Best Practices

Ideal Length: 10 Minutes

• FB has told us that they see the best results when streams are at minimum 10 minutes long
• This gives enough time for a critical mass of your page’s followers to join the stream

Visuals are frequently more important than audio

• As with regular Facebook video, the best kind of FB Lives often times don’t even need audio to be consumed
• Consequently, always try to ensure that your FB Lives have a strong visual component
• While you can certainly get a strong visual narrative by shooting on location, you can also artificially add visual information to your FB lives through writing things down on whiteboards or integrating props into your stream

Engage

• ALWAYS engage your audience. Good FB Lives treat the stream as a dialogue between you and your viewers
• Make them feel like they are heard and are part of the experience by incorporating their questions into the stream and even giving them control over how the stream progresses

Aim to create content that works best in a live format

• Ask yourself, would this livestream be as interesting as a regular video or an article?

Don’t be afraid of these streams having a bit of a DIY feel

• People gravitate toward authenticity
• While we shouldn’t be putting out shoddily produced work, we also don’t need to treat these streams with the same level of hyper quality that we would for a doc
• That being said, the thing that should never be skimped on is making sure you’ve done your legal due diligence

Best Practices

• Get prior approval from your office’s video production lead and E.I.C. At least 24 hours in advance
• For domestic offices, get prior approval from sara rodriguez and ciel hunter
• Livestreams need releases
• Complete insider entries and upload video file after each shoot
• The person going live is responsible for completion of the insider entry
  • NOTE: WE NO LONGER USE INSIDER. LEARN MORE ABOUT VL2 HERE.
• For every single live post, email fblive@vice.com At least 24 hours before going live with the pitch.
• After the shoot, follow up on that thread with a link and trt of final video for tracking
• Ask legal if you have any concerns

Important Links

• FB Live Tracker
• Releases
• Editorial and Production Points of Contact

Tier 1

The most simple of the livestreaming setups, Tier 1 should be used for last minute or low budget projects where the shooter needs to be nimble and move fast. Because the smartphone carries its own internet connection, there’s no need for any additional support on location or in the office.

Streaming method

Log in to the page you’ll be streaming to on the smartphone rig. Hit “go Live” when you’re ready to start.

Equipment

• Smartphone with streaming app
• Smartphone rig (like OSMO) with mic (TRS to TRRS adapter, also)

Best use for first-person or 2-person crews. Smartphone links directly to streaming service (Facebook, YouTube Live, Twitch, etc).

Shoot in Horizontal format and frame for square crop.

Tier 2

Plan on doing a Tier 2 livestream to cover an event with a single camera. Shoot on a wider-angle lens and stay steady throughout. Keep in mind that the two audio channels must be completely independent of each other otherwise you’ll get a weird echo in the stream audio. This is also a good scenario to bring a few hand mics or a separate audio operator to keep everything clean. Tier 2 requires an internet connection in the form of ethernet, WiFi or a 4G hotspot/modem as the Teradeck does not have that built in.

Streaming method

The Teradeck can be authorized as a device on the Facebook Page you want to stream to. Then it will control the start/stop of the stream. Otherwise, set up an RTMP stream on the Teradeck (email fblive@vice.com or Jordan for the info). This can be done right in the menus (slow, painful) or by connecting a laptop via ethernet to the Teradeck and loading the browser-based launch page. Make sure you get trained on this before going into the field.

Equipment

• Camera with SDI output (C300, FS7, FS5).
• Wide Angle or Standard Zoom Lens
• Camera support (tripod or shoulder rig)
• Shotgun Mic
• Teradeck Cube
• 4G USB modem

Best use for 3+ person crew.

No cutting - single stream (see: Women’s March on Washington)

No graphics or overlays - just raw stream.

Tier 3

Multicam shoot with minimal graphics or no graphics. This setup has more than one camera and requires a mobile video switcher or encoder on site. In-house we have the Livestream HD500 and the “Solitary” ATEM Rig. A Tier 3 shoot requires training on the video switching units and a production meeting to map out camera angles and expectations so plan on a few days of prep before attempting one.

Both multicam rigs require a hard-line ethernet connection in order to broadcast. The HD500 can handle up to 4 SDI sources while the ATEM can handle 4 SDI and 4 HDMI sources. For this livestream scenario, a sound operator is also recommended as neither multicam rig has the capability to mix audio on the fly.

The preparation process should be spent talking through and even doing a dry-run of how the shoot should go. Map out and share a run-of-show with everyone involved beforehand. The stream should be sent to an RTMP server they provide and will most likely a scheduled launch time that they set up. For simulcasting, touch base with Charlie Travis and Brian Glover about utilizing the LiveU Central routing over the LU500.

During prep, work with Design team to build some interstitial cards. The stream should launch with one of these fullscreen cards on-screen to give the host and operators time to check that the stream is good. They can also be used to transition or fill dead air.

