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Studio Production of Zoom Events

I’ve been doing larger Zoom events and this series of posts will document my experiments and discoveries and failures. A quick tour of Zoom’s website will reveal that Internet meetings are now a routine part of doing business because the pandemic has made in-person gatherings too risky.

For corporate clients Zoom offers not just the meeting platform, but also fancy meeting room gear to upgrade the quality of visuals and sound. Home users and financially strapped nonprofits have been scrambling to assemble similar functionality using free or cheap cameras, software, and studio gear.

This article will explain how to manage the logistics of presentations, performances, and mixed media productions using easily affordable gear. Here is a list of things I’ve accomplished on a shoestring budget. You may be surprised at what’s possible.

  • Powerpoint slides on Zoom
  • Video playback on Zoom
  • iPhone as a live wireless camera for a PC
  • Canon Rebel DSLR as a live webcam via USB cable (no overlays and not limited to 29.9 minutes uptime.)
  • HDMI output of one computer as camera/video input to a second computer.
  • HDMI output of a Verizon set-top box (STB) as camera input to a PC.
  • Screen capture to video for instructional purposes.
  • Live streaming of Zoom meeting/event to YouTube.

Toolbox

This is a list of hardware and software items you will want for your studio lashup kit.

Where to get certain tools

Kinoni EpocCam Viewer

This is an inexpensive iPhone App that transmits video from an iPhone to a PC with the free companion PC software. Your computer see it as an external camera.

Canon EOS Webcam Utility Beta (free)

Install and launch this software on your PC and then connect the USB port on the camera to a USB port on the PC. Set the camera to movie mode. Bingo, you have a high quality web cam with optical zoom. No, the camera’s mic does not work. Autofocus does work and the camera’s touch screen lets you pick what’s in focus. Most other settings don’t work – you must live with automatic settings the camera does.

Virtual Audio Cable [https://vac.muzychenko.net/en/]

I learned the hard way that the internal signal paths in a PC are not simple. Logically I assumed that audio that comes in on the HDMI to USB connection should be as available as the video signal. It’s not. The video connected immediately and instantly, but after initial success, I couldn’t make the audio connect reliably. Internet research revealed that this is a common problem easily solved with a virtual patch cable. This is a driver program that grabs the audio from one device and assigns it to another. Since you can’t predict when you might need it, buy it.

More to come

For the techies who read this, not much more explanation is needed. The tools themselves suggest how you accomplish the tasks I listed at the outset. I’ll provide some diagrams and narrative in a later post for those not inclined to experiment or willing to endure the frustrations of trial-and-error approaches. Stay tuned.

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Better Web Cameras

Your Cannon DSLR, and your phone can double as “web cameras” meaning that the video from the camera or phone can be used instead of the video from the camera perched atop the screen. This means that you have the flexibility you enjoy with those devices for shooting video.

Whether you are recording, live streaming, or hosting a Zoom meeting call, the ability to have a camera with digital and/or optical zoom lets you frame the shot properly and follow a performer’s movements.

You will probably need a separate microphone. There are many options. I use an inexpensive lavalier microphone or the shotgun mic I normally attach to my Canon Rebel.

Clean Image from a DSLR

Canon recently published software that camera owners may download from the Canon website free of charge. It strips away the overlay of menus and metering you normally see in the camera’s screen to leave only the image. Here’s a link to the download pages:

Canon U.S.A., Inc. | EOS Webcam Utility
With so many of us relying on video calls to stay connected during these challenging times, the caliber of that connection is key. Turn your compatible Canon camera into a high-quality webcam now!

Should you have another make of camera, try a Google search to find software for the camera you have.

Phone as Wireless Video Camera

Actually it can be either wireless or connect via the USB port of your computer. What you need is a pair of programs — an app for the phone and a companion program for the PC computer. Though it’s not free, it’s far cheaper that any new camera you might buy.

Turn your phone into a wireless webcam – Kinoni
Works great with Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and many, many more applications.Ready to go in 3 minutes or less.

