Coping With Coronavirus With Livestreaming

 We all know the bad news, that in the current climate of uncertainty hosting events, staging shows and public speaking is going to be difficult for the foreseeable future. The good news is, with online engagement at an unprecedented all time high, there is a huge audience just waiting to engage with your content! Italy has seen a 70% jump in internet usage since the outbreak.  2020 will be dominated by the effects of Covid, there’s no two ways to go about it.

So is it worth looking in to livestreaming to allow your events to proceed?

Well, media giant Netflix has seen so much usage it has had to downgrade the quality of its videos to cope. And currently 67% of audiences who watched a live stream purchased a ticket to a similar event the next time it occurred. People are engaging with online video in ways never before seen and due to the huge influx of dependable, high quality and affordable technology, live broadcasting over the internet has never been easier.

You can go and look at our livestream guide to getting up and running if you’re not sure of the where’s and the how’s before reading on.

So then, If you’re planning on livestreaming your events and previous live shows, that means you still have to have a crew, right? So how do you make sure you’re ensuring their, and your safety?

Each project needs to be assessed independently to match the measures with the government guidelines at the time and requirements of the job, the but below are some example measure that can be taken to reduce the risks.

Before and after each shoot disinfect all of the equipment.

Limit all unnecessary contact, host Pre Production Meetings via video chat Crews should be reduced to a minimal number.

Crew travel to the location independently.

Static cameras to be positioned securely and then left without an operator when is safe to do so.

Rifle mics will be used instead of Lav mics so nobody has to be touched.

Interviews to be shot on a tight lens with at least 2m distance between the operator, the interviewer, and the interviewee.

All crew to test their temperature the morning of the shoot, if anyone has an elevated temperature they should self isolate.

All crew to carry hand sanitiser and use it regularly.

The sound recordist, director and live stream tech must work at least 2m apart during the broadcast.