Amidst the challenges presented by a global pandemic, the live events industry has shown incredible resiliency. Even as large, in-person gatherings ceased in 2020, and it became clear that they would remain unsafe for the foreseeable future, the industry quickly found new ways to move forward, albeit virtually.
Organizers of established events quickly worked to translate all the components of an in-person event into a web browser for virtual attendees, sparking an increased demand for primary and backup streaming services. As a result, Portland, Oregon-based end-to-end live event production outfit Blaze Streaming Media has seen new and repeat business soar.
The company provides a wide range of live and remote event production services that have largely virtualized in the last year, as most in-person events pivoted to an online format. Prior to 2020, its crew traveled multiple times a year to venues around the world to manage events. Today all of that work is handled remotely with help from Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology.
“An AWS Elemental Link encoder is sent to a production site in as a way to connect to AWS Elemental MediaLive, a cloud-based video processing service.”
“Before each project, the Blaze team collaborates with the client on a virtual show flow and content plan. They then begin building out the engineering stack and production equipment required to carry out the job. Typically, an AWS Elemental Link encoder is sent to a production site in as a way to connect to AWS Elemental MediaLive, a cloud-based video processing service. AWS Elemental Live has pre-established templates for ease of use. From there, the Blaze team readies the content for broadcast-grade delivery to event attendees on a range of supported devices.”
“Link gives us an easy contribution onramp to MediaLive and packs an insane amount of functionality into a tiny box for under $1,000,” shared Joe Christensen, president, Blaze Streaming Media. “The workflow is so straightforward. We just program MediaLive, attach the Link inputs and we’re in business. From there, we can go into our event folder, select our template, and load it; it’s pretty much foolproof.”
“MediaLive has provided us with a powerhouse for innovation, and we continue to be impressed by the new features that AWS constantly rolls out.”
“Combining an on-premises piece of hardware like Link to a cloud workflow in MediaLive has provided us with a powerhouse for innovation, and we continue to be impressed by the new features that AWS constantly rolls out. Even simple updates like the new ability to bulk start and stop multiple jobs at once can make a big impact,” he continued. “AWS technology is making higher-end video production and delivery workflows more accessible to crews like us who can’t afford to spend six figures on expensive hardware that will eventually phase out.”
To learn more about MediaLive please visit here.
