Live Video Mixing – Red Shell Productions

Equipment required for successful wedding live streaming?

Wedding live streaming is becoming an increasingly popular solution to ensuring all guests can interact with your big day. Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life. It is the day you commit your future to the person you love the most in the world. You want all of your family and friends to share your day with you and that’s why you plan quite an expensive day for all to enjoy.

Not everyone will be able to make it however. In this blog we will look at how you can address that with a live video feed. In particular what equipment you will need for your wedding live streaming.

The day of the wedding

Back to your big day and why you should consider live streaming your wedding. As briefly mentioned you want to share this special moment in your life with everyone you hold dear, and in the main you can. However for whatever reasons not everyone can make it. You might be getting married abroad, you might live far away from your family, or you might have friends who are only coming to the evening celebrations.

Equipment for your wedding live streaming

How exactly do you do you live stream your wedding? There are few things you need to cover;

Filming – You’re going to need the right equipment.
Internet connection – You obviously need access to beam it across the globe
Streaming service – You’re going to need somewhere to show the video and for your friends and family to view the wedding.

The focus of this piece is on equipment, on what you need for your wedding’s live streaming. There are all sorts of bits and bobs you can use for live streaming such as tripods and lighting but the key pieces you need are;

Camera

Definitely the most important piece of equipment needed. You have a number of choices here, from your Smartphone, to a web camera to a HD camera with an internet connection.

You need to consider if you want a multi camera/multi angle approach early on as this could affect what cameras you choose and how much you spend on them.

Feed Conversion & Encoder

This all depends on how you are filming your wedding. If you’re using a Smartphone or built in camera on your computer you won’t need it. If however you’re using a professional quality camera or multiple cameras you will need to convert the visual and audio feeds so it can be recognised by the encoding software on your computer.

Microphone

Most cameras will come equipped with an internal microphone but it’s important to check as not all do. Even the average internal microphone is not always the best quality and it’s definitely worth investing in a microphone to make sure your virtual wedding guests aren’t missing out on anything. If you’re using an external microphone you’ll need an audio mixer to feed into the camera, your computer/converter and encoder.

Internet and software

Ok so not technically a piece of equipment but it’s very important that you have a good internet connection and the right software to broadcast your live feed. There are all sorts of streaming websites out there, so check some out.

If all of this sounds a bit too complicated for your big day or you don’t have any of the required equipment, there is an alternative. Hire a professional service.

That’s where we come in, it’s what we do. We have all the equipment, knowledge and experience to ensure that your wedding live streaming is successful and hassle free.

How to get audience engagement and branding for your live stream video

There are many reasons you may be interested in a live stream video or live streaming an event. Whether it’s your corporate event, wedding or sporting event, you are likely interested because you want people to be involved.

Your motives will likely be different depending on what you are live streaming. Essentially, at the end of your event, you want more people to share your moment. If you’re streaming your wedding, you will likely want friends and family that couldn’t make it to enjoy it from afar however, for a press release or business announcement you probably want to reach as many people as possible whilst offering your biggest fans a closer relationship with your brand.

Live streaming is all about engaging with your online followers and reaching a wider audience. With this in mind, audience engagement at the forefront of your planning. Continue reading “How to get audience engagement and branding for your live stream video”

Second Shooters: The Benefits

Video shoots are often a bit hectic and there is often the need for more hands on deck. Most companies shooting a film, whether it’s commercial, corporate or even a film production, could always do with extra help on set to make sure everything runs smoothly. Often finding the right skilled people can prove difficult. Consider a professional second shooter who is easily directed during filming. Continue reading “Second Shooters: The Benefits”

Live Video Mix

Whether it’s coverage of a live event or filming a music video, time is a crucial factor. Everyone is looking to save time where they can. For this reason, many production companies are looking for new and efficient ways to reduce the amount of time spent on the shoot and/or in post-production. This is done effectively through live video mixing/editing. Continue reading “Live Video Mix”

Why Good Audio Can Make a Video Brilliant

We’ve all been through it. Watching a gorgeous video with bad sound, which ends up ruining the video experience. Many people say that the sound is one of the most important elements to a good video. It makes sense. Bad sound can not only be distracting, it can devalue a film.

How You Record Sound for Video Makes a Difference

People have very little tolerance for bad sound. This is clearly reflected in which videos are popular on Youtube, Vimeo and the shares on Facebook. Without pristine sound, your video loses the audience. If it’s in-and-out, scratchy or perhaps too much bass you’ve lost your following. Without a following and social media involvement, your video becomes dead online space.

What You Need for Good Sound

Depending on just your camera’s microphone isn’t good enough for most videos. The simple reason is that it records everything, rather than the focus of your video sounds. All of the background noise is treated the same as an interview, for example. The camera treats each noise with equal importance.

What we do are two different versions of sound, because we understand the audio integrity is one of the most important aspects of a successful video. Recording the sound straight to camera plus using a video recorder helps us maintain the highest quality of sound, which is synched with the video, for the best sound clarity.

How Bad Sound Affects Your Audience

It’s one of the easiest ways to lose an audience by having bad audio. People’s attention spans are growing shorter and shorter, with video becoming one of the easiest and most accessible ways to reach your target audience.

One of the biggest turn-offs of a video is a warped, patchy or overlapped soundtrack. If the sound is off, the video isn’t watched all the way through. It becomes worthless with bad sound.

