What is The Backlot?
The Backlot a new monthly show on Twitch about online broadcasting. Hosted by Kenley, The Backlot features a diverse group of guests, which includes broadcast production professionals, content creators, and local community members in the Seattle area.
The goal of the The Backlog is to bring together professionals and broadcasters to provide a space for mutual support, professional development, and community.
If you’re looking for advice and tips to improve your audio, video, or lighting for your broadcast, The Backlot is the show for you!
What plans do you plan to cover?
- Introduction to the essentials for beginners
- Professional lighting for video and photography
- Audio for live video and podcasts
- Professional video
Why are you doing this?
I have been producing live video content since 2009, when I joined RPI TV. RPI TV is a student-run broadcast production club at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At RPI TV, I learned how to produce and deliver professional live-streamed content end-to-end for student clubs, campus organizations, ECAC Hockey, and ESPN. Ever since I moved to Seattle in 2013, I have always had the desire to continue to work that I have done.
In 2018, I joined the leadership team of the Seattle Online Broadcasters Association to support and lead their in-house content development and professional development initiatives.
With the help of countless talented volunteers and creators, we launched BroadcasterU, which provides free educational workshops covering a diverse group of topics for broadcasters in the Seattle area. We also were able to consistently produce a monthly live-stream showcasing content creators at the Seattle Community MeetUp, Powered by Twitch.
This year, I wanted to scale out the educational efforts that I am working on in order to help a larger audience than just Seattle-area content creators. I wanted to cover a larger range of topics with experts that are not just limited to those living in the Seattle area.
What is your approach or process?
My approach to The Backlot involves several steps:
- Identify relevant topics for broadcasters where knowledge and resources are scarce.
- Leverage connections within the community to identify and reach out to subject-matter experts to work with.
- Collect questions and understand the needs, concerns, and knowledge gaps in the community.
- Produce and deliver content (live-streamed virtual panels, blog posts, pre-recorded videos, etc.) answering frequently asked questions, while providing interested community members an opportunity to contribute.
How do I ask questions?
The best way to get your question answered is by emailing hi@kenley.tv, asking in the #questions channel on our Discord server, or through social media (@KenleyCheung on Twitter).
Kenley Cheung 