Helping Biffy Clyro live stream to 1.2m on Facebook

Playing to a sizeable audience...

Facebook’s growth in the video market has been one of the meta stories of the past year, and it’s not just shaky iPhone footage that’s going live either.

A case in point is a story featuring the frankly irresistible combination of Scotland’s mightily fine rock three-piece, Biffly Clyro, live streaming on Facebook, and the fact that, as Bela Molnar of Twentyfourseven Films was producing the live mix, an editor sat next to him cutting a promo trailer for use on Facebook to advertise the stream.

The stream was put together to promote the band’s latest album, ‘Ellipsis’ and, as we’ve already mentioned, was streamed live via the band’s Facebook page and attracted more than 1.2 million viewers. That’s some serious viewership for an album launch.

Molnar employed a multi-camera set up that would give him a good mix of angles, without disrupting the intimate nature of a three-track acoustic performance. “We filmed with the URSA Mini 4.6K as our main camera during both live streams, alongside three Blackmagic Studio Camera 4Ks, to give us lots of variety and to create interesting close ups of the band’s performances,” he says.

Molnar is a confirmed fan of the URSA Mini 4.6K. “It’s hard to put into words, but the picture feels extremely vivid; there’s more depth, and the range of colour information results in such a great image that is perfect for the mix of live work I do,” he says.

Each camera signal was recorded to SSDs via a HyperDeck Studio Pro, as was the programme mix, which was produced with an ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K. Molnar explains that as he was producing the live mix, an editor sat next to him cutting a promo trailer for use on Facebook to advertise the stream.

“It was pretty surreal watching the edit being done as the live stream mix was still underway. This was only possible thanks to the Thunderbolt connectivity on the Blackmagic MultiDock. As soon as an SSD on the HyperDecks was full we removed it and offload the material onto a raid for the editor to access. It meant that the label had a really powerful spot to help promote the live performance, while existing viewers watched a teaser for the new album.”

Molnar has become something of a specialist at this sort of production and explains that his PPU has been designed to allow for the redundancy required for high profile live stream sessions.

“Not only does the ATEM mean my setup is future proofed for years to come, but the switcher’s flexibility allows me to add additional outputs, for example if a band’s management wants to watch on an additional monitor, or to incorporate prerecorded content,” he concludes. “It’s so important to be able to adapt to these wishes and help clients achieve what they’re looking for from these live productions. The technology you choose as a live technician shouldn’t impede this agility, it should enhance it, as it will ensure you retain a great working reputation throughout the industry.”