The Benefits of Live Stream for Business and the Value of Using a Professional Service

Thought leaders have been bridging the gap between digital and physical content for years now. Visionaries reaping the biggest rewards have taken that concept and applied it to their businesses. The video streaming industry is booming and it’s forecast to explode at a compounded annual growth rate of 20.4 percent. Recent studies conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau indicate that live video content is routinely consumed by more than two-thirds of those who have access to it. Live streaming is particularly appealing because of the unique benefits it offers to businesses.

Live Streaming for Businesses

Incorporating live stream into your business content lends credibility to give your business authority in its field. Consumers love the element of authenticity created in a world where they feel constantly advertised to. Contrary to popular belief, consumers aren’t looking for perfection. They are looking for genuine motives and quality videos. Live content allows those traits to shine through in a landscape that makes consuming content convenient.  

With multiple video formats, live streaming increases brand awareness and helps grow your customer base. It ushers in real-time engagement because your target audience is using a configuration that creates a sense of urgency. There are no capacity limitations using this rich medium that often opens the door to new revenue opportunities. From a business perspective, there aren’t many disadvantages to live streaming.

Benefits of Using a Professional Service

Consumer behavior and viewership are what make live stream such a valuable medium for businesses. The most obvious benefit to partnering with a professional service for live streaming is that it requires zero technical knowledge. Even if you are familiar with streaming technology, using a professional service simplifies things and keeps them cost-effective.

Most professional services offer an analytics dashboard to help you track the success of your events. Relative metrics can be segmented out and analyzed on a granular level for retargeting efforts or measuring key performance indicators. You get high-quality broadcasts on super reliable infrastructure with an impressive content delivery network (CDN) that you just can’t access in a do-it-yourself environment.

CinemaViva for Successful Delivery

Many professional services allow you to integrate external programs into your live streams to ensure your branding is balanced and consistent across mediums. Besides, you’ll love those added privacy and security features that come along with the service. You get a completely streamlined broadcasting experience with easy-to-use tools that allow you to take your services global with the click of a button.

The data is in the delivery and the bottom line is that live streamed content fosters engagement which broadens your customer base. It’s re-defining the business world altogether. Video production and editing services like CinnemaViva are just simplifying the process for business owners like you. Our highly skilled technicians have over 15 years of experience in the industry and state-of-the-art technology to help you share your vision with the world.

Share

Best Practices for Your Livestreaming Video

Have you ever taken advantage of livestreaming video for your business? If not, it may be time to consider using this to your advantage.

Regardless of if you own a large corporation or a small business, the live video trend is a trend worth following. After all, there’s a reason 35 percent of businesses have selected live video as their marketing method of choice.

However, if you want to take advantage of all the benefits offered by live streaming, you have to do it right. While hiring the professionals for help is a smart move, there are some other tips you can use, too.

Find the Best Tool for Your Needs

With livestreaming, there are more than a few tools available for you to use. While Facebook Live is one of the most well-known, it’s not the only option you can use. There are other services to consider, too, such as Periscope, which is a Twitter owned service. You can also use Blab, which is a tool that works through your desktop computer or smartphone.

Make Sure You Promote Your Upcoming Live Broadcast

If you don’t let people know you are planning to livestream, you aren’t going to have an audience. With some tools, you can schedule your broadcast ahead of time, and provide you with a link that you can share via social media.

When people register for the broadcast, they will also see a countdown and get a reminder about the upcoming event. In addition to using the livestreaming tool for advertising purposes, make sure that you advertise it in other ways, too. This could be just creating informational posts on social media or sharing information on your website or blog. The key is to ensure as many people as possible know about the livestreaming event.

Have an Engagement Plan

One of the reasons that live video is so effective is because those watching the video have an opportunity to interact with the people who are “behind the brand.” This opportunity to connect is appealing and makes the brand more relatable.

During the live event, make sure you answer as many questions as you can. Also, be sure to greet your viewers by name (when possible). Consider asking them where they are from, too, which is an interesting way to get a conversation going.

