Creating Tracks and Adding Your Agenda

Owned by Kelcie Des Jardins (Deactivated)
Last updated: Sept 13, 2023 by caitlin.mueller@touchcast.com
8 min read

Overview

The baseline for all event pages with streamed content, whether the event is live or pre-recorded, is the track. A track must be created in order to build the event’s agenda and implement a variety of agenda features, like “Add to Calendar” and Video on Demand (VOD). This document details how to create a track, how to create sessions and assign them to the track, and the list of available session types. The session types will determine how a track operates, and what is required from the production team to best marry the features to the run of show. 

Terminology

  1. Pipeline: pipelines are data channels that connect and transform the input point (external production feed) with the output (player on the page) for events using a live stream. Pipeline creation and management are outlined in a separate article.

  2. Track: a linear progression of sessions that an attendee can view. A track typically consists of one stream, but it also could consist of a main stream with separate streams if the event is using on-platform breakouts and custom access. If there is a live stream element, tracks are tied to one specific live stream pipeline. The general rule of thumb is: one pipeline = one track.

  3. Track Category: a feature that allows you to arrange sessions in thematic categories instead of the default linear, chronological progression. Categories work within the track, not across multiple tracks in the platform’s hierarchy (that is, a category can organize one track into multiple rows, but a category cannot combine sessions from multiple tracks). You must create a category in the designated section of the CMS before you can assign sessions to track categories.

  4. Session: the defined programming segments that are part of an event. A session can be a panel, a Q&A, a presentation etc. Essentially, a session is anything broadcast live or pre-recorded involving the event’s talent with a start and end time. Sessions appear on the page chronologically as “cards” or “tiles” within their assigned track. 

  5. Session type: the defining characteristic of the particular segment of the event (session) that dictates behavior of the player on the event page at the moment in time that the session is scheduled in the agenda. Examples include: normal session, breakout session, off-platform breakout session, etc…

  6. VoD: abbreviation for “Video on Demand”. Post-live event, the platform transitions the agenda card on the event page to a VoD card if a recording of the session is uploaded to the CMS per client’s direction. 

Creating a Track

Before you can start adding sessions, you must create a track first!

  1. Go to the “Content Management” section in the CMS. 

  2. Select “Tracks” - To create a new track, select the “+ New Track” button

  3. Complete the required mandatory fields as indicated by the asterisk

    1. Track name: can be hidden from the platform in settings

    2. Start time: enter the start time of the first session within the track

    3. Timezone: enter the timezone of the event (or of the track for use cases that have tracks specific to timezones of attendee audiences)

      Add/ Edit Track Page in the Showtime CMS

       

  4. Streaming via:

    1. Pipeline - this option will only appear as long as the pipeline has been created. Other fields related to the pipeline will generate and fill out automatically without option to edit them.

    2. Simulated Live - select if your event will not use actual livestreaming.

  5. Enable Q&A: this will enable the question and answer feature that will appear as a box at the bottom of the player. Also a moderator’s link will be generated to track submitted questions.

  6. Activate captions…: if captions are enabled for the pipeline, you can set them to appear by default here.

  7. Custom Static Placeholder: For events that have multiple tracks, there will be 1 player preview per track. If there is 1 track that is live, the player previews for all will be visible, even if the streams are not. If each track requires it’s own static image to appear when the sessions are not live and there is not an active live stream, the placeholder can be uploaded here .If the image is not added to the track, the image from General Settings will be used by default.

    1. Custom Static Placeholder description - add descriptive text of what’s in the placeholder for accessibility purposes.

  8. Emojis: enable emojis in the player. Only available for when livestreaming is used. For this field to appear, save track after adding the pipeline and open to edit track aga8in.

  9. Description: you can add a general description of the track that will appear below the track name.

  10. Hit Submit to save your track entry!

Creating Sessions

Once the track(s) are created, you can begin creating sessions to build out the agenda.

  • Go to the “Content Management” section in the CMS (same as above).

  • Select “Tracks Agenda” and you will be directed to the agenda dashboard where you’ll be able to see all sessions that are created. 

