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 Wisconsin's Department of
Natural Resources is using
Sonic Foundry’s MEDIASITE – innovative technology
that creates Web compatible, “streaming” multimedia. With the
newest version,
Mediasite 4.0, creation of rich media has never been
easier.
Technology like this represents the next
“killer app” – being able to easily integrate audio, video, and
graphics into a Web-based presentation will greatly enhance
communication, training, and education. Here are some examples
of Mediasite presentations:
Like most
new technologies, it can be applied in many creative ways. Mediasite is a great tool for capturing “live” presentations to
make available on the Internet in “real-time.” Perhaps even
more valuable, presentations can be placed online, available
24/7. The Mediasite format provides an easy-to-navigate
viewing experience that allows users to locate the sections of a
presentation that meets their information needs.
Mediasite can create a variety of different presentations
styles such as video-audio-slideshow; video & audio; audio
voices over multi-media; or demonstrations of online forms,
Websites, or software applications.
It can be used to stream DVDs or VHS tapes that have already been produced
with other digital or production tools. Mediasite
multi-media can be used to enhance video productions by adding
an index identifying all the topics that will be covered.
This allows viewers to "click through" and navigate to specific
parts of a video or presentation - those segments that are of
interest. Creating an interactive index is a great way to
make videos even more useful.
Mediasite
Basics
At its
most basic level, Mediasite technology automates the process of
creating a fully functional Web page with embedded rich media
which can (but does not have to) include the following
elements:
- Video. This can be from a single “live”
camera, from multiple “live cameras” with a splitter/fader, or
any other video source such as a DVD, VHS, or other video
productions and/or media.
- Audio. Usually, this is the accompanying audio from the video
source, however, any other source or mix of audio can be
utilized.
- Screen
image from a PC. Typically, PowerPoint slides are
used, however, any images that come from a computer can be captured – Mediasite creates a series of images and captures the sequence
and timing in which the images are used.
Mediasite
creates a Web page that synchronizes all the displayed media,
embedding each element in a Web page that gets uploaded to a
database on a DNR server (for either Intranet or Internet
viewing). Mediasite can be used to create “live”, online
versions of presentations – “real time” Webcasts so that
presentations can be shared “live” across any geographic
distance.
While this can be valuable – perhaps even more so is
being able to Webcast presentations online, on-demand, 24/7.
Many
businesses such as Lockheed Martin are successfully applying this
technology
HERE is a link to a
presentation they use to showcase the
Lockheed Martin Center for
Innovation and their flight simulators.
Florida State University, College
of Education, maintains a catalog of the Mediasite
presentations that they use to enhance and support student
learning. Michigan
Tech, Educational Technology Services, also has some
great examples of ways to use Mediasite and online rich media.
A few
other organizations that are effectively using Mediasite and maintaining online
catalogs include:
DNR –
Division of Forestry & Mediasite
This new
technology is being used by DNR-Division of Forestry in a number
of ways and we continually are looking for creative, fresh
applications to enhance internal and external communications.
Some ways Division of Forestry is using Mediasite include:
-
Paddling the Bois Brule River.
An instructional video featuring scenes of the Bois Brule
River which encourages paddlers to properly plan for and enjoy
a responsible outing.
-
Being Fire Ready.
John Nielsen describes the DNR Division of Forestry's wildland
fire program. Learn about the grants available to local fire
departments, how the department is working with local towns to
keep them safe from fire and fire prevention and suppression
programs in Wisconsin. Did you know that most of the wildland
fires in Wisconsin are caused by people burning debris? Learn
about this and much more in this informative presentation.
-
Forest Tax Laws.
Carol Nielsen of the Forest Tax Law Section in the DNR
Division of Forestry describes the history of the forest tax
law programs and shares details about the Forest Crop Law
program and the Managed Forest Law program.
-
Public Forest Lands in
Wisconsin. Counties own about 15% of the forests
in Wisconsin. These 29 counties collectively have about 2.4
million acres. Learn about the management of the county
forests, Wisconsin's state forests (comprising about 5% of
Wisconsin's forests) and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National
Forest in northern Wisconsin, the issues and challenges they
face and the sustainable management of these public forest
lands.
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Wisconsin's Forest Industry.
The forest industry is an important component of Wisconsin's
economy - statewide and locally. Wisconsin continues to be the
top paper producer in the nation, but will we be able to
maintain this 50-year record? Learn about the global
competition and other challenges facing Wisconsin's forest
industry and what is being done to ensure its future.
-
Sustainable Forests: Criterion
Indicators. This presentation is a set of
PowerPoint slides with a voice-over. For some types of
information, it may be more effective to use a narrative,
slides, and omit a video of the speaker. In this example, Amy
Peterson discusses the Wisconsin Statewide Forest Plan and how
monitoring forests can provide data to support future
statewide forest policy and funding initiatives.