Create a Compelling Call to Action for Your Livestream Video 

The goal with any marketing video is to leave your viewers wanting more. Let them know about the other ways that they can stay in touch. This could be through social media networks or by signing up for your newsletter. The key here is to let your viewers know what the next step they should take is.

Get Your Livestreaming Efforts Right

If you want to ensure your livestreaming efforts are effective and help you garner the desired response, work with the pros. They can help you craft your video and ensure that as many people as possible watch and interact.

Share

Multi-Camera Live Streaming for the Chefs Roll #Anti-Convention

CinemaViva had a great time filming and live streaming for the Chefs Roll Anti-Convention this past April. For 2 days straight, we had a wonderful opportunity to use our Sling Studio wireless switcher/streaming system and 4 cameras to cover an array of cooking demonstrations and panel discussions with top chefs.

View from the 2nd floor balcony at Idea1

We began setting up the day before at the Idea1 Apartments, a new development of live/work lofts located in the East Village. They frequently hold events in their interior courtyard. For this event we deployed 2 of our trusty Panasonic GH5 cameras, 1 Panasonic GH5s, and an iPhone on a gimbal. Audio was taken care of through 8 wireless mics and a location sound mixer.

One of the tricky things we had to overcome, was that the client wanted one of the cameras to be used for Image Magnification for the event and they also wanted to switch between that and powerpoint on the same screen. The Sling Studio has a slight delay so we had to work around that by setting up a sub-mixing station using our Roland VR-4HD mixer. We ran our MacPro laptop and 1 camera straight into that mixer and split the output between the LED screen and the Sling Studio. This way we were able to send the camera and powerpoint feed to the large LCD screen without any delay and also stream that signal using the Sling Studio. We were also able to create some Picture in Picture looks with the powerpoint slides and live camera.

Live streaming picture in picture example
iPhone on gimbal with a wireless connection to our switcher.

We hired a crew of 6 for this event – Technical Director, Assistant Technical Director, 2 Camera Operators, Location Sound Mixer and a Production Assistant who also helped out on camera from time to time. We setup 1 camera on a balcony to get the wide shot, another camera on a jib, the GH5s on a tripod with a telephoto lens and an iPhone 6 on a gimbal for more portable shots. This was the first time we tried using the GH5/Crane gimbal and it worked great. We used an iPad Air to control the movement of the gimbal for more versatile moving shots. I was able to direct each camera operator on their shots and coordinate with the client on when to start and stop the slides by using our Eartec Wireless Headsets. The iPad Pro was used to switch between cameras and overlay the client’s logo. It’s Retina screen provides very accurate color reproduction.

Panasonic GH5/Crane Gimbal on Kessler Pocket Jib

Once the event started, our crew, cameras and wireless live streaming system performed flawlessly. We were able to provide a consistent 720p stream of each discussion to Chefs Roll’s Facebook page and by the end of each day they had several thousand views. After the gig, we delivered to the client, the program video, and iso video of each camera in 720p and 4K. They were very happy with the results and we are both looking forward to working together again for next year’s #Anti-Convention.

Live Streaming station with Technical Director and Assistant Technical Director.

This was a long live streaming gig, but our equipment held up and we were able to pull it off without any major hitches. Find out more about our live streaming services here. If you are interested in live streaming an event or conference, please reach out to us at 1-800-680-4613 for a free strategy session and quote.

Share

Live Video Streaming at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego

Recently CinemaViva was hired by an event production company out of New York – Eventique to perform a Live Stream of a company meeting held at the Manchester Hyatt. They needed to provide a high quality live stream of the Meridian Capital event back to their offices in New York to the employees who couldn’t come to San Diego.

Live Streaming System at the Manchester Hyatt

Eventique brought in their top crew from New York and it was easy to integrate our Live Streaming system into their production. We set up next to their tech table so we didn’t have to run long cables all over the room. Our job was to connect to their audio mixer, video camera and to the hotel’s internet. Our Roland VR-4HD video mixer easily mixed the audio with the video and flawlessly connected to our Mac Laptop running LiveStream Studio. Initially we were going to do a 720p live stream but once we set up did a test, the bandwidth was so good that it was possible to stream in full 1080p HD. We sent the 1080p stream to our Vimeo account which then transcoded the video in the cloud so playback would look great on any of the end viewers’ devices.

