This semester my main focus has been thinking of new ways to improve our streaming set-up and how we will move forward in the future with streaming.
What aspects of your work are successful? Explain why.
The Red Surge Tournament was an overall large success. We were able to make it look professional with the score keeping plugin and logos. The live stream also had a few viewers throughout which was a good sign that people care about what we do. On top of that the archived video also has a few hundred views.
What aspects of your work is challenging? Explain why.
Our biggest challenge this year was issues with WiFi and audio. We have had to stream off WiFi a number of times (leading to extremely poor video output) because of complications with our Ethernet connection. We also had audio problems during the spoken word ceremony. We thought we could use the mic audio as we have in the past, however there was no one around who knew how to set that up.
What steps did you take to overcome these challenges / what adjustments did you need to make?
Due to our limited options for the spoken word, we decided to go off the camera’s built in mic. While, this solution worked it was still unfavorable as the quality was poorer. The mic was next to us as well, so it made problem solving even harder as we could not talk near it.
Is there anything you can do improve? (with your approach to the project, or altering the project)
I thought of a few ways we can solve these problems in the coming semester. For the audio, we may be able to use one of the schools microphones in the film room as an external mic. I know from experience in film 12 that they are great for picking up directional audio which is perfect for what we do. As for the networking issues our new laptop may resolve our Ethernet problems so we don’t have to run off WiFi. If this is not the case I am looking in to ways we can prioritize the WiFi’s bandwidth to our laptop so we don’t get disconnected mid-stream.
Do you have any feedback or suggestions, as we move forward, that could help the Tech Team meet the needs of our school and staff / be more effective?
I think that tech team needs to be integrated better in our school culture. Many students that I talk to still don’t know what tech team is or what it’s about. I feel like we are making good progress with the maker-space and being leaders in that area but I feel that shouldn’t be our only focus. Maybe in the future we could collaborate with other leadership groups to work on different projects.