Everyone is jumping on to the live video bandwagon. From traditional media outlets to Silicon Valley start-ups, live video is attracting much of the capital, and consumer attention.
Are we really ready for the yawning chasm of “perpetually-on", video hosts clamouring for our idle-attention moments?
Take any off-the-shelf, consumer-grade video product, both hardware and software, and you are well on the way to creating terribly boring, disposable content that is of little value to both the consumer and producer.
Multiply a lack of camera skill by the owner’s non-existent editing chops, subtract the need for licenses and rules and equipment and every smart-phone toting, human being on earth can broadcast their own personal "now ".
In the rush to fill their social spaces with content, video seems to be a rich vein of content in an otherwise desolate landscape of recycled reposts. The social media platforms are hoping that users who never thought of producing may produce; consumers that never thought of watching may watch.
" Walk around Comicon with me, right now "
" Here is my nephew getting ready for his first protest march! Live!"
It's easy to press the record button and everybody wants to be on stage with the band. If you are a social media platform you are begging for this kind of now-ness.
It is a double edged sword however, because filling the channel with noise is different than providing real, quality engagement. The very thing that social media needs may be written off as pap even before it can find an audience.
It is wrongheaded to think that if we can only get more content, then more live things will fall into place. Producers need the right tools, the right challenges and the right outlook to make content incredible.
“Live" has been around for a long time and it's almost always boring. Even some of our celebrities shoehorned into creating live material are faltering. Watching Snoop Dogg mumble through 30 minutes in a television studio is not much better than watching your neighbour do the same from her front porch.
Just because it's live doesn't mean it's interesting.
The trick is for your tools provide everything you need to create a livestream where the audience member can jump right in at the halfway point, immediately understand what's going on and enjoy the content to the end.
So where do you find good live programming? Watch the television networks, of course. Notice that they are highly polished, technically advanced, and they have elements that make them incredibly watchable.
At Omnimedia we know how your audience works and what they want. Two chairs between two ferns, one filled with a notable personality gives you an interview. Sit behind a desk with a moving backdrop and graphic interjections and you have a news program.
Omnimedia, instead of simply providing a blank slate on which to create noise, knows where the lines are and how to colour within them.
Important attributes are a consistent background and settings; knowing your subject matter well; a team of specialized crew to prompt and create feedback. Audio cues can be helpful in between segments and text in the lower third can identify who's doing the talking.
Your smart phone and the products that come with it, those that allow you to press that record button, provide none of that. If nothing else, they have alerted producers and consumers about the possibilities of going live, but when it is your name on the marquee, your brand providing the sponsorship, and your drive to capture an online audience don't take chances.
Don't be boring.
About Omni Media
Omni Media Productions is an established television production company based in Ontario, Canada. Our level of expertise has provided top-notch video production services across Canada and internationally. We have gained success due to the personalized service and well-maintained equipment that we bring to every project.
Our highly knowledgeable on-staff Ontario film crews will execute pro-level videography, webcasting, and video editing services. Utilizing professionals with years of video production experience is essential for any project. Omni Media Productions strives to exceed the expectations of our clients, and helps turn their vision into a reality.