CHAPTER 22
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. That is now the reality for many programs. It has pay television operators, the networks, and other broadcasters running scared.”
Frank Beacham, Producer and Writer
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 viewers 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.
“Just like the coming of digital to production, the coming of digital to distribution has empowered television and filmmakers to do things that weren’t previously possible. In the old-school model, there were always people in-between the producer/director and his or her audience. Now for the first time, producers and directors have the chance to access or reach an audience directly, going around the traditional middlemen and gatekeepers.”
Peter Broderick, President, Paradigm Consulting
Traditionally distribution was not the job of production personnel. 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 person. 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.
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 22.1).
FIGURE 22.1
Traditionally, microwave or satellite trucks were used to send a video program or live feed back to a station or network.
3G/4G Transmission
One of the latest methods of broadcast transmission is the use of 3G/WiFi and 4G cellular connections to transmit HD. To obtain a high quality, these units have to leverage multiple 3G/4G connections. The advantage to these systems is that they are so incredibly small that some manufacturers put them in a backpack (Figure 22.2).
TRADITIONAL NONBROADCAST DISTRIBUTION (USUALLY REFERRED TO AS VIDEO)
If you created a production for nonbroadcast usage in the past, you had to use video tape or a DVD by snail mail or for sale in stores. These methods were time consuming and could be very costly. There were no other ways to transmit the project. Today distributors have many options, and many do not cost money.
FIGURE 22.2
HD video can be transmitted live utilizing multiple connections of 3G/4G. The transmision gear is so small that it can fit in a backpack. (Photo/illustration courtesy of tvupack.com)
Distributing Hard Copies of the Production
In Chapter 15 we talked about recording and storing your program on a camera device. There are 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 video tape 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 22.3). When storing the video files during postproduction or for longterm storage, not distribution, hard drives are the most common medium.
Case Study: Google News Near You
As news staff from television stations and newspapers continue to face difficult financial times and reduce their staff and coverage, alternative news resources have begun appearing. Google, using its free video distribution service YouTube, launched what they called the “biggest news platform in the world.”
Visitors to “Google News Near You” sign into the site and Google, using the visitor’s Internet address, is able to determine their geographical location. The viewers then have the ability to look through all of the news stories within a 100-mile radius that have been uploaded onto YouTube. As more news outlets participate, Google hopes to shrink the radius to make the stories much more local.
Google has invited more than 25,000 news sources to become content providers. The term “news source” is defined pretty loosely. While any newspaper, radio station, and television can contribute stories, so can about anyone else. Providers include schools, churches, and almost anyone else who wants to take the time to upload “news.”
Google is working hard to make this service profitable for itself as well as content providers, by splitting the revenue from all ads that appear with each specific video. Although the revenue is small, Google believes that, as it builds the audience, the payout will significantly increase. With an audience of over 100 million viewers a month, content providers have a chance to have their material seen by an audience that may not have found them otherwise.
The questions that remain include (1) can this be monetized and (2) will the audience actually trust the content providers?
FIGURE 22.3
Large USB thumb drives are great for storing video files.
Almost any subject you choose will have a natural “fan” base, whether it be science, ethnic, religious, health, and many others. All of these interest groups have things like support groups, websites, publications, blogs, businesses, and organizations that are already in touch with their core audience on a daily basis. Finding distribution often means effectively reaching and building a trust with these organizations.
Here are some of the nontraditional methods of distribution:
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 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, others don’t. Some video-sharing sites are provided by private companies and are aimed at a specific audience. Others, such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, are mass communication websites, used by millions around the world (Figure 22.4). 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 its site in 2010.
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 22.5).
Live Online Distribution
The Internet and mobile phones have changed the live distribution of content in other incredible ways. In the past there were lots of layers of beaurocracy (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 (Figure 22.6 and 22.7).
FIGURE 22.4
Left: Vimeo (shown) and YouTube are some of the largest video-sharing websites. Right: A private website that distributes videos to a specific audience–in this case, short films to university students. These videosharing sites enable producers to distribute their material around the world.
FIGURE 22.5
Some websites provide videos for a fee, splitting the fees between the site and the program’s producers.
As with video-sharing websites, live video streaming of events can be provided to a specific audience or 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 FaceTime, are currently limited to one-on-one direct video transmissions.
