I am going to shoot a presentation at which the presenter will be showing slides/video on a separate screen. I will have access to the material to include in the video so I will be alone, using only one camera. My question is: what is the best way to mark when the presenter switches slides? In the past I have used a second camera with an operator, but that is not an option for this shoot. I really would not have to rely on my (failing) memory, or to guess based on the presenters words. Any suggestions??

Regards,
Jerry

I've done it with a pad of paper a pencil and the TC on the camera. Since the run time is in my LCD I simply make a quick note of the run time on the paper. Of course if he goes backward for any reason you could be in a fix. How about a palmcorder on the screen just to sync the presentation? I've done that also.

As Don mentioned, a static camera pointed at the screen is one of the easiest methods.

The syncing utility of this screen footage goes up as the quality of the presenter's spoken commentary improves on this recording. In other words make sure you've put some effort into getting a clear audio recording on the screen visuals footage.

For a monthly presentation I record and edit, I use screen recording software to capture what the presentation computer is showing. In addition, a second wireless receiver is picking up the presenter's lav mic and it is recorded directly in the presentation computer along with the visuals for clean sync and as a backup against wireless dropouts. So this screen recording not only has sync but is high enough quality to use as the visual recording of the presentation materials (and audio too as a safety).
Of course, I have full access to the computer, the presenter only brings their presentation on a thumb drive and not their own computer.

In the past if I didn't have access to the presentation computer but did have a copy of the presentation, I would advance the presentation on my own computer with screen recording software in sync with the presenter.

In addition to recording the computer screen with software, I also save the PowerPoint slides as .bmp image files after the presentation. So I have those to work with also if needed.

I would agree, a little cheap camera set on the screen would be the best option. I have a Panasonic LX-7 stills camera that I also use for scoreboards during games or anything else utility/lockoff related. It cost $300, is small and in 720p has no time limit for video recording.

if you really can't use a 2nd cam then how about shooting a slightly wider shot that includes the edge of the screen so you can see when the changes occur and cropping in post

Or a cell phone with video capabilities.

How many channels of audio can you record on your camera? If 2 or more, record the presenter's audio on channel 1, then plug a lavalier microphone into channel 2 to record yourself cueing the slides as the presenter changes his. Of course in post, delete your narration.

This method eliminates any need for notes, timecodes, and extra cameras.

Thanks for the replies, some good ideas here. I'm going to go with a second camera (even though I really don't want to) since I want to be able to follow the presenter's laser pointer. That way there is no possibility of any ambiguity.

Regards,
Jerry

Jerry,

If you are saying the second camera is going to record the screen for use in the end product I would not suggest that. Shooting the screen always yields a low quality representation of PowerPoint and is considered the most amateur way of doing it. I think everyone was suggesting a second camera shot so you have a sync track for reference only.

Jay has recommended good processes if you don't have the ability to scan convert and record on site. If you would like to simplify his process on site and do the screen capture (a lap top screen, not the projection screen) afterwords try this. Put a copy of the presentation on your lap top. PowerPoint has a feature called "rehearse timings" in the slide show menu. If you activate that all you will have to do is hit the space bar every time he advances a slide. PowerPoint will record your copy of the presentation with those timings and play it back automatically so you will have a synced presentation. Then you can screen capture it afterwards so while you are shooting you can focus on your camera work. It is even better if you can get someone else to advance the slides for you.

Also, in the world of video recording presentations, if there is going to be a failure, it is the audio that gets messed up. It is not hard to do but you can't imagine how often guys fail at it.

Steve

Steve,
I am going to use the second camera only to sync the slides with the speaker while editing. I am going have the presentation in a form that I can include directly in the final product. Definitely not using the second camera in the project!

Regards,
Jerry

Jerry,

Hope I did not offend you. When you mentioned following his laser pointer I got the idea you may be shooting the screen. You can't know someones level of experience from a few words on a forum!

Steve

And, I hope for your sake the presenter is NOT using a laser pointer. Amateur presenters often over use them and you could end up with your entire video being a shot of the back of someones head.....it happens!

Steve

Steve,
No offense taken. I did not mean to make it seem like I did. As you said it is sometimes difficult to make one's intentions clear when having to rely only on text.

