Short pieces on switching, streaming chains and gallery routines, written by the people who run shows from the control room and plan them before doors open.
Articles from our Durham base on how live shows are planned, cut and delivered to audiences. A new piece appears about once a day, each one drawn from real gallery work.
How-to guide
A step-by-step guide to preparing a multi-camera live show so the operator and technical director can cut it cleanly: camera plan, running order, talkback and a rehearsal that matters.
Callum Hartley
Read more
Broadcast planning
Daniel Foster sets out the questions worth settling before you book broadcast coverage of a stage event, from camera positions and power to sign-off and delivery.
Daniel Foster
Read more
Remote production
Bringing remote contributors and off-site feeds into one show goes wrong in predictable ways. Priya Nair walks through the usual mistakes and the habits that keep a managed production steady.
Priya Nair
Read more
Costs
A plain account of how replay and graphics operation is priced for a live show, which choices add cost, and what to settle with us before a quotation is written.
Daniel Foster
Read more
Control room setup
A short account of how we planned, built and tested a temporary production gallery in a converted warehouse for one regional arts weekend, and what Marcus learned along the way.
Priya Nair
Read more
Live streaming
Priya Nair sets out what to settle with your streaming team in the coming months: connections, daylight, venue networks and rehearsal time, so the broadcast stays calm when the weather turns.
Priya Nair
Read more
Trade terms
A plain-words guide to the terms used in a multi-camera gallery: preview, programme, cut, mix and tally, and why the technical director calls them in a particular order.
Callum Hartley
Read more
Concert broadcast
Two ways to cover a stage performance are compared, a locked-off camera plan and a mixed plan with hand-held operators, with a clear recommendation for mid-sized concerts and festival stages.
Priya Nair
Read more
Behind the scenes
How a vision mixer actually works with off-site feeds: the checks before going live, the talkback habits and the small decisions that keep remote contributors in step with the room.
Priya Nair
Read more
Replay and graphics
Hannah Whitlock answers the question we hear most from organisers: what do replays and graphics really involve, who operates them, and what do we need from you before the show?
Hannah Whitlock
Read more
Company news
A look at how we plan, build and test a temporary production gallery for a venue or festival, from the first site visit to the final signal check before doors open.
Callum Hartley
Read more
Streaming methods
A streaming engineer explains the tools and methods behind our live streaming production: how we encode, back up and watch a stream so it reaches viewers without interruption.
Daniel Foster
Read more
Planning
Before you commit to a vision mixer and technical director, work through these questions on cameras, cueing, communication and sign-off so the gallery matches what your show really needs.
Hannah Whitlock
Read more
Broadcast advice
Priya Nair, vision mixer operator, goes through the errors that most often weaken a concert or festival broadcast, from the camera plan to the final programme output, and what to do about each.
Priya Nair
Read more
Remote production
A plain look at how remote contributors and off-site feeds are priced when brought into one managed production, and which choices raise or lower the quote.
Callum Hartley
Read more
Customer story
A short account of how replay and graphics operation shaped one charity concert for a customer we will call Jamie, and what we changed in the gallery between rehearsal and doors.
Callum Hartley
Read more
Control rooms
Hannah Whitlock sets out how to prepare a temporary or fixed control room over the coming months, from site visits and power to cabling, cold venues and rehearsal time.
Hannah Whitlock
Read more
Streaming terms
A streaming engineer explains bitrate, keyframe interval and latency in plain words, and what each one means for the audience watching your live event on a phone or laptop.
Daniel Foster
Read more
Switching
Daniel Foster compares a lean single-operator switch with a gallery that has a technical director and vision mixer, and says which suits most live concerts and stage events.
Daniel Foster
Read more
Behind the scenes
A streaming engineer's account of what happens behind a concert or festival broadcast, from the first camera plan to the programme output leaving the building.
Daniel Foster
Read more