.@theatremagazine If anyone is thinking about #livestreamingtheatre to share work and practice social distancing feel free to ask questions here and share experiences. I've been active in this area for 10yrs or so, and anything I know is yours :-)
First off this is a great area to experiment in. There is no right way to do it, and you’re not going to be NTlive straight out of the gate. In fact you might want to avoid the grand cinema style NTLive operates in altogether
Don’t be afraid to start with the tools you know and work up. You can #livestreamtheatre using common platforms and the devices you already own. You’ll need to watch and play so you can judge if the audience experience is one that suits the work you make
Most of the different technical approaches are just shifts in workflow. Eg adding in cameras means you need a bit of technology or software to switch between them. Youre still going from “digital capture device” to “streaming platform” to eyes and ears of the audience
In terms of payment, if you’re experimenting then you’ll need to price that in to what the audience pay or don’t. Always an advocate of PWYD - you might set up a paypal link. Folks can decide they’re happy to send you money because you’re making great performance!
I've just been chatting with a friend who's looking at using a webinar platform as this makes it easy to charge a set amount for the stream. This is compared with content creators on youtube who need a minimum of 1000 followers to monetise their streams on the platform
Your biggest headache is likely to be commercial music. Unlike the PRS model we use in theatres, there is no easy / inexpensive way to license music for streaming. Broadcast without the copyright owners permission isn't allowed, & there is no unified body to apply to
(this doesn't only apply to music assets, also eg copyrighted video and imagery - the stuff that's routinely used in a design that wont be seen outside a studio theatre)
There are a bunch of copyright free sources of music, employ a composer or a band in the show and you're sorted (unless they play covers?), or make your own soundtrack / hold up a sign that says "under normal circumstances Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' plays at this point"
Most platforms will also record the stream, which means you have a good to go (hopefully) high quality digital record of the show which can be used to send to programmers / producers
What's especially exciting is that theatre revels in its liveness, and this means finding new ways to stream digitally can activate this - it doesn't have to be polished, it doesn't even have to be video
One of the best #LivestreamingTheatre experiences I've ever had was @ForcedEnts Quizoola, and not only for the show (love you guys). It was the social engagement around a durational piece, the world wide audience created in the moment chatting about the work & getting involved ❤️
You might want to suggest ways to spectate. "This show is best watched on your phone with headphones in, on a big TV, at a watch party with 10 of your friends" #livestreamingtheatre
Make absolutely sure someone from your team is watching! This might be someone from the company, your pals or someone from the venue (if you're in a venue). They can report back if the signal breaks or the audio is bad and (hopefully) you'll be able to do something about it
There is always a delay in a livestream, and this might be a minute or so - let me tell you it is truly tricky for one person to monitor the sound going into the stream and the sound the audience is experiencing (with delay)
Once you fix the problem, there's obviously a delay before the audience notices the fix - let people know in advance that technical details will be addressed through twitter/the platforms chat/whatever. Folks are forgiving if they know you're working to fix
On that note, try and find a way using the platform or your own hardware setup to use title cards. "Stream starts at 7pm" "Technical difficulties" "About to Start" that kind of thing. Also great for pre and post show information sharing
Because you're #livestreamingtheatre you're creating a digital version of your show. This means adding things like subtitling and audio description to the project are in many ways easier than in the theatre
e.g. @Stagetext can beam you real-time titles of your work which can be integrated into the stream. If you record to YouTube you can add a subtitles file at any time, so viewers of the Video on Demand version get titling
Another option might be @birdmail Difference Engine - I suspect its possible to add their subtitles to a livestream as well as display them in theatre, depending on the equipment/software available
Ah ha! Forgotten about one of the main bits of the puzzle (this is somewhat off the cuff!).
Internet bandwidth!
For a 1080p/i (HD) stream the bandwidth you'll need is between about 4mbps and 6mbps upstream. I.e. from your setup to the streaming platform you're using
Internet bandwidth!
