CHAPTER 16
Distributing Your Production
One cell phone can now simultaneously feed real-time video to the entire world. This, quite honestly, blows my mind. There is real opportunity out there and it’s available now. Virtually all of the media playing fields have been leveled.
—Frank Beacham, Producer & Writer
Traditionally distribution was not a part of the production personnel’s problem. They created the content … and someone else worked to get it out to the audience. However, today distribution often becomes part of the role of the production personnel. Once the production has been completed, production personnel often need to burn it to a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, post it online, or stream it. Distribution depends on where you are sending it since the devices viewers watch their programming on are very varied: traditional televisions, large screens, tablet computers, computers, and cell phones.
Key Terms
IPTV: Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) utilizes the Internet to provide programming to its audience instead of broadcast or cable television.
iTV: Interactive television, or iTV, refers to online programming that allows the viewer to make choices about how they watch an event.
Streaming: Programming that is shown live or transmitted from a video sharing site to a computer.
Video sharing sites: Online sites that enable producers to upload programming so that it can be seen by an audience.
16.1 TRADITIONAL BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION
Traditionally it cost thousands of dollars to broadcast your program through a local television station to your local community. If you wanted to transmit your program nationally, it would be very expensive. Transmitting it around the world was almost unheard of unless it was an international event. Transmitting it live locally, nationally, and internationally was even more expensive.
The equipment needed to create live broadcasts can be incredibly expensive. Microwave or satellite trucks are used to send the signal back to the station or network (Figure 16.1).
FIGURE 16.1
Traditionally, microwave or satellite trucks were used to send a video program or live feed back to a station or network.
16.2 TRADITIONAL NON-BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION (USUALLY REFERRED TO AS VIDEO)
If you created a production for non-broadcast usage, you had to use videotape or a DVD by snail mail or for sale in stores. There were no other ways to transmit the project.
16.3 DISTRIBUTING HARD COPIES OF THE PRODUCTION
In Chapter 14 we talked about recording and storing your program on a camera device. There were lots of recording media to do that. However, once the program has been edited, if you want to actually hand it to someone, you still need to store it on a medium. While videotape is quickly going away, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs (HD) have become the media of choice for storage and easy hard copy distribution, especially since most people have a DVD player in their home or computer. DVDs are a very economical means of distributing a hard copy. However, with the ability to store large amounts of data and the reduction of cost, USB thumb drives (flash memory) have rapidly become one of the most popular modes of temporary storage. While DVDs are limited to 4.7 GB, Blu-Ray DVDs can hold a maximum of 50 GB, and USB drives currently have a maximum capacity of up to 256 GB. The USB thumb drive can allow you to store entire video files (Figure 16.2).
FIGURE 16.2
Large USB thumb drives are great for storing video files.
When storing the video files during postproduction or for long-term storage, not distribution, hard drives are the most common medium.
16.4 ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
Online distribution allows programming to be distributed worldwide. This has opened up access to people and markets that were unreachable in the past. Online sites provide a variety of opportunities for sharing video. Videos can be distributed to anyone, specific groups, or become part of a channel. It is possible to view SD, HD, and even 3D video on many of these websites. It is possible to upload videos from a computer and cell phones.
Video-sharing websites allow users to upload, share, and view productions. Some of the sites allow commercials, and others don’t. Some video-sharing sites are provided by private companies and are aimed at a specific audience. Others, like YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, are mass communication websites used by millions around the world (Figure 16.3). Facebook has over 500 million active users around the world, who can upload videos, and YouTube says that over 14 billion videos were viewed on their site in 2010.
FIGURE 16.3
YouTube and Vimeo are some of the largest video-sharing websites. The second image is of a private website that distributes videos to a specific audience. In this situation it is distributing short films to university students. These video-sharing sites enable producers to distribute their material around the world.
Websites differ greatly on how they manage their content. Some enable producers to upload their programs for free and make it available free to the audience. Other sites may charge a fee to view the video, splitting the fees between the site and the producer (Figure 16.4).
FIGURE 16.4
Some websites provide videos for a fee, splitting the fees between the site and the program’s producers.
