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This week on Office Hours
Seven shows a week, run by volunteers, free to watch.
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DAILY ON YOUTUBE & MUKANA
A global conversation
where no one's left out.
Seven shows a week. One panel of working pros across every time zone. A community where anyone can ask, answer, or step up to help produce — and where watching the broadcast is only half the fun...
Run by volunteersSeven days a weekFree: anyone can join501(c)(3) non-profit
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RECENTLY COMING UP
THIS WEEKSeven shows.
Seven shows.
One conversation.
Weekday + Saturday shows stream live on YouTube. Sunday Introspective happens inside the Mukana community. Pick a day, add it to your calendar, show up.
All shows ~60–120 min · Replays appear on YouTube within 24h
ASK OFFICE HOURSSix years of answers,
Six years of answers,
one prompt away.
Search 2,273 episodes by what was actually said — every transcript, down to the second. Or narrow it to a single show.
TRY
LATELY ON THE SHOWSReal questions.
BROWSE ALL EPISODESReal questions.
Working answers.
Saturday Q&A31 OCT 2026
QUESTION · ALEXANDER KNIGHT
Have you seen other production pros build their own bespoke apps with AI tools to solve unique problems? I wonder what the general consensus is in the industry outside of this community.
ANSWER · COURTNEY GOODIN & CRAIG MACFARLANE & RONNY HOFSØY · AI SUMMARY
Described Dave Plummer's Task Manager OG (TMOG), built with AI to recreate and enhance the Windows Task Manager across multiple platforms, showing practical AI-assisted development for real tools. Cautioned against deploying untested AI-built code to production without understanding scalability and failure modes; noted many developers build for personal or limited use only. Demonstrated a custom AI-built London trip planner for family use, showcasing throwaway software for specific short-term problems and the practical value of rapid AI-assisted development.
Office Hours | Saturday | October 31, 2026▶ 27:35 WATCH →
Media Production Q&A30 OCT 2026
QUESTION · ANDRÉ DOELLE
Can you remind me again: What causes the ATEM UVC outputs to crush the blacks? What could you do about it?
ANSWER · ALEXANDER KNIGHT & CHRIS FENWICK & COURTNEY GOODIN · AI SUMMARY
ATEM USB outputs use MJPEG compression with a hardware encoder chip that crushes blacks; workaround is to use a separate external encoder like Roland UVC that uses YUY2 color space with better fidelity. Black crushing is an inherent hardware design problem; describes it as both stupid and long-standing, arguing Blackmagic should solve the root issue rather than requiring users to work around it. Speculates the issue may relate to legacy UVC standard's need to preserve colors for computer UI; suggests manufacturers maintain backwards compatibility by continuing the old behavior.
CJ Covell + 4▶ 28:41 WATCH →
Audio Q&A28 OCT 2026
QUESTION · PAUL WALHUS
For field recording, what are the key workflow advantages of a dedicated recorder like a Sound Devices MixPre over a high-quality USB interface and laptop? Why make the jump from an interface to a dedicated unit?
ANSWER · COURTNEY GOODIN & JEFF COHEN & MICKEY MACACHOR · AI SUMMARY
Type of field recording matters; for dialogue on wireless mics might need laptop; for effects or mobility scenarios a dedicated recorder in a bag is essential; keep recording clean without plugins. Dedicated field recorder is single-purpose device optimized for portability; eliminates need for laptop and associated cables. Dedicated recorder enables faster configuration and physical mobility; single-purpose design does one thing well; allows chasing sound quickly without laptop encumbrance.
Chris Fenwick + 4▶ 51:17 WATCH →
MOST WATCHEDGreatest hits
Greatest hits
from six years of Office Hours Global
The episodes watched most on YouTube. A good place to start if you're new — or to catch what you missed.
NEW HERE? GOOD.Volunteer and
Volunteer and
discover new interests
Most of the panel has been doing real-life production for 20+ years. That's the point: learn by doing alongside experienced professionals. Show up, read a question on air, run a graphic, cut a clip. While you're learning, you're building your credibility and your network in the industry. Both start the first time someone says your name on the broadcast.
QUESTION READER1 SHOW
Read community questions on air. You're the voice the panel responds to. First broadcast role most people take.
YOU'LL LEARN
- On-camera composure
- Real-time editing while reading
- Panel-pacing instinct
TD ASSISTANT3 SHOWS
Sit next to the technical director, run lower thirds and question cards live to YouTube. Hands on the broadcast.
YOU'LL LEARN
- Supersource compositing
- Live graphics pipeline
- Working under pressure
CAPTIONS & TRANSCRIPTSASYNC
Clean up auto-captions and timestamp archive episodes. Async work, your hours, makes the archive findable for everyone.
YOU'LL LEARN
- Workflow tooling
- Accessibility chops
- Editorial eye
SOCIAL CLIPPERAS YOU CAN
Cut a 60-second moment from this week's shows for Reels / Shorts / LinkedIn. Distribute the conversation.
YOU'LL LEARN
- Punchy edits at speed
- Hook writing
- Multi-platform delivery
CREW STARTERS
Students and under-25 years old: free Mukana weekend access, paired with a crew mentor.
GET ON THE LISTTHE CREWReal people.
Real people.
Real conversations.
A rotating cast of working media professionals has been showing up every day since March 2020, sharing their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives.
Get to know the panelists.
86 people on air · 43 in the last 90 daysMeet everyone →
KEEP THE LIGHTS ONFree forever isn't free
Free forever isn't free
to operate.
Seven shows a week. Six years and counting. No corporate sponsor, no subscription, no behavioural-ad business model. The math only works because viewers who can give, give — and because every dollar goes to the things that actually keep us on air.
FREE TO WATCH
No paywalls. No ads on stream. No 'premium tier'. This stays that way only if people who can pay, pay.
RUN BY VOLUNTEERS
Nobody on the panel takes a salary. Your $25 goes to Zoom, hosting, broadcast tooling — not consultants.
501(c)(3)
Office Hours Global is a US non-profit. Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. EIN 87-2070606.
TRANSPARENT BOOKS
Annual financials posted publicly. You can see, line-item, where your gift went.
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Office Hours Global is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit. No goods or services are exchanged for a tax-deductible gift. EIN 87-2070606. You'll receive a receipt by email immediately after giving.
Other ways to give: ACH, wire, donor-advised fund, stock —donate@officehours.global