A great part about streaming platforms is that you can stream from almost any device. This allows for more natural conversations. However, when you start pulling in multiple people for a chat, streaming it, adding graphics to the stream, etc. things can get complicated. In practice, we try to keep things simple. In reality, live streaming is a learned skill and there's a lot of ways to get to the same outcome. These docs aim to help educate others about how Red Hat Livestreaming is run.
Please note there is an internal Red Hat Livestreaming README doc that contains additional information that's unsafe to share publicly. Contact any producer
This form will send your idea to the New Media Initiative for proper review.
Three main roles need to be played to do a stream. Guests, Producers, and Streamers. In reality, one person can do a stream by themselves. But, we call out these specific personas because they all have some requirements and responsibilities.
The number one rule of all these personas is the be authentic and transparent. Be you, be real. It's okay to make some mistakes during the live streams, that makes it very real for folks.
Congrats! You're the star of the show! You've made it to a league, the size of which is to be determined. We want you to have the best experience possible. We want you to have fun and be the best version of you that you can be. Thank you for joining our stream.
All we ask is that you be able to join a Zoom call. We'd like you to be on a webcam, using a wired mic (stock Apple EarPods are sufficient), and able to share your screen if you intend to present anything or live code.
That's it! Join us and share your knowledge and experience.
If you're a regular guest you might want to consider acquiring equipment that we suggest in the Streamers Guide
"Producers" are the term for the folks that are managing the channel during the show. There are many ways to interact with the audience, including chat, that are available to the Producers to provide a great experience.
TODO: Document extensions that are added to broadcast (Streamlabs integrations)
One of the more important things is making sure the stream is adhering to community guidelines and make the experience fun and enjoyable for everyone on the stream.
- Twitch Community Guidelines
- YouTube Policies and Safety
- FaceBook Community Standards
- Twitter Rules and policies
Summary: Be excellent to everyone.
Producers are also the ones making sure we adhere to the Rules for Streaming
Streamers are the ones that mux everything together out to the internet. Streamers are the folks that are responsible for getting everyone that's joined a Zoom call, adding in any customizations via OBS, and streaming that feed out to the internet.
Streamers are the folks that will be the ones making sure the content lands on Twitch/YouTube/Facebook/Twitter/etc.
There are some requirements though for streaming that are best-maintained separate from this README.md in the Streamers Guide.
There are various bot commands (or as Restream calls them, "Reply commands") that are available for use during live streams. These commands can be used to drive people to useful assets, sites, previous episodes, etc.
Refer to the Restream Chat settings to see all the available Reply Commands.
Fun and natural but professional is the goal. The channel is not marked as mature on any platform so please be cognizant of language and environment.
- Read the Community Guidelines because they are very different than what you might think (like Music)
- Please contribute to the docs and assets: https://github.com/cloud-platforms-streaming
- Don't get into open source drama/politics/etc. (Example: Chris Short will not be talking about behind the scenes CNCF goings-on)
- Don't knock competing projects and products (we all know this but, let's continue to stay above board here).
We maintain an externally facing Google Calendar that can be shared freely and subscribed to at: https://red.ht/streamcal
This calendar is managed by Red Hat Livestreaming Executive Producers, Producers, and those involved with marketing events in the calendar. No other individuals should be granted access as this is a public facing asset for the business.
Executive Producers will be able to "Make changes and manage sharing" while Producers will have their permissions set to "Make changes to events" so that better security controls are in place on this resource.
If you are a regular host and are booking shows, be sure to add redhatstreaming AT gmail to your invite. It might also be prudent to add your producer.
As part of the Executive Producer’s responsibilities, they will need to maintain the calendar with up to date information as part of this they will need to resolve any conflicts, prioritize content, and determine what goes on the air. At times, the Executive Producer will need to balance organizational needs vs channel needs. Producers generally have rights to the public streaming calendar, however, those rights can be revoked without notice in cases of abuse/misuse/etc.
In the case of a previously scheduled show, any time/date changes need to be shared with at least one Executive Producer 10 days prior to the originally scheduled date. All efforts will be made to accommodate the change but existing shows will have priority unless customers are involved.
In the case of an emergency (presenter power outage, connectivity issues, etc.) on the day of a scheduled show, you will need to contact an Executive Producer as soon as possible to reschedule. Do not try to pull off heroics to get on a live stream. We can always apologize for the technical difficulties and reschedule. If there are issues with a streaming service itself, the show's producer will have to decide on the spot to postpone or continue.
Shows involving outside or external guests/partners/customers will always take precedence over shows with only Red Hatters.
If you plan on being out for prescheduled shows please find a replacement for yourself early. Be sure they have the same invites you have, and definitely check-in with them the day before to make sure they realize what year it is.