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 22.8). Slingbox can also be used to stream personal videos to a computer or cell phone type receiver.
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.
FIGURE 22.6
Some companies, such as 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.
For example, Major League Baseball began their own IPTV called MLB.com. It provides 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 22.9). Some of their information is free, other material is only available to subscribers. These sites provide an interactivity that give much more access to the information the audience wants—allowing the viewers to individualize their viewing experience (Figure 22.10).
FIGURE 22.7
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 22.8
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)
FIGURE 22.9
IPTV channels, such as Major League Baseball, provide a wide range of services, often interactive, such as live streaming of games, baseball statistics, merchandise, and baseball news.
FIGURE 22.10
The Professional Golf Association (PGA) provides an app for cell phones that allow 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.
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.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. List three ways of getting your video to an audience.
2. What is the difference between live online video and IPTV?
3. What are the challenges with getting your program on broadcast television?
INTERVIEW WITH A PROFESSIONAL: TRIPP CROSBY
What kind of things do you put on the Internet? Since 2006 I’ve had two YouTube channels, multiple websites, blogs, and a podcast. A portion of my professional success relies on the response I get to my original content, so I pay close attention to the numbers. I can tell you what it’s like to get anything from a few hits to a few million hits: On a bad day, I get 0 blog comments and a steep dip on the line graph that tells me how many people have visited. On my worst day ever I had to take down a post because it was too offensive or just way off brand. On a good day, I’ll post a video, get tens of thousands of views on YouTube, hundreds of comments on my blog, and lots of tweets with a forwarded link. My best day ever was when YouTube featured our sketch “things you can’t do when you’re not in a pool” on its homepage, and we instantly got millions of views, phone calls from Hollywood, and eventually a reward from iTunes.
I’ve learned that I can’t predict an online audience as much as I’d like to be able to. There are certainly ways to increase the odds that content will be somewhat viral (such as featuring a celebrity). But, the real way to increase views is to consistently add new content and build a slowly but steadily growing audience.
How do you build an audience for your video? The best way I’ve found to announce new content is through Twitter and Facebook. Ideally people will subscribe to my podcast, my blog, and my YouTube channel, but, to get new viewers I have to keep annoying people who have decided to be my “friend.”
Why do you create for the web? The web is the future for content creators. Sort of. It’s really exciting to be able to create something and instantly make it public. But, it’s really daunting to think about how many other people are doing the same thing. Even though advertisers pay for some of my online material, I still make my living on content that I create for clients. I know there are some folks out there who are rolling in money that they make online, but they are still the exception. So why do I put my content online? Because for me, hits equal credibility. Let’s say I make $100 from AdSense for a video on YouTube that got 300,000 views. This hardly pays for lunch on a shoot. But, the video got 300,000 views! Now I have a great selling point for my next client who needs to know his 1000-person event will enjoy what I create.
One day I’d like to be fully sustained by advertising. Anyone would agree that it’s more fun to create content for an audience than a client. For now the Internet is my free marketing campaign.
What changes do you see in the future? I do not believe that the Internet will ever replace television. Instead, I think they will be one and the same. In 10 years, everyone will still have a rectangular something hanging on their wall, and they’ll have some sort of portable handheld device with a keyboard. It’s just that both will tune into content through the same channels. In other words, you won’t need an ISP and a cable provider. Did I say 10 years? I meant 1 year.
What kind of challenges do you face with video and the web? Just deciding where to put content is challenging. What blog template works best for my content? YouTube or Vimeo? Should I have my own “site?” How am I going to track my views? My subscribers?
Then comes the most challenging aspect of putting content online—making good content that people want to consume. Or even more challenging—making content that people want to consume and then pass along. It doesn’t matter if your initial audience is 75 or 75,000. If one view equals more than one view you have succeeded and your audience is growing.
Lastly, one of the keys to building an online audience is being consistent with updating your content online. An Internet audience is like having a girlfriend that doesn’t like you as much as you like her. As long as you keep your content updated they will stick around for more, but as soon as you stop contributing, they will move on. Also, it takes a lot of work to get them back.
FIGURE 22.11
Tripp Crosby, Producer, Writer, and Director.
Tripp Crosby is the founder of Green Tricycle Studios. Besides having videos on MTV and on YouTube with over 5 million hits, his clients have included Chick-fil-A, AOL, Walmart, and InComm.