Going to school is a necessary part of growing up. The child gets to sit with its peers to learn and advance as a part of a bigger whole. The next step towards independence is going to college, the finishing of which is celebrated with a fancy graduation ceremony. Ideally, the entire family would get together to attend but circumstances might not always allow it. There is a simple solution—graduation live stream.

Streaming by yourself

Today we have so much technology that you can easily live stream a graduation ceremony for your social circle without spending a dime extra. For example, you can use your smartphone’s cameras for video and just stream through your Youtube, Twitch or Facebook account using a Wi-Fi connection. However, there is some preparatory work you should do to ensure things go smoothly.

The main issue you will face is in finding reliable internet connection during the ceremony. If you live stream the ceremony using a handheld device, a major problem will be connection reliability. To make the live stream go smoothly, you need a sufficient upload speed and also stay still on a spot with a strong Wi-Fi signal.

Setting up a stream

You can test the upload speed of your connection using websites such as SpeedTest. Keep in mind that bad weather or even a strong gust of wind can lower Wi-Fi connectivity. You would need at least 2 Mbps upload speed to have a decent stream but more is always better, especially if others are using the same Wi-Fi connection.

If your internet connection experiences sudden drops in upload speed, your stream’s quality will suddenly drop. Your viewers will see artefacts on the video feed or get cut off completely from the stream.

Next up is the choice of a filming spot. You could technically move around with your camera but that would mean your live stream would be shaky and cause disorientation in viewers. You could set up a tripod, except that there’s a huge variety of tripods and you’d also need a camera to match. There are also filming gimbals that stabilize the video for you but they’re often expensive and unwieldy.

How do professionals do it?

When a professional in charge of live streaming gets to work, he or she has a whole wealth of expertise and tools to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Anyone can set up a live stream; a professional can also guarantee the best possible quality as the stream goes on, no matter the circumstances.

First off, the professional will quickly assess all the possible factors that could ruin the live stream’s quality and work on avoiding or mitigating them. This can include using special hardware and software to ensure internet connectivity, steady camera angle, reliable lighting and so on. In an ideal scenario, the professional will have extensive experience with videography to help set up the ideal scene.

Second, the professional will ask you about your wishes regarding the live stream. If you want to have multiple angles, each with a different video quality, that can be done with ease. How about one video stream in color and another in monochrome? Whatever kind of live stream you want, the professional will make sure it happens. In this way, your vision of the perfect event becomes an actual live video stream people can tune into.

Finally, the professional will ensure everything gets wrapped up as needed, dismantling the equipment he or she brought it. You don’t have to worry about getting a video recording of the stream either, just mention that you’d like it and the professional will make it happen.

Conclusion

Anyone who’s ever taken a selfie knows how much work goes into making a great one. Now picture that same work multiplied by a million and you get a glimpse of how much work goes into arranging a great live stream. Out of hundreds of different angles, filters and lighting conditions, you have to find just the right combination of all the factors to create a great stream.

It is definitely possible to do a live stream by yourself but if you do the slightest miscalculation, your live stream will be ruined. A professional knows how to handle everything on the spot and how to deal with trouble arising in the moment without compromising on the stream quality.

If you need to set up a live stream for an event, get in touch and we’ll gladly do it for you. We’ll arrive to the spot with everything in tow so you can enjoy your event without worrying about how it will end up looking. Still, if you just need free advice, get in touch and we’ll help you out.