Scrapbook Answers

TriCaster is the answer for Scrapbook Answers
Hundreds of ‘how-to’ segments produced on minimal budget

When special-interest magazine publisher Future US started penciling out a new magazine aimed at the burgeoning scrapbook and hobbyist market, editors wanted to make their new product more than simply a magazine. They wanted to wrap a CD-ROM full of scrapbooker-friendly content in every issue, and they wanted video to be part of that “Answers Disc” package.

Though Future US Technology Group Editorial Director Jon Phillips and Scrapbook Answers Editor in Chief Leslie Ayers were working with a limited budget, they had lofty goals. Their plan called for the production of roughly 100 “how-to” segments a year. Each segment was to run about 3 minutes, and the “look and feel” had to be in keeping with the company’s goal: to make Scrapbook Answers “the ultimate guide to scrapbooking”.

San Francisco Bay Area-based video producers Spotted Bull Productions and EldrickFilm Productions collaborated on the project. Discussions between the companies and Scrapbook Answers editors led to the production concept: magazine editors, led by Editor in Chief Ayers, would present scrapbooking tips and tricks in a simple “workshop” environment.

Spotted Bull co-owner Brian Cardello quickly realized the traditional “shoot-and-edit” model would be cost-prohibitive. “We knew we’d need three cameras to cover the action,” said Cardello, “but we also knew we’d run way over budget on post-production if we had to edit all that footage.” The veteran broadcaster, corporate cameraman and editor knew he had to find another approach.

EldrickFilm’s Craig Bunger had experience with NewTek’s [VT]2, and saw the potential of the system’s live switching capability for the Scrapbook Answers project. “I knew that if we could do the bulk of the production ‘live’,” said Bunger, “we’d be able to save some serious time in post.” Neither Cardello nor Bunger had yet seen NewTek’s TriCaster™, but they’d been reading about it and were very intrigued.

“Director’s station” showing TriCaster setup (the director is Stan Bunger)

Cardello’s trip to NAB, the National Association of Broadcasters convention, sealed the deal. After spending time examining TriCaster at the show, he came home and placed the order.

TriCaster has quickly become the backbone of the Scrapbook Answers production flow, which represents a hybrid approach by combining on-set discipline with the speed of ‘one-take’ segments.

“Demo segments can really chew up the clock,” said Cardello, who spent 5 years on the staff of the internationally-syndicated high-tech show “New Media News”. “You’re always shooting pickup shots, starting and stopping, and in the end it can just turn into an editing nightmare.” So the team decided to use TriCaster’s live-switching capability to capture each demo segment in real time.

Scrapbook Answers Editor in Chief Leslie Ayers (left) and Associate Editor Rachel Boll (right) prepare to shoot a demonstration. This shot shows the 3-camera setup used by Spotted Bull Productions and EldrickFilm Productions—note the “skycam” mounted on folding ladder

Three cameras are connected to TriCaster: two Sony DSR-300 DVCams and an Ikegami HL-55A Betacam unit. Two of the cameras are tripod-mounted and manned; the third is lashed to a “skybridge” created by Bunger from milk crates and a folding ladder/scaffold unit. That gives the crew an overhead shot to capture the intricacies of the craft projects being demonstrated. A Sony PD-150 MiniDV unit serves as a spare camera and helps the crew grab the odd handheld shot.

Audio is captured with a pair of Sony ECM-44 lavaliere mics fed through a Mackie 1604 VLZ mixer, which then feeds the TriCaster’s line-level audio inputs. The Mackie gives the crew the flexibility to add a third mic on an occasional segment.

A demo in progress. From left to right: Brian Cardello of Spotted Bull Productions (on camera), Leslie Ayers and Rachel Boll of Scrapbook Answers (on set), Craig Bunger of EldrickFilm Productions (at audio mixer), Stan Bunger (director, at TriCaster).

On occasion, TriCaster’s iVGA™ module is employed to capture screenshots when the scrapbooking demonstration involves the use of a notebook computer. iVGA provides crisp, clean screen capture over the local area network without the need for an external scan converter.

The production crew is minimal: two camera operators (one of whom also sets audio levels and handles the slate), and a director seated at the TriCaster keyboard. When the Scrapbook Answers team is ready, the director hits the “Record Output” button in TriCaster’s Live Production module, the camera operators roll tape in all three cameras (more about that in a moment), the slate appears, and the director calls “Action!”

Another view of the TriCaster setup. Director Stan Bunger is in foreground

For the next three minutes or so, Scrapbook Answers’ Leslie Ayers and one of her scrapbook-loving staffers proceed through an often-intricate demonstration of a scrapbooking technique or trick. Three cameras are switched (the production design calls for a “soft take”, or 3-frame dissolve, on each camera change—something easily arranged in TriCaster’s Live Production interface). Occasionally, the demo will fall apart and the call of “Cut!” will be heard. But not often.

“We think we have something special here,” says Cardello, “because these aren’t actors on camera. They’re people who really know their material. We’re just trying to capture that, and the best way is to be as ‘low-impact’ as possible.” That means a fairly strict rule against pickup shots—if a take goes bad, the crew will usually re-start from the top. Net result: fewer clips to sort through, and a much higher shoot-to-waste ratio. On those rare occasions when a pickup shot simply can’t be avoided (some scrapbooking techniques and materials require an extreme close-up to “read” well on-screen), the crew simply grabs an extra clip and TriCaster’s sequential file-naming system makes it easy to find later.

When the demo’s done, the crew has a nearly-finished video clip stored on TriCaster’s hard drive—and the capability of immediately reviewing it with the Scrapbook Answers staff. After two days of shooting, Cardello takes over to manage post-production. “We probably get it 98% right in the ‘live-to-disk’ switch,” says Cardello, “but nobody’s perfect as a director and this hybrid approach using TriCaster lets us have it both ways.” He admits that he’s doing more and more of the editing work right on the TriCaster before exporting the clips.

Setting up to shoot. From left to right: Brian Cardello of Spotted Bull Productions (on camera), Craig Bunger of EldrickFilm Productions (between cameras) Editor in Chief Leslie Ayers and Associate Editor Ana Cabrera of Scrapbook Answers (on set). TriCaster setup is in right foreground

Scrapbook Answers editors say their readers have responded positively to the “Answers Disc” videos, and they’ve told Cardello and Bunger that the TriCaster-powered production process is painless for them. The magazine even refers to the production team as “fabulous” on its website.

Both Cardello and Bunger are sold on the “Live Truck in a backpack” from NewTek. “It’s unbelievably easy to set up, and it’s always amazing to realize that we’re walking out of a full day’s worth of production with everything we need right there on TriCaster’s hard drive,” says Bunger. “It’s like any great tool—you wonder how you ever lived without it.”

View of TriCaster. On camera are Scrapbook Answers Editor in Chief Leslie Ayers (left) and Associate Editor Rachel Boll (right)

More information about these products and services can be found here:

Scrapbook Answers Magazine: http://www.scrapbookanswers.com
Spotted Bull Productions: http://www.spottedbull.com
EldrickFilm Productions: http://www.eldrickfilm.com