There are a couple of problems with using screen-share in Zoom to playback video. The first is that Zoom generally assumes you are sharing a computer monitor and so reduces the frame-rate it displays. This can often make the video stutter and not playback smoothly.

​By using a dedicated laptop running professional theatre production software we’re able to bring that feed into a video switcher and incorporate it into the main program out for the viewer, no screen-sharing required! Which also means we can apply mix or other professional transition effects.  It's even possible to make recorded messages appear live, with a little forethought ;-)

​So whether you want to play back a couple of short messages or a fully edited mini-blockbuster we’ve got you covered. And if you need any help putting the content together that’s no problem either.

Send us a message to talk about putting together your live-streamed event.

This week we are planning for a live-streamed music gig for the highly regarded ‘Bulsara and His Queenies’ who play the music of Queen, including album tracks and lots of deep cuts. This blog is about the 5 things to consider when planning an event of this kind and a few specific issues which have arisen related to this gig.

The sound has to be right at the top of the list for this kind of live stream. Fortunately the band are very experienced and have most of their own sound equipment and as I have a background in music I am confident we’ll get a good result. We'll be getting a feed from the band’s mixing desk and it’s important that I check the video/audio sync with my cameras. I know what kind of delay to expect from my video cameras (from a lot of testing!) but we will  record a clap sync test in the venue to check this. ​

A couple of key things to help the overall sound quality will be to setup the drums as far away from the vocals as possible. As the room we’re using is quite long and narrow I think this should be possible. The second is to watch the max peak of the sound level. It’s needs to be loud enough for people to watch but leaving plenty of headroom in case of any anomalies or the band get over-excited!

I am anticipating a slightly awkward room shape to negotiate with regard to placing cameras but we need to be able to get all 6 players in shot across 3 camera angles, obviously keeping the lead singer, Gareth, the main focus in camera 1. So wide-angles will probably be the key to success. ​

In an ideal world it would be great to have used handheld moving cameras for this live performance to add to the drama of the music, but due to the nature of the room and the inability to have a larger film crew we will have to use static cameras. We can consider the style of cuts though, using hard frequent cuts in up-beat songs and changing to slow dissolves and bleeds for the ballads. We can of course always recompose any of the camera angles when they are not on air to keep the interest for the audience.

This is important to make the show look pro and slick so we’ll using a pre-show holding screen with the band’s logo and graphics, a live countdown to the show, and probably a watermark on the corner of the screen so the whole video is branded successfully.

Schedule the Live Event.

The band want to stream the gig through their Facebook page as that’s where most of their fans will be so we will schedule the Live post ahead of time. This is very useful to help promote the event as it can be shared across the web and interested people can click a button to get a reminder 20 mins before the show is due to start.

In truth you could shorten the above list to: planning! Plan the audio, plan the camera angles and plan the software integration. Then if there are any surprises on the day (and there will be!) you can move to accommodate them, safe in the knowledge that the other factors should take care of themselves.

You can watch the gig over at the Bulsara and His Queenies Facebook page, live on Sunday 12th July, 2020, but also available to watch afterwards.

If you want to make an impact with your next live gig get in touch with us at Stream Craft to take the pressure off you and ensure a slick and engaging live stream.

​I wanted to make sure that all the cameras and microphones were positioned as discreetly as possible so that the family weren’t daunted by the prospect of ‘performing’ on camera and could just enjoy the ceremony. Judging by the amount of happy photos I think I achieved that goal!

​I am pleased that both Koby’s family and Senior Minister Albert Chait were very pleased with the technology I provided to make this live-streamed event happen and Albert said "it was one of the most special things I’ve been a part of”.

​Although the live stream was the main focus I was also able to record and edit together a final video as a memento of Koby’s coming of age for the family to keep and look back on in years to come.