West Midlands – Red Shell Productions

5 Reasons your Business Needs Live Streaming as a priority focus

Video has become one of the best ways for businesses to reach their consumers effectively but, why do we think live streaming will be in the forefront this year? Check out our 5 reasons why your business needs live streaming:

Social Media is the perfect platform for live streaming.

Google+ has made a huge step forward for live streaming, as have Facebook fan pages. Not only do you get audience involvement for the duration stream, you have their attention. Streaming with social media platforms allows your stream to shared, watched and revisited over time. The longevity of one video that creates interest about a live moment and is also available for later viewing is going to be a trend in 2015.

Live streaming is ideal for mobile devices, which are also gaining popularity.

Tablets and mobiles are one of the hottest trends for this year. Having an adaptable site is more important than ever. People are mobile, and they expect to be connected on less traditional devices. Responsive sites aren’t just an option now, they’re a necessity to reach your target audience as much as possible.

Online video campaigns gain relevance with live streaming.

Video is one of the easiest and most relevant ways of communicating with your target audience. Being able to live stream your service, product, seminar or business gives you credibility online and with easy sharing available, it’s a great way to expand your audience.

Live streaming encourages consumer interaction, engagement and creates a ‘conversation.’

Let’s face it, we’ve lost a lot of connection with our target audiences in the technology age. People write, order, buy, sell and talk in a virtual place. Which makes it more necessary to continue a conversation with consumers in a legitimate manner.

Video speaks and connects with emotions, thereby encouraging more interactive conversations. The opportunity to connect with your audience more interactively, generates communication, which can help with sales, interest and shares. These are just some of many examples as to why your business needs live streaming to be a priority.

Ease of syndication to 3^rd parties will encourage more live streaming.

2015 will be a great year for syndication and moving outwards, while creating your online relevance and reputation by doing live streaming. As an example, you have a seminar streamed live online. You then take a copy of that video, place it on trustworthy sites and it gets shared on social media. Perhaps it even goes viral. Your business is now bursting with hits, both from the live feed and the syndication. How great is that?

Video needs to be taken seriously as a business tool, and your business needs live streaming needs to be a priority. If you ignore the multiple possibilities, you are missing out on the multiple benefits of live streaming. Live streaming is a way for forward-minded businesses to get an edge and to hit a successful stride. What do you think? How have you used video for your business? Any tips you can add? Let us know in the comments below!

If you have a corporate event or wedding 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 6677 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk.

Follow Red Shell Productions on twitter @RedShellUK or like them on facebook.com/redshellproductions

Time and Money Savings with Live Editing

You will always be able tell the difference between an unedited and edited video. Unedited footage is usually shaky with background sounds that shouldn’t be there. There is often no transitions or contain awkward transitions between scenes. Video editing can fix these to make your video feel like it was shot professionally.

Video editing can be a hassle, especially if you don’t have the hardware, software, or experience. It can also be a burden; especially if you/your client want the client to have the finished product immediately after the event has been filmed.

There are different ways to edit footage. The fastest method is a live edit which doesn’t go through a post-production process.

Here’s a quick look at the different editing processes, just to give you an idea how things work and how live editing differs from the other processes.

Video editing types

Film splicing – Technically this is not video editing, but film editing. This is also what is considered the oldest of all video editing processes. In film, splicing the footage is edited by cutting sections of the film and rearranging or discarding them. A splicing machine then allows film footage to be lined up and held in place while it is cut or spliced together.

Linear editing – In linear editing, the video is selectively copied from one tape to another. Segments from one tape are arranged as how a video editor sees fit the storyboard should run in the second tape. The second tape will become the final copy. It is called linear because it has to start with the first shot and follow a chronology until the last one.

Digital editing – In this method, video footage is saved to a computer hard drive and then edited using specialised software. After this is done, the finished product is recorded back to tape or optical disk. This is also called non-linear editing because the editor can work on any part of the footage at any time and not start from the beginning.

Did you notice that those methods involve some processes or some time in a production studio, cutting floor, or editing machine? In other words, they take up time? Not so with live editing.

Live editing – In this method, multiple cameras and other video sources are routed through a central mixing console and edited in real time as the event unfolds. There is no more post-process. A live television coverage is an example of live editing.

The advantages of live editing are obvious; you or your clients get the finished product immediately and you don’t spend any more money to pay for video editing.

Red Shell Productions provide live editing

If you have any event you want filmed and/or broadcast over the internet; and want that content available immediately to you or your client, we can help. We are Red Shell Productions; a live event streaming company based in West Midlands. We provide end-to-end streaming solutions and filming for companies, groups, and individuals around the country.

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.

Religious rituals live streaming in your marriage ceremony

Traditionally at Muslim weddings, the men and women remain separate during the marriage ceremony and often the reception. In order for the mehar; the formal marriage contract; to be accepted during the nikah; marriage contract ceremony; many brides send two witnesses as their representatives for the marriage and to formally accept the marriage terms. These are long-standing traditions. Most Muslim weddings still adhere to this today out of respect for the religion and the parties involved. Religious rituals live streaming is a great way for friends and family to be a part of this. Continue reading “Religious rituals live streaming in your marriage ceremony”

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”

Time Lapse Photography

Time lapse photography is often used in film making to capture slow moving occurrences. Photographs are put side by side and sped up to appear as though it’s happening faster. For example, film makers often use time lapse photography techniques to capture scenes of the sun setting or plants growing. These are photographed in real time, but captured with time lapse so they can be played back faster. This means they can be viewed as one smooth sequence in a matter of minutes or seconds.

How does time lapse work?

