Method and system for delivering produced content to passive participants of a videoconference

A video conferencing system supporting active participants and passive participants during a video conference session in which the active participant has assigned control to select and to configure media for the active participant and the passive participant has no control over media exchange, the conferencing system selects and provides the media to the passive participant, the conferencing system comprising:

• a plurality of clients wherein a portion of the plurality of clients are identified as the active participants and a remainder of the plurality of clients are identified as the passive participants, each of the plurality of clients having a memory storing program instructions configured to identify the plurality of clients as one of the active participants or one of the passive participants;
• and
• a server in communication with the each of the plurality of clients during the video conference session, the server communicating with the active participants over both a conference channel and a back channel, the server communicating with the passive participants over the conference channel, the server configured to capture input selections of the active participants to organize a layout of conference media for presentation to the passive participants during the video conference session, the sewer further configured to monitor the input selections sent from the active participants via the back channel to adjust the layout of the conference media during the video conference session;
• wherein the sever is configured to execute videoconferencing software that defines
• a virtual producer for selecting the conference media to be distributed to the passive participants;
• wherein the virtual producer includes a media ranking module that provides a raw media ranking of all of the conference media based on a list of the all of the conference media of a particular conference, an active participant ranking of the conference media, interest markers associated with the conference media, and indications of triggering events associated with the conference media;
• and
• wherein the virtual producer provides the conference media and the layout of the conference media to the passive participants based on the raw media ranking of the all of the conference media.