Livestreaming is a really fun skill to learn (and not as difficult as you might expect), but we appreciate that not everyone has the time or inclination to get into it — especially on top of all the other aspects of event organization. For professional results, you may therefore want to engage a streaming engineer.
🎬. If you're new to streaming, watch this tutorial to get a sense of what it involves.
Specific services and expertise will depend on who you hire, but in general an engineer should:
Set up and test your stream(s) using streaming software that you agree on
Work with you to prepare the production according to the event schedule, and help bring in and prepare any relevant people such as speakers at the optimal time
Advise on technical specifications to optimize the quality of presenters' picture and audio
Create the scenes needed and cue up relevant media (pre-recorded video, slides, graphics etc.)
Provide video files following the stream for you to upload to the hub
Make contingency arrangements for in the event of a technical failure
Additional skills may include video editing and creation of basic graphics such as lower thirds, but check in advance in case you need to engage people separately to perform these tasks
A good streaming engineer will ask the right questions to establish your event requirements, and will clearly communicate the plan ahead of time. As well as having strong technical skills, they will be collaborative with a problem-solving mindset. Prior to hiring them, you'll want to ensure you have a good understanding about the scope of their experience and what they will be able to do for you.
Here are our tips for fostering a successful working relationship with your streaming partner:
Invite them to your Vito hub as a collaborator so they understand how the platform works
Provide the schedule as early as you can, and be very explicit about what you want to happen at every single stage (including between sessions)
Store any materials (pre-recorded videos, graphics, etc.) in a shared folder for which you have granted the engineer sufficient permissions, and make sure all the files are clearly labeled
Ask them if they can provide technical guidance you can send on to speakers
Depending on what you've agreed with the speakers who'll be presenting live, you may want to send their contact details to the engineer for direct communication around tech specs and test streams
Test streams are essential — be sure to check how things look in the hub ahead of time to make sure you're happy with the setup
📲 Download and adapt our free schedule template to share with your streaming partner.
Though it does come at an additional expense, working with an experienced streaming engineer can make all the difference not only to your production quality, but to your peace of mind. It's a great feeling to be able to put your trust in an expert, just as you would the AV tech staff at a physical venue.