Using the LiveStream Studio software on our Mac Laptop

At the end of the day, the client was very happy with the results. Stats show that 263 people watched the stream with 111 peak viewers watching at the same time. After the stream finished, we edited the beginning and end of the video and re-uploaded it to Vimeo with a private link for others to watch.

If you need any Live Video Streaming in San Diego, give us a call for professional and expert results. 1-800-680-4613. Check out our Live Streaming webpage for more info about our capabilities.

Share

5 Tips for Effective Live Video Streaming

Live video streaming is rapidly growing in popularity as an effective way to connect with audiences, clients and employees.  Before you start, there are a number of factors to consider that could make or break your live video streaming event.  Be sure to find a knowledgeable and tech-savvy company that can help guide you through this complicated process with ease.

1. Test and Prepare

It is best to test the stream and all the content the day before.  If possible set up the day before and run through as much of the production as possible including any movies, or presentations.  Be sure any graphics or lower thirds are also ready the day before the event.  The last thing you need during your live event is to be waiting on a logo and inserting into the system during the stream.  You should definitely have a colleague test all the possibilities that the end user may utilize to view the stream such as cell phone, tablet and computer.  Even if that all works out in pre-game, it’s important to test the network the day of the event and have a backup plan in case something goes awry.

2.  Use the right gear for the job  

Every live stream event is different and each client has unique needs and expectations.  There are a number of ways to live stream from just using a cell phone to wireless live video streaming to broadcast quality live streaming with dedicated hardware encoders.  It’s a good idea to perform a site inspection at the event location weeks or months prior to the event.  This time can be used to test the internet speed, determine camera placement, load-in logistics and how long the cable runs will be.  The client also needs to think about how interactive the stream is going to be.  Do you need live chat? Perhaps you need to see and hear people asking questions at the other end or in multiple locations?

3.  Set it up

The background and ambience of the room are also factors to take into consideration for your live stream.  Is the environment noisy? Is the background pleasant to look at or is it distracting?  If your background choices are limited, you can rent a background or even a green screen which can be set up at your office or place of business.   If you decide to use a green screen, it is possible to remove the green color in real time and replace it with a nice background of your choice.  You can also add some color and depth to your set with props like company banners, a nice HDTV with your company logo, or even just some nice plants.  Be sure extraneous noise is minimized during your stream.  Turn off or mute cell phones, unplug land lines and print out and place “Quiet Please – Recording” signs at the doors to the venue.

4. Plan it out

When you are live, it can be difficult to manage everything that’s happening.  This is where a plan helps out a lot.  Take some time and figure out what is going to happen and when.  You can easily notate the events in a time line by using word or google docs.  Start with the intro graphic, then the host welcomes the audience, time to playback movie 1, next is a powerpoint presentation with picture in picture, finally it’s time to take questions from the audience.  Oh and don’t forget to ask everyone to like and share the video at the end of your transmission.  Perhaps you might even need a call to action at the end with a phone number or website link.  Taking the time to plan out your event will make the host or subject matter experts feel at ease during the live streaming event.  You may even wish to have a stage manager calling the shots with a communication system in the ears of the talent and crew.

5. Lights, camera, action

Don’t forget lighting.  One thing that can easily kill audience engagement is poor lighting.  It’s almost as bad as poor sound.  The talent should be evenly lit, without nose or chin shadows.  For this type of filming it is best to use big, bright soft light sources that eliminate harsh shadows.  Back lights are important as well to separate the talent from the background and appear more life-like on the monitors.  Without proper lighting, your video will look flat and uninteresting.

As you can tell, there is a lot more to live video streaming than just plugging some cameras into a computer.  CinemaViva is well versed in all facets of live video streaming.  We hope this article has been helpful and feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about planning your next live video stream.

Share