To start a live stream is simple. To make it good is harder.
Here are five common mistakes you should watch out for.
Improvise is stupid. Planning is smart.
The second you go live, everything that is said and done in front of the camera is heard and seen by the viewers. To just jump in and start could therefore be very stupid, even if it sounds like a good idea in your mind. A good speaker is always prepared and prepared have a plan of what to communicate and how to do it.
Where should I connect this cable?
Everyone knows that a Skype call takes at least 15 minutes of technical configuration before every participant is online. Then you also can understand how much preparation you should count on when you are planning to start a live. In other words, it could be a good thing to take a screen cleaning, clean off the lens of the camera, check so the focus and white balance is correct and make sure the sound recording is fine. To have used at least 10-15 minutes to prepare everything isn’t just a good recommendation, it could be difference between success and failure.
Poor sound is bad. Poor internet is worse.
Everyone knows the feeling of starting a live stream that suddenly starts to disconnect. It can make any person go crazy and need to be avoided at any cost. Live streaming doesn’t require an unbelievably good network but up-speed and ping need to be at a certain number. So make sure that you check it before, from the exact position you will record. The most common mistake is to trust the guy on the phone that says “we have great wifi”. Why is that? Because wifi can be great in down-speed but that doesn’t help you at all.
Is your tripod too loose or tight? Check it out.
If you use a tripod you need to make sure it is as loose or tight as you need it to be before starting. Especially if you are planning to live stream sports. That requires a pretty loose tripod since movements are fixed while streaming speakers require it to be tight since there is not much movement. We can promise you that basketball with a tightly screwed tripod is not nice to watch.
Find a good camera spot… and defend it.
Last but not least. A game or consert is not much fun to watch if a supporter is standing up in front of the camera EVERY TIME something cool happens. You need to sure you have a good placement for the camera, with a clear angle of the object streamed and if someone trespass it, make sure to defend it…
Solidtango offers a complete live streaming solution for companies that want to use video to communicate remotely.
Read more about it here.