Empowered JAPAN Webinar Report

Empowered JAPAN Executive Steering Committee was established in 2018, “To realize a world where everyone canwork and learn, from anywhere, at anytime.” To promote the true value of workstyle innovation including telework, the committee
has been coordinating symposiums in both Tokyo and regional cities. And in collaboration with various local governments,
Microsoft, and partners, the committee has been serving as an advisor to provide telework training for both corporate andindividuals. In response to the spread of infection of corona virus (COVID-19) and the government announcement on February 25,2020, which included the request to citizens to telework, the steering committee made the decision to launch a series of freewebinars starting from March 17, 2020, to provide practical information for individuals and organizations across the nation, totelework and/or practice online education.

Category：IT tools and environment
Date：March, 28, 2020
Speaker：Takeshi Fukuda
President
CommuniCloud Japan Co., Ltd.

Online Event Switching Course
Based on Event Self-Imposed Requests
Nowadays, there is strong demand to avoid the three conditions which facilitate thetransmission of infectious diseases. People are expected to avoid events where a large number ofpeople gather. As a result, online events are attracting attention. Fukuda has supported the live
streaming of events and seminars for various companies. He points out that live events arechanging recently.
"The photograph on the left is the appointment ceremony for the president of a certain
company," explains Fukuda. "There were about 200 participants in the venue, and the ceremony
was also streamed to local residents and other parties. Generally speaking, this was the main
format previously used for live events. Conversely, the photograph on the right was taken
recently. As you can see, only the speaker and the filming staff are in the conference room. Partly
due to measures against COVID-19, there is a rapid increase in live events with no audience."

Born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
After gaining experience in sales andmarketing at a foreign ITcompany,entered BT Japan, which is aJapanese subsidiary of BT, a major British
telecommunications company, in 2006.
As supervisor of the Conferencing
Business Division,was involved in theintroduction and support ofteleconferencing services mainly for

Let's begin by defining the term "live event." Fukuda explains that it is easy to understand byglobal companies.

comparing the concepts of "on-demand" and "web conference."

In 2015, he established CommuniCloud"On-demand allows you to select and watch stored videos," he says. "It is often used for training.

Japan Co., Ltd., which is a JapaneseOn the other hand, live events are characterized by live broadcasting, realism, and interactiveness.

subsidiary of the Australian company

Live-events are streamed in real-time, so viewers can heighten their ability to concentrate."

CommuniCloud.
In addition to handling various
teleconference services, also supports
web distribution for various corporate
events and seminars.

Web conferences are held for the purpose of exchanging opinions and making decisions. For
example, the Teams conference screen has various functions "These features attempt toreproduce the functions of a real conference room as much as possible," explains Fukuda.
Conversely, the Teams live event has a very simple screen. This is because the main purpose is to"transmit" and "show" information. Except for questions, Teams is used for one-way
communication by the speaker.

Empowered JAPAN Webinar Report
Now, let's try an actual live event. Fukuda starts by explaining the importance of the correct attitude. "Remember —you should strive toachieve a 100% perfect event, but a perfect event is not required. Even TV stations may experience small mistakes during live broadcasting.
In some cases, a little roughness can even add a sense of realism."
After describing the correct attitude, Mr. Fukuda shared three secrets for a successful live event. The first is that "live events are 80%
preparation and 20% actual event." Unlike real events, it is almost never possible to make sudden changes during online events. It isnecessary to prepare as much as possible.
The second secret is having an appropriate internet connection. Secure a connection of least 5 Mbps upstream bandwidth , and preferably
20 Mbps or more if possible. A LAN connection is a must-have. "I don't recommend Wi-Fi," says Fukuda. "Previously, I had a harrowing
experience in which an event could not be held because my pocket WiFi lost connection."
Finally, the third secret is not to forget your audience. Provide detailed explanations on how to connect and ask questions. If possible,hold a viewing practice event in advance.
Now, that you know the secrets, it is time to hold a live event. The overall flow of the live event will be divided into six steps to beperformed sequentially.
①

Content and Purpose: Confirm who will be disseminating what information, from what position, and for what purpose. Also clari fy theaudience.

②Determine the Date and Time: Reserve the schedule of the speakers, ascertain the schedule of equipment, and plan the schedule of therehearsal event.

③Reservation: A Teams live event can be easily reserved in just 3 minutes. This is equivalent to booking an event hall that can accommodate
up to 10,000 people.

④

Send Access Information to Participants: An easy-to-understand explanation for connection method and important notes are listed on
the special website of Empowered Japan. Copy and paste this information for dissemination to the participants.

⑤

Hold a Rehearsal: For the rehearsal event, make an event reservation in the same way as the actual event. Connect as a partic ipant fromanother terminal, and then check the video and audio. In principle, the environment (equipment, internet connection, etc.) should be thesame as the actual event.
"If more than one person is speaking, use a home video camera instead of a computer camera," says Fukuda. "An HDMI or USB conversion
adapter is required to connect the camera to a computer. Select a camera that has HDMI output. Also, confirm that the characters on
the LCD screen do not appear on the computer screen. I do not recommend using a built-in computer microphone. Such microphoneseasily pick up noise. I would advise you to prepare a conference room speakerphone or a USB-connected microphone."⑥Actual Event: It is a good idea to begin preparation about two hours in advance, and to have all standby procedures completed by 30
minutes before the start time. According to Fukuda, preparing early is useful in case of equipment trouble.

Once you actually hold a live event, you will be able to identify points which require improvement. You can make these improvements foryour next event. A common issue is moving the camera too quickly, including zooming in and out. Such camera operation can dis orient theviewer. Keep in mind that live broadcasts cannot be edited.
"Generally speaking, the basics of camera operation are to move slower than you think is necessary," explains Fukuda. "If you have multiple
speakers and you want to film with one camera, slowly zoom out to encompass the whole image, and then slowly zoom in on the next
speaker."
Fukuda points out that live events are spreading to various purposes such as financial report meetings, company information s essions, andpress releases. Live events can also be used in other ways; for example, a president working from home can send a message to all employees
who are also teleworking. It is also possible to stream by yourself on a daily basis. The most important thing is to actually try your first liveevent.
Furthermore, Microsoft Japan has prepared a four-part instructional video on screen operation for Teams live events. These videos areavailable on YouTube for anyone to watch.