All the best,
Jerry

In my situation when using the screen recording software, I encourage the presenter to use the external mouse connected to the presentation laptop to move the pointer over the spots of interest if needed.

This movement gets recorded visually by the software and is good quality to use in the final video without having to recreate it.

In this room, the projector is very bright and the lectern is well to the side. So only a high-brightness green laser would really show up effectively at this glancing angle on the very bright screen. A normal red pointer appears very weak. So using the on-screen mouse pointer arrow is most effective and keeps the presenter facing the audience.

Speaking of audio failures, once several years ago at a large conference my company was sponsoring where many presenters were coming to the podium one after another without a break, we used a cardioid podium mic which worked perfectly for all but one presenter. The presentation laptop was also on the podium, so each speaker could look directly at their slides and the audience, and advance their show with the clearly marked keyboard arrow buttons. During the middle of his presentation, he exclaimed, "I can't do it this way!!" and proceeded to step down and face the projection screen with his back to the audience! Of course he was now about 5 feet directly BEHIND the cardioid PA mic... So for the rest of his presentation he had to basically shout, and the audio and camera recordings were useless. Plus he had to keep stepping up to the back of the computer and reach over to advance his slides! It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. I guess it was fortunate for me that he was in the middle of a long string of presenters who all did it normally, so it was obvious that he was just a little nutty and there wasn't anything wrong with the setup.

Have been following this thread with some interest as I also film seminars and conferences and I'm still trying to sort out what works. Firstly I also use 2 Cameras to film the event. I also ask for a copy of the powerpoint to edit in later. if I am guaranteed the powerpoint, I frame the second Camera to cover both the screen and the Presenter, this gives me cue points and a wide shot to allow me to reframe the first camera (which is very handy).

A couple of things. First re laser pointers. I have just recorded an event where a laser pointer was used a lot and to good effect - pointing out teeth that could or not be extracted from an X-ray image. For the audience and the Presenter the laser pointer was an ideal way to communicate a complex subject. For the video, not so good. The client had me positioned in a corner of the room and Yes, I did film a lot of the first speakers head, realising the problem I switched sides for other Presenters so I could see their face, still not great but because of the subject matter (Dental surgery) interaction with the screen was important for the communication.

Another Presenter was a roamer. Sometimes he disappeared out of the light into the gloom. However, he was good in terms of being an engaging speaker. Again not good for video but for the audience he gave an engaging presentation. At least I had good sound as I used a radio mic which I swapped for each speaker.

So, having the above problems I think a solution to make videos that communicate well to a web audience
is to do a split screen video (I use a fcpx widescreen plugin). This way the powerpoint is always viewable and if the Presenter is looking at the ppt screen pointing out some detail chances are the web viewing audience are doing the same. Is it ideal, no. Does it tell the story, I think yes and that really is the bottom line.

As to screen capture, I have been looking at getting a VGA to HDMI converter so that when their is a vision mixer available I can plug this into a Ninja 2 and record the ppt presentation. Haven't got it to work yet (tried a Digitech box which failed miserably) however I think this idea could save a lot of time in post.

A lot of this is a trade off in one way or another and often it gets down as to how serious the client is in getting a video that really does work and paying accordingly.

Neil,
In the past I have incorporated power point directly into the video by switching to the slide when the presenter talks about it. Or when he/she switches to it, whichever seems appropriate. I like the idea of having a split screen with the presenter and slide visible at all times with a zoom in on the slide when the presenter makes a point about it. The only derog: is the information readable using the split screen? Of course this depends upon the player size, and the encoding parameters. I'll have to experiment with it.

I also like the idea of framing the second camera with the presenter and screen to use as a cut-away, along with syncing the slide changes. Although this may be too confusing/busy if the split screen idea is used. I will have to try it out and see how it looks. But I definitely will frame the second camera this way (if possible) regardless.

Lots of good ideas here!

Regards,
Jerry

I regularly shoot our company meeting. We use two cameras: a Canon 5D2 with 70-200/2.8 IS II lens and a standard, small chip, Canon camcorder. The camcorder is locked down and shoots wide to cover the presenter, audience, and screen. I use a couple of elliptical stage lights - one as a key and one as a backlight - to get the speaker bright enough to reasonably match the screen. The camcorder has XLR inputs and records continuous audio from the sound system.

