If you missed my live, interactive webcast last week, now you can catch the archive version. I've posted the first half of the show, where I talked about MONK with my special guest David Breckman (writer-producer-director of MONK), in three parts on YouTube or you can download it here. Unfortunately, there were technical problems at the studio and the second half of the live show, where I talked about my movie FAST TRACK, wasn't recorded.
Valuable new hybrid medium. This had some rough edges, especially camerawork. There was a need to get much closer in. It was hard to see the faces on my computer screen. The sound needed attention too; there were periods of fade-out. But the potential here is remarkable. This is a way to bring authors and viewers and readers together. Good start.
Richard,
Thanks for watching it! Some of the problems you mention have more to do with the compressed, YouTube versions I uploaded that the show itself. It’s much clearer, visually and audibly, when you download the file instead. (On the other hand, if you watched the downloaded file and had those problems, that’s a different story).
But you’re right, there were lots of problems (my yellow shirt goes without saying). For one thing, I never knew which camera was filming me, so my eye-line always seemed wrong. I also didn’t have an earpiece, so the director had no way to communicate with me except by hand signals. And the screen that showed me the chat questions kept blacking out.
That said, I thought it went very, very well for the first broadcast of its kind. They managed to integrate viewers calling in on webcams with Skype from all over the country (and one from Canada), live chats, pre-recorded clips, and, of course, me live in the studio. On top of that, they also generated a virtual set, added music, and switched between stationary camera angles…all on the fly, all live. Granted, this is done every day on television, but it was quite an accomplishment to pull it off on a webcast.
They were so encouraged by the results, and learned so much from the experience, that we are trying it again. We’ll be doing a live webcast dedicated entirely to FAST TRACK. I’ll post the details here when I know more.
Lee
Was a blast! You were terrific as the host.
It seemed much more intimate than TV and like the information was much more detailed so these broadcasts would be the go-to choice for lovers of the niche. This looks like the future to me for building on-line communities.