16.5 LIVE ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
The Internet and mobile phones have incredibly changed the live distribution of content in other ways. In the past there were lots of layers of bureaucracy (gatekeepers) between the producer and the audience. As mentioned earlier, the cost of live transmission gear was also prohibitive. Today you can reach a live audience directly, going around the traditional gatekeepers, by using a computer or some cell phones (Figures 15.5 and 15.6).
As with video-sharing websites, live video streaming of events can be provided to a specific audience or made available to anyone who would like to see it. Video streaming requires substantial compression of the data, which often results in a lower-quality image. However, the quality is rapidly improving. Some live streaming sites allow unlimited viewers, while others, such as Apple’s Face Time, are currently limited to one-on-one direct video transmissions.
FIGURE 16.5
Some companies, like UStream, provide cell phone apps that enable live video transmission to their website, which then makes the live feed available to an audience. This is a cell phone screen shot of a live video transmission.
FIGURE 16.6
Apps, such as the one above from qik, allow producers to transmit live or upload directly to facebook, Twitter, or YouTube from a cell phone.
(Photo courtesy of qik.)
FIGURE 16.7
Slingbox connects television networks and stations to computers, tablets, and cell phones. However, individual programming can be transmitted as well. Slingbox is a one-to-one medium.
(Photos courtesy of Slingbox.)
There are other live online distributors who, like Slingbox, use a box connected to the Internet to stream networks from cable or satellite television (Figure 16.7). However, Slingbox can also be used to stream personal videos to a computer or cell phone type receiver.
16.6 IPTV
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) utilizes the Internet to provide programming to its audience instead of broadcast or cable television. IPTV is somewhat of a mix of the services by video sharing sites and live streaming sites. Programming can be streamed live, video on demand, or interactive television (iTV). Many times these systems are subscriber-based, which requires the payment of fees in order to access the content.
For example, Major League Baseball began its own IPTV called MLB.com. They provide baseball information, news, sports columns, and statistics. MLB.com also provides games, video and audio streaming of baseball games, official baseball fan products, and ticket sales (Figure 16.8). Some of their information is free, while other material is only available to subscribers. These sites provide an interactivity that gives much more access to the information the audience wants—allowing the viewer to individualize their viewing experience (Figure 16.9).
FIGURE 16.8
IPTV channels, like Major League Baseball, provide a wide range of services, often interactive, such as live streaming of games, baseball statistics, merchandise, and baseball news.
16.7 FESTIVALS AND COMPETITIONS
Video competitions and “film” festivals can also be a very productive way of getting your project seen. Productions are often exhibited in front of a live audience, providing a way for general viewers and distributors to see the production.
SUMMARY
Television production personnel are having to learn how to use the new production media as they continue to emerge and converge. Producers need to know how to attract an online audience, including how to use social media to get the word out.
FIGURE 16.9
The Professional Golf Association (PGA) provides an app for cell phones that allows viewers to customize their viewing. This includes receiving alerts when a specific player is at the tee. The apps enable you to follow a specific person without watching everything, as well as provide updated statistics, show the holes, or even watch a specific hole.
Chad Crouch, CEO, The Creative Group
Chad Crouch, CEO, The Creative Group
How do you use online distribution of your videos?
I use the Internet as the main marketing tool for my company. Additionally, many of our clients hire us to help create effective, interactive websites for their organizations and companies. One of our long-term clients has seen significant results, attracting millions of visitors and empowering their political grassroots activism.
Why do you create things for the web?
It is the marketplace for the world. It is the best place to define what makes you unique and valuable.
How have you let your audience know that you put something online?
We use social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. We have also used traditional advertising, such as postcards or letters.
What changes do you see in the future for online distribution?
Faster connection speeds will allow for higher-quality video files to be downloaded in short periods of time. The Internet will become the main distribution for traditional TV programs and movies. I also think that 3D viewing will become mainstream online within the next two or three years. Additionally, I believe that the traditional “Internet” as we now understand it will be replaced with a new means of transferring data that will move us outside of the current limits. We will be constantly connected, without wires, any place at any time.
What challenges do you have to deal with when putting material online?
People have a very limited attention span when viewing content online. You have to design online content so that it is compelling, informative, and brief. This is a challenge for most organizations and companies. A large part of our relationship with clients is helping them refine their message so that it will communicate effectively online.
Chad Crouch is the CEO of a production and marketing company that works with corporate clients as well as nonprofit organizations.