The 5D2 shoots up to 12 minute segments and is mainly used for medium closeups of the speaker. I can go wider when appropriate and can find people in the audience when they are highlighted by the speaker. The main trick is that I start with a rule of 1/3rds when the speaker starts and move to a rule of 1/5ths when the slides are important. I then fade the slides in on the side. It's similar to the approach they use on The Daily Show and Colbert.

The camcorder recording is the master. I can always see the slides and hear the audio. I create a track of the slide files based on it and sync the 5D2 files based on the audioe. When the 5D2 is in a transition (between clips, getting focus, or searching for an audience member), I go to the wide shot. I also use the wide at the start, the end, and when the message includes the audience and a larger feeling. That said 80 percent of the final product is the tight shot with the slides to the side of the presenter. I can also go full screen with the slides, but I only do that when the slides are small-font eye charts.

Previously, we used a live webcam to our remote locations. Now, we send the produced video out for next day viewing - and the audience loves the improvement. With a switcher and a bigger crew, we could achieve the same thing live. That said, the minimal crew and one day turnaround is the right balance for us.

Jon, what's the final resolution and format of the program the field views the next day, and how do you make it available to them? Also how long is the typical program running time?

Anyone else also chime in with this info.

Hi Jay,

The running time is usually 90 minutes. I deliver 720p h.264 from a 1080p Cineform master. We transfer the files over the Internet to a shared server at their location. From the Cineform master, I make a Blu-ray Disc for historical purposes. It's all shot at 24p.

The meetings are usually in the morning, and I'm, well, "focused" all afternoon. I can't sweat the details or go for perfection in the edit. The process is typically:

1) Ingest,
2) Sync the video files to the audio,
3) Mix the audio, which is basically just normalizing the various speakers. No fancy mixing here,
4) Lay in the slides and adjust their timings (also includes making the first and last slides the Intro-Outro slides - the overall process takes quite a bit of time),
5) Duplicate the slide track to create the over the shoulder inset.
6) Do the "switching" from wide to tight to tight-with-over-the-shoulder to full-frame-slide. This has to be prioritized. I start and end with the wide and most everything else is tight. I also use the wide to cover gaps in the tight shot. I mix in the over-the-shoulder when I pan over to make room. I go to full frame slides for the eye-charts. This takes time - especially when trying to cut between wide and tight on motion and for the right impact.

BTW, while narrative works are often best with cuts, this stuff often works well with quick fades to give a smooth, non-jarring feeling.

Great suggestions by a lot of folks here. A 2nd inexpensive camera (even standard def) is one way to get the sync down for the edit.

Depending on how often that you'll be doing these types of gigs, I can offer a few more possible solutions:

1) Use Telestream's Wirecast application on a Mac or PC as a Switcher. You can download a free trial to test. With ethernet you can run the Desktop Presenter app on the presenter machine and record their screen activity. With an HDMI or HD-SDI IO card/box, you can add in your camera as a video source. Blackmagic Design has some inexpensive IO options to bring the video+audio in. You would record the mix live to the hard drive. That way at the end of the preso you have the edit done, or you can go back and clean it up.

2) As others have said, another popular route is to record the screen to a recorder such as an Atomos Ninja. You'll need some way of scaling the VGA or DVI signal - we have found good luck with the Gefen Gefen, LLC - High-Definition Scaler (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/gtv-hidefs.jsp?prod_id=5282) We have one local customer that does a lot of these and uses a Panasonic recorder due to the low bandwidth codec Panasonic AG-HMR10 Handheld Video Player - Professional Video Recorder (http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/ag-hmr10.asp)

3) For the folks that are doing a ton of these and have the budget, a full on HD switcher is the holy grail. Blackmagic's ATEM's work well with the VGA/DVI converters, the ATEM Television Studio is a good start at $950. We're really excited about Roland's VR-50HD coming out this month that has scalers on all channels Roland Systems Group U.S. - Product: VR-50HD (http://www.rolandsystemsgroup.com/products/100132)

Hi Guy

Good suggestions but with a lot of my conference gigs I don't have a clue what there talking about… so live switching would be a nightmare… and there low budget. The second camera is there more than just a way of getting sync, it also provides a second angle and if the idiot at the lectern walks out of shot you may be covered.

