Livestream On Like A Pro - Live-streaming Tips (YouTube, Twitch, Hopin Streaming)

So, you've got your first livestreaming gig - congratulations! Now for the tricky part. Actually getting it done. Well, you've come to the right place. Here at Naik Media, we've branched out into livestreaming and without wishing to blow our own trumpet, we're pretty good at it. With experience comes lessons, and so in this video, I thought I'd share some of the tips we've devised to help you improve your livestreams.

Check out the video above for an overview - or keep reading to find out more!

The first tip for success happens before you even leave, and it's check your gear. Make a checklist of everything you're going to need and make sure everything is packed up, working and tested. It's always a good idea to do a practise set up, fully tested, before you travel to the venue. Then, follow your checklist and make sure everything you need is there, easily accessible.

The next thing you're going to want to do is set up as early as you can. This goes for any videography you do, but on time is late - you want to get to your venue as early as possible to give you the time to get set up, make any adjustments or identify any problem areas. A quick setup tip is to hardwire into everything; for instance, try to avoid using wireless internet and instead use ethernet. Setting up as early as possible also gives you the chance to do my next tip, which is to test everything.

This is probably the most important thing you can do, so for god's sake?do it. Once you've got your equipment set up, do a complete check of everything; begin with making sure you're getting a full set of streams to your switcher; check that all of the shots match (including all of the usual suspects; colour temperature, exposure, etc). Perform a microphone check and keep a close eye on the levels, as you would when shooting an interview or vox pops. You'll also want to run a test on the livestream to make sure the internet can handle the stream, that there are no dropped frames and that everything is working as it should. Streaming software like OBS allows you to adjust the bitrate of your stream, so if the internet is struggling, dial it back a little and see if that improves things. Next up;

Test it again. No, this isn't déjà vu. In our experience, you can never test enough times.

Next, you need to make sure you've got redundancies. In our experience, its always handy to have at least one camera angle you can always cut to in an emergency; you might need to adjust a close up or adjust the settings on a camera, so make sure one of the cameras is on a comfortable wide at all times. That way, if you need to make any adjustments, you've got a view to cut to. Equally as important is backup audio. Try to have at least two audio inputs so that if something goes wrong, you can instantly switch to the second input whilst the problem is resolved.

You also want to make sure you've got extra and alternate cables at hand ready to switch at a moments notice if something goes wrong. If you're able to, have an alternate stream too, should one fail. Finally, if you're recording your stream, always have it recording to two places. Some screens, such as the excellent BlackMagic Video Assist, allows you to record the input directly to an SD card, but why stop there? Most streaming software allows you to record the stream as well. Quality of videos recorded through the software may vary, but it's absolutely worth taking advantage of.

Once you've got the stream setup, tested and off to the races, the most important thing you can do is monitor the stream constantly. Keep a close eye on your audio levels and make adjustments where necessary. You'll also want to ensure your camera angles stay appropriate at all times. We get it, people move, they sit up or they lean forward; if they're a mover, it's best to go out just a little wider on that angle so they've got room to move about without going out of frame. But it's also imperative you keep an eye on the actual stream - as I've said previously, adjust the bitrate if it looks like the internet is struggling to cope and if it's possible, monitor the comments your viewers may leave, as they might have reported a problem you've either missed or are unable to see.

Finally, don't panic! I nicked that one from Lance Corporal Jones. I must admit, whenever we start a livestream here at Naik Media, I do get a little nervous and that's not a bad thing. We've got to be on the ball at all times, keeping an eye on everything, so that we're prepared to fix anything at a moment's notice. The thing is to not panic or make rash decisions. I once heard a piece of advice that I think is absolutely true; "make your mistakes look intentional". Say you cut to a wrong angle; you meant to cut to camera 3, on the person speaking, but accidentally cut to camera 1, on the person listening. The instinct is to immediately switch to the correct angle; don't! Stay on the angle for a few seconds. You were just showing the person?listening. Completely intentional.

With any luck, you won't make little mistakes like that, but sometimes it might happen. Technical issues might arise, but if you've set up well in advance and tested everything thoroughly, the chances of anything going wrong are minimal.?

So there's our tips for a successful livestream; follow these, and with any luck, nothing should go wrong (in the interest of legality, I should say that any problems that do arise during your livestream are not the fault of Naik Media. So, there). But what do you think? What are some of your tips that you think we might have missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll see you in the next one.