Facebook Live stream testing... on a gig (EDIT: and in general)

[EBS_freak]

I've been playing with gear. I had a no pressure low key bar gig so thought I would give Facebook live streaming a go... Man, what a mission!

In short, had three cameras, with a hardware broadcast switcher to sum the audio and video to upload via the power of a mobile 4G internet connection. Three mixing desks - FoH desk, IEM desk and Broadcast desk all connected via the wonders of Dante. I can safely say, I don't think this particular venue has seen anything as complex as this for a "pub/bar" gig...  Of course, I didn't know until after the event whether it had worked because I was playing at the time. We did one song as it was churning a fair bit of data... and I didn't know whether it would be OK or all pixellated and distorted. All seemed ok though. Few focusing issues... but meh. 

Of course the most worrying thing was not messing up the playing/singing...

Here's the url : https://www.facebook.com/lunasoundsentertainment/videos/708721866265175/?fref=mentions&__xts__[0]=68.ARDGTTf0cuTmAf_qxdT4koPDBrU1cEnkrnNmiCb5y7XZ99l9Olao244Dp0ZlqA5ZfuPCXuPTdVmmJkdXWyYXJfnDuNVj0n05HgvmV4BqLvP1Eb5ee6aMllLmHjaF8uYaiURBsAFqZuYceyk7RkxH4WGXuVfqVmFINSXcDYKhocwHu2ilwYVI8LwTIzcD_ad1gLU8DOjI94vNRTWuH2IQsG6ETBBi015vIfQUuC8mbg2RTqAIsnO1ix0Ini2GHDqTHX0NOkdjz-hjDuCzy3od6VJazlMMigcKuFVgD5gafT-3DZnGnD_TS8M3AdAQPLmvC3bU137mKpyz40H6KKWYD-FWGSFdPg&__tn__=K-R

as the embedded link doesn't seem to play....

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by EBS_freak

[mr zed]

Very impressive - enjoyed that. A band I joined recently are doing a livestream gig tomorrow night. this is a first for me and is going to be a little strange. It's basically an hours worth of material being played live at a studio with no audience (just like old times with some of the bands I've played with 😁). The 'audience' watching the stream get the opportunity to comment/ask questions whilst we're playing - heckling from a distance if you like! If anyone if free to watch/listen at 8:30 BST tomorrow evening, it would be great to have some support. The link is here GROOVE STREAM TV.LIVE

Link to the bands website is here https://wakingday.co.uk/

Facebook page is here https://www.facebook.com/WakingDayLive/

Sorry for the shameless plug 🙄

[EBS_freak]

19 minutes ago, mr zed said:

Very impressive - enjoyed that. A band I joined recently are doing a livestream gig tomorrow night. this is a first for me and is going to be a little strange. It's basically an hours worth of material being played live at a studio with no audience (just like old times with some of the bands I've played with 😁). The 'audience' watching the stream get the opportunity to comment/ask questions whilst we're playing - heckling from a distance if you like! If anyone if free to watch/listen at 8:30 BST tomorrow evening, it would be great to have some support. The link is here GROOVE STREAM TV.LIVE

Link to the bands website is here https://wakingday.co.uk/

Facebook page is here https://www.facebook.com/WakingDayLive/

Sorry for the shameless plug 🙄

Thanks, I did think that nobody cared. I guess people don't!  

Excellent news on your stream. Hopefully I'll be able to check in, even if it's just 5 mins or so!

Enjoy the pressure! (not just from a playing front, from a technical gremlins point of view! ) Good luck!

[EBS_freak]

Also @mrtcat's band seem to be doing more live streams with his band. It can be very entertaining watching bands do this - Fraudio's live streams are amongst some of the best I've seen/participated in.

Top tip though - and I think @mrtcat will appreciate where I'm going with this.... it may be useful to have a plant in the audience to help with interaction. My comment about the "Blur vs Oasis battle" certainly got the conversation flowing for their last feed. (Disclaimer, I wasn't a plant - but figured I would give them a helping hand).

The danger with live feeds is that it can be quite flat unless you have an underlying topic of conversation - so bear this in mind before you start your feed. "Winging it" can sometimes fall flat on it face with bands going err... err... .err... or relying on the audience to give them content.. which just doesn't come. Just my experience. Oh and make sure everybody gets involved. Having one person speak and three silent muppets is not engaging in the slightest.

Edited September 2, 2019 by EBS_freak

[mr zed]

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

Also @mrtcat's band seem to be doing more live streams with his band. It can be very entertaining though - Fraudio's live streams are amongst some of the best I've seen/participated in.

Top tip though - and I think @mrtcat will appreciate where I'm going with this.... it may be useful to have a plant in the audience to help with interaction. My comment about the "Blur vs Oasis battle" certainly got the conversation flowing for their last feed. (Disclaimer, I wasn't a plant - but figured I would give them a helping hand).

The danger with live feeds is that it can be quite flat unless you have an underlying topic of conversation - so bear this in mind before you start your feed. "Winging it" can sometimes fall flat on it face with bands going err... err... .err... or relying on the audience to give them content. Just my experience.

