WASHINGTON—Taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., from Dec. 4–5, The Video Show is a two-day educational event with more than 100 educational and informational sessions, and an exhibit floor with tutorials and demonstrations, all designed for video professionals and enthusiasts.

Debuting in the United Kingdom in 2018, The Video Show is produced by TV Technology’s parent company, Future Plc.

“We wanted to develop an event that was almost entirely content driven—offering sessions from more than 100 speakers focusing on 16 different areas critical to today’s video professionals,” said Johnny Sullens, Future’s head of events.

Those 16 areas of focus will be explored across eight stages with more than 100 sessions over the two-day conference and cover a variety of topics that are designed to satisfy attendees no matter what field they come from. The full schedule can be found at www.thevideoshow.com.

“More than anything, we really want to support the region’s creative community and help its members develop and evolve,” said Cristina Clapp, content director for the conference. “I’d like the show to teach anyone attending something—hopefully many things—new, useful, constructive, inspiring. We want everyone to leave each day with more skills, more knowledge, more expertise—and head into new projects better equipped.”

CONTENT IS KING

Video has become such an integral part of countless industries, and while the sessions each have their own unique focus, the goal is to have attendees take in any program and learn something that they can apply to their particular area of interest, be that sports production, independent filmmaking, social media or wedding videography.

The Video Show takes over as an expanded version of what was previously the Government Video Expo, so one of the conference content “streams” will focus on the government, military and public sectors and how its members utilize video.

“The people working in public sector jobs have particular needs to deliver their products and get ahead in their careers,” said Paul McLane, managing director of content for Future’s B2B Media Technology brands and coordinator of the Military/Government stream. “For instance, we’ll have a presentation on how a government videographer/ photographer for a massive state agency can produce great work on a small budget.”

With the White House just a few blocks from the convention center, Voice of America’s White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman will discuss its unique position as an editorial service that is an extension of the government; Herman will explain how his team balances those responsibilities.

There’s more to D.C. than just the government, however, and a series of sessions have been developed to highlight producing news and video in the city. Terry Scutt, content director at Future and coordinator for the Producing News and Video in D.C. stream, has lined up individual sessions that will cover local news production, best practices for creating political ads or videos, the waiver process for drone operators trying to enter “no-fly zones” and a profile of unique locations with the D.C. Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment. But her personal favorite session satisfies the sweet tooth, as Michael F. Cormier, the director of photography for TLC’s “DC Cupcakes,” will give a behind-the-scenes look at the show filmed in Georgetown.

TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE

Beyond the city limits of the nation’s capital, streams like the Future of Video will offer attendees some advice on how video can be expected to evolve in the coming years.

“Technology is changing all the time, so we’re bringing together as many experts as we can to address different aspects—whether it’s exploring new imaging formats, looking at how to manage 8K content or considering how 5G will impact video delivery,” said Clapp, who is serving as the session’s coordinator.

Other highlights of the Video Show will include a question and answer session with the filmmaking team behind the award-winning documentary “17 Blocks;” a session on the future of mobile journalism as well as a boot camp focused on some of the tricks of the trade; CreativeMediaMatter’s Gail McCabe will offer guidance on how to prepare and reduce stress when shooting solo; and the founder of PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Lab will be joined by students currently in the program and creating news for PBS stations.

“Honestly, each time we finalize a session, that’s my new favorite one,” said Clapp.

The exhibit floor will feature industry-leading brands and innovative tech startups so attendees can discover and get hands-on with all of the latest products and software from exhibitors such as AJA, Canon, ENCO, K5600, LAWO, Quantum and many more.

“This year the goal is to establish The Video Show as an exciting platform for the mid-Atlantic video community, and then going forward we really want to grow the event in all aspects—education, visitors, networking sponsors and exhibitors,” Sullens said.

You can get the chance to experience The Video Show yourself Dec. 4–5. For more information on the show or to register, visit www.thevideoshow.com.

WASHINGTON—The 2019 Government Video Expo, which will take place from Dec. 4-5 in Washington, D.C., is accepting proposals for potential speakers to highlight its schedule of sessions and panels.

The GV Expo is interested in people who have experience in a range of topics, including: augmented, virtual and mixed reality; AV and digital signage; cinematography; classroom AV; documentary, non-fiction and wildlife production; editing, graphics and postproduction; encoding, compression and codecs; imaging formats; live and event production; media management and storage; social media/social video strategies; and streaming video.

Interested applicants must have their submissions in by May 31.

For more information, click here.

WASHINGTON—The Government Video Expo, held Nov. 27-29, has an image of the U.S. Capitol building in its logo, but the reality on the floor is bigger than one building or just the federal government market alone. Indeed, a glance at attendee show badges on the exhibition floor or at the conference shows an eclectic mix of media professionals from many arenas.

While attendees included personnel from local, state and federal governments and all the agencies and contractors within that leviathan, this base was joined by representatives from state and local emergency personnel, defense-related contractors, educational institutions, houses of worship, and plenty of regional production types and broadcasters.

The conference schedule also reflected this. While many presentations and speakers were quite government-specific, broader topics such as live streaming, LED lighting advancements, SMPTE 2110, and high dynamic range video appealed to many modern media professionals.

TOPICS AND TRENDS

The SMPTE ST 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks suite of standards has been the hot topic at trade shows of late, and it was on the minds of many at GV Expo. The importance of the new standard was reflected in the addition of the day-long SMPTE in DC: Essential Technology Advances for Media Pros Conference, which attracted a number of local broadcast and media professionals eager to dig deep into the implications of IP on their media operations.

On the exhibit floor, the big buzz words were 4K, UHD and IPTV, according to Tommy Goodson, president of AudioVideo BrandBuilder (AVBB) Corp. “What we’re hearing at this show in particular is a lot about IPTV, with 2110 on the agenda … everybody who has come by is preparing for 2110.”

