By using barcode driven lower thirds (particularly in graduation or commencement ceremonies) we have been able to automate, streamline and increase accuracy for running large quantities of lower third graphics.
The basic formula consisted of a few parts, including: New Blue’s Titler Live software running on a Mac mini, a Blackmagic Design Ultrastudio 4k with key and fill outputs, and an inexpensive barcode scanner such as this.
NewBlue Titler
Captivate Broadcast by NewBlue is a software that engages audiences by visualizing data and information in professional, creative, eye-catching ways. Used worldwide by broadcasters of every size, Captivate Broadcast offers powerful, creative tools that deliver beautiful graphics for live broadcasts without all the ‘building’ that often bogs down less-flexible packages.
This software allows users the ability to make custom graphics templates, such as lower thirds. Then, any text field within the lower third template can by dynamically changed based on text from spreadsheets or other sources.
In our case, we used a Google sheet database that was given to us from the client that had all of the graduating students listed, and we used their student numbers to essentially “serialize” each graduate. We then formatted those numbers into barcodes and inserted a sheet that built a queue of the graduates in order by which they were scanned by using VLOOKUP functions. Neat!
Blackmagic’s Ultrastudio
The Ultrastudio from Blackmagic Design is a video interface that provides broadcast grade inputs and outputs to a Mac or PC. When used with software such as Titler Live, you are able to get a key and fill output, which means the lower thirds can be inputted into the broadcast switcher with transparency data, eliminating the need to use any complicated luma or chroma keying to overlay the graphics.
Alacrity Barcode Scanner
We especially liked using the Alacrity Barcode Scanner due to its price versus features. One major takeaway in this use case is that you can very easily change the feedback from beeps to simple vibrations for a successful scan, something some other barcode scanners do not do. In a professional production, a beeping of a barcode scanner could be quite annoying and embarrassing.
The other nice thing about this barcode scanner is that it attaches to most phones and connects via bluetooth. Therefore, the person scanning name cards is free from wires, and can input the data directly into the same Google sheet that is being reference in the titling software.
Why this innovated our approach to lower thirds
We have been asked more than once to provide an alternative solution for displaying graduate’s names for our high school and university clients. The reason is simple – the client doesn’t want to deal with it, yet they need to. We’ve seen many who simply make a powerpoint slide for every graduation, that ferociously prepare to make sure the slides are in the exact order that the graduates will appear.
That old approved seems silly to us, considering the actual cost to implement. This solution saves many man-hours of time, both from our staff and the client. This solution also reduces the risk of graduation students appearing out of order.
After deploying this solution on many graduations, we are very confident that it is robust enough for any application. We can now confidently take on thousands of lower thirds in a manageable way, which increase both our production value and client satisfaction. Contact us today to see how we can innovate your next graduation!