The time lapse photography technique uses a lower frequency for capturing frame rates. When played at normal speed, the effect of time moving faster is created, therefore lapsing time. Time lapse techniques will capture a film frame every 1 second or even less frequently, depending on the subject, and play it back with 30 or more frames per second. This makes the photographed subject appear as a continuous motion in the picture, rather than disjointed stills.

The effect of time lapse in film and photography is incredibly powerful; making small subtle movements, such as clouds moving or the star constellation changes seem more pronounced and visible. The everyday slow moving occurrences that the human eye won’t necessarily detect, can captured in a time lapse frequency, meaning you can fully visualise the changes, giving them a more potent effect on the viewer.

Time lapse photography is for more than films. Many photographers use photographic stills to depict time lapse in a situation just as effectively. Viewing a series of photographs that depict subtle changes in a crowded scene like a train station or the development of a construction site can be just as powerful as one long film.

When and where to use time lapse

As mentioned above, the best use of time lapse is to capture slow occurring actions. Typically this is used with a lot of nature photography and filming, such as plants growing or observing wild animals. There are plenty of other everyday scenarios where time lapse techniques can be applied with great effect.

For example, it can be a great way to capture the ongoing development of a project; like the creation of a sculpture or the erection of a building. Construction projects are often captured using time lapse techniques to show the continuous progression of a development over a long period of time creating a very compelling effect.

Time lapse photography is used to great effect to capture crowded scenes for example at an event. Here, you create effect by speeding up the ebb and flow of a crowd and their behaviour throughout the day. These work really well as part of promotional videos during and after events. The sped up appearance of the time lapse technique gives a unique and poignant effect on what would otherwise be a rather uneventful piece of photography or film.

Why not consider using time lapse techniques for your next project to give it that extra edge.

To discuss an upcoming project or event you’d like filming or live streaming; call us on 0121 6677 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk

10 Professional Touches to Add to Your Live Stream

If you’re new to live streaming, there are a few considerations you have to make decisions on when you’re designing your next video. Postproduction isn’t really a choice when it’s live, which means you have to map out what you want and need before shooting. We’ve come up with a basic checklist to help sort out your live streaming priorities. Check them out here:

Using a commentator:

Having a voice (and/or a face) to capture your video’s atmosphere is one option for adding personality to a live stream. Please do keep in mind you need to have a quality audio setup for live streaming, as bad audio could disrupt the quality of your video. You might also want to do a few practice trials before doing your live version.

Intro-out video and its uses:

It’s the same as dipping your toe in the water and emerging slowly- you need an intro to ease your audience into your live stream and a gentle way to ease back out. Having short pieces to enter and exit the video make it not only more professional but easier to watch.

Advertising relevant products:

Can you think of something more irritating than an advert that has nothing to do with anything (and even might make your target audience uncomfy)? If you’re going to have adverts added to your video, make sure they’re relevant and tasteful. Bad ads could lead to a loss of audience.

Services during stream breaks:

This is where you can get bonus points from your target audience, by engaging them. Think of competitions, games, Q & A sessions or just simple group chats. You need to keep your audience involved for the entire video, not just the beginning.

Sending a feed to Youtube:

Creating a Youtube channel for your videos has never been so easy; it’s also easy to incorporate for live streaming and then syndication.

Sending a feed to a website:

Using either your own or a 3^rd party website as an additional feed line for your live streaming gives your brand a stronger online identity and recognition.

Sending a feed to Facebook:

Facebook has proven itself as a social media icon, and one of the best ways to promote video services or products is using Facebook. It’s got the reputation and the movement to back up the popularity of online video, and is also known for making many films viral.

Using a chat box (like Google+ Hangout):

It’s old but it’s new, and the more Google+ tweaks the better it gets. Those who have left Facebook have emigrated to G+, for many reasons. Being able to not only live stream but partake in the streaming experience via Google+ Hangout is an upcoming trend. You can add over 10 people at a time. It’s a great platform for video business and will only get better.

What is adaptive streaming?

Adaptive streaming is pretty much live streaming that ‘adapts’ to different connection speeds, without the user feeling a huge lag. It allows many different people on various devices to live stream without losing the video’s integrity. Having adaptive streaming is a clear advantage.

What about HD streaming?

HD live streaming is a bit awkward, but for those with the capabilities the quality is much better. It’s still quite limited, but the availability is getting better and the format itself is a good artistic choice.

We hope these 10 tips for adding professional touches to film have helped you, and of course we’d love to hear if you have any extras. For more information about live streaming your event, please call us on 0121 6677 898 or email info@redshellproductions.co.uk and we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have

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!

Redshell Featured on Plan Your Perfect Wedding Website

Red Shell Productions is a video production company based in Birmingham, specialising in live event streaming. Red Shell Productions was born when its two creative minded owners Roxy and Josh married in 2011. Family from both sides couldn’t attend due to living abroad and illness.

A creative solution

With just weeks to go to the big day and little sign of 10’s of thousands of pounds they’d have needed to fly all the family out, Roxy and Josh concluded the solution was to stream the wedding live over the internet. This meant all friends and family could attend regardless of where they were in the world. So long as virtual attendees had an internet connection, they could tune in and watch the big event.

An exciting response

Having told all friends and family that they could now watch the wedding live, the response was huge! With over 150 viewers worldwide, we knew we had a winning model to get started with. The rest, they say, is history. Red Shell Productions is now pioneering the way for live streamed weddings in the UK.

Stream a wedding: Regular or bespoke?

Red Shell Productions currently offer 3 standard packages to stream a wedding as well as a whole host of bespoke options for weddings. With a team boasting national and international broadcasting experience, we can offer discreet documentary style filming of your day through to a media extravaganza with video live streamed to large screens on site as well as online. For information on how, together, we can create a tailor-made package for you, call us today on 0121 6677 898.

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