This paper presents a system designed to automate
the production of webcasts, the Virtual Director. It
automates simple tasks such as control of recording
equipment, stream broadcasting, and camera control. It
also automates content decisions, such as which
camera view to broadcast. Directors can specify the
content decisions using an automation specification
language. The Virtual Director also uses a question
monitor service to automatically identify questions and
move the cameras to show the audience member asking
the question. We discuss the implementation of the
Virtual Director and present the results of its use in the
production of a university seminar series.
