Blender Conference 2006: What to Tape ?
For those not coming to the Blender Conference 2006, the next best thing is to have it recorded. Even if you are coming, I’m sure that with so much things being presented at the same time you will miss something you would like to see.
This is where Filipp Lepalaan comes to the rescue.
Filipp Lepalaan will be the “official” paparazzi, taping the most out of the event. But for this to happen he needs feedback from our readers.Since he only has one camera he would like to know what should be recorded. For this reason Filipp created a survey for the 3 days of the event:
I asked Filipp for some feedback on the setup being prepared for this year.
If all works out, we’ll be using a Sony HDR FX1 cam and will have a direct feed of the presentations and demos onto a dedicated hard drive. I’m paying extra special attention to sound so this time the spearkers’ voices will be recorded using a wireless lapell mic, separate from the PA system.
Even more, there will be streaming and downloadable videos.
De Waag is supposed to have a streaming solution and a video mixer available, so everything will be edited together in real time and streamed (probably) at 320×240 resolution. This same stream will be captured at a higher resolution and then re-encoded for download at 640×480 (I think this is the minimum resolution for any tutorial/demo to be really understandable). The format for both will most likely be MPEG4 (streams, has optimized compressors and is cross-platform).
He goes even further about the downloadable versions (but please take this with a grain of salt).
The original idea was to have the high res downloads available the same night, but I fear that might be a little too optimistic. Probably more like the next morning. :-)
Filipp ends up with his feeling for the project.
I personally am really excited about this project. It seems BC2006 will be the most feature-packed yet and I sincerely hope that the AV production will be on par. :)
I want to personaly express my regards to Filipp for giving me this report and for embracing this project of recording the Conference.
I would also like to ask everyone to vote in the survey for their favorite items, to help Filipp on his job of coordinating the efforts and record the most requested sessions.
Speculation (things that might or might not happen!!!)
According to some anonymous tips, there might be some unofficial “paparazzi” reporters at the Conference taping the remaining sessions, but this isn’t a sure thing.
Even more, some more great sessions might be added to the Conference Program till the end of this week. A new one is already there, Friday, “OpenGL performance programming” by Eskil Steenberg.
GO Vote and let us know
Now, don’t just stand there, go vote in the survey and let us know what are your plans for the Conference and things you are more interested in.
I hope the format of the downloadable video’s will be DivX/XVid. :)
While I’ll be lucky enough to be there, I have noted from other events caught on video 1. The projection was hard to see & 2. The sound was hard to follow. While I understand it is less flattering to the speaker not to include their face, for practical reasons I would encourage [after introductions – wide shot etc.] the camera focus on the screen.
Even better would be – the feed from the beamer was recorded automatically and then mixed with the video camera. Sure some bright spark must know how to make that work…
I’m going to be there Saturday and Sunday, and I can take a camera with me if needed (JVC Mini-DV GR-D250EK) which can do 720×576, so if there are any overlaps then that’s always a backup option; although I’m sure Mr. Lepalaan is a far better photographer than me :D
So count me in under the “unofficial paparazzi” category :P
If only all of it could be recorded…… :'(
@Zxayant: If they aren’t by default I will convert them with FFMPEG, might have a slight delay in the release of the converted files, but I can make them available, just poke me after the conference.
@patdog: Hehe, from what I know people are doing their best to have several “sources” and do editing as soon as possible so all you guys can have a look at it. But for now I can only report on our official Paparazzi and he really needs the feedback, so please do the survey :) .
@Ben: One more can’t hurt, one great thing would be to have someone doing live moving around movies, taping things happening all over De Waag. But that is hard to do, specially to keep the Camera Steady :) . Nevertheless there is the need to record several places.
@Unreal.Blender: I think that most of it will be available afterwards, lets hope we can get enough people to record and edit.
My only hope is that when the videos are released that they are viewable and a decent size. I honestly dont mind waiting extra time to download them. Also maybe distributing via bittorrent would a really good thing.
Im really keen to see the node compositing stuff, and the mechanical workshop.
I’ll bring my Mini-DV Canon as well, but I’m not quite sure what to record yet.
But I think the more pressing issue will be sound. I’d be happy to provide my IRiver (trusty MP3-player by HP with a line-in) for recording sessions directly during the conference.
In any case, thorough video/audio documentation would really be great and I’d be willing to help. Is there a place (forums, mailing-lists) where details of this can be discussed more in-depth?
@Marty: I’m sure someone will post bittorrent files in a tracker once the files are out.
@konrad8ha: This is great news, an additional Unofficial “Paparazzi”. Hopefully we can combine some efforts, yes. Filipp has a thread at Blender.org Forum, you might want to drop by: http://blender.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9832
Couple suggestions. I agree that you should focus more on the presentations than the speakers. You only really need to see the person every once in awhile, especially if the audio is good. It’s much more important to see what it is they came to show everyone. I also think if you can record 1st gen sources for the presentation rather than off video screens, that would be better. Maybe next year.
Also, if not video, it would be nice if some of the more verbal oriented sessions were available as podcasts.
And I have to say that one of the flash video sites like Google or YouTube is great for distribution. Flash movies seem to work with the least amount of hassle compared to anything else.
One thing I’d like to see, apart from the presentation of course, are the actual attendants. I mean, the people that will be there. Would be cool to film some of them (as many as possible) and make them talk about themselves a bit. It’s always cool to “meet” and learn about the different members of the community.
And stay tuned, we’ll also have video from the Montréal Conférence ;)
@RC: I think YouTube will have its share, don’t worry.
@Jean: That sounds cool too :) .
Big thanks for all the comments and to people who took the survey (and to Rui for posting this!). The results are getting quite interesting – there’re clearly some sessions in the second room that people would rather follow.
If possible, please direct further questions and comments to the forum thread:
http://www.blender.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9832
(just so’s I don’t miss any) :)
@filipp: I’m glad I could help out :) .