Blackmagic Design Case Study Streamgm And The Yard Mcr

StreamGM and The Yard Mcr Support Grassroots Music using the lastest Blackmagic Design technology

Last year, StreamGM moved into and joined forces with The Yard Mcr , to elevate Greater Manchester’s vibrant grassroots music scene.

From live streamed sessions, club nights, and theatrical performances to intimate podcasts, The Yard Mcr’s creative spaces, restored and repurposed from a former Victorian boys’ school, is THE destination for emerging artists seeking a platform to showcase their talent.

To meet the rising expectations of online audiences and enhance the viewer’s experience, The Yard Mcr and StreamGM recently overhauled their live production capabilities, implementing cameras and ATEM live production switchers from Blackmagic Design, to film their online indie music series, Spill The Sound.

Filming Red Rum Club using Blackmagic Design cameras.

Blackmagic Design, the world leading innovator in digital broadcast technology, has released a media case study about Spill The Sound’s production and tech refresh.

In a worldwide press release out on July 12th, Blackmagic Design highlight how Spill The Sound collaborates with some of the best talent from across the North of England, blending new and unsigned acts alongside established headliners.

Presenter Louise Schofield with Seb Lowe & band

“The concept was created by presenter Louise Schofield and The Yard Mcr Film (a film collective based at The Yard Mcr), and together we have produced seven episodes featuring amazing bands and artists, such as Red Rum Club and The K’s, which sit on our website and YouTube channel,” StreamGM’s producer, Laura Graham explained to Blackmagic.

Regarding the live streaming workflow for the series, Graham noted, “We needed a camera solution that was both flexible and unobtrusive to capture the dynamic nature of the show, which is comprised of an interview with the artists followed by a live performance.”

Blackmagic Design explore how several decisions were made by the StreamGM production team, to deliver a quality multicamera production with minimal connectivity and equipment. The solution included an ATEM Television Studio HD8 ISO live production switcher and Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pros coupled with Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 lenses, ensuring consistent images across all cameras.

Filming in The Yard Mcr with The K’s

A second space for the live interviews runs a three camera setup based on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro digital film camera and the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO, with all cameras from both spaces recording in UltraHD on portable USB-C drives connected directly to each of the cameras.

The ATEMs also create a multicam DaVinci Resolve project while simultaneously recording all live camera feeds as HD H.264 files with timecode and the final program mix. “With the live stream done, we take the Resolve project and relink the UltraHD camera originals in post, allowing us to polish the edit and grade,” noted Graham.

The master audio from the bands’ recordings is remixed using the individual audio stems and then relinked in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Following this, all episodes are delivered in both HD and UltraHD for StreamGM’s web and social media.

“The approach ensures a fast turnaround for online delivery that doesn’t compromise quality. We are now at a place where the upgraded workflow has more than halved the time spent on set and in post production,” Graham enthused.

Red Rum Club filming Spill The Sound

“For the Red Rum Club shoot, we planned for three hours of filming time as we hadn’t shot with a six piece band before,” she explained “However, through the combination of plug and play Blackmagic technology and working with a punctual, experienced band, we sailed through filming and wrapped in a little under an hour.”

“We now have a solid creative and technical foundation to work from and the freedom to be more ambitious with complex shoots, new filming techniques and styles.

“The talent we showcase on StreamGM will have the best possible production and overall filming experience,” Graham concluded.

StreamGM are in pre production for series 2 of Spill The Sound and will be filming six episodes in Q4 2024 at The Yard Mcr. The show will TX Jan 2025.

TO WATCH THE FULL SERIES OF SPILL THE SOUND BACK, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Hi Sienna on Spill The Sound