In October, we partnered with LiveOne to produce the 71st installment of LiveXLive Presents: Rooftop Series, in Austin. We put together the lighting, sound, and camera setups for the main stage at The Summit, as well as behind-the-scenes artist interviews that LiveOne featured in their global live stream.
Bringing premium content to passionate audiences of fans is central to our mission. Getting to do that with live music is one of the best parts about living in Austin.
Background
LiveXLive is known for bringing exclusive music and entertainment content to superfans. Our friends at Best Wishes Studio contacted us in early October to take on the technical work for the LiveXLive live stream.
LiveOne partnered with Big Machine Label Group to bring Grand Ole Opry member and award-winning country singer/songwriter Carly Pearce to the stage. Pearce’s performance followed acoustic sets from label-mates Danielle Bradbery and Laci Kaye Booth.
Pearce performed the entirety of her latest album, 29: Written In Stone, live for the first time. With Bradbery—the 2013 winner of NBC’s The Voice—and Booth—Season 17 contestant on American Idol—Pearce showed the audience what the women of country music have to offer.
Challenge
We needed to engineer the A/V architecture for a 4-camera live show, and a 2-camera interview setup. This included providing a PA system for the venue, backline equipment for the musical talent, a custom live streaming infrastructure for technical direction, and a robust comms system for our crew.
This project posed unique challenges from start to finish. We had a tight timeline to plan and execute an ambitious production with several artists and a live audience, which consisted of invite-only guests.
We were tasked with managing the technical aspects of the show while preserving the guests’ experience. Our team also needed to conduct talent interviews and film promotional footage during the run of the show while the party went on upstairs.
Solution
To prepare for the show, we used the venue details and the client’s needs to build a video and audio plot for the production (see below).
With our plans in place, we sourced the necessary equipment and put together our crew of 11 people:
Equipment/Inventory
- Cameras
- Two (2) Sony FX6, one handheld, one on tripod
- One (1) Sony FS7 on a tripod
- One (1) Black Magic Pocket Cinema 4k on a dana dolly with an emotimo ST4 programmable head
- Two (2) Black Magic Pocket Cinema 4k cameras recording artist interviews in the artist green room
- Lighting
- Two (2) Aperture Nova P300C RGBWW LED stage lights
- Two (2) Nanlite Forza 60 LED stage lights
- Aperture Nova P300C RGBWW LED light through an 8×8 full grid for artist interviews
- Video Village
Production Crew
- Stream Producer
- Director of Photography
- Technical Director
- Technical Engineer
- Lighting Director
- A1 Stream Sound Engineer
- A1 FOH Sound Engineer
- Sizzle Shooter
- 2x Camera Operators
- Production Assistant
We gained access to the venue the morning of the show, where we spent the full day putting our plans into action. To ensure the best results, we incorporated redundant recordings of 5 ISO cameras for the live stream. Our team also made sure the DJ for the party could integrate his equipment with ours seamlessly upon arrival.
We wanted our setup to require no further intervention once the talent arrived for their final call. Our sound crew performed three separate sound checks throughout the day to meet the needs of the different artists.
Results
The long day at the venue culminated in a highly successful final product. Each act transitioned from their respective interviews into their performances without a hitch. Our efforts to time the various moving parts meant the in-person audience enjoyed a spectacular show and the client received a high-quality program feed for their global online audience.
“You guys crushed it, and your whole team was a joy to work with. Your whole team is so kind, professional, and talented. You guys really made this one fun (and beautiful).”
-Cecile Dyer, Producer and Directer at Best Wishes Studio
Note: All footage featured in embedded Tweets was created by our team.
Got an ambitious live stream project that you need help with? Reach out to us at [email protected].
