Seven hard-won lessons in virtual event production

Last year, the live event world shifted from physical event venues to online platforms. By now we’re all used to virtual conferences, concerts, and trade shows. Yet many of us are craving a return to “reality.” Thankfully, with global vaccination efforts in full swing, it’s not long before the gradual journey back to in-person events kicks off. But what will live events look like in between?

Remote video production and virtual events aren’t new concepts. Even before the pandemic, both offered real benefits but were widely seen as niche solutions. But in the context of a global pandemic, virtual event and remote production services became essential. Companies engaged in video production, live streaming, webcasting, and event production – as well as new players – all rushed to help translate in-person events to virtual ones. In 2020, they invested heavily into developing remote workflows, defining their offerings, and managing client expectations.

Key players in the remote production industry and their pandemic journeys

Online webcasting platforms

Self-service virtual event platforms like ON24, Crowdcast, Socio, and Hopin arguably had the smoothest transition to the “new normal.” These platforms were already established with a web-based infrastructure to host virtual events with remote participants and stream live video to a large online audience.

At the beginning of the pandemic, virtual event platforms were the first place businesses turned to stay connected with customers through online summits, virtual conferences, and webinars. Because of the sudden influx of new users, some platforms experienced stream interruptions. Reputation matters, so service providers that were able to scale up fast enough to meet demand saw the most success.

After the initial rush, webcasting service providers began looking at ways to expand their offerings. Some started offering run-of-show and production assistance services. Others focused on improving the overall social experience and viewer engagement. For example, a company called Sococo introduced a visual way to represent virtual breakout rooms, making them feel more like a real office.

The initial pandemic surge gave online webcasting platforms a huge boost. To maintain the positive trend, service providers will need to focus on improving the customer experience and expand their feature sets. A few ways to do this is to offer more advanced approaches to video production and video quality and look at more reliable methods for remote contribution. Timing is key, so instead of building from the ground up, webcasting platforms should expand their integrations and partnerships to help meet these needs.

Here’s what we learned

1. Verifying the quality of your remote guest’s connection and gear setup is critical.

Be sure to put time and effort into testing your remote guests’ setups as they are rarely perfect. Additionally, not every guest is going to be tech-savvy, so be patient. Here is what you can do:

• Schedule a call before the event to test the guest’s audio and video setup and their Internet bandwidth. Walk your guest through how to present materials virtually and discuss expectations.
• If your guest isn’t well equipped, and budget allows, ship guest speakers the high-quality equipment along with setup instructions.
• Consider looking into a quality web camera, a desktop USB microphone, some LED video lights, and optionally a backdrop kit.

2. Screen capturing a video call provides more creative control than streaming directly from video conferencing software.

To stream multiple participants interacting in real time, we first turned to video conferencing apps with direct Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) streaming functionality (e.g., Zoom). We quickly realized this method doesn’t provide an appropriate level of control over the final program: participants appear in random order, the app interface limits the stream’s visual appearance, and adding graphics and titles is virtually impossible. Moreover, the producer has no control over the encoding settings.

Instead, we captured the video conferencing window directly from a host computer by connecting to Pearl-2 via HDMI. Using Pearl’s web UI, we duplicated, cropped, and arranged participant video sources exactly how we wanted, including participant screen sharing. Pearl-2 also allowed us much more control over the encoding and streaming settings than any conferencing application.

3. Including additional dynamic elements like titles and media playback makes virtual event streams feel much more polished.

Switching exclusively between “talking heads” and screen sharing can make an event feel lackluster. Inserting small video clips like stingers and countdowns enhances the viewing experience, but incorporating these elements into a live stream can be tricky. Playing back media directly through your conferencing software’s screen share feature isn’t ideal because most video conferencing solutions feature lower frame rates and higher video compression.

We were able to playback video clips by connecting a computer to Pearl over HDMI or NDI (Network Device Interface). Similarly, we added live titling via NDI using NewBlueFX’s Titler Live 4 Broadcast software, cueing up our titles manually on the host computer during events.

4. Using SRT streaming protocol to bring on remote guests yields substantially better audio and video quality than conferencing software.

As time went on, we realized that capturing video conferencing signals yielded subpar results due to high audio and video compression levels. Fortunately, we soon added Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol support to our Pearl encoders. SRT allows high-quality, low-latency streaming even over unpredictable networks.

Implementing an SRT contribution workflow was a significant breakthrough in audio and video quality. Video conferencing compression no longer hindered the guest’s audiovisual signal. They could now take full advantage of professional camera and microphone quality by connecting them directly to an SRT encoder (a Pearl system in our case). It’s worth noting that real-time communication between parties does not happen over SRT; backchannel communication using a voice call is required.

Because this streaming setup requires an additional piece of equipment (an SRT encoder), it may prove to be a challenge for non-technical users. For mission-critical events, pre-configuring and shipping SRT-ready units is an option.

5. Setting up a virtual green room helps prep remote guests and facilitate line production.

With a lineup of multiple guest speakers, virtual event line production becomes a delicate matter. You want to be able to call in the right guest at the right time, yet having all of your guests wait on a single “live line” can lead to potential mishaps.

Set up a separate video call and invite them there about 30 minutes before their live appearance. Use this time to help them get situated with a line producer who can walk them through housekeeping details. When it’s time for them to appear live, direct them to the live broadcast line.

6. Enabling real-time output monitoring allows hosts and guests to feel more confident.

The ability to monitor the stream in real time provides peace of mind. We created a separate program feed channel on Pearl and looped it back into the video call host computer using an AV.io capture card. Hosts and guests were able to see the outgoing program directly on the video conferencing call.

7. Creating backup scenarios and redundant paths increases your chances of success

Continuous practice with virtual event production helped us discover potential points of failure and come up with contingency plans. For example, to prevent published stream loss, we always record locally on Pearl for backup. The local recording also provides a higher quality video-on-demand (VOD) asset. Additionally, by taking advantage of Pearl’s multistreaming capabilities, we can diversify our streaming destinations. If our primary CDN has an outage, we can direct our audience to a secondary CDN.

We’ve also built additional layouts that we could switch to in case of technical difficulties. For example, if a live guest drops off unexpectedly, leaving an empty slot, the producer switches to a backup layout without said guest. Likewise, in case of video input or network failure, a “technical difficulties” layout pops up, encouraging viewers to stay tuned.