Re: [Linux-aus] Re: A/V recordings and publishing

[Paul Wayper <paul.wayper@anu.edu.au>]

Ken Wilson wrote:
> Also these 7 sets of gear are the same, which makes buying or hiring
> cameras to go with it easier, set-up and training easier, and moving
> people doing the recording around between theatres on the day easier.
> If they are despatched to different LUGs there will be losses,
> additions, breakages, replacements and that sameness will be lost.
> Sameness is of little use when using just one of the sets in say a LUG
> but it makes recording a conference possible.

The homogeneity of gear is a big issue.  Professional studios typically
buy spares to keep homogeneity; but they also have suppliers who know
the value of backward compatibility and interface consistency.  At the
consumer end, we don't have this, although some manufacturers are better
at providing consistent compatible products than others.

If we have money to throw around, the way to handle this over the years
is to simply replace everything as soon as we use up all the spares. 
Sell the whole lot second-hand or use it internally (e.g. loan the old
gear to LUGs) and buy new stuff to record at conferences.  That way the
A/V team knows exactly what they're using each year.

If we don't have that much money to spend, you're going to get a certain
heterogeneity of gear after a number of years.  I myself don't see this
as an issue, provided it isn't taken too far.  What you do is group sets
of equipment - camera, recorder, leads, microphone, etc. - known to work
together.  That kit stays together.  If one part stops working, supply
an entire box of new kit to that room and take the old kit out of
service.  Then, and only then, do you replace the faulty part; and you
test everything at that time to make sure that it works together.  Then
it's all given new labels and it becomes another complete kit that is
kept together.  You never swap one part for another live unless it's
part of the same kit.

This might sound extravagant, but it's not particularly difficult or
expensive to do.  The professionals take it slightly further, and to us
it looks like voodoo - you must use this cable with this camera and
recorder or else, don't ask questions why, just do it.  But it works. 
They also treat people as part of the 'kit' - the camera goes with the
cameraman, as does the microphone, the sound recordist, and the leads
and everything.  The question is merely how much you value getting that
recording.  To us, it's nice if we have it but not essential if we
don't; so I tend to take a more moderate approach.

As that kit gets old, you can also shuffle it down the line; loan it to
LUGs or committee members for Linux Australia business.  But that brings
its own responsibilities too.

Have fun,

Paul