AVBB—a master distributor and manufacturer rep primarily for test and measurement specialist Phabrix and streaming company Teracue—said it was seeing great interest in the 2110-friendly Phabrix line, including the Sx-TAG model and the Qx IP, a fully flexible 2110 rasterizer.

Also popular was Teracue’s iCUE Grid Video Wall, is an IP Video Wall Presenter for multiple content sources within the video wall. It allows complete on-the-fly control over visualized live and/or on-demand content in any resolution.

AR/VR was present on the exhibition floor within products and at the conference, but the technology is a bit less in-your-face at trade shows now. The same can be said for artificial intelligence, which also had a decent presence on the conference schedule, but was not plastered on every booth on the exhibition floor as has been seen at events over the last few years. This may reflect the technology maturation, as AI or AR/VR are now established products or part of established products.

An example is Quantum’s StorNext media workflow file system. More than a year ago the company had announced it would offer Veritone Inc.'s multi-engine AI platform in a StorNext-managed environment. At GV Expo, the incorporation was a reality and AI is now just part of an overall system. There were no flashy robots on display representing the brave new world of AI, but representatives from Veritone did attend Day One of the show.

StorNext has applications across broadcast, security, defense and other environments that generate lots of data that needs to be evaluated and used. NewTek’s Tricaster multicamera production system also has a broad range of applications. It was on show at the booth of Washington Professional Systems, a dealer/integrator from nearby Wheaton, Md., that is also a NewTek Elite Dealer selling the systems across several market areas.

“The Tricaster product line is versatile enough that it is not just a broadcast switcher, there is so much more under the hood that allows it to be used in many AV environments,” said Jeremy Morris, Sr. Engineer & Certified Tricaster Operator with WPS. WPS’s booth also demonstrated products from Crestron, Christie and others.

WPS also had Sony broadcast and robotic cameras on hand, but the media world has seen a merging of the consumer and professional areas over the last several decades, so it makes sense that Sony had its own consumer electronics presence at the show as well. Highlights at this stand included still cameras capable of shooting some impressive video, and high end consumer camcorders such as the FS5 Mk II and the FS7 Mk II, both of which can shoot in 4K.

Sony professional cameras, along with units from Hitachi and JVC, were also present at the large, central booth of Digital Video Group (DVG), a supplier and system integrator of broadcast and production systems.

Alex Martin, DVG CEO, said the company was looking to expand its government business with its offerings, which also included asset management and shared storage from Avid, bonded cellular transmission units from LiveU, and more. Martin said show trends that cut across customers included the real need for 4K and preparing for SMPTE 2110.

PRODUCTION AS BREAD AND BUTTER

Whatever the resolution of the video is, and whether it is sent around a facility as an SDI stream or as an IP packet, production needs will always include camera support and lighting. These needs were front-and-center at Vitec.

On display was the Vinten flowtech 75 set of two-stage carbon fiber tripod legs with a removable mid-level spreader, rubber feet, and a 44-pound payload. This established unit was joined by the flowtech 100, which was only launched a few months ago. Compatible with all major 100 mm fluid heads, flowtech100 supports a payload of up to 66 pounds, making it ideal for heavy-duty ENG/EFP and a wide range of wildlife, commercial, and documentary productions.

Joseph Teodosio, Training & Product Specialist for Vitec, said the first day of the show drew a nice mix of local TV stations, government and military and house of worship (HOW) customers: “The LitePanels Gemini has been a real draw with its very high quality light, and the new flowtech 100 is also attracting people.”

Greg Smalfelt, senior cable television engineer, Communications Production Division, and Josh Bass, cable TV engineer, both with Fairfax County, Va.’s Channel 16, came to see the 100. “We’re an existing customer but we wanted to see the 100 for our bigger cameras, and get some questions answered,” said Smalfelt.

Panasonic was also out in force with a range of production kit for needs ranging from broadcast to HOW to government video entities. The AU-EVA1 compact cinema camera and a new class of PTZ remote cameras and controllers capable of operating in 4K 60 and 50p were joined by the AV-HLC100 small switcher, which is capable of direct streaming to YouTube or Facebook Live.

Smaller scale routing and switching needs were also key at AJA, where the company’s affordable Kumo routers and KiPro Ultra+ recorders were on display. Eastern region territory manager for AJA Dan Wingard said the duo were perfect for many of the potential customers walking the aisles. “We see everything from Federal, state and local government people through to community colleges, really a little bit of everything,” said Wingard.

Barbizon, a distributor of lighting, rigging, projection kit and more, said there was a lot going on in the world of LEDs in 2018. One of the big things this year is that a lot of the LEDs are now IP-rated, which has nothing to do with packets of data but is a measure of the protection an item will have against solid objects (dust, sand, dirt, etc.) and liquids, according to Kearston Dillard-Scott, Outside Sales representative for Barbizon. “Variety is also a trend,” said Dillard-Scott. “Many of the fixtures that were bi-color just from warm to cool can now do full RGB.”

Project Manager for Barbizon Sam Herbig added that the quality of an LED fixture’s light was increasing, and consistency within a product line has greatly improved from a few years ago: “It’s boring, but for anyone lighting to a level it is important,” said Herbig.

IP packets play a large role in an interesting product from Comrex that was on display, and due for shipping before year-end after being launched at the 2018 NAB Show: The VoIP-based Earshot IFB. The hardware-based system delivers live audio feeds to callers and is designed to provide telephone-based live studio program and IFB audio to field-based remote broadcasts, like TV ENG reports or in other applications.

Comrex also had an app called “FieldTap,” which allows a user to connect to Comrex codecs in studio from a cellphone with high-quality wideband audio.

