Blog
Q: Tell us about SFJAZZ
JR: We like to think of ourselves as a “sanctuary for jazz. The SFJAZZ Center is the first stand-alone building in the country that is solely dedicated to jazz. We're located only blocks from San Francisco’s City Hall. Our center is the culmination of a vision developed by the SFJAZZ organization, which for 30 years presented year-round concerts, including the San Francisco Jazz Festival in rented venues. The venue was purpose-built in 2013, and we host over 300 performances and events year-round. The center's main performance space seats up to 700 people in close proximity to the musicians with superb sight lines, offering the excellent acoustics of a great concert hall and the relaxed intimacy of a jazz club.
Q: I understand that aside from all the concerts you host, you also run an educational program?
JR: From its initial conception, the venue was built with audio and video recording and broadcasting in mind to allow us to extend the walls of our unique center into the digital space, and promote music education for all. To that effect, we create and produce hundreds of hours of media that range from concert videos to educational videos that are accessible to jazz fans and students all over the world.
Q: How much content do you create in an average year?
JR: Last year, we recorded 142 shows and educational videos and archived over 20 terabytes of footage.
Q: Can you describe your typical workflow?
JR: A typical workflow involves capturing a performance with multiple robotic cameras and GoPros that are live switched to create a single line-cut recording. That line-cut is captured on an Aja Ki Pro and brought into our TerraBlock 24EX system, ready for editing. We shoot everything in 1080 HD and capture to ProRes 422 with our AJA Ki Pro which means that for an hour and a half performance we get about 110 gigabytes per show. We store each show in its native resolution and for quick delivery we also do an H.264 capture at the same time that is backed up in a separate folder.
Q: What do you particularly like about your TerraBlock?
JR: As we continue to grow our catalog of shows, we realize that organization and the ability to quickly search for content in our video libraries will be key. Organizing media in the Facilis system is easy, and knowing that our TerraBlock offers integrated asset tracking gives us added confidence as we evolve towards new offerings for digital distribution to our members and educators in the future.
