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MillimeterDream Job: Call to Duty
Jun 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Kristinha M. Anding
Atlanta-based DVIDS supports U.S. troops overseas.
U.S. troops set up a NORSAT satellite transmitter typical of those used by military public-affairs units overseas to transmit video footage to DVIDS' Atlanta hub.
Jon Micheletto is not a member of the armed forces, but he does his part as a civilian, proudly working at Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS), an Atlanta-based company that facilitates communications between U.S. soldiers abroad and the American public.
DVIDS works with the military's public-affairs division to produce, edit, and distribute soldier greetings, interviews, press briefings, B-roll footage, and newscasts focused on military efforts overseas. DVIDS distributes this footage to media outlets and through 20 podcast channels, video-sharing sites such as YouTube, and its substantial online video archive. Crawford Communications serves as a distribution hub, transmitting all feeds and providing support.
Each military public-affairs unit abroad is equipped with a portable NORSAT satellite transmitter, which service members assemble and hook up to their Sony DSR-PD170 cameras or video decks. Once soldiers edit footage using Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Xpress Pro, they send it via satellite to the Atlanta hub, where DVIDS captures it and prepares it for distribution. The Encompass asset-management system helps DVIDS maintain its extensive archive.
Micheletto, now executive producer for video on demand, started working with DVIDS when it launched four years ago. “We started out with five employees and had four digital portable satellite transmitters,” Micheletto says. “And in four years, we've grown to 40-plus employees and over 100 satellite transmitters in 12 countries.”
DVIDS produces a show called In the Fight for on-demand access. The half-hour show features stories “about the troops by the troops,” Micheletto says. “The stories range from a day in the life of soldiers whose jobs are to discover improvised explosive devices to a current operation in Iraq or Afghanistan [and are] not just limited to the Middle East. We've had stories from Kosovo, South America, and the Horn of Africa.” He also says the show, and other military-related DVIDS newscasts, is reaching an estimated 92 million households through IPTV platforms Vuze, LiveLeak, and Sky Angel Two, as well as Comcast and Cox Communications.
When asked who the target audience of DVIDS' footage is, Micheletto simply replies, “the American people.”
“I think that the American people are always wanting to know what's going on with our troops overseas,” he says. “We can provide that connection and get that information out to them.”
For more information about DVIDS, visit www.dvidshub.net.
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