According to Chris Crump, senior director of sales and marketing for the Devens, Mass.-based company, the Comrex LiveShot Portable IP video codec for live wireless newsgathering are in use across government sectors, particularly emergency management and security entities, along with community broadcasters. LiveShot delivers live, two-way, HD video and audio over a range of IP and cellular networks at latencies as low as less than 200mS, he said.

MISSION CRITICAL

Many government and defense video applications are defined as “mission critical,” a niche Oregon-based Planar covers with its narrow pixel pitch direct view LED and LCD panels. “These are purpose-built for mission-critical and mission-command applications, with higher image quality for indoor applications," said Alberto Reyes, director of federal business development for Planar. “We’re now finding other applications as well, any discerning 24/7/365 application in a signage environment really.”

Advances in projection display were evident at the booth of Christie Digital Systems.

“We’re trying to take a leadership position on RGB laser phosphor technology, said Jon Litt, senior manager, Business Development, Government, for Christie. “We’re also trying to bring it to a price point where it would work for more applications.”

Litt said the technology offered tremendous image fidelity, quiet operation, and the ability to run for years with little or no maintenance. Longevity is also a key selling point for the company’s DirectView LED screens, which Litt said had an expected lifespan of 100,000 hours or more while offering exceptional contrast.

HIGH SECURITY CAPTIONING

Captioning is often a government requirement and EEG has been offering encoders that connect broadcasters to iCap, the largest closed captioning and subtitle delivery network in the world, according to the company. While iCap provides 24/7/365 connectivity to thousands of certified caption partners around the globe, new at GV Expo was an option that allows customers to connect to an iCap network via a private VPN, with no public internet connection as part of the process.

“Some customers don’t want any public internet as part of the network, and now that is an option with iCap On-Prem,” said Dave Watts, marketing manager for EEG. iCap On-Prem is a companion product to EEG’s cloud-based delivery network, and it enables the deployment of iCap to private on-premises clouds for customers who require this configuration to accommodate extremely stringent internal security policies. Also on display was an automatic captioning product that relies on Ai and context recognition, and a SMPTE 2110 product.

Security was also key for IBM Watson Media, the end-to-end streaming platform formerly known as UStream: The tagline on the product’s data sheet is “Engage your employees with security-rich video.”

S. Scott Grizzle, WW Cloud Video Solutions Engineer with Watson, said the use cases between a broadcast customer and an enterprise or government customer were different, but there was a lot of crossover. He added that many customers across product sectors were become increasingly interested in video enrichment, where software can identify elements such as scenes, people, animals, etc. and place this information in to metadata.

Equipment aimed at consumers can do a lot of what many media pros need done in 2018. It is perhaps with this in mind that show organizer Future US just announced the launch of The Video Show, a new dual-event venture for December, 2019. The Video Show will pair The Photography Show, now an established U.K.-based event, with the iconic Government Video Expo, which celebrated its 23rd edition this year. 

The event takes place Dec. 3-5, 2019 at the Washington Convention Center. 

At Government Video Expo 2018, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®) will be producing an intensive, one-day conference, SMPTE in D.C. 

Geared to broadcast and video professionals who want to learn about the latest advances in emerging and potentially transformative video production technologies including high dynamic range (HDR) and the transition to IP. 

Through Wednesday, November 21, we are offering a discounted registration price. Member registration, ordinarily $99, is $49. Non-member registration, usually $199, is $99. Use the code SMPTE50 when registering.

Attendees who register for the SMPTE in D.C. conference at Government Video Expo 2018 will receive a free pass to the show, which includes access to 120+ exhibits, free theater sessions and keynote presentations, the Government Learning Symposium, networking events, and more. The cost to attend the SMPTE in D.C. event is $99 for members and $199 for non-members. 

To view the SMPTE in D.C. full schedule, click here.

To register to attend, click here.

To view the full Government Video Expo Schedule, click here.

Government Video Expo is held November 28 and 29 at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The event features 32 live free presentations and a free exhibit floor, as well as additional training opportunities. Register here to attend.

To plan your visit, you can download the show guide in advance here.

SMPTE in D.C. Schedule

9–9:30 a.m.

Open, Welcome and an Introduction to Professional Video Over IP

Video over IP networks and the internet has existed for more than two decades. Why is SMPTE developing Studio Video over IP (SVIP)— a new set of standards for video over IP? Why are they needed? What is the difference between streaming video and SVIP?

Peter Wharton, President, Happy Robotz

9:30–10:30 a.m.

High Dynamic Range: The Best TV Picture You've Ever Seen

This HDR presentation will introduce HDR and discuss HDR standards, terminology and the history of dynamic range. The advanced part of the presentation will cover HDR transfer curves and comparing HDR profiles, as well as compatibility with SDR displays and the consumer adoption of UHD HDR TVs.

Although Ultra HD and HDR are usually mentioned together, high-dynamic range is not limited to UHD. HDTV can also benefit from a dramatic improvement in picture quality. HDR offers a more realistic picture, similar to the way we see things in real life. In the future, it’s likely that multiple HDR profiles, optimized for either live TV or postproduced movies, will be utilized.

John Humphrey, Vice President Business Development, Hitachi

10:30–11 a.m.

Break

11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Building Scalable Facilities Using SMPTE 2110

The new set of SMPTE standards (ST 2110) provides a technical underpinning for building large-scale media facilities with uncompromised picture quality and low latency, with scalability to large image formats (4K, 8K and beyond) and advanced color

depths and spaces. This talk is an overview of the new standards, and also covers the practical details of implementing large-scale systems including control APIs and network topology.

John Mailhot, Systems Architect for IP Convergence, Imagine Communications

12–1 p.m.

