Are Livestreams Changing the Game for Event Productions?

It has been more than a year since the dreaded pandemic affected the lives of the global population. With the talk of a ‘new normal’ in the coming years, one can only wonder when this contagious plague is going to cease its reign.  

While many industries in the world struggle to adapt and innovate to these drastic changes, the production world is also scouring creative ways to diversify its operations for means of survival. And one of the answers to this seemingly bleak outlook is one magic word, Livestreaming.

Of course, the idea of livestream content is not new— we have seen it used in a variety of ways over the years from gaming to travel vlogging. However, it was not until the wake of COVID-19 in 2020 did the world notice a dramatic surge in livestream media. In this article, we tap into the digital phenomenon of live virtual event productions and explore some case studies on how one can effectively leverage this platform during and after the pandemic.

“By The Power of Livestreams...” 

Livestreaming is utilized for a plethora of reasons in the current climate— we are talking musical concerts, talk shows, religious services, auctions, and many more. Sure, nothing beats a live experience, but to livestream a virtual event is possibly the best and safest way to connect with audience and consumers out there today.

Livestream content has the power to reach out to more people than before due to its accessibility and convenience— all it takes is a good internet connection and weblink wherever you are in the world. Furthermore, we have seen entertainment companies like WWE (WrestleMania 36) and popular music artists (Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, Blackpink, etc.) adapting to the platform by organizing virtual paid events and concerts to reach out to millions of fans and continue drawing in healthy revenues.  

As you can see, the sky is really the limit here. 

What Are the Makings of a Successful Livestream? 

Having experimented with livestream productions since 2015, we understand the rationale and effectiveness behind the platform. We also know what it takes to pull off a great live virtual event.

• Internet Connection 

Back in 2015, we had the opportunity to work with the multinational tech giant, Microsoft to film a livestream event for their regional townhall session. This annual private event brings the respective region leaders of the company together to share about their regional headquarters' progress and developments.

The use of livestreaming in this project helped to transcend location limitations and allowed the region’s leaders to address a wider audience as compared to a physical event. 

While 4G and 5G networks are sufficient to run a live event production like this one, it risks the possibility of network failures and technical difficulties. We were able to secure two dedicated broadband lines to power the livestream—so in case one line goes down, the other picks it up immediately to ensure a smooth stream.

• Knowing Your Audience 

Here’s something to ponder about: not everything in a livestream is live per se.  

Take the 2020 Apple WWDC keynote for instance. What used to be a hot and exclusive live event filled with journalists and tech enthusiasts has gone virtual for the very first time— not to mention, the upcoming event this year that would also adopt the same all-digital format.

Although the event itself is ‘live’, being scheduled to stream on a specific launch date and time, the content of the event is completely pre-recorded. This proved to be effective for a pure virtual event without a live audience as it minimizes any room for technical errors while keeping up the audience engagement level via the chat function.

However, this approach would not be entirely ideal for a virtual event with a live audience— the expectations and experiences are different. Just think about it, having live attendees spectate an event filled with green screens and seeing nothing happening on set? 

In this case, a good mix of pre-recorded and live-taped sequences would be an effective method to structure a nice pace for the event and provide buffer time for the people running the show. 

Check out two of our recent projects where we worked on live virtual events: 

Honda City Live Virtual Event

NuSkin SEA Live Virtual Event

• “Show Me the Money!” 

Depending on the vision and expectations of the content, virtual event productions can be achieved at a low or higher cost. The more inexpensive route would typically consist of one location, a one-angled piece to camera format, and be streamed on public video platforms only.  

A production with a higher budget, however, would have the creative liberty to focus on designing the viewing experience of the event—things like dynamic camera movements, virtual background designs and effects, and of course, robust connectivity.  

Let us do a quick comparison.  

Extended Reality (XR) is an advanced technology made up of Augmented, Mixed, and Virtual Reality elements. It creates a fully immersive experience by melding virtual and physical realities. The hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, uses similar technology to create the many breathtaking locations that we perpetually marvel at on the show.

A state-of-the-art hybrid broadcast studio at Sands Expo and Convention Centre

Now, to rent an Extended Reality studio in Singapore— where the camera has 3D scanners and trackers to plot the green screen, extend the entire background to a digital environment, and move/interact with parallax properties— would cost clients a good $30-40k a day, not including the digital assets and content creation.

Before you start panicking at this whopping figure, consider the cost of an XR studio to an actual live event. A physical event would require the rental of venues, the building of stages, carpentry, etc., which alone would have cost considerably more. Whereas for the XR studio, $30-40k does not seem like that much anymore, considering the limitless possibilities of the digital premise.

But it all boils down to what the client wants to achieve.

• Content is Key 

Virtual events are watched by remote viewers. And because of that, the biggest challenge is to entice the audience with the content. As a rule of thumb, livestream events should not exceed 2 hours, if you consider the average human attention span.  

Another point to note is that events are marketing tools. Hence, there should always be a purpose and KPI (key performance indicator) behind each event. Without it, the whole project would be a complete waste of budget if not worse, having little to no audience staying for the entirety of the stream.

Rehearsals and constant technical checks are vital for live segments during the production as it prevents your typical network failures and system crashes. For cases like these, it is prudent to prepare a ‘We Will Be Back Soon’ slide to salvage any hiccups.

Adapting for the Future 

With competition getting stiffer in the realm of livestream virtual productions these days, the only way to stay ahead of the curve is to always put creativity and content creation at the forefront.