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Technology And COVID 'Creating Perfect Storm' For Big Video Productions

Glenn Hartong, co-owner of Chilidog Pictures, recently streamed the wedding of Lenora Combs (left) and Sarah Strickland (right) at The Turn In Newport.
Glenn Hartong
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Chilidog Pictures
Glenn Hartong, co-owner of Chilidog Pictures, recently streamed the wedding of Lenora Combs (left) and Sarah Strickland (right) at The Turn In Newport.

Out of necessity and with technological advancements, video productions have become a lot simpler these days to produce. All it takes is the right equipment, some know-how and the amount you want to spend to make it look good.

Co-Owner of Cincinnati's Chilidog Pictures Video Productions Glenn Hartong is busy these days producing and streaming weddings, funerals and church services without the crowds in the middle of a pandemic.

"Technology and COVID hit about the same time and it's a perfect storm," he says.

According to Hartong, big productions were the worst at social distancing with as many as 15 people jammed into a semi-truck, including the producer, the director, the person doing the replay and audio.

Digital video over ethernet cables make it possible for people working on one production to be in multiple places. Case in point: The Democratic and Republican National conventions, where individuals were working out of their homes.

Picture this: The director sitting in his study with multiple monitors and communication with the technical director and the tape operator. It's the same number of people involved, but no longer in the same place.

Hartong says Major League Baseball is also produced this way with announcers doing play-by-play out of their houses.

Look for greater use of remote cameras as they become more reliable.

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With more than 30 years of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market, Ann Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported for WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV, Metro Networks and CBS/ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2019 and 2011 A-P named her “Best Reporter” for large market radio in Ohio. She has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. Ann reports regularly on science and technology in Focus on Technology.