hear when
recording, but increases noise in the final audio signal. On many systems, the built-in sound
hardware also introduces noise, so it is usually better to record directly through the capture
card.
Editing for Streaming
To improve the encoding, you should avoid elaborate transitions. Hard cuts and simple wipes
are usually the easiest transitions to encode because they introduce the least amount of
sustained change. Fades are difficult to encode well, but are often unavoidable — in that case,
make fades as short as possible. Complex transitions, such as page curls, pinwheel wipes and
paint spatters are more difficult to encode and often look pixelated in the final encoded movie.
Frequent cuts between scenes make encoding more difficult, which is why many music videos
do not compress well. If possible, try to keep the number of cuts in the piece to a minimum.
Effects that add lots of minute/random detail to an image, such as film noise and explosions,
are especially difficult to encode and should be avoided if possible.
Of course, you often have no control over how an existing video has been edited, so these
guidelines are frequently hard to follow. When difficult transitions are inevitable, using
variable bitrate encoding can often help improve the final quality by giving the transition a
temporarily higher bitrate.
Summary of Contents for 64006-051108-9001 - Discreet Cleaner - Mac
Page 1: ...from discreet November 2000 ...
Page 8: ...Contents viii ...
Page 16: ...Chapter 1 Introduction 8 ...
Page 24: ...Chapter 2 Capture 16 ...
Page 54: ...Chapter 4 Projects 46 ...
Page 68: ...Chapter 5 Settings 60 ...
Page 148: ...Chapter 7 Formats 140 ...
Page 160: ...Chapter 8 Encoding 152 ...
Page 220: ...Chapter 8 Encoding 212 ...
Page 248: ...Chapter 11 Workflow 240 ...
Page 254: ...Chapter 12 Troubleshooting 246 ...
Page 284: ...Glossary 276 ...