Good point and something I hadn't considered. We're sound checking for the livestream this evening so we can have a chat about how and who to approach. Thanks for the suggestion.

[EBS_freak]

Argh quoted before the edit! 😛

[mr zed]

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

Argh quoted before the edit! 😛

I'm the only silent Muppet in this band!

[mrtcat]

3 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Also @mrtcat's band seem to be doing more live streams with his band. It can be very entertaining watching bands do this - Fraudio's live streams are amongst some of the best I've seen/participated in.

Top tip though - and I think @mrtcat will appreciate where I'm going with this.... it may be useful to have a plant in the audience to help with interaction. My comment about the "Blur vs Oasis battle" certainly got the conversation flowing for their last feed. (Disclaimer, I wasn't a plant - but figured I would give them a helping hand).

The danger with live feeds is that it can be quite flat unless you have an underlying topic of conversation - so bear this in mind before you start your feed. "Winging it" can sometimes fall flat on it face with bands going err... err... .err... or relying on the audience to give them content. Just my experience.

Absolutely 110% agree with this. We are in the learning phase but it definitely really helps to have a strong steer on the topic. EBS_freak's input has shaped the next live stream and given us great ideas. It's too easy to fall into making "clique-y " jokes that alienate people and to just drift. Our next live stream will be at 9pm weds next week if anyone wants to check it out. Lasts about 20mins.

[mr zed]

Just now, mrtcat said:

Absolutely 110% agree with this. We are in the learning phase but it definitely really helps to have a strong steer on the topic. EBS_freak's input has shaped the next live stream and given us great ideas. It's too easy to fall into making "clique-y " jokes that alienate people and to just drift. Our next live stream will be at 9pm weds next week if anyone wants to check it out. Lasts about 20mins.

Do you have a link? I'd like to watch this.

[mrtcat]

42 minutes ago, mr zed said:

Do you have a link? I'd like to watch this.

This was the last one (only our second) . Obviously a work in progress but if you like our FB page you'll be able to see our next one. Apologies for the poor jokes, mostly due to nerves but should get better as we go.

 

[mr zed]

10 hours ago, mrtcat said:

This was the last one (only our second) . Obviously a work in progress but if you like our FB page you'll be able to see our next one. Apologies for the poor jokes, mostly due to nerves but should get better as we go.

 

Really enjoyed that - the sound is captured really well and you all look relaxed. 

[EBS_freak]

23 hours ago, mr zed said:

Good point and something I hadn't considered. We're sound checking for the livestream this evening so we can have a chat about how and who to approach. Thanks for the suggestion.

How did the test go? Are you all ready for tonight's show?

[mr zed]

We spent the evening setting up the mics and getting a good balanced sound into the desk in the control room. The foldback sound was OK in the studio but a couple of monitor wedges will be set up this evening for the vocals. We are not using in-ears for this which is a shame however volume levels were quite low to avoid spill into any open mics. The sound engineer recorded a few tracks and will tweak the levels this afternoon based upon these recordings. Cameras are being set up this afternoon as well and we will aim to arrive at 7:00pm for a quick run through/final tweaks before going 'on-air' at 8:30pm BST. Enjoying the process so far and looking forward to this evening although a little apprehensive as I've only been with this band a month or so and i'm likely to pink torpedo-up at some stage.

[EBS_freak]

49 minutes ago, mr zed said:

We spent the evening setting up the mics and getting a good balanced sound into the desk in the control room. The foldback sound was OK in the studio but a couple of monitor wedges will be set up this evening for the vocals. We are not using in-ears for this which is a shame however volume levels were quite low to avoid spill into any open mics. The sound engineer recorded a few tracks and will tweak the levels this afternoon based upon these recordings. Cameras are being set up this afternoon as well and we will aim to arrive at 7:00pm for a quick run through/final tweaks before going 'on-air' at 8:30pm BST. Enjoying the process so far and looking forward to this evening although a little apprehensive as I've only been with this band a month or so and i'm likely to pink torpedo-up at some stage.

You're going be fine... just roll with it, it's live!

[mr zed]

1 minute ago, EBS_freak said:

You're going be fine... just roll with it, it's live!

[EBS_freak]

Currently watching - going great @mr zed! You're playing great - see? No stress!

[EBS_freak]

 

[mr zed]

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

Currently watching - going great @mr zed! You're playing great - see? No stress!

Thanks for that - a quivering wreck inside. Happier playing than getting involved in the q&a though. Heard the Oasis/Blur question and disappointed the compère shut that down. Overall, happy with the way it went. I’ll watch it back tomorrow. Thanks for posting the YouTube link.

[mrtcat]

Great stuff mr zed. I enjoyed that and it was well produced. 

[EBS_freak]

9 hours ago, mr zed said:

Thanks for that - a quivering wreck inside. Happier playing than getting involved in the q&a though. Heard the Oasis/Blur question and disappointed the compère shut that down. Overall, happy with the way it went. I’ll watch it back tomorrow. Thanks for posting the YouTube link.

