On 08/07/2017 05:02 AM, Brian Exelbierd wrote:
On Sat, Aug 5, 2017, at 07:27 PM, Justin W. Flory wrote:
Hi all, I realize this is an old thread, but with Flock coming up, I was wondering if there was any plans or any needs by the Flock staff for video recording equipment. I still think it will be important for us to try to make an improvement on recording equipment, and I liked Mo's proposal above.
For what it's worth, I'm already planning on bringing two 1080p HD camcorders with external mics for each. I wouldn't have an issue using these for some of the workshop rooms.
Stephen Gallagher is, I believe, taking point on this.
We have 5 simultaneous tracks (max). Right now, I think the plan is to use a line in from the room sound system to the computer to ensure good audio and to use an external webcam to capture the video. I don't know that we need much more than that as a lot of our sessions are "do" and not "talk" so there is less to record that has value long after the event.
From my past experiences at Flock, even at more "workshop"-oriented sessions, I've wished that I could reference a better recording later on to recall something that was discussed / remember who brought up an idea / follow up on something that happened in the workshop. In previous years, I felt more obligated to write all of this down myself, and it would have been easier to know that I could trust a reliable audio/video recording so I could do less live note-taking and do more summarizing after the session.
With this year's Flock being more focused on doing, I think reliable video recordings are more important so they can be used as a frame of reference after the conference. Seeing the room, who is talking, and remembering everything that is discussed by going through the video would be useful. Since I know there will be multiple sessions I want to attend but likely won't be able to make some because of scheduling conflicts, it would be helpful for me to have reliable AV of a session so I can stay up-to-date on what is covered and try to contribute to the discussion after the session, even if I'm not in the room.
It might be worthwhile to record some of the talk sessions on an ad-hoc basis with the equipment you're bringing Justin, but I don't think we should work to create high quality studios for each room at all times.
I'm not suggesting we create a professional recording studio in each room, but it would be nice to have something better than a 360p webcam and a mic that only picks up sound from the people a few feet around the recording laptop. Even having an external microphone for whatever recording device is used for a session would be incredibly valuable if it meant more reliable sound.
I think this is something that could be done from now until Flock, if not from any available AV equipment at Red Hat, then by community members willing to share hardware for the week. :)