As restrictions lift, audiences are finally coming back to see their favorite shows live. Now, more than ever, immersive visuals are key to differentiate a live experience from a live stream to the living room or phone. Achieving truly engaging events often involve innovative visual canvases, tight integration between video, lights, music and striking visuals. The challenge we face is creating and delivering all of this on a tight schedule and budget. In this blog, we will discuss a few tricks that a real-time media server can offer to make your next event truly memorable.
Design the display to impress; move beyond 16:9
LED video walls have become commercially viable for events of all sizes and budgets, opening huge opportunities to create more interesting visual canvasses. Consider going beyond a simple 16×9 wall upstage which will not only widen the point of view of the audience, but also present a unique look and feel. Negative space, including areas between video elements, are a powerful way to increase the effective display area without adding equipment and cost.
Create stunning LED with ease
Your media server can map video onto the display using video mapping functionality, which transposes content onto even the most complex setups. Video mapping is also a great way to use every pixel of the LED processor, and content can be ‘folded-up’ to the entire input stream before being ‘unfolded’ by the LED processor. Finally, video mapping can help to mix custom and pre-existing content on the same display.
Do more than hit ‘play’
Time and budget rarely allow for custom video creation for every minute of every show, therefore audio reactivity, easy to apply effects, real-time control, and tight integration with the entire
creative team are important tools to keep your audience engaged and get the most from your content. For example, simple audio reactivity can be a quick way to add depth to visuals without creating a huge burden for the operator. Similarly, integration with the lighting or audio departments via DMX triggering or locking to timecode can also be used to automate changes.
Add more video layers to create interest
Taking your original content and compositing it with logos and background effects is another option for enhancing your content. For example, adding a company logo and then color correcting the background effects to match the brand palette can completely transform your display output, or you could also add random effects to create a completely new look. These type of quick and easy effects are used by many major broadcast entertainment shows when they need to create different media backgrounds for their LED walls and there is not enough time to start new content design from scratch, especially if there is a last-minute change to the line-up.
Create stunning scenic environments
Combine video output with projection and lighting to create truly immersive environments. Using projection mapping, project onto any desired surface and turn it into a branded area to convey corporate messages. To save time and money, ask for the 3D models of the venue so the projector placement can be checked out in advance. Another option is to pixel map onto lighting fixtures, which can look visually stunning on a building or as a background element behind the talent or in the audience. This can be achieved easily using video and graphic patterns mapped onto the lighting elements.
How to choose the right solution for you
Real-time matters! Seeing your results in real-time limits re-rendering time, corrections, and not having to wait to see changes in color, geometry and your environment, which will undoubtedly save time and money. Green Hippo have been enhancing video experiences with their real-time Hippotizer range of Media Servers for live events, corporate installs, broadcast, and public venues globally. Some of the clients relying on Green Hippo real-time playback and manipulation include the Super Bowl halftime show, Americas Got Talent, and Samsung. The thing all Green Hippo clients have in common is they demand faultless performance, ease-of-use, and a full tool kit of creative features.
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