I wasn’t expecting to get any traction with it - was just trying to get a smirk out of you so that you knew at least one of us was watching. 😉

I like your sound - I think I commented. Reminds me very much of Sister Hazel - which in my book, is not a bad thing at all.

 

[mr zed]

8 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I wasn’t expecting to get any traction with it - was just trying to get a smirk out of you so that you knew at least one of us was watching. 😉

I like your sound - I think I commented. Reminds me very much of Sister Hazel - which in my book, is not a bad thing at all.

 

I've not come across Sister Hazel - I'll check them out. Thanks for the tip!

[EBS_freak]

@mrtcat - saw the fb advert for the next live stream. Nice masking shot for the entry of the *Mandowkr"

I'm currently building more electronics to bring more cameras into play for recordings. Want to do more live streams - just need to work out how to make them more engaging. The experiment I did in the top post didn't seem to provide much on the engagement front as it would seem that FB didn't actually annouce that we'd gone live. I think we had more viewing post the event looking at the stats.

I'm not up for carrying around and setting up all the equipment without getting the engagement up... so I need to do some thinking. Also, I seem to be spending a lot of time looking on line at lenses!

[Bluewine]

On 01/09/2019 at 05:50, EBS_freak said:

I've been playing with gear. I had a no pressure low key bar gig so thought I would give Facebook live streaming a go... Man, what a mission!

In short, had three cameras, with a hardware broadcast switcher to sum the audio and video to upload via the power of a mobile 4G internet connection. Three mixing desks - FoH desk, IEM desk and Broadcast desk all connected via the wonders of Dante. I can safely say, I don't think this particular venue has seen anything as complex as this for a "pub/bar" gig...  Of course, I didn't know until after the event whether it had worked because I was playing at the time. We did one song as it was churning a fair bit of data... and I didn't know whether it would be OK or all pixellated and distorted. All seemed ok though. Few focusing issues... but meh. 

Of course the most worrying thing was not messing up the playing/singing...

Here's the url : https://www.facebook.com/lunasoundsentertainment/videos/708721866265175/?fref=mentions&__xts__[0]=68.ARDGTTf0cuTmAf_qxdT4koPDBrU1cEnkrnNmiCb5y7XZ99l9Olao244Dp0ZlqA5ZfuPCXuPTdVmmJkdXWyYXJfnDuNVj0n05HgvmV4BqLvP1Eb5ee6aMllLmHjaF8uYaiURBsAFqZuYceyk7RkxH4WGXuVfqVmFINSXcDYKhocwHu2ilwYVI8LwTIzcD_ad1gLU8DOjI94vNRTWuH2IQsG6ETBBi015vIfQUuC8mbg2RTqAIsnO1ix0Ini2GHDqTHX0NOkdjz-hjDuCzy3od6VJazlMMigcKuFVgD5gafT-3DZnGnD_TS8M3AdAQPLmvC3bU137mKpyz40H6KKWYD-FWGSFdPg&__tn__=K-R

as the embedded link doesn't seem to play....

 

Nice job! Very good vocals.

Blue

[mrtcat]

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

@mrtcat - saw the fb advert for the next live stream. Nice masking shot for the entry of the *Mandowkr"

I'm currently building more electronics to bring more cameras into play for recordings. Want to do more live streams - just need to work out how to make them more engaging. The experiment I did in the top post didn't seem to provide much on the engagement front as it would seem that FB didn't actually annouce that we'd gone live. I think we had more viewing post the event looking at the stats.

I'm not up for carrying around and setting up all the equipment without getting the engagement up... so I need to do some thinking. Also, I seem to be spending a lot of time looking on line at lenses!

Yeah our adverts seem to help but funnily enough it was a "we'll be live in 10 mins" type post that Jamie put on his fb that most people saw. Bloody fb algorithms at play. 

I used a fairly cheap wide angle lens on my camera for the second stream and that really helped to bring us all a bit closer to the camera. We're using a Canon Legria HF-G40 and it seems to be ok. The limiting factor in terms of image quality is of course the broadband speed (I live in a village with no fibre and we stream from my shed) rather than the camera.

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, mrtcat said:

Yeah our adverts seem to help but funnily enough it was a "we'll be live in 10 mins" type post that Jamie put on his fb that most people saw. Bloody fb algorithms at play. 

I used a fairly cheap wide angle lens on my camera for the second stream and that really helped to bring us all a bit closer to the camera. We're using a Canon Legria HF-G40 and it seems to be ok. The limiting factor in terms of image quality is of course the broadband speed (I live in a village with no fibre and we stream from my shed) rather than the camera.

Yeah - it's a pain in the backside. Facebook limits reach quite substantially. I've also noticed that on Instagram... I used to be able to get 100 likes on my posts without any hassle 6 months ago. I still haven't figured FB with all my different pages... and how you expand reach. It's all about interaction - but thats difficult if nobody knows when to interact. Go figure eh?

Wide is key - I'm on a load of DSLRs... but the wide angle lenses are all always the ones that get the most use for video. Unfortunately fast and wide glass doesn't come that cheap! All my glass is now 1.4 to 2.8 (or T3.1 for my cine lenses) - thats some significant investment

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by EBS_freak