YAPC Presentation Recordings
Is there a reason The Perl Foundation does not take charge of a central hosting repository for videos from larger YAPCs? Or an initiative to focus on quality recordings? I'd love to see(and hear) more high quality recordings. Looking over the 2012 YAPC:NA videos it appears they were recorded at 480p resolution making text reading difficult. Audio is often not ideal either relying on the facility's broadcast capabilities.
Could we get some interest or a mechanism(fundraising?) to improve this? I realize there is a fear of losing attendance if the material is readily available but I think the actual number of Perl users able to attend key YAPCs compared to the userbase is significantly insignificant.
Many smartphones can capture video at 720p/1080p. Audio capture can likewise be done with a separate smartphone recording at the podium or close distance to the speaker. Dedicated digital videocams and digital audio recorders are not likely to be that expensive if purposed and shared for the large events.
Damian Conway does a great job at helping and encouraging others present well. Let's open that up so more of the Perl community(and outsiders) can appreciate what we have available.
I know there are a few scattered websites that catalog videos but the efforts/use seem to fall off after some time. Presentingperl.com(correction: the TLD is .org) is a common example of this. A great start...how do we improve something like this and keep it growing?
I dream of a Perl you would want your offspring to use.
You can call me Bob.
If someone were to request a grant to set up something on perl.org for hosting presentations from YAPC and other conferences (as well as ensuring that high-quality recordings were made), I'd support that in a red-hot minute. This dovetails nicely with "we need better marketing" and "we need more, current, and high-quality educational material".
http://yapc.tv is another great start :-)
Seriously (why did you post anonymously?), every small step in recording conference video is easy. All together it is a pain in ass for the organises.
1. Cameras are cheap indeed. In Riga we had a few HD camera that cost less that 200 €. Transporting cameras with tripods is a hassle (OK, I admit that most organisers really live in the city where the conference takes place, and this is not a problem).
2. You need a dedicated cameramen for each camera (thus, three of four additional persons in the stuff). One of the cameras in Riga was stolen. You'd better pay these cameramen and do not ask the attendees as it is difficult for them to sit the whole day in one room.
3. Post processing is another pain in ass. It's not simply cut the talk from the recording and upload it on YouTube. You also need to find the talk title, speaker's name, maybe attach a link for the slides. Links/embedding to the conference site are desired too.
4. Sound. The only way you can cheat and record sound using camera's microphone is a recording in the room with sound amplifiers. Sounds is recorded OK-ish in this case (see http://yapceurope.lv/ye2011/talk/3531 for an example of such recording). Would you like to have better sound, especially in the room which has no amplifiers, be so kind to run around the speaker before he start talking. Barely that means that we need another stuff guy in each room (he/she may also serve a time keeper).
5. Screen capture. Extremely great technique to record video that is displayed on the big screen. Extremely difficult to implement at YAPCs with very few exceptions speakers demonstrate their talks from their own laptops.
6. Permissions from the speakers. Well, not that big problem, and you've got three categories here. a) those who ignore your requests, b) those who agree immediately, c) those who would only agree if they see the video recordings first (which means that you may do all the above with no guarantee that you will be able to publish that).
7. Money-wise. Vimeo PRO account, or a YouTube account, or hosting for the site are not expensive. Time to prepare all above is quite costly.
I have lots of video files archived in my disks at home since 2005, and I have no idea of when this will be (if ever) published. Also keep in mind that it is very easy to receive messages (both public and private) that like "you did a terrible mistake/fucked up/you are idiot", after which you feel that it is just insane to continue volunteering.
7. Together with that you may encounter a speaker who thinks he tells something secret and turn your camera off (here you are: https://blogs.perl.org/users/andrew_shitov/2011/11/lets-say-no-to-no.html).
Anyway, saying for this year's conference in Kiev, we either will not record at all, or will do the recordings with no guarantee to publish, or will invite a third party. In the latter we need just to find another 5000 € for that to be done. So simple.
http://yapc.tv is another great start :-)
Seriously (why did you post anonymously?), every small step in recording conference video is easy. All together it is a pain in ass for the organises.
1. Cameras are cheap indeed. In Riga we had a few HD camera that cost less that 200 €. Transporting cameras with tripods is a hassle (OK, I admit that most organisers really live in the city where the conference takes place, and this is not a problem).
2. You need a dedicated cameramen for each camera (thus, three of four additional persons in the stuff). One of the cameras in Riga was stolen. You'd better pay these cameramen and do not ask the attendees as it is difficult for them to sit the whole day in one room.
3. Post processing is another pain in ass. It's not simply cut the talk from the recording and upload it on YouTube. You also need to find the talk title, speaker's name, maybe attach a link for the slides. Links/embedding to the conference site are desired too.
