LIVE TV
GENRE REPORT
NEW CUSTOMERS It’s a similar story in music and entertainment live
events. “The very big brands all feel now that they need to get involved in programming,” says Done + Dusted’s Pizey. Last year, for example, Google hired Done + Dusted to produce a live staged event from the Google Campus in Mountain View to introduce new software updates and hardware products. Done+Dusted crafted a three-hour live special streamed across the world and shot on 16 Sony Venice cameras. Coming up, among other projects, is a live event for Epic Games. It’s a far cry from a traditional corporate gig. The
big brands want to broadcast to a global audience, so are turning to live events specialists like Done + Dusted who know how to engage viewers. These are business to consumer events, stresses Pizey, so need entertainment at their heart. CC-Lab’s Jason Hocking points out that traditional
broadcasters find live events problematic as they are often one-offs in the calendar that don’t have inherited audiences like a weekly series. But opportunities for live events producers are
growing. Hocking points to new streaming platforms that have emerged during the pandemic, such as Driift and LiveNow, that host live events, streaming them to paying customers around the world. CC-Lab’s recent coverage of the Mobo Awards
ground…artists still want to meet directors, they are very conscious of how their performance is caught.”
FRESH IDEAS The tech innovations accelerated during the
pandemic go far beyond remote production. Following the introduction of artificial crowd noises to its coverage of matches from empty stadiums, Sky is exploring audio in a more concerted way. Sky’s Steve Smith says the launch of the new Sky Glass TV set with built in Dolby Atmos sound means that Sky can think about delivering audio in a more meaningful way. Previously sound has been a difficult sell to customers, as each home has very individual and varying audio set ups. Sky is now working to make sporting events
such as Formula One come to life more effectively through audio. “We are doing some experimentation this season to make sure that the experience is even bigger and bolder…the intention is to take you even closer to the action,” says Smith. Similarly, Smith says that Sky is looking at further
rolling out innovative technology such as the motion capture player avatars it launched last year for cricket competition The Hundred. In the coming year, Sky will also explore how advances in AR technology can help improve and bring to life its onscreen storytelling.
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televisual.com Spring 2022 Beyond technology, Whisper’s Mark Cole says
that the pandemic has caused production companies to be more efficient and organised. Meticulous planning was required to deliver last summer’s Paralympics, where Whisper operated from three production hubs: in Leeds, London and Tokyo. Last summer, Whisper also spent nine hours
filming a Formula One film with Tom Cruise. “Obviously, there were a lot of protocols around that because of Covid,” says Cole. “So, you have to be very efficient with the filming, the number of people on site, and to have a real clarity of thought around what you are doing – because there is not the same ability to just go with the flow and react. You need to put in a lot more preparation pre-events. Everything has to be watertight in the story board and in the scheduling.” Cole says that Whisper has actually grown during
the pandemic. The indie, which is now backed by Sony, went into the pandemic with 70 people and has emerged with 170. He says that while budgets remain challenging,
there are now more opportunities for producers in the marketplace. This could mean working more cross platform and producing a greater range of content for partners. Or it could mean creating content for non-traditional broadcasters, such as streamers or sports federations.
aired on both YouTube and BBC One. YouTube carried a live stream of the show on the night, while the BBC aired later a specially cut version of the Mobos focusing on the performances and backstage interviews. “A lot of the artists and record labels were super pleased to be back in the room,” recalls Hocking. “We had great big production values, 5,000 people in the audience – and it was great to see the content working across the BBC and YouTube.” Elsewhere, Bullion Productions – which works
across commercials, music videos and TV and is part of superindie group All3Media - teamed with artist Aurora and a creative team at Mercury to produce six tracks, recorded live, to mark the release of her new album The Gods We Can Touch. The performance was released as a ticketed event and streamed globally on the live digital platform Moment House. It was accompanied by a live stream chat function for fans, and a live Q&A afterwards. For Bullion, this space is a whole new territory to explore, says co- founder Jack Newman. “It’s hopefully opened us up to doing much more,” he says. As is the way of the world at the moment, Covid
impacted on the production. Director Alexandra Green, who was also choreographing the piece, fell ill with the virus so a remote system was put in place for the shoot. Proof, it seems, that the live events business is learning to live with Covid.
AURORA - THE GODS WE CAN TOUCH
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