How Smooth Are Your Packets? Implementation Realities and Best Practices of IP and PTP

This session is a tutorial on what you need to know to understand the challenges we face in the process of making the transition to IP-based transport for video, audio and data. This move toward infrastructure efficiency has brought new technical challenges requiring broadcast engineers to gain an understanding of the technology and the latest techniques needed to monitor these signals.

The development of SMPTE ST 2110 is a suite of standards that provide encapsulation of uncompressed video within IP packets and for live IP production carrying separate streams of video, audio and data packets. This new standard also allows for SMPTE ST 2022-6 that provides encapsulation of uncompressed SDI as well as ST 2059 for system timing.

This session will take a look at the basic structure of the packets for ST 2022 and ST 2110, how variable delay across the network introduces jitter at the receiver and how measurements can be made on the stream. Latency in the network can produce out-of-order packets or corruption of the data causing packets to be dropped. Therefore, it is important to monitor the stream to ensure an error-free network to ensure transmission of the high bit rate media and how these errors affect the actual video and audio signal.

For redundancy in the media network, SMPTE ST 2022-7 can be used to provide a Path One and a Path Two stream so that the downstream device can determine which path is the most appropriate to use. Measurement of the integrity of both paths is important and we will look at ways of monitoring the signal paths.

Karl Kuhn, Sr. Field Video Application Engineer, Tektronix

1–2 p.m.

Lunch

2–3 p.m.

Myths and Realities of Security of Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks

It seems that nearly every day there is another story about an IP network breach. Now "they" want to build professional media creation facilities with IP at the core? What are the risks? And, are the risks as bad as "they" say? Find out the facts about IP network security in this must-see SMPTE session.

Thomas Bause Mason, Director Standards Development, SMPTE

3–4 p.m.

The People Side: Managing Change and Skills Transition

The accelerating pace of technological change requires an increased focus on an organization's top resource — its people. This presentation will provide insights, practical approaches and tools for managing change, building and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.

John McCoskey, Industry Executive, Eagle Hill Consulting - Technology, Media & Entertainment

Now that headsets can be purchased for less than $200, virtual reality and 360 video will become much more accessible tools — both for consumers and for enterprises that wish to put high-tech dimensional video to work.

That’s according to director and VFX supervisor Mark Lambert of VArtisans, who cites the launch of Oculus Go as an important development. “It becomes much easier for traditional consumers or companies to buy a bunch of these,” he said. “You’re not setting up complicated pieces of hardware — $800 headsets and $2,000 computers — to watch 360 video. You can buy an all-in-one $200 headset and watch Discovery VR or 360 training content easily.”

Lambert has joined the featured speaker lineup of Government Video Expo, to be held Nov. 27–29 in Washington.

Despite ample news coverage, Lambert said, we are in the early days for formats that are coming to be known under the umbrella term “extended reality” or XR. Whatever you call it, enterprises are just starting to learn how to use the tools. “People are experimenting, finding out what works, using it in training, in medicine — things are being discovered every day. There’s some amazing research being done for pain distraction, for instance. That whole area of medicine is amazing and expanding for VR and 360 video.”

Lambert said that video creators are being challenged to learn new techniques. “There is no ‘behind the camera’ in 360,” he said. “It becomes a strange thing for everybody on set. You’re used to sitting behind the camera, having video villages all on one side of the camera and the subject on the other. That’s no longer the case.” Now, he said, you’re seeing everything, the whole world including cast, crew, lighting, sound, director.

He said the workflows required by 360 video differ from those around traditional video. For one thing, Lambert said, VR and 360 place new demands on a creator’s storage and hardware. “I’m from the day when everyone was starting to film in HD. Well, I’m posting 8K video right now, which is four times 4K and 16 times HD. The strains and the stress on the hardware, your storage needs, are massive.” He said his current system has 128 TB of content for current projects, with another 50 backed up.

“The whole VR medium itself needs the best, fastest, biggest hardware that’s available to accomplish.” It also requires newer approaches such as “proxy” workflows that are becoming more familiar to 4K producers as well.

Lambert will present “Welcome to the World of VR/360!,” which is part of the “Need to Know” session series at GV Expo on Nov. 28. He is founder of VArtisans, a Richmond, Va.-based company that brings together 360 video and VR artists, programmers and cinematographers exploring new ways of immersive storytelling through major projects, art and experimental pieces.

Having led the teams that created Harry Potter’s first Quidditch field and the visual development of “The Polar Express” at Sony Pictures, Lambert has been at the leading edge of visual effects technology. His team’s recent VR projects have taken them to 14 countries over 18 months. VR Bus and VR Balloon are major international, location-based entertainment projects in Dubai’s VRPark. The attractions take visitors to the streets of Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Washington, and the plains of Africa. The team’s VR Zoo undertaking involved the recording of 12 separate endangered species and development of a kiosk app to tell the conservation stories of these animals. The project filmed 360 video on land and underwater in Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, South Africa, Maldives and Australia.

Lambert will give Government Video Expo attendees an overview of developments in the VR field, then share examples and “how he did it” stories from projects such as the VR Bus and VR Zoo; “A Letter Home,” a narrative 360 video for the PBS series “Mercy Street”; “The Killing Pits of Ponar,” an award-winning 360 film exploring a little-known story of the origins of the Nazi genocide, created with Lone Wolf Media and NOVA/PBS; and more. He also will discuss the potential for using 3D animation and VFX in 360 video.

Key Takeaways

Who?Mark Lambert, founder, director and VFX supervisor of VArtisans, will deliver a “Need to Know” session at the 2018 Government Video Expo

Why?Lambert will discuss the state of VR and 360 video and discuss how their workflows differ from those in traditional video.

