A LiveStreamers Guide by AJwatchDC
I wear many hats, but perhaps my newest is as a LiveStreamer. Turning on my phone and broadcasting breaking news live on the internet has garnered me minor name recognition.
But really, anyone could do it. All you need is a 3g or 4g internet connection, a smartphone with a decent camera and some basic journalism skills.
First you need to download the UStream application on your smartphone, search for it in the Android or the Iphone market. Then set up an account at Ustream.com so you can sign in from your phone. This will allow you to broadcast from your channel.
Once that’s done all you have to to do is bring up the app on your phone and press the button that says go live. As long as you have a 3g or 4g connection or are on wifi you’ll be able to shoot live video from your phone.
Now that you’re live, you’ll have to make a decision, do you want to be a journalist or do you want to be an activist? If you want to be an activist, then do whatever the hell you want - interact with the crowd, chant, yell at people, tell the audience your beliefs, whatever. But if you want to be taken seriously as a documenter of the events be careful what you do, don’t embarrass yourself by getting caught up in the heat of the moment. Stay composed and be as objective as possible.
You’re going to want to provide context as soon as you turn the camera on. Where are you (shoot a picture of street signs if you can) who and what is around you (get a broad shot of the crowd or the scene around the subjects) why are you there (protesters have gathered to express their frustration with the government) history of the scene (have any events happened prior to you turning on the camera that the viewers should know about?) Context will most likely come from your descriptions. Your descriptions should compliment the images your broadcasting. An easy way to remember this is pretend your the play-by-play guy and the analyst of a live sporting event.
Once you provide context, go to where the most interesting action is happening. As you’re moving, your camera will shake so try to be as steady as possible, there are people on the other end trying to watch your video. Once you’re there, describe immediately what’s going on as objectively as possible. Even if you are supporting the action unfolding in front of you, realize there may be just as many people who don’t.
Your job is not to decide which side is right, but to document the events as accurately as possible.
If the action begins to dull, make your way around the scene to film striking images or gather interviews. Don’t hesitate to ask people if they’d be interested in doing an interview. If they decline, walk away, respect their right to privacy, you will get turned down. But often times people are willing to talk on the Livestream. If you get an interview, immediately think about your audio. If there’s a lot of background noise, consider moving your subject away from the action so your home audience can hear the subject clearly.
Ask them basic questions at first, Why are you here? Can you provide me with some context of what’s going on? Has anybody been hurt? Where are you from? And then more nuanced questions if you feel they are interesting and informed about the events unfolding.
If you find a subject that is a leader of the group, ask more pointed questions. For example, your average police officer will not speak to a livestreamer. However a commanding officer or public information officer will if you ask politely and ask appropriate questions. The key here is to stick with questions they’re comfortable with at first, keep opinions out. How many people were arrested? How serious were their injuries? Were are the arrested protesters being brought?
Throughout your broadcasts you’re going to want to update your viewers on context as new viewers start to watch. If you see your view count jump from 100 to 200 an hour in, that means 100 viewers are not aware of all the details of what’s happening, clue them in.
If you’re bored by what you’re broadcasting, then so are your viewers. Many times I’ll see livestreamers broadcasting boring stuff. If you want to be the CSPAN of livestreaming, more power to you. But really this medium works best, as far as I can tell, with breaking news. It has primarily been used to document mass arrests and large protests, but I can see it also being very valuable documenting the aftermath of natural disasters and war.
Other than that, just use your judgment. Would other people care to see this? If the answer is yes, then pull out your phone and start broadcasting. There’s no right or wrong way to Livestream. It’s a new technology and we’re all trying to figure out how best use it.
