All these elements, all of which are of essential importance for the success of any live video production initiative via streaming, justify a detailed pre-production that guarantees its success.
Juan Pablo Morales Sarmiento*
The concept of Live Streaming is very basic. It always consists of carrying a generated video and audio signal, either from a user's own mobile device or from a professional television production, to a computer that encodes the video signal converting it into data, and then diverts it via the Internet to a CDN or content distribution network.
There are four additional axes in the industry that are added to the technical production, coding and distribution network. These are connectivity, narrative conceptualization and storytelling, the search to maximize the impact on the user experience and the strategic importance of the metrics offered by everything digital via the internet.
Now, to find the most appropriate technique to make a live streaming, the first thing you should ask yourself in the background is the strategic reason for wanting to do it live, if there is a reason that leads the audience to connect with the content and if within the message that is going to be transmitted there are emotional and / or rational factors that motivate users. What is the purpose of each event and its format. This will give an idea of both the convenience, the type of production required, as well as its complexity.
If the content needs some kind of interaction, if it saves travel and venue costs, if it has a sense of urgency for the audience, if it is fresh news, if it is as a rule with stakeholders or if it is a sports competition or a product launch expected by many, of course it is convenient to do it live. Otherwise I consider it important to evaluate options such as false direct or the use of content on demand.
Currently there is talk of Webcast, Videoconference, Webinar and other terms to refer to a live streaming. Although in the background the process has many similarities, it is important to understand the structural differences they have between them, because each one has a purpose, a technique and a particular and different way of communicating.
While a Webinar has an academic and interactive goal, similar to that of a classroom where there is an auditorium, a teacher, a presentation and a mechanic of exchanging opinions and questions, a video conference has a narrower scope and generally uses collaborative tools to share screens through technologies such as Zoom or Skype. A Webcast, on the other hand, usually requires a professional production technique, cameras, composition and a specialized staff.
Once both the format and the appropriate production technique for the event are resolved, connectivity can be the Achilles heel for any activity. The higher and more stable the internet connection, as well as the processing power of the encoder and the efficiency of the CDN, the lower the buffering and latency of the video. It is advisable to always have a dedicated and symmetrical internet connection, which arrives via physical ethernet to the encoder.
As for the CRC, the alternatives at present are impossible to list. From services such as Adobe Connect and Webex for webinars, the aforementioned for conferences and the options of social networks that offer services for consumers such as Facebook Live, Youtube, Periscope and Instagram, such as Facebook's Workplace for professionals; all of them, mass content distribution services and mostly public. Mostly, these services offer live recording or DVR, automatic OnDemand and transcoding on server, which means the ability of servers to recode data to different bitrates or renders, sizes and codecs, so that finally the user, regardless of their device and connectivity, experiences the lowest latency and the highest quality possible.
In the case of CDNs of a private nature, without advertising and of greater autonomy related to the player and communication by the issuer, it is convenient to ensure that your provider has the ability to offer these features to guarantee the success of any activity and the best user experience.
All these elements, all of which are of essential importance for the success of any live video production initiative via streaming, justify, adding the investment they require, a detailed pre-production that guarantees their success. There is only one chance to get it right. As it is recorded, it remains for posterity.
Always keep in mind a technical checklist with at least the following elements:
• Connectivity, speed, latency. Both upload and playback for cases and corporate events on shared internet connections.
• Audio and microphony (power, mixing, simultaneous translations, audio channels, wireless connections and cables).
• Video (power, mixer, cameras, computer connections for slides and videos, credits, curtains, wireless connections and cables).
• Lighting.
• Publication: Player, publication URLs, interaction elements such as social networks, chat, surveys or video calls; privacy tools such as access passwords or login forms, as well as integration with consumer and traffic analytics systems.
• Encoder.
• CDN. Publication points and metrics.
Planning is essential. A detailed pre-production will always be a determining success factor for any event.
Controlling everything technical, it is time for the essentials. History and communication.
Human beings communicate more and better with stories. Whether it is an educational, corporate or commercial event, the more connection between the message and the audience, the more interaction between the parties, the more emotions the content awakens, the greater engagement it will have during and after each initiative.
The message I want to convey with this is not limited to dramatized productions or academic events with specialized scripts. In essence, each event must become a challenge to be as well prepared as possible from its narrative. If a chairman during a shareholders' meeting is aware that he has an external audience, and if there are interactive elements that allow questioning, and opinion, there will surely be greater attention and the return on investment can be maximized.
Finally, it is important to communicate. With so much content available everywhere and on all devices, it is key to use online and offline tools to bring audiences where we want them to go.
The use of user notification tools, mailing lists, digital advertising, outbound calls are part of the communication strategy.
The return on effort, risk and investment required for live streaming, whatever complexity, depends directly on the effect on your audience. The more audience there is, the more conversions there are, the more sales it represents, the greater the return. It is necessary to guarantee the greatest diffusion or participation of the event if its objective is public. Otherwise you will be losing the investment in content that no one is watching.
*Juan Pablo Morales Sarmiento is a Media Consultant and CEO of NuevosMedios Entertainment. You can contact him through his Twitter account @JuanPMoralesS