-
Paul DeLong, Chief Administrator, WDNR Forestry, “From The
Chief’s Desk. Paul DeLong's
quarterly column, "From the Chief's Desk" for February 2007,
featuring a discussion about forest science, sustainable
forestry, and decision making. This presentation was created
as a video, omitting image/PowerPoint slides.
The key
to successfully integrating streaming media is to create Web
resources that function as an “information portal”, guiding
visitors to sources of information that meet their information
needs.
To be most effective – rich media presentations should
be part of larger Web pages that contain links and downloadable
content to support different aspects of a given topic and
different learning style (video, audio, text, graphic, etc.).
An example of this type of “information portal” is the DNR
Website created for the
Wisconsin Towns Association
Forestry Seminar.
Like all
new technology – getting started is the key to success. One of
the major advantages of Mediasite is the ease in which a single
operator can record a presentation and immediately make that
presentation available online as a rich media experience.
The beauty of this is in the simplicity –
one camera, a microphone or 2 (handheld or lapel), and a laptop
computer are all that many presentations need. The
technology is so simple and unobtrusive that presenters do not actually need to
spend any time in advance preparing for the “shoot.”
For the
most part – media operators can show up at a conference or
presentation, set up the equipment, and work within available
room conditions and presenter styles. Presentations that are
targeted to specific audiences, containing important information
that the group needs, are useful because viewers have the
option of viewing or reviewing the content of a presentation.
The
Mediasite format of video, audio, and presentation slides is an
effective format – viewers can what the presentation in its
entirety or navigate through the presentation by clicking to
advance the slide. Since the audio/video is synchronized with
the slides or graphics, viewers can use them as an index to navigate through
a presentation to find sections of interest.
Most of the
presentations in the Division of Forestry’s Catalog (Webcasts
- Wisconsin Towns Association Forestry Seminar) use
this format and effectively share information with their
intended audience.
Mediasite
is also capable of creating rich media for documentary style
presentations or any number of other applications.
Paddling the Brule River is an excellent example of how Mediasite
technology can provide a variety of online experiences.
Videos
that go beyond a lecturer talking about content on PowerPoint
slides will be important if DNR wishes to share information with
a wider audience such as the general public, those with more
casual interests, stakeholders that use different information
sources, and schools.
For
an example of how Mediasite can be used to more fully
capture the essence of a dynamic event or conference, please
take a look at
Lorne Trottier Public Science
Symposium 2007.
Remember
– at its most basic level Mediasite technology creates a Web
page that presents viewers with different formats of multimedia
– the content may be recorded “live” with the simplest (and
fewest) input devices (video camera, microphone, laptop) or the
content can be more fully produced a imported into Mediasite
after production.
It is possible to use multiple video,
audio, and graphic sources; splitting and mixing the signals
into Mediasite “on the fly” as they are being recorded.
Video and/or audio can also be prepared in advance, mixed
together like any other video production.
The key
to creating presentations for Webcasting that go beyond simple
applications of capturing a single video source, audio, and
slide shows is for presenters and Mediasite operators to plan in
advance, creating an outline or storyboard of the format and
presentation styles that
different content will be captured with.
DNR has
access to an entire “in-house” video production studio that is
fully capable of creating a variety of “broadcast quality”,
documentary style videos. For many information needs, however,
the content does not require a full TV studio – simple digital
technology and basic PC-based software is fully capable of
assembling content into a variety of forms that are ideally
suited for Webcasting.
This is a
new concept at DNR – but to see examples of video production
that are fully within the capabilities of the DNR Mediasite
operators, please see
Club TNT’s Online, On-Demand, 24/7
videos.
Please
give us a chance to work with you and create some dynamic
content to share!
Like all methods of recording – paying attention to details helps ensure
high quality presentations. Here are
some suggestions to make help make Mediasite Webcasts more
effective:
- Do not simply read a PowerPoint presentation, recording a video of
the presenter reading to an audience. PowerPoint is most
effective when used as an outline, providing graphical
illustrations of ideas and content.
- If a
message is heavily text-based, consider another format
(possibly printed handouts or an HTML Web page) to
distribute that content.
- If a
presentation fully contains its content for viewers to
read and understand on their own, consider recording the
slides and a “voice over”. Viewers will find it easier to pay
attention to the content and navigate through the presentation
without an accompanying video. For an example of a
PowerPoint with voice-over Mediasite presentation, please see Amy Peterson’s
Sustainable Forests: Criterion
Indicators.
- Always think about the
information value of accompanying video and plan presentations
that give viewers a reason to pay attention to the speaker.
- PowerPoint can be used to create simple, text-based outlines,
but it will also accommodate a much fuller range of
information and formats. For more ideas about using
PowerPoint, please check out the
online PowerPoint resources
at
Mr. B’s Web Seminar.
