Snackable livestream content for Aussies’ COVID-19 viewing pleasure via Teknique Films

2020, the supposed year of clarity. Amidst the waning bushfire haze, and now the invisible yet smothering presence of a viral pandemic… one thing is evidently clear: The production industry has been challenged with a new creative brief; to stay alive.

In a world facing financial uncertainty, budget-cuts, redundancies, the inability to hold a face-to-face meeting or even leave your house, it’s clear that we, in the production space, have two options. One) curl up in a sobbing mess defending our pile of pillaged toilet paper rolls, or two) view the scenario as an opportunity to get inventive. Already we’re seeing inspiring examples of creative new workflows and collaborative problem-solving across film, live events and music.

Video production, as an industry, has always been forced to evolve. The need for agility and quick-thinking to respond to ever-evolving technological advancements and client briefs has never been more pronounced. COVID-19 has accelerated the leap into mainstream remote working, both in technology and in public opinion. While small remote live-stream setups may have seemed unsuitable months ago, they will, and are, rapidly becoming the norm. A shift that will not end with this crisis (and was probably not that far off, regardless).

Teknique Films & Sports Content was founded upon the remote-working model back in 2015. Promoting a nimble, flexible and collaborative online working environment with low-overheads. For them, working through COVID-19 ​is essentially business as usual.

The perfect pressure-test of Teknique’s working model presented itself two weeks ago, when Aussie band ​Lime Cordiale were due to perform a live music set at Freda’s in Sydney, as part of a campaign celebrating the arrival of Doritos’ new ‘Food Truck Classics’ range.

With the announcement of all live shows and events being cancelled due to COVID-19’s classification as a global pandemic, Doritos, in partnership with ‘PHD Content’ and online publisher ‘Junkee Media’, engaged ‘Teknique’ as their production partner. Now faced with the challenge of re-engineering the campaign, in adherence with COVID-19 health and safety restrictions.

Says Joanne Liddell, head of content and social at PHD: “With the COVID-19 situation evolving at such a rapid rate, we (PHD) engaged the Doritos team to transform the campaign. We got on the front foot early by engaging Brendan and his team. This meant we were able to take a considered solution to the client that enabled us to keep the Doritos fans happy, as well as delivering against our campaign metrics.”

Through a focused collective brainstorm with the three parties; the ‘Snacks & Tracks’ live-stream was born. An interactive, 45 minute live-set being streamed straight from the recording studio to viewers at home to enjoy from their couches (or beds, or baths… no judgement.)

Brendan Lasker, creative director at Teknique, comments on his experience: “Being briefed on this job was really exciting for us. This back-up-against-the-wall / think outside the box approach is exactly what Teknique was designed for. To not only salvage the campaign, but really maximise it creatively, and through messaging, was an exhilarating opportunity. Respecting and adhering to the current safety measures was a new challenge, but something I felt my team welcomed in their process and creative development.”

The job effectively became a double-brief; a technical, creative execution paired with a heavy-duty health and safety operation. Teknique worked closely with Forbes Street Studios to ensure a COVID-19 friendly set, including enforced social distancing between all crew, client and talent, a streamlined team, regular sterilisation of gear, sanitation stations, and safety briefings throughout the day.

Needing to adhere to the NSW Public Healthy limitations of one person per four square metres, the band (consisting of five members and instruments) were set up to exact specifications within the live space, alongside the DOP and a three camera set-up, all while maintaining a constant distance of 1.5 metres. A fourth camera was set-up shooting through glass in an adjacent isolated vocal booth creating a safe operational execution, as well as a layered and visually engaging set-up.

A GFX-led live poll and interactive audience engagement component was produced off-site by Junkee’s team, with results being fed back to the video production team live throughout the shoot. Excellent tech and operational coordination allowed both onsite and remote teams to work together during set-up, troubleshooting, rehearsals all the way through to broadcast. The set-up as a whole was backed and monitored by a live-streaming partner, troubleshooting any connectivity issues along the way.

Through strong communication and collaboration amongst agency, publisher and production, vigilant planning, a streamlined yet technologically proficient set-up, and some outside the box thinking – the double brief was met, resulting in a dynamic piece of content with high production value, allowing people in isolation to forget their COVID woes for a Saturday night.

Says Taylor Thompson, executive producer at Junkee Media: “Aside from bringing an authentic and engaging show to our audiences at home, our key focus was safety. Junkee worked very hard with our partners to pivot the original campaign objectives to a live format, whilst ensuring all Government requirements for a safe working environment were implemented. Efficient operations and seamless collaboration between onsite and offsites teams laid the groundwork for a successful broadcast.”

Says Ned Curtis, content and partnership manager, PHD: “Tekniques professionalism and creative eye was evident on-set, which helped make this campaign as successful as it was. The team were incredibly collaborative throughout the shoot and a pleasure to work with.”

The content has reached an audience of over 126,000, Including over 56,000 views across various social platforms. Only being halfway through amplification, it is well exceeding KPI’s. Most notably, the live-stream engaged with 10 times the number of people it would have, had the gig proceeded at Freda’s as originally planned.

So rather than being doom and gloom for the entertainment industries, this moment in time is a golden opportunity. The challenges we currently face will put the focus back on relationships, and creativity. It will present endless opportunities to make exciting and interactive content using non-conventional approaches and strong teamwork.

It’s already begun, and only set to improve as we find our feet. The team at Teknique are prepped and ready for your live-streaming briefs. Reach out to them directly to have a chat and find out how they can help you and your clients.

VIEW THE LIVE-STREAM HERE

Written by Dani Martin.

Teknique Films & Sports: ​http://www.teknique.net/
Contact: Brendan Lasker, Creative Director – ​brendan@teknique.net

Client – Doritos / Pepsi Co.
Production – Teknique Films & Sports Content
Media Agency – PHD / PHD Content
Publisher – Junkee Media
Equipment Support – The Front