4. Sound. The only way you can cheat and record sound using camera's microphone is a recording in the room with sound amplifiers. Sounds is recorded OK-ish in this case (see http://yapceurope.lv/ye2011/talk/3531 for an example of such recording). Would you like to have better sound, especially in the room which has no amplifiers, be so kind to run around the speaker before he start talking. Barely that means that we need another stuff guy in each room (he/she may also serve a time keeper).
5. Screen capture. Extremely great technique to record video that is displayed on the big screen. Extremely difficult to implement at YAPCs with very few exceptions speakers demonstrate their talks from their own laptops.
6. Permissions from the speakers. Well, not that big problem, and you've got three categories here. a) those who ignore your requests, b) those who agree immediately, c) those who would only agree if they see the video recordings first (which means that you may do all the above with no guarantee that you will be able to publish that).
7. Money-wise. Vimeo PRO account, or a YouTube account, or hosting for the site are not expensive. Time to prepare all above is quite costly.
I have lots of video files archived in my disks at home since 2005, and I have no idea of when this will be (if ever) published. Also keep in mind that it is very easy to receive messages (both public and private) that like "you did a terrible mistake/fucked up/you are idiot", after which you feel that it is just insane to continue volunteering.
7. Together with that you may encounter a speaker who thinks he tells something secret and turn your camera off (here you are: https://blogs.perl.org/users/andrew_shitov/2011/11/lets-say-no-to-no.html).
Anyway, saying for this year's conference in Kiev, we either will not record at all, or will do the recordings with no guarantee to publish, or will invite a third party. In the latter we need just to find another 5000 € for that to be done. So simple.
There's already www.presentingperl.org. I'm not sure exactly who maintains it, but besides the fact that I can't read any of the text, I think it does what you want ;)
I suspect that the site could be improved, and in particular the pipeline to get video from conferences onto the site could be improved. Right now I think it's mostly "bug the admins to include video conference X".
Thank you. I had incorrectly labeled presentingperl as a .com TLD.
There is also yapc.tv.
Many people mistake TPF for some big organization. It's a very small group of part time volunteers spread out across the world. There's no paid staff, most of the people involved with TPF don't show up at most conferences, and those that show up at conferences already have plenty to do.
So, let me ask you this. How much would you pay per video to get what you want?
Thank you for the response. I'm not sure why there would be a requirement for a TPF board member to be present at a conference. YAPCs are run as independent organizations aren't they?
The pricing question is interesting and I have to respond first with a possible frame of reference. I know you're a published author of private works. If you were a non-profit group and self-publishing/producing, would you charge for the cost coverage operations or charge a rate just to charge a rate? Now, turn that on it's head and have TPF ask the question of how much it NEEDS to charge for a video. Once we can define what it costs to make this happen, the Perl community can vote if they would be willing to purchase at that price. Is something like that more approachable?
I have used Perl since 1997. I realize I'm a late-comer to the community. I have never been able to travel to a large YAPC because of familial responsibilities and issues. I know I am not the only one who can't OR won't travel to such conferences but would support materials even if a slight cost. I haven't knocked on your front door but I have used the power of the internet to purchase a book of yours. Shouldn't quality audio/video recordings be available in a similar fashion?
I mentioned TPF not because I thought it was a large organization (I don't; I realize it's small and volunteer-run) but because I think it has grant money to give out (and there I'm right).
As an additional exercise, make a 5 minute video of the sort you want. Show it to us when it's done and tell us how long it took you. Tell us how many of those you're willing to do, and see how many you can sell. You don't have to wait for anyone's permission.
I've tried it. I know that I don't really want to be the person responsible for this at a conference because three very short videos took up my two days.
You're getting many frustrated responses because it sounds like you expect to get something for virtually free and claim that it's easy to do. Since you're anonymous, we also figure that you've never organized a conference or made such a video, but you're happy to tell everyone else how easy it is.
YAPC::Asia just puts everything on Youtube. No maintenance hassle, period :)
http://www.youtube.com/user/yapcasia
>I've tried it. I know that I don't really want to be the person responsible for this at a conference because three very short videos took up my two days.
I'm not asking the speaker or the organizer to be the one burdened with processing. We are a community right? I can't attend a YAPC so your response is that means that there is no way for someone to volunteer services from a remote location? You started the Perl Mongers right? There are more PM groups than continental YAPCs or at least I hope that to be the case. I'm willing to bet there are an order of magnitude more Perl users than members of PM groups. There seems to be a general undercurrent in the community that many parts of Perl from implementation to marketing to awareness need to be improved. Not all Perl users can hack on the core. Perhaps some are good writers...like yourself. Perhaps some are good at donating money. Perhaps some are good at splicing together audio/video files? Just because you aren't and I don't own a Red camera doesn't mean the possibility should be ruled out. The community as a whole is volunteers. Let's not forget that.