Now What?Sign up to meet and learn from Lambert and other top speakers from “PBS NewsHour,” DC Visionaries, BundlAR, Creative Media Matters and more.

Lambert joins a speaker lineup at Government Video Expo that includes Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor of “PBS NewsHour”; Shane Yeager, CEO and Celene DiStasio, COO and creative director of DC Visionaries; John Martin, CEO of BundlAR; and Gail McCabe, executive director of CreativeMediaMatters.

Reserve your spot at the2018 Government Video Expo.

Terry Scutt contributed to this report.

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—Couldn’t make it out to the 2017 Government Video Expo and National Drone Show? Want to get a refresher on some of the panels and keynote speakers that took place? All of that and more is available with the release of the “Best of Government Video Expo 2017 & National Drone Show” eBook.

The 2017 GV Expo covered topics like virtual reality, audiovisual archiving, the military’s use of social media and more. Learn what was discussed on all of these topics and all the happenings on the show floor in the eBook.

The “Best of GV Expo” eBook is available here.

WASHINGTON—Video is ubiquitous in today’s world, and the range of needs covered by the exhibitors, sessions and demos on day one at the 2017 Government Video Expo and National Drone Show is only increasing.

Jose Alvarez (L) and Marvin Martinez from Ministerio Edificando Las Familias.

One exhibitor that reflects this change is Communications Engineering Inc. (CEI), a Newington, Va.-based systems integrator and dealer with more than 30 years in the broadcast sector. Spike Jones, vice president of sales and marketing said the company has over the last 10-15 years fully expanded its business focus to include high performance audio visual customer requirements. Many new customers from the AV-side of the company’s projects in fact operate in higher resolutions than many broadcast facilities—military command and control operations for example, Jones said. He added that the two broad sectors of the company’s business—broadcast and AV—are in many ways merged, so having experience in both is helpful.

As for trends seen at the show, Jones said that the migration from projection to new, increasingly cost-effective LED direct view displays was gathering pace. Another hot topic across the AV realm was BYOD (bring your own device), and collaboration for distance learning or telecommuting-style applications. In broadcast, getting 1080P HD upconverted to 4K or downconverted to a format for Internet use was topical.

Both sectors benefit from IP transport and production. “The move toward IP from SDI is now becoming cost effective and practical,” said Jones. “It is really helpful in collaboration efforts and in all sorts of field productions.”

AV UPGRADES

Upgrading an existing infrastructure was on the minds of show attendees Jose Alvarez and Marvin Martinez. They are respectively the audio engineer and multi-camera director for Ministerio Edificando Las Familias (MELF), a Spanish language house-of-worship in nearby Hyattsville, Md.

One of the MELF cameras went down for good recently, and when the pair saw that SI and supplier Digital Video Group and Blackmagic Design would have cameras on demo, they made the short trek in to the city to get some hands-on time with the cameras. “We’re considering a 4K camera,” said Martinez. “In the long run it makes sense to upgrade now.”

MELF’s short term plans also include moving to a new facility, making it a good time to upgrade the audio infrastructure. Having recently added a digital mixer, Alvarez said the organization was considering and researching AoIP options. “We’re also looking for ways to make remote productions easier,” said Alvarez, who noted that the church’s band frequently requires live sound capture away from the facility.

IN THE SKY

The National Drone Show component of the day saw a steady stream of demos taking place in the Drone Cage, and a Q&A session with winners of the D.C. Drone Film Festival. Dominating the left side of the exhibition hall was Stampede Global, an Amherst, N.Y.-based AV distributor. While Stampede does a lot more than just UAV/drones, its GV Expo presence reflected the growing importance of the technology across all sorts of applications from industrial to security and surveillance to ENG/EFP and more. The company offers drone training and certification along with all of the hardware from UAV to the NOC.

Peter Hunley, vice president of sales at Stampede said two trends in the UAV sector evident today were resellers including a drone option in their product offerings, and increased outsourcing of the drone enterprise for customers who might not want to make a larger upfront investment. 

The Government Video Expo continues Thursday, Nov.30 at the Walter Washington Convention Center.

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GV Expo: DMA Soldiers Toward Media’s Future

WASHINGTON—After its inaugural run at the 2016 Government Video Expo, the Government Learning Technology Symposium will be back for this year’s edition.

Working once again with the Federal Government Distant Learning Association, the event provides attendees with the opportunity to learn about the latest media technologies for government users.

Announced speakers for this year’s GLTS include Dr. J. Richard Kiper, special agent for the FBI; David Palmer, senior regional sales executive, DoD/Intel for Blackboard; Candace Trotti, talent management director, certified government financial manager, PMP, for Enterprise Business Solutions; and Dr. Philip Westfall, director, defense education and training network/director at Air Technology Network.

The full schedule of programs is available here.

The 2017 Government Video Expo will take place Nov. 28-30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. More information can be found here.

WASHINGTON—It’s an exciting and challenging time to be a video professional! Government Video Expo returns to Washington, D.C., this November, and we are inviting potential speakers to submit presentation proposals.

We seek presentations targeting:

Corporate and enterprise video production
Live and event streaming for the government and public sector
Best business practices for creative professionals
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality
Aerial/UAV videography
Nonfiction filmmaking and documentary techniques
Visual radio – video for radio broadcasters
Video security
Distance learning
Video over IP
Sound production and post

Email a description of your proposed presentation, 300 words or less, to cclapp@nbmedia.com. Also include a brief description of your experience, background or qualifications.

Presentations are 30 to 45 minutes. Speakers receive free event registration. Speaker proposals are due by Sept. 22.

Government Video Expo, the Mid-Atlantic Region’s Premier Event, is designed for video, broadcast and AV professionals. The 22nd annual Government Video Expo will feature a full exhibit floor with numerous training options, free seminars, keynotes, networking opportunities, and five new educational pavilions.

