A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit • Hacker News Board

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#11

Post by mssundaram » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:07 PM UTC

rjknight wrote: post #10

periheli0n wrote: post #7

I expected to read about studio setups for live-streaming, e.g. on twitch. There are some musicians on twitch that have really awesome setups where one can discover so much visual detail while listening. I would have loved to read about some of those, perhaps even with a bit of advice how to build my own. Instead I got a luke-warm analogy of business attire and videoconferencing backgrounds. Mildly disappointing.

The point of the article is not "how to do it", but rather to observe that this kind of thing, previously a (relatively) niche concern, has become important to a general audience. The article even suggests that there's a business opportunity for fashion businesses to create tailored videoconferencing spaces, which is predicated on the notion that most people lack the time or inclination to set up their own bespoke se…

Eloquent summary and analysis, thank you!

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#12

Post by sokoloff » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:08 PM UTC

resonious wrote: post #6

jumpkick wrote: post #4

What point is the author trying to make in comparing the two iPhones? There was a setup but no payoff.

I also felt like the article hit pretty weak in a lot of places. In the part where they compare Bill Gates to the Bloomberg anchor, it just says "Her self-presentation is overawed by Gates’ setup." with no clear explanation as to why. And it's not actually clear to me when I look at the pic. Maybe I just don't have the "technical expertise to understand how colour temperature, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO conspir…

I suspect they could have found a better example, but Gates was clearly using a camera with a very wide aperture, giving a shallow depth of (focused) field, meaning his background wasn’t distracting. His lighting also had slightly less hot-spotting (you can see she’s using two main lights, but can’t readily ID Gates’ light placement).

Given the disastrous video setups I’ve seen, I think the Bloomberg anchor’s setup was at least a 7 on the 10 scale (and maybe an 8), so hardly terrible.

Side note: audio is a fraction of the effort and expense and IMO is more important.

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#13

Post by adriand » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:28 PM UTC

periheli0n wrote: post #7

I expected to read about studio setups for live-streaming, e.g. on twitch. There are some musicians on twitch that have really awesome setups where one can discover so much visual detail while listening. I would have loved to read about some of those, perhaps even with a bit of advice how to build my own. Instead I got a luke-warm analogy of business attire and videoconferencing backgrounds. Mildly disappointing.

Any chance you could list some links for the Twitch streams you're referring to? I've been asked to participate in some live streaming sessions for electronic music and I'm not quite sure how not to make it boring, at least from a visual standpoint.

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#14

Post by 12ian34 » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:40 PM UTC

adriand wrote: post #13

periheli0n wrote: post #7

I expected to read about studio setups for live-streaming, e.g. on twitch. There are some musicians on twitch that have really awesome setups where one can discover so much visual detail while listening. I would have loved to read about some of those, perhaps even with a bit of advice how to build my own. Instead I got a luke-warm analogy of business attire and videoconferencing backgrounds. Mildly disappointing.

Any chance you could list some links for the Twitch streams you're referring to? I've been asked to participate in some live streaming sessions for electronic music and I'm not quite sure how not to make it boring, at least from a visual standpoint.

I've toyed with live electronic music streaming setups using OBS Studio (as a kind of video compositor and audio router) paired with VCV rack for visual effects. I'd recommend both as solid tools with many useful surface level features and a ton of useful but optional power user configurability for when you want to go deep on something.

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#15

Post by xwdv » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:43 PM UTC

I write off anyone who video conferences with a bookshelf behind them as a fool trying to pass off as more intelligent than they actually are. It’s so cringey because of how blatantly manipulative it is.

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#16

Post by sva_ » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:55 PM UTC

xwdv wrote: post #15

I write off anyone who video conferences with a bookshelf behind them as a fool trying to pass off as more intelligent than they actually are. It’s so cringey because of how blatantly manipulative it is.

So living in a small space is being manipulative now?

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#17

Post by brutus1213 » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:56 PM UTC

rjknight wrote: post #10

periheli0n wrote: post #7

I expected to read about studio setups for live-streaming, e.g. on twitch. There are some musicians on twitch that have really awesome setups where one can discover so much visual detail while listening. I would have loved to read about some of those, perhaps even with a bit of advice how to build my own. Instead I got a luke-warm analogy of business attire and videoconferencing backgrounds. Mildly disappointing.

The point of the article is not "how to do it", but rather to observe that this kind of thing, previously a (relatively) niche concern, has become important to a general audience. The article even suggests that there's a business opportunity for fashion businesses to create tailored videoconferencing spaces, which is predicated on the notion that most people lack the time or inclination to set up their own bespoke se…

I was an organizer for a major ACM conference last year, and I really struggled with my home video streaming setup. A lot of equipment was sold out last year. I followed the recommendation of some YouTubers and realized that this is not as simple as it seems. Despite realizing the importance of a live stream setup and investing in it, I'm pretty unhappy with the results. Thankfully we are out of the worst of the pandemic .. but I agree that a good home streaming setup will be important going forward.

Edit: one thing I never figured out how to solve was removing glare on my glasses (either monitor glare or from key lights). Best investment was an external microphone and a few items mounted on the wall behind me (which used to be bare).

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#18

Post by enlightens » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 12:59 PM UTC

davidgerard wrote: post #2

See also Ed Zitron's how-to set this up for yourself or your clients (he's a PR guy): https://thefuturebuzz.com/2020/08/06/how-to-make-your-zoom-c...

Matt Mullenweg has a few takes on this as well.

Early in 2020: https://ma.tt/2020/05/ceo-video-streaming/

Second iteration at a lower cost: https://ma.tt/2021/05/2021-streaming-kit/

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#19

Post by TheMagicHorsey » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 1:04 PM UTC

xwdv wrote: post #15

I write off anyone who video conferences with a bookshelf behind them as a fool trying to pass off as more intelligent than they actually are. It’s so cringey because of how blatantly manipulative it is.

Some people have only one workspace, and also actually happen to have some books they don't want to stack on the floor.

Re: A good livestreaming setup is a well-tailored suit

#20

Post by schrijver » Mon, Jun 21, 2021, 1:05 PM UTC

adriand wrote: post #13

periheli0n wrote: post #7

I expected to read about studio setups for live-streaming, e.g. on twitch. There are some musicians on twitch that have really awesome setups where one can discover so much visual detail while listening. I would have loved to read about some of those, perhaps even with a bit of advice how to build my own. Instead I got a luke-warm analogy of business attire and videoconferencing backgrounds. Mildly disappointing.

Any chance you could list some links for the Twitch streams you're referring to? I've been asked to participate in some live streaming sessions for electronic music and I'm not quite sure how not to make it boring, at least from a visual standpoint.

I’d be curious about that as well! One thing I noticed is that the blog posts I’ve seen on streaming setups with dedicated cameras tend to focus on using bits of kit to make something similar to a standard webcam setup—except with better sound, lighting etc. But you can of course experiment way more with how you place yourself in the frame (if you even want to be in the frame!) Instead of frontal, the perspective can be from the sides, the top… Which ties in to what sense of space you want to project… we’re now so accustomed to see a webcam-sized corner of a room, but you could show an entire room, or only a small detail, like a part of an instrument or something… The advantage of playing with framing is that you can do it in advance of the performance, because while live I imagine you will have to focus on the music itself!