In our studios, video production is cheap, easy, and self-driven. Our solution automates out the complicated parts of the video production process, so presenters simply need to bring their presentation materials, log into the system, and start recording their videos. After recording completes, the files are encoded and made available through our website. From here, the presenter can preview a lower quality version of the file, download a higher quality version of the file, share it with other users, or upload it to Kaltura. Please read below to learn about additional features that can be enabled for the variety of video productions we can support with this solution.
This feature turns off all the customizations available in the standard Self Service Presentation so the presenter appears behind the natural green screen. This setting has to be chosen before the recording begins and will not work with content shown on the presentation machine. This is often used for interviews or advanced video recordings where someone is going to enhance the video with special effects and/or music after it appears on the video express website.
Kaltura is a video distribution service used by Purdue University to share video content for a variety of purposes. Our Video Express website contains an ‘Upload to Kaltura’ feature which can be found off the drop down menu below each video on a presenter’s content page. When using this feature, presenters can customize the video title, set the video ownership, request closed captioning, and transfer the file to the Kaltura platform. From here, additional steps can be followed to share it to students in a Brightspace course or authorized users in a SharePoint website. NOTE: Closed captioning is only available to faculty and staff at this time, and it is enabled by default when using this feature in Video Express.
This feature produces a recording similar to the Northwestern University Lightboard, whereas the presenter appears behind the content that he or she is writing on the screen. We use a special video effect in our recording software to achieve the same end result without the hassle of creating the lightboard hardware and using markers to write on the screen and erase in between sessions. This is also used in conjunction with a PowerPoint file filled with black background slides (running full screen), so a user simply has to write on our Wacom with a pen to produce the same result. When it comes time to “erase”, the presenter just moves the slide deck forward and the screen is instantly ready for the next topic. If the presenter needs to refer to different content, then the presenter moves the slide deck backwards accordingly.
This feature allows the presenter to utilize teleprompting text in sync with his or her presentation. To use this feature, the presenter first logs into the video express website and clicks on the Teleprompter link. A custom name can be provided for the file, and text can be copied and pasted into the website. Once that is done, the presenter can visit one of our studio locations (that supports this feature), log into the control tablet software, click on the teleprompting tab, and choose the file to load based on the recently saved names. We also have the options on the screen to control the font size of the text, speed it is read, and whether or not it automatically starts at the start of the recording. The text appears in a special teleprompter screen next to the upcoming appointments. When the teleprompter is not used there is a stock picture of students in a classroom so there is always something to look at next to the upcoming room reservations.
In the Video Express 2.0 editions, we added the ability for the presenter to control certain environmental settings and have them saved to a database for future use. Settings such as the intro video clip, background image, lower 3rds text (with rows for Name, Title, and Company fields), DVE box placed over the left or right shoulder, and the teleprompting settings can all be set once and used again.