If you add some free software, you can create a vidoe studio on a budget. Check out the following free video downloads:

Open Broadcast Studio (OBS)

BlackMagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve (Resolve)

AVS for You Suite

NCH Video

Here’s a how-to video on live streaming with YouTube:

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Very, Very Contagious

Here is the abstract of a new study. It concludes that COVID-19 is much more contagious than we believed.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is the causative agent of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease pandemic. Initial estimates of the early dynamics of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, suggested a doubling time of the number of infected persons of 6–7 days and a basic reproductive number (R0) of 2.2–2.7. We collected extensive individual case reports across China and estimated key epidemiologic parameters, including the incubation period. We then designed 2 mathematical modeling approaches to infer the outbreak dynamics in Wuhan by using high-resolution domestic travel and infection data. Results show that the doubling time early in the epidemic in Wuhan was 2.3–3.3 days. Assuming a serial interval of 6–9 days, we calculated a median R0 value of 5.7 (95% CI 3.8–8.9). We further show that active surveillance, contact tracing, quarantine, and early strong social distancing efforts are needed to stop transmission of the virus

High Contagiousness and Rapid Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is the causative agent of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease pandemic. Initial estimates of the early …
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Good News Grounded in Data

“This is the first major medical voice to express this opinion.  Dr. Shapiro is not just expressing a personal opinion, but that of the largest academic medical system in the country…over 40 hospitals (3 in Italy), 36 senior living facilities, #5 in NIH funded research, and 3.8 million insured lives in its health plans.  We have a lot of data.

Only 5 minutes.  https://wdrv.it/06fe241fb

He is careful not to claim this applies to already heavily infected areas on the east coast.” — Mark Laskow, Key West

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More free software

Here is a review of free alternatives to the pricy Adobe subscription line. Though I still rely on my vintage Creative Suite 5.5, the state of the art marches on and some of these offerings have advantages that interest me.

Free Alternatives to Adobe’s Best Products (Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and More)
Adobe is a staple of creative work in the modern world, with software covering everything from graphic design to video editing under its umbrella. It’s the first company many people turn to when wanting to break into any creative field. But while Adobe’s products are great, they don’t come cheap, an…

Previous Article:

Get Basic Wordsmithing and Graphics Software Free – Chiefwiz.com
The Microsoft Office suite and the Adobe Creative Suite of software have become the top of the line options for many. But, for many, if not most users, more features don’t add benefit. As the marginal benefit to uses of upgrading for the new features has diminished, both publishers have adopted a su…
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Insider’s View

This interview of a veteran reporter who has studied epidemics and knows the experts well reveals the scientific effort to fight COVID-19.

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Improvised Face Covering

After surveying many YouTube videos for face masks, I condluded that I could design a better cloth mask. Many designs I viewed did not seal the gap between the mask and cheek bones — particularly when worn by someone who has a prominent nose, like me.

Continue reading →
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Improvised Face Masks

Here is the best article I have seen so far on how to make a DIY face mask. It discusses not only how to make the mask, but also the best materials and design features. It also ponders the limitations to protection. But most important, it describes how you should don and remove the mask to avoid contaminating your face and defeating the whole purpose of wearing a mask in the first place.

There is one design feature missing from the masks described here: they leave an air gap on each side of the wearer’s nose. Commercial masks often have a soft metal wire embedded in the upper edge that is easily shaped to close the gaps and achieve a better seal.

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Sterile Technique

NOTE: Use 4 teaspoons of household bleach [Clorox] per quart to make a sanitizing solution. (This is stronger than the 1 teaspoon per quart recommended for foodservice uses.)

cdc.gov/CORONAVIRUS/2019-NCOV/PREVENT-GETTING-SICK/PREVENTION.HTML

There is no way to “see” where the COVID-19 virus is, just as we can’t see other microbes. Healthcare professionals learn habits called sterile technique to minimize the chance of transferring invisible microbes from one patient to another, or to an open surgical wound. In the following video, the doctor demonstrates the use of sterile technique to ensure that the goods you bring into your home don’t carry and shed the virus.

Sterile Technique for the Home
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Zoom Meetings Tutorials

Here are some resources for getting more out of the free Zoom meetings service. The first is an independently produced video that’s quite detailed (20 minutes). Laptop users can pause the video by pressing the spacebar.

The official training videos from Zoom.us are just 3 or so minutes and each deals with a particular feature.

Zoom Video Tutorials
This page lists the official training videos by topic.