By the way have you had any experience withe the Gefen VGA to HDMI scaler, Ive tried the cheaper DIGITECH and it does not work. Also, what happens if you are already getting a 720p VGA signal?

Hi Guy

Good suggestions but with a lot of my conference gigs I don't have a clue what there talking about… so live switching would be a nightmare… and there low budget. The second camera is there more than just a way of getting sync, it also provides a second angle and if the idiot at the lectern walks out of shot you may be covered.

By the way have you had any experience withe the Gefen VGA to HDMI scaler, Ive tried the cheaper DIGITECH and it does not work. Also, what happens if you are already getting a 720p VGA signal?

Actually, live switching is pretty simple and intuitive. Just act as if you're paying attention as an audience member and cut as you would naturally look from presenter to screen.

We have a local corporate client that has 8 conference rooms and has 8 systems that we built for them to capture these types of communications for internal use. They are built around the ATEM Television Studio in a rack case with the Gefen box. These Hi Def Scalers were meant more for consumer use so they do burn out unfortunately. I wrote a blog post awhile back of some of the other solutions DV Gear Talk: DVI to HD-SDI converter Options (http://dvgeartalk.blogspot.com/2012/03/dvi-to-hd-sdi-converter-options.html) With a simple VGA to Component cable the Gefen Hi Def Scaler will take in Analog VGA, then you can also use a simple HDMI to DVI cable to bring in HDMI. Or vice versa for output. They handle 720p no problem. Here is the link to the manual http://www.gefen.com/pdf/GTV-HIDEFS.pdf These were only around $300 We are in the middle of transitioning over to the more "industrial grade" AJA ROI to provide "Region Of Interest" support. It is a DVI to HD-SDI converter/scaler. Our tests have proven very positive. You can even output a matte "green screen" for a live key of the screen activity. Pretty snazzy stuff!

Again, it all boils down to budget. My apologies to the original poster if this has veered way over budget. Just trying to throw all the options out there in case anyone else may benefit from our experiences.

I work in corporate audio visual / video productions on a regular basis. As a technical director I have access to everything in the room AV and video. The company putting on the show is usually my client. That means I have to get it all correct and professionally produced so I must invest in some high end gear.

For many years now I have been using a Sony Anycast. I got it the first month they were released. It is a VERY expensive high end live production video switcher / scalier with external hard drive recording. Ninety percent of everything that happens in a ballroom environment is still SD (even when we are shooting with HD cameras) so my SD Anycast still sees a lot of service live switching and recording. Sony recently released the second generation Anycast. The new one is HDMI & HD/SD SDI based. These are very versatile machines and may be over budget for some guys in this thread but I'm throwing it out there because the old model like mine is now available for about a third of what I paid for it because of the new model release. There are HD cards available for it. Mine has paid for itself many times over.

To bring cost back down to earth keep this in mind. Earlier in this thread I mentioned details of a feature in PowerPoint called "rehearse timings" that will record the slide changes and play them back so you have perfect sync. To advance slides remotely the vast majority of AV companies use the same device. It is called a Perfect Cue. It is a radio operated remote, it is not like the cheap IR remotes presenters carry around. The receiver has dual USB outputs to advance the slides. If you ask the AV technicians if you can put your computer on the second output there is a good chance they may let you. It will all depend on their set up and the conditions of the show. My point is, with rehearse timings turned on and slide changes coming right from the presenter you will have a perfectly synced PowerPoint for screen capture and efficient post. I hope this helps.

Steve

Around here, without Perfect Cues and Barco Screen Pros you got nuttin'! ;-)
Anycasts aren't around here as much as others but having used them I gotta say, they are the boss! TV studio in a box. Pricey but man they do the job.
I'm not really fond of the Barcos but they're really solid.

The Barco screen Pro and PresPro are the AV standard around here too. For my own use I bought the Anycast because of the video production capabilities it has. You don't see too many of them.

They made a big mistake with the new one, IMHO. They made the whole thing touch screen. Whoever made that decision has never sat next to a nervous meeting planner so scarred she shakes you by the arm before every cue. I have. Give me big buttons to punch on, not some stupid piece of glass!

Steve

I do prefer buttons. For me, it's a positive switch, no chance of missing...well, less chance of missing and yeah, some "show producers" would be better off not having that responsibility. :-)