Recreating the live music experience for FluxFM

posted:

11/02/2021

As well as broadcasting across Berlin’s radio network, FluxFM has always championed ways to bring its favourite artists and listeners together, including a series of live concerts on its rooftop overlooking the city. Usually, listeners and guests were invited to attend. However, the global pandemic initially brought these events to a standstill. That was until live production specialist, Anna Pesavento, was approached to translate the concerts for an online lockdown audience.

“The main aim for establishing the livestream series was to capture the spirit of a live concert, at a time when people couldn’t come together in the same way,” begins Anna. “Whilst it couldn’t completely match that experience, the FluxFM team wanted to design a series that would try and re-awaken the feelings and atmosphere of a band playing live.” The series has featured bands including ‘PABST’ and ‘hundreds’ performing in live music venues in Berlin.

Recreating the live experience whilst maintaining safe social distancing on set was one of the initial challenges Anna faced. “For the first live stream with the band ‘PABST’, we were set up in the FluxBau, an empty basement club, which could have looked very cold and uninspiring. Our production team was incredibly small, so I had to make sure the camera angles were carefully positioned on the band to allow me to create a dynamic and energetic program mix, to create the feeling of a live experience,” she explains. “The band also worked hard to keep their performance levels high, as if they had their fans in the room with them.”

Anna positioned her production desk in front of the band, with an ATEM Mini Pro taking in the three-camera signals, an iMac Pro running ATEM Software Control and an additional monitor for the multiview. To make sure the internet connection was stable throughout the basement location, a fiber optic network router was set up, with the ATEM Mini Pro connected over ethernet.

“I’d been interested in the ATEM Mini range since its launch, and the addition of the multiview to the four HDMI inputs made me instantly think of the Pro version for this project,” Anna continues. “I also wanted to be able to record the stream, and did that over OBS, not only for a backup but also so that I could create highlights for social media teaser content.”

The stream went out live via FluxFM’s YouTube channel, which Anna explains was simple to operate. “I really like that the ATEM Mini Pro is recognised as if it were a webcam source, so as soon as you set up, it’s there, ready to go. I have a lot of experience in live production, but I still learned a lot in terms of new live streaming workflows,” she concludes.