This three-day event features a broad range of production, post production, streaming, display and delivery technologies on the exhibit floor, providing valuable information to media professionals working across multiple platforms for federal, state and local government, law enforcement, education, non-profits, and publicly funded institutions.

WASHINGTON—The 2017 Government Video Expo is adding a new feature for its attendees this year with the three-day DC Post | Production Conference. The training event is designed for professionals in the TV, video, film, motion graphics and new media fields.

The conference will run in four parallel tracks with sessions geared toward immediate and advanced professionals. Some of the tracks will cover things like UAVs, corporate video, creative business and web video. The full schedule is available on the Government Video Expo website.

The DC Post | Production Conference is running in conjunction with the 2017 Government Video Expo from Nov. 28-30 at the Washington D.C. Convention Center. For more information or to register, visit www.gvexpo.com/dc-post-production-conference.

WASHINGTON—Blackmagic Design will demonstrate its digital film and live productions cameras, including URSA Mini 4.6K with URSA Studio Viewfinder. The compact URSA Mini camera with EF or PL lens mount, 4.6K Super 35 sensor and 15 stops of dynamic range, is lightweight and balanced for handheld use and comfortable enough for all-day shooting. URSA Mini 4.6K features professional 12G-SDI connections, 5-inch foldout touchscreen monitor and side grip with camera control functions as well as dual CFast card recorders and built in stereo microphones.

URSA Mini URSA Studio Viewfinder is a high-resolution 7-inch studio viewfinder with variable tension mounting points, tally, external controls and more that turns Blackmagic URSA Mini into a professional studio camera.

Additional cameras include Micro Cinema Camera, a miniaturized digital film camera optimized for remote use, as well as Micro Studio Camera 4K, a tiny HD and Ultra HD live studio camera that can be remotely controlled via SDI.

The company will also be showcasing Video Assist and Video Assist 4K, which add professional monitoring and recording to any SDI or HDMI camera, along with DaVinci Resolve 12.5 editing, grading and finishing software.

Blackmagic Design will be on the show floor in booth 201.

WASHINGTON—On Dec. 8, Lisa Ellman, a partner in the Washington-based law firm of Hogan Lovells, and recognized asas one of the “world’s foremost authorities on drones and law,” will speak about the legal implications of the use of unmanned aerial systems in media production at the Government Video Expo/National Drone Show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. In advance of her talk, “Drone Fever: UAS Issues for Media Production,” TV Technology recently spoke with Ellman about the regulations that are still being developed around this emerging technology.

TV TECHNOLOGY: What are some potential drone policy topics you will be speaking about?

LISA ELLMAN: I’ll be discussing “Polivation,” a term I've coined for the process of connecting innovators with policymakers to more quickly bring about the benefits of drones in a safe, secure way that gains the public's trust.

I’ll also talk about the Commercial Drone Alliance, a non-profit a colleague and I started with other industry players to more quickly bring drone issues from industry and small business to the attention of policymakers in Washington. 

Also on the agenda will be an examination of the general benefits of commercial drones for various businesses that are paving the way for broader UAS airspace integration.

TVT:Drawing from your expertise, what areas within the use of drones for private and commercial purposes need to be addressed by regulators? What areas do not need be addressed?

LE:Challenges and government-imposed roadblocks remain to be cleared before the full integration of UAS into our National Airspace. Congress can play an important role in clearing these roadblocks, whether through next year’s FAA re-authorization process or by other means. The following items are critical if we expect to keep America competitive in the global UAS industry:

Waiver Process. It is critical that the process for obtaining waivers under Part 107 is streamlined, clear and expeditious. The Part 107 waiver itself must also provide meaningful relief for companies operating UAS in the real world.

Additional Rulemakings. We need additional rules that broadly authorize safe flights above people, beyond visual line of sight and at night—and we need to see these rules developed quickly.

Enhanced Government-Industry Collaboration. Innovators and policymakers must work more closely together—a process I have called “polivation”—to benefit everyone. 

Whole-of-Government Approach to Integration. We must support a “whole-of-government” approach to enable the broader infrastructure for this industry to succeed. This includes support for the efforts of NASA, FCC and others.

Industry Diversity. Finally, Congress must continue to support Small Business Administration programs that assist women and minority-owned small businesses. Two colleagues and I recently founded the Women of Commercial Drones organization to bring gender diversity to the growing UAS industry. Continued support for programs like these is critical.

TVT:In your opinion, where do you see the drone industry going within the next 5 years?

LE: If we tackle these issues properly, we will soon regard commercial UAS as we do the phones we carry and rely on every day: tools that make us more efficient, productive, safer and more connected.

TVT:What regulatory issues distinguish media use of drones from non-commercial use of drones?

LE: Under current law, drone users generally fall into three broad categories: hobbyists, public entities, and “civil use”—which includes anything non-recreational or commercial. Media use of drones falls into the “civil use” category.

In our country hobbyist use of drones is generally permitted so long as they are flown strictly for recreational use, under 400 feet, more than five miles from an airport, and don’t endanger the public.

Civil use of drones, including media use of drones, is now broadly authorized under Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, which went into effect in August of this year. UAS operations that comply with the rule’s flight restrictions—including generally traveling no higher than 400 feet, within visual line of sight, away from people and during daytime hours—can now benefit newsgatherers in many ways.

Lisa Ellman has held a variety of positions at top levels of the Executive branch at the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Photo Credit Pete Souza.

TVT:In terms of privacy issues, are existing laws adequate or does more need to be done in terms of protecting a person’s privacy from drones?