- Avoid
wearing striped or plaid clothing; dark clothing colors are
best.
- Avoid
wearing "shiny" jewelry.
- Eye
glasses can cause glare during the presentation. This
can be minimized or eliminated by working with Mediasite
operators.
- Speakers should wear a
clip-on microphone, attached in the middle of a shirt,
ideally, a few inches below the chin.
- Camera movements, cuts, and pans are not desirable for
most Webcasts. Constantly
changing video perspectives can be a distraction for remote viewers.
Consider speaking at a podium or within a limited area.
- Room lights should be ON - with modern projectors, there
is no need for a dark room. Please work with Mediasite
operators so that presentations can be recorded with adequate
lighting.
- Please
remove all animation and special effects (e.g., flying text,
fade in/out, animated images) from PowerPoint presenations.
They
cause problems with the automated slide‑advance
controls in the Webcast.
- If video or animations are an important part of the
presentation, be sure to discuss their use with Mediasite
operators so that appropriate accommodations can be arranged.
- Pay
attention to the mouse/pointer location when using a laptop or
PowerPoint so that it doesn’t cover
part of the screen display during the presentation.
- When
speaking, look into the camera from time to time. They
people watching online are part of the audience too!
- Before
starting a presentation, and after closing statements,
please hold a steady pose (with a pleasant expression on your
face) and look into the camera for a few seconds.
- It is
okay to pause during the presentation to collect
thoughts, take a sip of water, or whatever is needed for you to
deliver an effective presentation.
- If there are any problems, especially with slides or
graphics, please do not say anything about it – just make
the correction (i.e. move ahead to the correct slide).
Mediasite operators can
re-sync the slides with a presentation or talk, but cannot cut
or edit any of speech.
- If
questions or comments from the audience and/or remote viewers
are not spoken into a microphone, they are not recorded with
the Webcast.
- While it is possible to pass a microphone around for
audience members to use - this is rarely feasible during a
live presentation in front of a large group of people.
- It is better to have the presenter provide a brief summary
of any questions BEFORE providing an answer. This is
helpful for the listeners that are present too - remember,
even people in the live audience often miss questions being
asked. Please help both your audience and our Webcast by
restating questions.
Creating Slideshows With
Voice-Overs
Slideshows, which most people choose to create with
Microsoft PowerPoint,
can be used in many ways. When a speaker is using
slideshows with a presentation, it is best to not use the visuals
as "cue-cards." Most people are not happy having a
slideshow read to them - at least, not when forced to sit through
a presentation.
Speakers should incorporate slideshows/PowerPoints in a manner
that gives people a reason to pay attention to the presenter.
Speakers should probably NOT make their entire presentation a set
of "stand alone" PowerPoint slides.
Sometimes, slideshows are used as "stand alone" presentations
- a graphic and/or text based set of slides that people can
understand without a presenter. At many trade shows,
exhibits, or other events, having a set of slides that shares
information without a speaker can be an effective way to use
PowerPoint.
By themselves, however, PowerPoints don't work on the Web -
there are compatibility issues with platforms and software.
Even when a slideshow can be embedded in a Web page - it probably
looses its effectiveness because small slides are not an ideal
way to present text and most graphics. This type of
information is probably best presented as a Web page or a
downloadable, printable document.
Effective multimedia presentations can be created with
PowerPoint and Mediasite. The key is to provide a narration
so that viewers have the option of hearing the presentation and
using the accompanying slides to help then navigate through the
audio. Remember, with Mediasite, viewers can "click
through" each slide to advance the audio and/or video.
Perhaps even more important - when viewers have the option of
listening to a presentation, they can "multi-task" and get other
things done while absorbing or reviewing a presentation's
content. Isn't that how most of us listen to the radio?
For an example of a "voice-over" PowerPoint, check out Amy
Peterson's
Sustainable Forests: Criterion
Indicators presentation. She effectively uses
a narration to give her viewers a choice - they can read the
slides without her narration, they can view and listen to both,
or they can just listen to the presentation. This
accommodates different learning styles and needs.
PowerPoint is actually
designed to fully integrate a wide array of multi-media including
video, audio, and voice-overs. Many presentations can be
created on a PC with a voice-over recorded after all of the
slides are finished. This puts the author fully in control.
The voice-over can be
practiced, recorded, and rerecorded as needed until the desired
effect is attained. When the creator of a presentation is
satisfied with the slides and the narration, the file can be
given to a Mediasite operator who can then run the presentation
through the Mediasite recorder, creating a Web compatible, rich
media version of the PowerPoint and voice-over/narration.
Its actually pretty easy to
do - here are some links to tutorials and guides to adding
narration to PowerPoint Presentations:
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