Equipment

• Multiple cameras with SDI outputs, lens packages, camera support.
• Video Switcher (HD500, ATEM or similar)
• Hard-wire internet connection.
• Hard-wire power.
• Walkie Talkies or Clearcoms with headsets.
• For roaming cameras - Teradeck or other wireless video hardware.

Requires a video operator, a director, and at least 1 cam op per camera.

Multi-cam live editing capable.

Pre-load graphics and test in order to use overlays.

APPROVAL

Before going live

24 HOURS PRIOR TO LIVE SHOOT

• An email should be sent to fblive@vice.com no later than 24 hours ahead of a live shoot (assuming time allows)
• Social Editor gives access to vertical FB page, “dummy FB profile” to the operator and writes copy for the initial live post.
• Make sure your team has the relevant kit that they need for the shoot
• Download the Facebook ‘Pages’ manager app on your phone. Also make sure you have the Facebook app
• Create a dummy personal FB profile and give that page access to your vertical’s FB page: VICE News Example
• Add as friends anyone who will regularly need to see test livestreams.

TESTING THE STREAM (DAY OF SHOOT)

• Login to your personal FB, or via the dummy account you created, not the Pages app
• Press the live icon (near where you would enter your status update)
• Go live and get your host to chatter. During your test check with your production point of contact to make sure the following is working:
  • TRRS Connection
  • Lightning connections
  • Mic level audio
  • Have a back-up plan for poor wi-fi and don’t let it stop you streaming
  • Use private, not public wifi
  • If remote, ALWAYS try to have a mobile hot spot as back up
  • Agree in advance what the protocol will be if the stream drops in the middle of a broadcast
• If your home team tells you the live feed is “jumpy” due to the connection, still go for it. Followers are unusually forgiving if you’re on location and when the live has finished the jumpy issue goes away. Also, you can upload the full quality version of the stream immediately afterward.

Smartphone method

1. Put your phone into ‘do not disturb’ mode
2. Open the Facebook Pages app
3. Go to the appropriate vertical page
4. Click ‘publish’
5. At the bottom of the window, click the little man with two halos
6. You should now be on a video page prompting you to enter text
7. Enter in your FB Live notification text written by your Social Producer in advance
8. Press ‘Go Live’
9. Give your stream about 3 seconds to buffer and then start by describing where you are, who you are and some brief context.
10. When you’re done, do a verbal sign off
11. WAIT for around 3 seconds after your verbal sign off before killing the stream otherwise you’ll cut yourself off
12. Save the stream to your camera roll and upload the full version to Facebook

Encoder method

• If you plan on using a hardware encoder of any sort, please see EqOps for training on it as every system varies slightly.
• Do a test at least 1 day before your livestream to insure that you’re familiar with all the steps of using that encoder.

Post & tracking

• Social editor downloads video, or shooter sends video file.
• IMMEDIATELY de-authorize anyone who no longer needs access to the vertical FB page.
• Social editor drops FB Live URL into tracking doc (does not fill out anything else)
• Downloaded video needs to be emailed to the following locations:
  • Rights and Clearances
  • Post production

uploading to insider

Releases

• Personal Release: Needed for anyone that speaks or appears on camera.
• Location Release: Needed from the owner of any location that you film at.
• Logo/Artwork Release: Needed from the rights holder of any artwork and/or copyrighted logo that you film.
• Stills Release: Needed from the rights holder of any photograph that you film.
• Footage Release: Needed from the owner of any footage that is obtained from an outside source.
• Blanket Release: Should be hung clearly on the entryway of any location you are filming at with many attendees (e.g., concert, convention, party). A picture of the blanket release hung in an obvious and clearly visible spot can be used in place of a personal release for subjects that do not appear on camera (background, b-roll).
• Assumption of Risk Release: Needed from subjects if willingly decide to participate in any dangerous/risky activities on camera (e.g., cliff diving).

legal guidelines

1. Obtain all necessary releases before or during the shoot.
2. The project title should include “Facebook Live”.
3. Tell your subject what you’re doing, i.e. “we’re streaming live on Facebook”.
4. Avoid shooting where music is audible unless you have pre-obtained music rights
5. Avoid interviewing minors without their parent’s signed permission in advance
6. Avoid shooting anything illegal; this includes drug use.
7. Avoid trespassing or shooting on trespassed property.
8. Do not allow the live feed to be a platform for hate speech.
9. Don’t go live indoors unless you have a location release
10. Do not film b-roll of unreleased people unless there is a blanket release hanging on the door and you have a location release.
11. Do not post the video from your phone onto your own personal Facebook page.
12. Remember that any video your shoot on your phone for VICE’s Facebook live page, whether you are a staff or freelancer, is property of VICE.
13. Everything you do in the live feed is a reflection of the company.