Going live in 3,2,1….

Recently, I was asked to host the virtual launch of a cloud-based platform called LIVVE from a green-screen studio in the market town of Godalming.

As an editor, I’ve done my fair share of on-stage presenting and live interviewing, so how hard could it be to translate those skills into a broadcast studio environment? Turns out, it’s not as easy as it looks.

My presenter set-up included two cameras, one of which had an in-built autocue, while a second autocue hung on the wall behind the stool adjacent to my own. For 60-minutes I had to present to the first camera before intermittently swivelling on my stool to face a series of guests who would answer the questions I was reading over their shoulder.

If that wasn’t hard enough, I also had to remember to stop the first autocue with my handheld clicker each time I swivelled and start the second (and then vice versa), whilst ensuring not to ruin the illusion by gesticulating when talking to my guests and thus getting the clicker into shot.

At one point you can actually see the fear in my eyes during the live broadcast as I’m not sure whether or not I remembered to stop the autocue when I first turned. For a split-second, I fully expected to turn back, only to find my script had reached the end and I was saying ‘thank-you and good-night’ before I’d even begun to explore the features on LIVVE. 

So hats off to virtual and hybrid hosts everywhere, keeping it together during the live show. 

I came away with a much better understanding of green-screen studio production and the importance of rehearsals, an advocate for scripting, and proud of the fact that I’d learned a new broadcast media skill.

By the time the Digital Event News Tech Summit came around though, I was happy to get back to interviewing on-stage, without all those cameras and clickers to worry about. 

This article appears as the ‘Editor’s letter’ in the January edition of Digital Event News.