Janice Hally's Blog

Le Chef - thriller writer and my DH - and I had a foray into the world of live video broadcast last week which was.... interesting!

Considering we spent most of the 80s and 90s writing and producing prime-time British television drama, you would think it would be a easy-peasy to do a live video broadcast from the comfort of our home. And it was... or at least half of it was.

A bit of backstory. Le Chef's writing schedule meant that a US book signing tour was going to be impossible this year - so I came up with the brilliant idea of a live video broadcast via the internet to talk about his latest book Blacklight Blue and the other new editions in hardback and paperback which are coming out in the USA this year. The only thing was, to catch all the time zones around the world, I figured he should do two broadcasts. So he recorded part of the talk in four clips with some of his research video cut to music and we decided he'd kick off with that then switch to live for the Q & A session at the end.

So - at 4pm our time, we set everything up and it goes like a dream! Recorded stuff cross fades to live. Q & A is great, people online from Lochgoilhead in Scotland to Minneapolis, USA!

Cue a glass of celebratory bubbly. Phone to order a pizza from Georges. Collect Pizza to re-heat and enjoy after the next transmission... everything going to plan... the time rushes by and suddenly it's almost 7pm our time and we go to set up for the next broadcast....

With two minutes to go, we're sitting in Le Chef's study lining things up when we lose the internet connection.

Nada.

Zilch.

Re-set.

Re-boot.

Nothing!

It's too late for us to try and get to another internet connection and a mailing has gone out to all his fans across the world, so it's really important that we go live without delay.... If we can't do it - someone else will have to do it.

From France, we phone my brother in New York and do the old... "Okay, both the pilots are incapacitated, you're going to have to land the plane, oh and by the way, there's someone who needs an appendix taken out, but don't worry, we have a pilot and a gastric surgeon here in the control tower, and they'll talk you through it" routine.

So my brother logs in to the TV station online pretending to be Le Chef, he locates the four pre-recorded segments, he presses all the right buttons, cues up the first one and Bingo! Gets it transmitting - only 3 minutes late! We give him instructions about how to do the others, then start phoning friends trying to find somebody nearby who has internet. We have 27 minutes until the pre-recorded stuff is supposed to link back to Le Chef live for the Q & A. Of course the nearest neighbours are suffering the same internet problem as we are. We have to try further afield. Finally we locate a friend and try to explain the problem - in French - he gets the point that it's an emergency and tells us to come over.

A hair-raising drive, with laptop, in the dark through wee French country roads, up across the ridge, and down through a jumble of stone buildings (with a half an inch to spare each side of the car) to an 18th century converted barn which this photographer friend has converted to a studio. In we rush! Of course he's French so we have to kiss and shake hands and go through all the pleasantries. Then the wife and the son and the daughter-in-law and oh look you haven't met the new grandchild... all come out, to see us.... and they all have to be kissed and handshook..... and do we want a drink?

NOOOO!

It's an emergency - urgence! Comprenez!

What's the French for "Live internet broadcast"?!!!!

So down we dawdle to the studio where the photographer says to Le Chef, no problem - it's Wifi.

Yes, it's Wifi all right. Password protected Wifi. Can he remember the password?

Mais non!

He never uses it himself, it's in his computer.

But, he says, we can use his computer. Le Chef says it's a live internet VIDEO broadcast. So - he needs a camera. Is there an ethernet cable and he will connect direct to the modem?

Oh yes, the photographer is sure he has one... Somewhere around here...........? or here........... ? or is it here...........? Ah yes... finally..... here it is!

Le Chef gets his butt on to the seat, and logged in with his camera cued up just in time to hear his voice on video announce.... 'and I'll answer all your questions, live"..... cue camera.... action!!!

He was on! Breathing heavily, but on!

Answering questions from readers from Fife on the East coast of Scotland to San Diego on the west coast of USA. Unbelievable!

Oh how we laughed. Well, afterwards, we laughed. Well, after our second bottle of bubbly back home in front of the fire, we laughed.

And the best bit was three hours later.... the internet inexplicably came back.

And just as we were going to say never again, all these E-mails came in from folk asking - when is the next one?

Pheeww!

Apart from that ... it was a breeze...

So now the show's had more than 3500 viewings, I guess it was all worth it! If you want to see the recorded video, you can view it any time here.

....and now he's thinking it would be fun to do another one!

And if you are a writer who is having to think of ways to promote yourself - here is the easiest way to start...

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