  • To add a new session, select “+New Agenda” button

  • Assign the session to the track (by default the first track is selected)

  • “Agenda groups” refers to the custom access groups. If select attendees are only meant to have access to certain sessions, the access group must be defined in the user management section of the CMS to then be added here. Multiple access groups can be added to a single session. Read more about custom access here.

  • All sessions must have a title.

  • The start and end time will dictate when the session appears as live on the event page. The start time is visible on the page, however the end time is not visible. For live events, the run of show tends to differ (in best cases) very minimally from the event page agenda. When using the simulated-live feature, this end time will cut the pre-loaded mp4 off, assuming the session is completely ended, refreshing the player to start the session that follows. Be sure to enter the most accurate timing possible to avoid session content being cut off for simulated-live.

Session types

  • Agenda/Normal: most common, for streamed live events. This is the default session type. 

  • Break: appears as a line of text that says Break. 

  • Off Platform Breakout: sessions held off platform. This prompts the Off-Platform Player image upload field (1920x1080). This asset takes the place of the player preview. The event URL field is where you will add the link to the off-platform session (any URL works, most typically Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.)

    • The player will immediately cut the preceding session off at the time the OPB is set to being. The OPB will immediately end when it is set to end, commencing whatever is next.

  • Breakout sessions: custom access sessions; attendees are directed to a specific session that is not on the main track. Live stream ID and Fabric livestream URL must be added for the track that is designated to stream the breakout. 

    • The player will immediately cut the preceding session off at the time the breakout is set to being. The breakout will immediately end when it is set to end, commencing whatever is next.

  • Simulated live: an event entirely pre-recorded. This should only be used internally for demos. Videos that are uploaded must be cut to the minute exactly (as mentioned above, the session will get cut off if the end timing is not correct to the full duration of the video). Here is an example of a mock video asset to upload in the field pictured below. This is the session type to use in your sandbox initially! 

 

  • Session divider = a card in the agenda that delineates one group of sessions from another group within a track/category. Once selected, a few of the fields will disappear as they no longer apply to this type. In order to have this card appear in the appropriate place, you will need to input a pseudo start/end time (typically this can start 1 minute before the session that follows and ends at the same time the next session begins). 

 

  • Add presenters = you must first create a presenter entry in a separate section of the Content Management tab of the CMS. 

  • VoD = all session types can have on-demand video added to them to be displayed on the event page after the session ends. You can add the session’s video in advance so that it appears immediately after the session ends. Or you can add videos after all sessions are over or on a rolling basis - it depends on the type of event and needs of the client.

   

  • Settings

    • Hide from slider, hide from table text agenda - informs how the session is visible on the event page. Adding the session and hiding it still informs how the player will behave even if it’s completely invisible from the agenda.

    • VoD Settings

      1. Disable VoD - attendees no longer have access to the VoD but they can still interact with the agenda card. This option will only appear if VoD is uploaded to the session. 

      2. Enable Q&A for VoD - Typically disabled, this allows Q&A to be available on the VoD for each session and questions are collected on a separate discrete URL. 

      3. Enable search - allows the user to search for virtually anything included in the AI-generated article, including sections or key words of the video. For the best user experience, we recommend having chapters are enabled and configured in the article.

      4. Enable share - allows the VoD to be shared, typically disabled.

      5. Enable trailer - if the article has been edited and sections have been selected for trailer, you can enable the trailer for the attendees to access. This is a summarized version of the session accessible within the player when selected.

      6. Enable article view - Makes the article available in the player for attendees to consume content in the alternative and interactive text format that article offers. Would not be enabled if not in client scope and if article has not been human reviewed.

      7. Enable chapters - If the article has been edited with chapters defined, you can enable chapters in the attendee view of the article. This is only available if the article view is also enabled to attendees.

    • Override company name means that the title you name the session will appear rather than the first presenter’s company name. 

    • Override presenter images - you can add a static cover image (if no presenters are assigned to a session you must add a cover image).

  • Tags and Notes section

    • Internal notes is helpful for searching for specific sessions

    • Tags is for external use - if search is enabled on the main page, you can assign tags to the session to help optimize this feature.

  • Attachments - you can upload 6-10 attachments per session (max 10)