Lessons learned from our first international webinar
The Video Snackbar Hub hosted their very first live Q&A webinar on media production, news broadcasting and livestreaming in times of corona. During this interactive seminar, 9 key speakers shared tips & tricks on how to adapt our normal daily working activities to the current circumstances. Watch the full webinar below & review the Q&A here. People were joining the webinar from all over the world. We had 600 unique viewers, not bad for a first international webinar, right?
1. Remote working is the new normal
- Desperate times call for inventive measures. Right now, VRT’s main policy is: everybody must work from home unless his or her physical presence is absolutely required. The same rule applies to many of our international partners. At BBC (UK) over 15,000 employees started working from home in less than a week and at Mediahuis (BE) the newsroom never looked so deserted. Despite the unusual circumstances, lessons can be learned and working remotely might stick beyond the pandemic.
“Money can be used for much better projects, such as better connectivity rather than infrastructure. Can you imagine us having conferences in a UHD version of Zoom? How great would that be?” - Andy Quested (BBC)
2. How are you handling isolation, really?
- In Vienna, broadcaster ORF took it one step further. Foreign desk editor Gabi Zanetti is part of a self-quarantined news team. Together with 23 colleagues, she went into voluntary isolation about two weeks ago and is still going strong.
“In these uncertain times, a small crew of working people should be protected to ensure the accurate news to the nation. News should not be allowed to raise fear and should be secured in a corona free zone.” - Gabi Zanetti (ORF)
- We’re all curious to see how everyone is dealing with these circumstances, be it in our own community or all over the world. BNNVARA and The Washington Post felt the same way. The first one created a vlog, using self-shot footage from healthcare workers. The other asked correspondents all over the world to send a virtual postcard, describing their current situation and how they feel about it.
Article 1: “Life under lockdown: How a travel influencer rebranded her Instagram during the coronavirus pandemic”
Article 2: “Life under lockdown: How one Italian family is 'focusing on the positive'”
3. OK Zoomer
- Video calling is trending, helping us to continue working, studying and partying. But why not take it one step further? Maria Mishurenko, VR developer and game designer, launched her new VR game in a virtual conference. Even with virtual reality, it’s important to stay in touch with players, publishers and marketers. Find out more about her work on https://synestheticecho.com
4.Live multicam production from the cloud
- Live multicam production is still an option, even when your entire cast and crew is working from home. Hugo Ortiz (RTBF, BE) and Karel De Bondt (VRT, BE) experimented with Paperspace and vMix. They share their findings in this paper.
5. Music is the answer
- The music industry has also been heavily impacted by the lockdown, having to cancel concerts and other live performances. German radio station BR-KLASSIK brought together international classical music stars in a 5-hour livestream entitled #musikbleibt (music remains). In Belgium, radio station Studio Brussel opened the largest virtual bar ‘Café Quarantaine’ on Facebook, including your typical pub talk, apero livestreams and daily concerts from Belgian artists.
