Live in-concert or live in your living room? Choir Performances during Covid-19
Audiences for in-person concerts
While we are excited to get back on the risers, back to in-person rehearsals and performances, not everyone is ready. For many it’s been a long 18 months of near isolation, with limited options for socializing let alone live events or crowds. Right now, the decision to go see a show carries a lot of weight.
Be prepared for the possibility of mixed attendance at in-person events. Consider the Covid-cautious when making your programming decisions, and create opportunities for those people to support your choir, regardless of whether they are coming to your concert.
For example:
Live-stream or record your concert, even if it’s taking place in-person. People can ‘rent’ the concert video, or watch it live.
Host an outdoor concert
Implementing safety protocols at your concert and limiting your attendance to smaller numbers
Livestream a dress rehearsal and invite long-time supporters to watch if they can’t attend the concert
Create a virtual choir video (are we sick of those?) and include a link for people to make donations
Virtual Programming - are we done yet?
We’ve heard from many choirs that virtual programming is far from dead, many choirs still plan to include online performances as part of their season. Much like the hybrid virtual/in-person rehearsal format, there are a lot of ways to tackle virtual and hybrid performances. Whether you are streaming your choir performance in real time, using both pre-recorded footage and live performances, or doing mostly virtual choir with a live host component, you need a combo of technically savvy team members, some good equipment and the right software to execute your vision.
Streaming platforms: Trying to sort through all the options for live streaming platforms? Here are some resources that might help you decide:
How to host a live music event from home - article by CBC News (Canada)
Live streaming for non-profits - re:charity blog
10 Best live streaming options for churches - by Filmora
10 Live Streaming platforms for pros - blog by dacast
Great, we chose a platform, now how do we actually do the thing?
Depending on the size of your venue, project budget and scope of your event, you might want only the basic equipment for your livestream, or you might want to consider multi-camera shooting and include any combination of camcorder, DSLR and PTZ cameras.
A PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) Camera is a camera with omnidirectional movement that can be controlled remotely (i.e. at a computer) by a single operator. They are commonly used in television studios, live events and conferences. Setting up a few PTZ Cameras around a venue gives you the potential for more dynamic, moving shots for your livestream without the need for a full professional camera crew.
Here’s an article on how to choose the best camera for your livestream. Look for a/v services near you that have different types of cameras, and the software to maneuver them, available to rent.
What other equipment do I need?
At the most basic level, you need to consider the following equipment:
The essentials
Camera(s)
Tripod(s) for camera(s)
Microphones (& probably a mixer/sound board)
Streaming destination (streaming platform)
A video encoder
We don’t claim to be live-streaming equipment experts, so for details on how to set up an run a live stream
Audience Engagement in Live and Recorded Events
Research on live concert experiences suggests that audiences engage differently with live performances than they do with pre-recorded performances. Live performances offer a shared and novel experience for audiences, which is something so desirable that cost is less of a factor when choosing to attend concerts (Brown and Knox, 2017). Live audiences move more vigorously, have stronger musical experiences, and have the opportunity to interact directly with the performer, possibly strengthening parasocial relationships between the audience and performers (Lamont, 2011; Pehkonen, 2017; Baym, 2018; Kurtin et al., 2019; Swarbrick et al., 2019).
While there is less of an obvious distinction between live-streamed and pre-recorded performances, livestream events create more opportunities for real time audience engagement and, if done well, can still create that interactive experience and strengthen parasocial relationships between the audience and performers.
How to make the most of audience engagement during live stream concerts:
Designate a chat room host for the live feed!
This person doesn’t just read and flag inappropriate content on social media, they are the virtual Emcee, there to actively engage the audience and to create a positive, supportive atmosphere in the digital ‘room’.
Ask questions!
Ask the folks at home to type in the chat where they are tuning in from, ask them to share a personal experience, or their favourite song. Find places during your concert to call out for audience participation, whether it’s the concert host speaking to the camera or the virtual host typing it in the chat. Not only does it make the audience feel like they are a part of the magic, it’s a great PR move. Audience engagement is one of the major things that the social media algorithms search for when deciding to show people your content. The more engaged your audience is, specifically with comments, reactions (better than likes) and shares, the more interesting the invisible bots will think your video is and the more people they’ll show it to after the live stream.
Have a pre-show slideshow
Start your livestream 5-15 minutes before show time, and create a welcoming ‘pre-show’ environment for your attendees. Choose music that sets the tone and countdown to the show. This helps create a sense of anticipation that something exciting is about to happen! If you have visually interesting slides, videos or announcements, you can go for 10 to 15 minutes of pre-show. If you’re just doing a countdown and some music, we recommend you stick with 5 minutes.
Create a digital program.
Create a PDF or a virtual program for your concert, and share it with your audience prior to the start of the show. If it is a ticketed virtual event, email ticket holders the program, if it is a free live stream on social media, post the link to the program into the chat (or in the video description) and encourage people to download it during the pre-show.
Share links
Want people to check out your website? Want them to make a donation? Whenever something gets mentioned on-stage/on-stage, you can support it by popping a link in the chat. Timing is everything!
