‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ - attending a virtual festival.
The Malcolm Arnold Music Festival has become a firm favourite with audiences across the world where people enjoy his famous film scores and beautiful lyrical themes. Bringing this live festival online brings its own challenges and rewards.
Paul Harris, international musician, composer, educator and festival organiser was determined that the 2020 festival would happen one way or another.
With Paul’s ‘out of the box’ thinking, Titan Film and Events was able to bring this festival to a worldwide audience. Yes, a live audience in a concert hall brings that final ingredient to any performance. However, having live continuity links and the ability for an audience to send real time questions and responses to the concert’s programme whilst it’s in progress, adds a new dimension to the experience.
Paul even dressed for the evening concert asking viewers to send in their own photos too from the comfort of their own homes.
The live links were broadcast from Paul’s house which we turned into a small studio for the weekend. With Paul’s pre-planning and editing of pre recorded material from previous festivals, alongside specially commissioned recordings made for the 2020 festival, it was a great success.
Yes, it felt different. However, it was equally enjoyable. There were interviews and performances from eminent musicians: Julian Lloyd Webber, John Wallace, Roger Coull & Lynn Arnold, Hugh Millington, Jon Griff, Tim Bowers, Scott Mitchel, Ellie Fox and live guest appearance from conductor Hilary Davan Wetton plus many more.
Andy Flight (Technical Director - Titan Films) designed a landing viewer page with all information and whilst the Festival was offered as a free event, donations were well received from across the world.
For the technically interested internet resilience was accomplished by using our LiveU bonded unit. All media was played in from our Playback Pro laptops into our TriCaster Advanced unit. Here we were able to mix between the pre-records and Paul’s live continuity links. Paul was able to keep in touch with his audience and monitor traffic/messages when the pre-records were live.
All ran smoothly with the Festival being offered as a deferred recording for a month after the live event. Over a 1,000 people viewed post festival. In conclusion, that ‘silver-lined cloud’ brings increased opportunities for what would have been simply a ‘one off’ event.
Paul Harris Festival organiser said:
I really had no idea what the 2020 Malcolm Arnold Festival was going to look like, or even if it was going to happen! But a plan began to emerge after some preliminary conversations with Jim at Titan Film & Events. A festival comprised of pre-recorded recitals and talks presented live seemed to be a good answer.
It turned out to be enormous fun and a terrific way for the festival to run in this very unusual year. Jim and Andy from Titan turned up with a van-load of technical equipment and turned my house into a fully-fledged TV studio! Their professionalism, eye for detail, imagination and good humour made the weekend pure joy.
In fact, we had well over 1000 ‘virtual’ attendees, probably many more than had the event been live. The whole event unfolded in the most smoothest of manners. I highly recommend Titan Film & Events.