Why should I “premiere” a video? (A.k.a “Live on tape”, “Fake live”)

This is a post about "Live on tape" or "Video premieres". What it is, comparisons between "true" live and "fake live" and what the benefits are!
premiere videos
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Never before has live streaming been so popular, and the benefits of doing your own streams are becoming more and more obvious.

It’s an efficient way of communicating a lot of information to a (potentially) large audience without having to gather an in-person crowd.

More so, the events themselves become “happenings” that are less likely for people to miss out on, which is great when you want to be sure that you get your point across.

With Qbrick, you also have the added benefit of being able to make the live streams interactive, boosting engagement by integrating live QnA sessions, poll questions and other interactive elements.

While it’s easier than ever to set-up and stream your content; the truth of the matter is that it isn’t always realistic to make the arrangements needed every time you want to do an event.

Tech questions aside, a lot of people can be involved in a live stream; including a host, guests and people joining in via video calls and so on, quickly making scheduling a logistics nightmare.

The solution, of course, is to do all this in advance – and then stream it. In TV production this is referred to as “live on tape”; a recorded event that you “premiere” live to your audience.

While you might lose the immediacy of a true live event there are many benefits involved in this format which we’re going to elaborate on… NOW!

all in good time

All in good time

The most obvious perk to premiering an on-demand production is something we’ve already mentioned briefly. Namely, being able to prepare everything in advance.

Instead of having to pull all resources, and the audience, together at a specific time, you can do it little by little when it suits you. Days, or even weeks, before it goes live.

This way, the host won’t have to deal with the pressure of getting everything right in front of a live audience, and the guests can rest easy knowing that they won’t have to work around their schedule to make sure that they’re available at a set date, time and place.

Basically you can schedule and shoot everything long before the stream is set to premiere. This makes you less vulnerable to last minute dropouts and more flexible overall when it comes to putting it all together.

Creators intent

Related to the previous topic: doing a live on tape event grants you the ability to make things just the way you want.

With the ability to do multiple takes and edit the footage afterwards, you can tweak it over and over until you are satisfied. The most crucial benefit to this is that you can edit out mistakes and remove unwanted segments (such as awkward pauses and technical hiccups), but it can also be utilized in more creative ways.

When interviewing someone on stage you can redo answers and change the wording of specific sentences, should either the host or the interviewee not feel satisfied with the end results. 

In essence you can rearrange and edit things as much as you see fit.

Maybe place that feature clip later in the show? What about having the break before the panel discussion instead of after?

All in all you have more control and can refine the show until it meets your standard, eliminating potential flaws in the process.

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Interactivity and beyond

The Qbrick Video Platform gives you the option of boosting engagement with interactive segments (hyperlinking, branching, call to actions, shopping, etc.).

In a “true” live event you have the benefit of being able to activate your audience with live polls and Q&A’s.

But, just because you’re not technically going live doesn’t mean that you can’t harness this power in your premiering event as well.

The versatility of the Interactive Manager grants you almost endless ways to enhance your content.

Dividing the show into chapters?

Linking media related to the current topic of discussion?

Adding a way to put items into a shopping cart during an e-commerce event?

YES.

While these examples require a hands on approach with the Interactive Manager, there are other tools in the QVP library that can enhance your show in other ways.

The previously mentioned Q&A app won’t be utilized in the same way in a live on tape event as in a live event, but it can still be very valuable. And fun!

Sending out polls is a great way of gathering viewer opinions about the stream. Or just gathering user information!

For instance, ask your viewers where they’re tuning in from. Or questions related to the content you’re showing in the video. 

You won’t be able to answer viewer questions during the live stream, but you’re still able to gather the information coming in, and perhaps answer them (or show the results of polls) later on. 

Either way, it’s always valuable to get feedback from your viewers.

Speaking of viewers…

A major reason why live streaming has become so popular in recent years is that it connects viewers and hosts, and viewers with other viewers.

You could say that watching a live stream is like getting into a virtual theatre with a bunch of strangers, spending time together, consuming the same content and gaining the same insights…

It’s a great bonding moment.

Even if you don’t necessarily speak to one another, you know that other people are there, experiencing the same thing you are.

The feeling isn’t the same when watching an on-demand clip. Sure, you can always share the link to the video with your friends, or perhaps comment on it in social media. But you’re not getting that “in theatre” feeling that you can get from a live stream.

With live on tape events, you’re combining the comfort of creating on demand videos with the exclusivity of experiencing live streams.

Best of both worlds, one might say.

Conclusion

Live on tape or premiering is undeniably on the rise.

It is the perfect middle ground between live events and on demand videos, combining the strength of both formats to create something that checks both boxes:

High quality content
Exclusivity of a live stream

With Qbrick you can enhance the experience even further with interactivity, making your next live event a raging success.

Explore Qbrick's interactive video features with a free trial today.

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