For a 1080p/i (HD) stream the bandwidth you'll need is between about 4mbps and 6mbps upstream. I.e. from your setup to the streaming platform you're using
You can test the bandwidth where you are using e.g. speedtest.net In general the advice is to test when there's a full house, 'cause only then do you get a practical idea of the available capacity. Although many might be streaming to an empty house at the moment
The most reliable streaming experience tends to be using an ethernet connection to the venues router, then wifi and finally 4G (perhaps tethered to your phone)
Note that theatres tend to be filled with metal and other obstructions which can dampen your signal. Try streaming 4G out of the Barbican's Pit Theatre and you're on a hiding to nothing
If you can use 4G (perhaps you're doing an outdoor promenade), make super sure you have enough data allowance! That 4-6mbps can soon eat up all your available data then it tends to get expensive
There's a tension between serving the audience in the space and the online audience. At the moment you might be thinking of #livestreamingtheatre to an empty house, so take advantage of that. Shift and change the performance to work best with cameras and mics
Maybe do an episodic version of the show, thinking about attention span on mobile devices.
If there's participation, engage with social networks and find ways to curate your audiences response - reboot the stream 5m or a day later to get to the next bit with their input
If there's participation, engage with social networks and find ways to curate your audiences response - reboot the stream 5m or a day later to get to the next bit with their input
I haven't really gotten into technical setups. My own experience has largely been with a setup where I'm able to switch and blend up to three camera inputs; using high quality shotgun or ambient mics for sound, or occasionally performers with wireless headsets
Audio sources (microphones and playback from qlab or whatever) are mixed on a small mixing desk and fed into the video switcher. From there into either a dedicated streaming box such as the Teradek Vidiu or a computer running OBS or wirecast obsproject.com
Black Magic make a bunch of high quality, low cost video switchers.
Best bang for buck for a setup such as this would be the new ATEM mini ($300) or the ATEM Television Studio HD ($999)
Best bang for buck for a setup such as this would be the new ATEM mini ($300) or the ATEM Television Studio HD ($999)
The ATEM mini can be attached to your laptop via USB-C or using a USB-C -> USB-A (i.e. old school USB). In this mode it appears like a webcam, so it can be used with pretty much any streaming system or video conferencing/webinar product
The switchers allow you to plug in a number of cameras or other inputs using HDMI. So as long as you have the right cable you can probably use any kind of handycam you have around the place as an input
To video stream from a computer you'll need to have some way of getting the video into the computer!
It often comes as a surprise that most laptops simply don't have that ability off the shelf
It often comes as a surprise that most laptops simply don't have that ability off the shelf
So, you'll need to buy or borrow a small amount of gear to get the video and audio inputs into the computer and out to the streaming platform.
This doesn't have to be as onerous or confusing as it sounds. They're just jigsaw pieces that need to be plugged together
This doesn't have to be as onerous or confusing as it sounds. They're just jigsaw pieces that need to be plugged together
One major gotcha is video formats. In my xp if you stream at the same resolution as the camera captures, the laptop/computer that's doing the streaming doesn't have to work that hard. As soon as you change the resolution (say camera at 1080/stream at 720) you'll hit problems
this is 'cause the computer is having to do a bunch of work transcoding (changing the format) in real time. This will really stress it out, and potentially drop the stream quality through the floor
Something often left until toooooo late is sound quality.
Built in camera audio is often a bit shaky, and will more than likely pick up camera operator noises (changing zoom, moving the tripod), or if its too close to the tech box the sounds of the technicians swearing
Built in camera audio is often a bit shaky, and will more than likely pick up camera operator noises (changing zoom, moving the tripod), or if its too close to the tech box the sounds of the technicians swearing
How to make the best of audio in the venue you're in is another experimentation area.
At the very least (and assuming you're end-on in a theatre space) a shotgun mic pointing at the stage on a stand away from other people is a go-to solution
At the very least (and assuming you're end-on in a theatre space) a shotgun mic pointing at the stage on a stand away from other people is a go-to solution
If you're performing with a hand held mic in the show, grab a feed from that. Although as handhelds are best up close, it can also be useful to blend in a small amount of ambient noise from the space to fill out that theatre sound. YMMV
I'm kinda running out of off-the-top-of-my-head insights, but feel free to ask questions if you're in the process of working out the technicalities
If you'd be interested in this please do DM me so we can build up some evidencing that there is a desire within the community to do this work
/FIN (unless I think of something else!)
Seem to have broken the thread: pickup here:
