This day offers a chance to hear top tips for capturing and live streaming from the experts and hear a few do’s and don’t’s from other arts and cultural organisations who have given it a go.

The Space, with funding from Arts Council England, presents a free workshop exploring how arts organisations and artists can extend audience access to live experiences by filming and sharing their work online.

With a mix of presentations, case studies and small group work, we’ll cover the process from development, through production, to building an audience for the work. This will include:

• The key considerations when embarking on a performance capture project
• Little or Large: high and low-cost approaches to filming your production
• How to win the audience – the secrets of creating an engaging experience
• Live or on demand – the pros and cons of live streaming vs on demand.
• How to win at online promotion

The day is designed to offer something for everyone whatever your level of experience and however deep (or not) your pockets.

Commissioning Executive for The Space, Helen Spencer, will give her top tips for capturing and live streaming. She’ll share examples of work ranging from the big budget approach to more lo-fi DIY ways of capturing your work. She’ll also run through some of the key production considerations, what compromises might need to be made and how to keep your creative team happy. Plus, what you need to think about when it comes to rights clearances and how to win an audience whether that’s for TV, Facebook or any other platform.

Producing and directing a captured performance

Case studies

Sharon Watson, Artistic Director of Leeds based Phoenix Dance Theatre recently won a commission from The Space to broadcast the capture of Windrush: Movement of the People which premiered earlier this year on BBC TV. Sharon and Mark Hollander, Executive Director at Phoenix Dance Theatre will tell us how the company approached their first ever capture and their future plans to share the work and build their brand. 

As Project Director for Opera North, Dominic Gray’s work encompasses the company’s digital capture projects. Currently developing their third capture of a live performance, Dominic will talk us through this journey, how the projects have evolved and and how they meet the needs of digital audiences.

Consider cinema

Penny Nagle is a pioneer in the Event Cinema industry, and co-founder of More2Screen, the company behind the cinema distribution of major performances.  Penny will share principles from her work, including: finding distribution channels; understanding digital audiences and the value of collaboration.

Breakout – a chance to meet and talk to your fellow workshop guests in an informal session. The Space has devised some scenarios to help you share your experiences and ambitions and allow you to put into practise some of the tips you’ve learnt. 

Filming a performance: Low cost livestreams

Magnus Dennison (Meerkat Films) is a Newcastle based filmmaker and live streaming expert. He’s supported the livestreams of the Royal Academy led Objects of Obsession series, Newcastle Centre for The Literary Arts’ The Mighty Stream and Tongue Fu’s live broadcast for National Poetry Day. Magnus’s session will be a practical and entertaining introduction to live streaming.

Liz Counsell is freelance producer for Tongue Fu, one of the UK’s leading spoken word shows. In 2018, Tongue Fu did a low cost live stream on National Poetry Day.  Liz will tell us what she learnt through both the planning and publication of this special live event. She’ll reveal how to make the most of the footage shot to continue to win audiences long after the production is over. And, she’s promised to reveal how the art of cross posting helped Tongue Fu punch above their weight; they’re a small team, but it hasn’t stopped them getting tens of thousands of hits online. 

Further details

The workshop is intended for arts organisations with an active interest in capturing live events and performances, whether to build your brand, reach new audiences or enrich the audience’s experience of your work.  We have 25 places available to arts professionals.

In the event that the workshop is over-subscribed, we reserve the right to re-allocate places to ensure that as wide a range as possible of organisations and artistic endeavours are represented.

This event is kindly hosted by Phoenix Dance Theatre