>You're getting many frustrated responses because it sounds like you expect to get something for virtually free and claim that it's easy to do. Since you're anonymous, we also figure that you've never organized a conference or made such a video, but you're happy to tell everyone else how easy it is.
Again, where am I asking the world for free? I stated how can we create a mechanism and/or fundraising to make this happen? Are there costs involved? Yes. For everything in life there is a cost.
What's the issue with anonymity? You have a name of Brian right? The government doesn't care. They know you by your social security number. I don't know your social security number. You're anonymous to me. Does your DD 214 become invalidated if you change your appearance? Of course not. So why do people post photos of themselves as an avatar? Names, numbers and physical appearances change over time. If you post a photo of yourself that is not of this moment in time, should I suspect shenanigans because that is old? I don't care. I'm not entering into a transaction with you at this moment. If we do, I'll either use a third-party service I'm comfortable with(your book publisher and credit card company) or if directly then something we are each comfortable with. Identification can be anything even something distilled as a writing style. If PerlUserFromTheFuture or Bob is not enough for you then think of me as someone just tyring to contribute. I'm just participating in the community. Can we get back to the subject of improving Perl or do we plan to create an army of straw-men?
An interesting thing to read is YAPC - Yet Another Perl Conference information and documentation (http://tpf.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/yapc/YAPC.pm)
I'd like to specifically highlight the following paragraph:
---
Before you think about anything to do with the organizing of an open source
conference, there is one important thing you need to remember throughout. The
conference is a means to bring together like minded souls, from all walks of
life, to meet and learn. The "all walks of life" is the important bit. We are
all very different people and you'll need to remind yourself occasionally that
you're not only organising a conference to get your friends to come visit you,
but also to bring new people into the community and give them a good experience
of the community, so that they stay involved and contribute long after the
conference is over. As much as possible try to be inclusive, think about
accessibility and dietary requirements, and your attendees will thank you for it
later.
---
>I mentioned TPF not because I thought it was a large organization (I don't; I realize it's small and volunteer-run) but because I think it has grant money to give out (and there I'm right).
Just looking into this I guess an example are the Development grants. I wasn't aware these started initially with one for Damian. So even there is a possible for a "talented" individual if the community is afraid of a "community effort."
History:
http://yetanother.org/damian/about.html
Sponsors from that initial grant. Yes, individuals dontated too:
http://yetanother.org/damian/sponsors.html
TPF relevant info:
http://www.perlfoundation.org/grant_benefits
On a related note, what is the status of Yet Another Society organization? Is that still active/relevant?
Their website is a day or two behind:
http://yetanother.org/
Well, good luck then, anonymous. Let us know how it works out for you.
>Well, good luck then, anonymous. Let us know how it works out for you.
Thank you. If you feel like contributing, there is no cost. I won't charge you nor require you to prove you're brian d foy who makes money from books. All are welcome.
I took the liberty of associating your post here as the same user who posted as brian d foy on Shitov's link earlier? Or was that an anonymous poster masquerading? So apparently you already have a disdain for sharing information for those not able to attend a conference.
https://blogs.perl.org/users/andrew_shitov/2011/11/lets-say-no-to-no.html
---
Consider a counterpoint to Marcel's statement. Without conferences, which provide an audience, there would be no speakers, no talks, and no recordings. If people don't participate as an audience member, why should they get a recording. You may think this is a weird position, but hang around with enough performers and you'll realize that the audience creates the performance as much as the performer. I certainly know as a speaker I have to feed off the audience's energy to give a good talk. I firmly believe that the talk exists only at a point in time and anything else is a weak representative of it.
Also, I object to the idea that just because we are talking about open source programming that everything else has to be free. It's already an open talk because everyone can attend. I object to the idea that I as a speaker exist only as a resource to mine and that as a condition for my (mostly) free participation in a conference that I also have to submit to any such conditions or that anyone would expect that I can't choose how I present myself. Pay me (and many conferences do) then I'm fine with the conferences getting more out of it.
---
May I ask something more relevant to your area of expertise? Do you ever wonder what the professional scribes felt once Gutenberg's press came to be? Books for many people? Surely that must be blasphemy right? How is making quality presentations available widely to those who can't scribe...er...attend a conference any different? There is a cost required...I know. Everyone knows. Even chromatic who makes Modern Perl freely available knows. Anyway, I am disappointed you feel threatened. But I do sincerely appreciate what you've given our community. Thank you again!