LE: While the federal government has been most focused on regulating the safety aspects of drone flight, the American public has been most concerned about privacy issues. There are a range of technology-neutral laws and rules— such as trespass, nuisance, or “Peeping Tom” statutes—that protect us from all kinds of privacy-invading activity, including with a drone.

But given the public’s interest in this issue, in May of this year industry and nonprofits came together and agreed on a set of voluntary “best practices” for protecting privacy while operating commercial and private drones. This consensus came as part of a process that was facilitated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce.

Importantly, the best practices document recognizes the First Amendment and the best practices do not apply to newsgathering. Newsgatherers and news reporting organizations are expected to operate under the ethics, rules and standards of their organization, and according to existing federal and state laws.

TVT:How do you think the use of drones will improve media coverage of live breaking events?

LE: Drones can get unique and amazing aerial coverage that is impossible to see any other way. But they also make expensive tasks cheaper. For broadcasters, sending up a drone to get aerial shots is much more cost-effective than sending up a helicopter. And for local news broadcasters who cannot afford manned helicopters at all, now they are able to obtain aerial footage of major news events, helping Americans receive the news they want and need.

The key regulatory barrier remaining here is that we need to get newsgatherers the ability to fly over people, as news generally happens where people are. I recently assisted CNN to get the first-of-its-kind waiver from the new Part 107 to have the ability to fly over people. This ability is critical for newsgatherers as they start using drones to cover live breaking news events. 

TVT:Is the type of training required for drone use adequate or does more need to be done to train users?

LE:Under Part 107, training is actually not required. Pilots just have to take a knowledge test, pay a fee, and undergo a background check, and get certificated. In just the first few weeks since Part 107 went into effect, 6,768 Remote Pilot Certificate Exams were taken, with a “pass” rate of 88 percent, and 14,909 applications have been submitted.

For the low-risk flights allowed by Part 107, passing the test is likely adequate. As more advanced flights are permitted, I expect FAA to require some training.

It’s also good business practice generally for businesses adopting drone operations to require some training of their employees. Businesses have their own incentives beyond the regulatory framework to fly in a way that is safe.

TVT:What’s the next deadline/benchmark for drone use? In other words, what type of action will we see from the FAA that will most affect the use of drones?

LE: Part 107 going into effect was a significant step forward for the commercial drone industry in the United States, but to truly unleash the potential for the industry, we need to move beyond the rule. In the short term, we need additional rules that broadly authorize safe flights above people, beyond visual line of sight and at night. Otherwise, critical UAS operations that often must occur in these conditions, such as newsgathering, will be stalled.

For example, it is common sense that very small UAS (“micro-UAS”) should be allowed to fly permissively; right now, a two pound UAS is treated the same as a 55-pound UAS. Just this incremental change would enable all sorts of beneficial applications, including in our industry.

I think by the end of the year, we will see a proposed rule to allow drone operations over people. It will be critical that the newsgathering community is vocal with their public comments to this proposed rule.

TVT:Is it just the FAA that regulates the use of drones? Are there other federal or state agencies that are involved and if not, should there be?

LE: Beyond what’s happening at FAA, at the federal level we have seen significant interest from the Executive Branch in keeping the commercial UAS adoption momentum going.

The White House held its first workshop on commercial UAS recently, where a broad range of commitments were made to move the industry forward. Amongst other commitments, $35 million in research funding was announced by the National Science Foundation over the next five years to accelerate the understanding of how to intelligently and effectively design, control, and apply UAS to beneficial applications.

I mentioned previously the role of NTIA at the Department of Commerce in facilitating a multi-stakeholder process to craft voluntary best practices around privacy, transparency and accountability related to private and commercial use of drones.

And NASA has focused on moving its Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management efforts forward, a critical component toward designing “highways in the sky.”

FCC will also be engaged on the spectrum issues.

States and localities have also been eager to regulate drones, with almost every state proposing and many passing legislation that would limit drone use in some way. It’s important to keep a close eye on this local legislation as many of it could be preempted by the FAA’s new rule.

To register for GV Expo/National Drone Show, visit www.gvexpo.com/the-drone-show/.

WASHINGTON—Each of these workshops is conducted by Jem Schofield, a production company owner, a consultant to many equipment manufacturers in the film and television industry and a founder of an educational blog on video production, theC47.

“Planning, Crewing and Shooting Corporate and Documentary Projects,” the first intensive production workshop at the GV Expo, is designed for production company owners, operators and independent filmmakers. Taking place Tuesday, December 6, the session will take an in-depth look at the creation of corporate and documentary projects of any size from planning through production. Jem will discuss specific pieces of equipment—cameras, lenses, lights, grip, rigs, audio gear— that are problem-solvers on productions with little to no crew, the process of planning and budgeting, as well as choosing the right crew for a specific project.

Day two of the GV Expo, Wednesday, December 7, features the “4K Camera & HDR Production Workshop” for directors of photography, camera operators and producers. Best practices for shooting 4K with modern digital cinema cameras and the realities of HDR production will be the primary focus of the discussion. Supplementing that talk will be a lecture on understanding log versus raw recording, successfully exposing for log, understanding capture-based and distribution-based color spaces, working with monitor/display LUTs and log and LUT workflows with today's digital cinema cameras.

The “Cinematic Video Lighting Workshop for HD and 4K Productions” will be held on the final day of GV Expo, Thursday, December 8. Intended for camera operators and filmmakers, the workshop will focus on using light to achieve cinematic results in documentary, corporate and narrative productions. Special attentions will be paid to low-key lighting techniques and using small kits that don't require large crews.

How to register as well as more information on each of the intensive production workshops at the Government Video Expo can be accessed here. 

WASHINGTON—What do you do when your tripod is too bulky to fit under the seat of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter or an up-armored vehicle? You leave it behind and improvise.

