• 
• 
• 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

This Article Features Photo Zoom

According to Streamin' Garage's Mike Rotman (pictured), when compared to the cost and time involved in post, NewTek's TriCaster is the way to go because, in the end, there's no postproduction. The TriCaster is small and easy to use with either a small crew or even one person.

Rotman purchased the TriCaster 300 in January 2010, and since he was moving, he sought out a new residence commodious enough to accommodate a small studio. So he converted his garage into a studio, complete with studio lighting, various cameras and the TriCaster. Streamin' Garage was born.

The Streamin' Garage crew is made up of a main core group who essentially works for free. The payoff for those involved is free training on TriCaster productions, which parlays into paying jobs. The crew consists of five to eight people, including camera operators, sound techs, social-media experts and various other crew positions.

LIVE ON THE INTERNET
Most consumers of online content watch it on demand when they want it or when it's convenient. Although live broadcasts are exhilarating for the performers, the crew and, ultimately, the audience, one of the big challenges is to book an audience around their computers at a scheduled time. However, Rotman says through social media, email blasts and subscribed users they have quite a following. The shows take live questions using a chat room, and "netizens" rush the chat room during the live webcasts to be a part of the show. Even with social media to mobilize people to become viewers, Rotman says at the end of the day, it's all about execution.

"If you're able to incorporate the 'live' aspect into the show in a smart, creative way, then people will log on to watch it," he says. "If the quality is there, they will also watch it on demand."

The Streamin' Garage crew usually consists of five to eight people, including camera, sound, social-media experts and various other crew positions.

Rotman feels there are big changes in the way content is and will be distributed, and that eventually network television will go away. Because the Streamin' Garage programs run in excess of an hour, Rotman believes they're in a prime position to attract an audience who's ready for full-length content on the web.

"Our shows are an hour sometimes," he says, "and now the public has a way of seeing long content on the web because of iPhones, iPads, which are basically just mini-televisions to receive content."

Two years ago there was only Netflix, but now there's a plethora of new channels on the web via apps on Roku, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon—the list is growing. Today, there are multiple options for distribution. With all of these different channels showing up, the line between network television and Internet video has become blurred and eventually will vanish completely. For producers like Mike Rotman and his Streamin' Garage, this is a great time. It's a time when someone with a dream, a little money and a strong work ethic can stake a claim in the new frontier of online distribution.

For more information about Streamin' Garage, visit www.streamingarage.com. For more information on NewTek's TriCaster series, visit www.newtek.com.

0 %d Comments