Different Types of Sound for Different Videos

Not every event is the same. Each event sound requires different attention. For example, a large event with a lot of background noise requires different sound to an interview that’s in a closed surrounding.

Imagine a choppy or muddy interview. These days, most video watchers don’t have the patience to sit through a video that is shot well but has mediocre sound. Quality matters, on every level, for your video.

A Few Tips for Getting the Best Audio for Your Video

There is no typical setup for perfect sound, but there are a few things you can add for recording good audio. Interviews, for example, are better if they have a ‘lapel’ recorder.

Large events require two separate recorders, one that gets all of the sound that’s synced with the video and another external one that focuses on the individual subject. Never forget your audio is just as important as your video, and you’re halfway to a very successful filming.

Keep Your Audio in Mind and You’ll Do Fine

At the end of the day, if you take your audio seriously your video will have much more success. It might happen that you have some sound problems with your video. Please take a look at our article about fixing sound problems on your video for more information. Any extra tips? Let us know in the comments below!

Preventing and Fixing Bad Audio on Your Videos

It’s happened to almost everyone who’s shot video of a special event at one time or another. The footage is picture perfect, but the background noise of the audio ruins it. Here are a few tips for preventing extra noise, types of audio problems and how we can help fix it:

Tips for Improving Video Sound

It’s much easier to do a little audio preparation before shooting than to rely on postproduction to clean your video’s sound. Three pieces of advice to help you prevent bad audio on your next video:

Choose a location with little noise. You may not be able to choose the place you’re shooting your video, but if you have a choice, pay attention to any background sound. It can include street noise from traffic, machines or a crowded area with too much background chatter. Try to find the quietest location if you can.
Use a microphone. Your video camera might have a high-quality built-in mic, but that isn’t a guarantee of clean audio sound. In fact, they’re guilty of picking up too many extra sounds that can create a muddy audio.

The lavalier mic (aka the lapel mic) is a great choice for both professional and amateur videographers. It’s easily hidden, it focuses on the speaker and you have a choice between wired or wireless microphones.

Do a sound test before recording. This is something a lot of people forget when they’re making a video. A simple sound check before you start filming could save you a lot of time postproduction. You’ll be able to hear how much or how little background noise there is and the quality of the audio.

Types of Audio Problems on Video
Even the most experienced videographers can run into problems with their audio. It could be due to external situations, locations or even faulty equipment. This is a list of the most common problems with sound on your video:

Low quality of your camera’s built-in mic
Crackling or static
Distortion or too much bass
Buzzing or humming
Overwhelming background noise

Fixing or Reducing Bad Audio on Your Video

When you’ve discovered audio problems on your video, it might be possible to reduce or even fix the sound. We can fix many audio problems (within reason); backing tracks can reduce a lot of background noise; and in some cases a graphic equalizer can be used to minimize the noise.

Keep in mind that it may be impossible to remove the audio you don’t want, while keeping the audio you need for your video.

Don’t Give Up on Your Video Because of Bad Sound
It’s disheartening to find your video’s audio is less than what you expected. Don’t forget that there might be a solution and a way to minimize the audio problems, or perhaps remove them. Ask an expert to find out before you give up on your video. If you would like to discuss your sound requirements with a member of the Red Shell Productions team, call 0121 6677 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk

In the meantime, feel free to use our tips to ensure your next video has great sound quality!

Corporate Promotional videos for small business

Corporate promotional videos are exactly what they say on the tin, a short video promoting your corporate products or services. Making a corporate promotional video for your business can be both an exciting and daunting prospect.

How can a promotional video help my business?

With our fast paced society and so much written content available; communicating through video is a more visual and personal way to understand who you are and what you do. A corporate promotional video offers the opportunity to show your brand character and offer a face to the name. This in turn creates a more personal feeling.

What to consider when making a corporate video

When you’re considering your corporate promotional video, it’s important to know who your target audience is. It is important to understand the purpose of your video and know the core message.

Think about how you’re going to communicate your message. Do you want a light hearted approach or something more serious? Do you require a script for the message or are you going to free style it? If you are using a script, we recommend you read it a few times to someone you trust to make sure it sounds free flowing and natural so as to ensure the best results.

Finally, remember to include a call to action.

How long should my corporate promotional video be?

Depending on your message depends on the length your video should be. If you are creating a video to introduce your company, we wouldn’t recommend much past 2-3 minutes. On the other hand, if you are promoting an event and there was a particularly great piece of entertainment or an inspiring talk performed from a previous event, you may want to consider a video closer to 5 minutes.

What’s involved?

If you’re considering a corporate promotional video for your business, contact Red Shell Productions on 0121 6677 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk for a free no obligation quote.

We’re not here just for the glamorous promotional corporate videos
Red Shell Productions is a video production company based in the Midlands and specialise in live event streaming. We broadcast your event live by streaming video to your website for the purpose of events, conference services, training etc. Broadcasting your event live extends your audience to include virtual attendees thereby improving your brand exposure, brand interaction and internet marketing services.

Our film production services ensure live event coverage is covered be it for live event streaming purposes or for post production/ short film later. Red Shell Productions have the capability to handle your audio/ visual production requirements for your event video.

Red Shell Productions can help you with your video requirements be it a short introductory video to your company, testimonial video, live event coverage etc. we can most likely help you (if not, we can usually point you in the direction of someone who can).

If you have a wedding or corporate event coming up and are looking for a video production company to film the day or broadcast your event live, give Red Shell Productions a call for a free no obligation quote on 0121 667 8977 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk.

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