Gail McCabe

"I conducted an interview with a high-ranking Army general using the edge of a Humvee as my tripod and an MRE on one corner to keep it level," said Gail McCabe, a well-known videographer for the Department of Defense. "That was a hoot."

McCabe will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Government Video Expo and National Drone Show in December, sharing the challenges and rewards of her time spent with U.S. troops during her session "Combat, Culture and Communication: A War Correspondent's Stories From the Front Line."

“I am, at heart, a storyteller,” McCabe said. “I think some of my stories may offer attendees insight into what it takes to operate as a ‘one woman band’ in hostile environments.”

The executive director at CreativeMediaMatters, McCabe works as a visual storyteller, bringing business and human-interest stories to life. She also utilizes her extensive experience as a media consultant and broadcast trainer.

McCabe has earned accolades as a recognized contributor to the American Forces Radio & Television Service broadcast network, establishing herself as a top producer/communicator for the Department of Defense. Her many in-depth interviews with high-profile leaders were frequently featured on her own program, "A Closer Look With Gail McCabe." Her work has aired on DoD News, American Forces Network, Soldiers Update, YouTube, Facebook, Soldiers Radio News, DoD Live, Soldiers Live and DVIDS, and can still be seen on numerous social media outlets.

During her career, McCabe earned the trust and confidence of DoD leadership as well as civilian and military members serving around the globe. Her comprehensive reports have provided insight on the strategic goals and challenges faced by the U.S. military around the world; from combat, logistics and humanitarian response, to counter-insurgency and peace-keeping.

Her award-winning productions have brought clearer understanding of many high-profile missions including Operation Desert Storm, Task Force 51 in Goma, Zaire, Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia, as well as extensive coverage of Partnership for Peace initiatives throughout Eastern Europe. She has brought context to the many diverse challenges faced by the U.S. military in complex operations in Kosovo, Africa, South and Central America, India, Vietnam and here in the United States. Most recently, her reports covered troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Resolute Support, as well as numerous multinational missions and exercises in Africa, Asia and Europe.

McCabe is the Army's first civilian broadcast journalist to have been selected to participate in Training With Industry (TWI) with CNN and holds numerous Army, DoD and industry awards. She is an inductee into the Army Public Affairs Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, and a two-time recipient of the Defense of Freedom Award for injuries sustained covering combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Government Video Expo will take place Dec. 6–8, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Designed for video, broadcast and AV professionals, Government Video Expo features a full exhibit floor, numerous training options, free seminars, keynotes, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a new educational series of panel discussions. Visit the website to learn more and register to attend.

WASHINGTON–The evolution of C-SPAN, the nation's only public affairs cable television network, will be discussed at this year's Government Video Expo  and National Drone Show, as Robert Kennedy, the network's president and co-CEO, will address attendees with a keynote titled “The C-SPAN Perspective: Opportunities and Challenges in the Digital Era.”

Robert Kennedy

“At C-SPAN, our passion is to use technology to convey the business of government and public affairs in general. I look forward to sharing our experience with a like-minded audience at Government Video Expo–as well as gaining new insights while attending the conference,” says Kennedy.

Kennedy, who first spoke at Government Video Expo in 2000, returns this year to provide an update on how C-SPAN has responded to challenges posed by the digital environment and how the network's use of technology has evolved and expanded over the years.

His tenure at C-SPAN reaches back to 1987, where he served as the top financial officer. Over the years, Kennedy has risen to president and co-COO and then to his current position in 2012. In his earliest days at the network, Jack Frazee, the CEO of Centel Cable and at the time the board chairman for C-SPAN, tasked Rob with writing the first business plan for the start-up cable network.

Staying active in the cable industry, Kennedy also serves as the finance committee chair and board member for the Emma Bowen Foundation as well as a board member of the Education Foundation within the advocacy group Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing.

In 2004, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) selected Rob and Susan Swain–who's also president and co-CEO of C-SPAN–as winners of the Vanguard Award for Programmers, the industry's highest honor.

Government Video Expo will take place Dec. 6–8, 2016 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Designed for video, broadcast and AV professionals, Government Video Expo features a full exhibit floor, numerous training options, free seminars, keynotes, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a new educational series of panel discussions.

WASHINGTON—Few people need information fast like the commander of a fire scene does.

Attendees to Government Video Expo & the National Drone Show will hear about the New York Fire Department's aggressive urban firefighting strategy from Timothy E. Herlocker, director of the FDNY Emergency Operations Center.

Timothy Herlocker

The EOC is the department's information hub and command & control center, where Herlocker has designed and implemented systems and policies to provide real-time data to support rapid decision-making by incident commanders and senior executives.

His session is titled "Live Video Supports Tactical Decision-Making in the Nation's Largest Fire Department."

A longtime special agent with the FBI — where he specialized in counterintelligence, counterterrorism and intelligence collection and analysis — he has a background that today helps FDNY create packages of information that incident commanders can easily assimilate without impeding their ability to manage complex emergency operations.

Herlocker has been a leader in the effort to link the nation's fire services as consumers of national intelligence. He led the effort to combine local operations centers into a community of interest in order to create a common operating picture; he has implemented simple approaches to the collection and distribution of live video to support tactical decisionmaking.

At the FBI, in 1998 he led investigators in East Africa after the U.S. Embassy bombings. In 2002, he drafted the redesign of the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force, tripling its size, to support its enhanced responsibilities in the post-9/11 world. He built and led the FBI's largest field intelligence operation. In 2004 he was promoted to an assistant special agent in charge.

Government Video Expo will take place Dec. 6–8, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Designed for video, broadcast and AV professionals, Government Video Expo features a full exhibit floor, numerous training options, free seminars, keynotes, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a new educational series of panel discussions.

Register at http://www.gvexpo.com/#