Case Study: Toastmasters International Virtual Competition

A regional chapter of Toastmasters International had their quarter-finals competition completely booked and prepared. They had the venue, the camera crew, the audience… and then COVID-19 struck. They could no longer host their competition in-person, but needed to maintain a high level of video quality which also conformed to exacting specifications as outlined by Toastmasters International policies. 

When We Film Events was booked to record the live event, we were handed exact instructions on how to film the event. These included:

  • Recorded in 1920×1080 resolution at 29.94fps
  • There could only be 1 camera
  • The camera’s field of view had to capture the entire speaking area or stage.
  • The stage had to be evenly lit and facial expressions easy to distinguish, with no lights facing the camera or otherwise impeding the camera’s ability to capture the stage clearly. 
  • The camera could not be moved, repositioned, or the zoom distance changed at any point
  • The audio had to be echo, buzz, and static free, with no excessive location sound detracting from clearly hearing the speaker.

Any breach of the above guidelines could be cause for instant disqualification of the speaker.

The question became, how to best match these requirements over a virtual event? We first had to figure out how to assemble everyone virtually in a manner that allowed the Judges to clearly see the Speaker without themselves being seen by any other participants, the Speaker to easily see both the Chair and the Timers, and the public audience to see only the Speakers. This platform also had to have both the best video and audio encoding quality and the most lag-free, stable connection possible. Then we had to consider that the typical built in camera and mic on many consumer devices are often only slightly short of deplorable, and shipping each contestant a mirrorless camera kit for the competition was simply out of the question.

Tackling the question of a hosting platform, we investigated using Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, and a custom solution using vMix. After some experimentation, we decided to use Zoom, as it had the best video quality and featureset (without watermarking) of all the consumer options, and while vMix did have a much higher standard of video encoding quality, the complexities including the number of call-in users and the requirements of who was permitted to see whom began to cause issues in our 2-computer workflow. Unfortunately, we could not simply press record in Zoom either, as in the spirit of maintaining the highest quality possible, we could not accept a recording which had either a watermark nor the “Recording” word and icon embedded into the video captured. 
 

Using built-in Zoom functionality, a member of their team hosted the meeting, creating a waiting room for security reasons and manually adding people from the waiting room into the call as their identities were confirmed. The Judges were to disable their audio and video, and cover their webcams to preserve anonymity, and they were to communicate on their phones with a leader who would convey their responses to the Chair. The Timers were to disable their audio, keeping their video active while blocking the camera physically, using the virtual background feature to colour their video input to the appropriate time remaining colour code. When the Chair asked whether the speaker went into overtime, one designated Timer was to unmute their audio and reply with a single word yes or no. 

To improve quality, we at Leaders Media and the Toastmasters competition organizers met with each contestant during the evenings prior to the contest date. When meeting we requested changes to their camera position so that all contestants had a visually equal presentation space, and that there were no obstructions to seeing the contestant. We monitored audio quality, requested an internet speed test, and made suggestions to modify both natural and artificial lighting in their space of choice, sometimes recommending another camera position to accommodate for awkward lighting. Once we were happy with the actual quality of their devices and the lighting of the space, we examined their local environment, requested items be moved or removed from the space to avoid distractions and unfortunate visuals on-air. We demonstrated and practiced the Timer indicators, proper mannerisms while live, and the order of events to be used on the day. 

On the day of the event, one of our team participated in the Zoom meeting with no audio or video, and using the Spotlight mode, did a basic virtual camera switch between the Chair, Speaker, and Interviewer. They then captured that camera switching into vMix by capturing the monitor display and cropping out the other participants in the filmstrip preview. Switching between the Zoom capture and intermission media in vMix they then broadcast that to a public YouTube livestream for audience members to view and discuss in the live-chat functions built into YouTube, where a member of their team was active in the public audience chat, announcing speakers, moderating impolite viewers, and answering any questions. 

Our other team member was also a muted participant of the Zoom meeting, double-checking for tech issues and uninvited guests, in the meantime capturing their own live-edit of only the Zoom meeting itself via a second monitor and a 3rd-party capture software as a backup to ensure a “un-cut” copy would be available should the first team-member run into issues.

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