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This is one of three presentations from panelists of a program at the American Alliance of Museums 2013 conference in Baltimore Maryland. The panel was on webcasting museum programs, and this presentation was a case study of designing a mobile webcast system for storytelling and Native crafts programs at the National Museum of the American Indian imagiNATIONS Activity Center. The presenter talked about the process of finding reliable information for developing a webcasting solution for the particular spaces and natures of the programs, as well as meeting budgetary constraints. Strategies for researching the solution included accessing institutional knowledge and shadowing webcasting staff.
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Webcasting the Museum Without Walls
Assembling a Webcast System: A Case Study
Mark Christal, Multimedia Coordinator
Smithsonian Institution
The Challenge: Creating a Mobile Webcast System for Specific
Spaces
The imagiNATIONS Activity Center
The Goal
• Purchase a webcasting setup to webcast from 2 areas of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center– Storytelling performances in the storytelling area– Artist workshops from the crafts area
• Budget for the purchase: $20,000
The Storytelling Area
The Crafting Area
Challenges
• Where to place the webcast equipment?• Tripods for cameras, or wall mounts?• How many cameras?• Where to install power outlets, network drops?• How to capture the audio for the webcasts?• Need additional lighting?• The mobile nature of the subject a problem?
(Different from a presenter from a podium.)
The Storytelling Area Completed
The Storytelling Area Completed
The Storytelling Area Completed
The Crafting Area Completed
Researching the Solution
• Take advantage of the institutional knowledge.– IT and AV staff– Purchase orders, bids, etc. of webcasting equipment– Trade shows, vendors
• Shadow the staff who are actually doing webcasts in a variety of areas.
• Ask a lot of questions.• Consider a number of possible solutions.
Solution 1: Software Component System
Solution 1: Software Component System
Item Number Unit Cost TotalsTelestream Wirecast 4 HD 1 $548.00 $548.00
Mac Pro 8-core,12MB,Display 1 $5,217.00 $5,217.00
Final Cut Pro X 1 $399.97 $399.97
Blackmagic Design Duolink 1 $470.25 $470.25
Panasonic AG-HPX170 2 $3395.00 $6,790.00
Century 0.6X adapter lens 1 $397.95 $397.95
Panasonic 64GB P2 Cards 2 $669.00 $1,338.00
SDI Cables 2 $50.00 $100.00
Manfrotto Tripod and bag 2 $429.00 $858.00
Sennheiser Wireless Mics 2 $799.95 $1,599.90
AKG C568 Shotgun Mic 1 $829.39 $829.39
Behringer USB Audio Mixer 1 $163.99 $163.99
Sony Pro Headphones 1 $99.99 $99.99
TOTAL $19,741.83
A Revelation: PTZ Cameras
The nature of the subject (storytellers, craft workshop leaders) requires camera moves to follow the main action. For a single staff person running a webcast, this is a problem. The solution is to use Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras.
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Solution 2: A Professional Turnkey System
Solution 2: A Professional Turnkey System
Item Number Unit Cost Totals
Sony PTZ Cameras w/ Vaddio Controllers
2 $11,738.00 $23,000.00
NEC 23-inch monitor 1 $254.00 $254.00
Manfrotto Tripods 2 $496.00 $992.00
Sennheiser Wirless Mics 2 $725.00 $1,450.00
Custom built cables 25’ 2 $175.00 $350.00
Sony Pro Headphones 1 $89.00 $89.00
Custom built rolling rack 1 $2,195.00 $2,279.00
Labor 1 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
NewTek Tricaster 300* 1 $15,000.00 $15,000.00
TOTAL $44,000.00
*We already had the Tricaster 300, so the total for us was $29,000.00
We Went with Solution 2
The First Storytelling Webcast
Associate Director Tim Johnson tells “Scary Stories” on Halloween.
Storytelling from the imagiNATIONS Activity Center
Storytelling from the imagiNATIONS Activity Center Webcasting
SystemCamera Camera Camera
Artist Workshops from the IAC
Since the Initial Purchase . . .
• We have become “spoiled” using a borrowed third camera from other museums. Have purchased a third for ourselves. (Highly recommended)
• The mobile webcasting equipment has become indispensible for the museum as a whole.
• Much more of our public programming is becoming accessible over the Internet.
Program Views to Date
Mohawk Ghost Stories with Tim Johnson 1,338
Touch My Tears – A Choctaw Storytelling Concert with Sarah Elizabeth Sawyer
341
Spooky Storytelling for Halloween with Rachel Cassady 208
Andean Storytelling with Julia Garcia 1,097
Get Your Music On with Greg Analla 482
Hands On Clay Pots with Greg Analla 546
Printmaking Workshop with Jorge Porata 234
YouTube Views for Selected imagiNATIONS Programs
Our YouTube Channel is at: http://www.youtube.com/user/SmithsonianNMAI
YouTube Views for Other Selected Museum Programs
Program Views to Date
Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation Drum and Dance Performance 1,007
Native Expressions Drum and Dance Troupe 341
Bak’tun 13 Festival - The Maya Calendar as a Way of Life 979
Muscogee (Creek) Stomp Dance Demonstration 3,622
Native Pride Dancers with Larry Yazzie 1,974
Nen Daiko –Japanese Taiko Drumming 4,773
Farafina Kan Youth – The Sound of Africa 1,892
Mariachi Los Amigos 12,466
Our YouTube Channel is at: http://www.youtube.com/user/SmithsonianNMAI
Take-aways
• Plan webcast systems based on specific programming and space requirements.
• Take advantage of institutional knowledge, not just vendors for information.
• Shadow webcasting staff doing their work.• Consider a number of solutions.• If a specific compelling feature busts your
budget, ask for it anyway. (You may get lucky.)
A Shameless Plug
http://nmai.si.edu/webcasts
Mark ChristalSmithsonian Institution
National Museum of the American [email protected]
Webcast page: http://nmai.si.edu/webcasts
