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Livestreaming

Learn the basics

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Get Started

When

Where

Action location

Livestream platform

Action timing

Livestream timing

Who

Group(s) involved

Target

What

Action’s goal

Risk

Spicy action?

Your limits

Phone’s security

WHEN

When is the action?
When do they need it to be livestreamed? (the whole thing, speech time, once everybody is in place?)
How long the livestream will last?

WHERE

Where do you need to go?
Where are you able to go? (if inside a building your connection might not be so great)
On what platform(s) will you livestream? Do you have access to these platforms? (for Facebook you need to be an editor or admin, for Instagram & Twitter you need the password) Are the apps installed on your phone?

WHO

Is it an XR action? Are there other groups involved?
Who/what is the target?
Who is willing to speak on camera? (check beforehand)

WHAT

What is the action about?

What are the risks for you?

A spicy action is generally less risky for a livestreamer (they don’t want to arrest you while on camera)
Will you be able to walk away if you don’t want to be arrested?
If you’re ok with being arrested, is your phone secure? Can you use a burner phone to livestream instead?

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Blurb

LIVE from XXX

Today we are targeting XXX because XXX (What & Why)

Support the action: comment, like & share.

Visit this link for more information: XXX (or any relevant call to action)

.

#hashtag #hashtag @tagsomeone

Save to the note app of your phone, then copy/paste

Blurb - Facebook only

Add the blurb to the note app of your phone (or send it to yourself on Signal), then you’ll just have to copy/paste it before starting your livestream.

LIVE from XXX

Today we are targeting XXX because XXX (What & Why)

Support the action: comment, like & share.

Visit this link for more information: XXX (or any relevant call to action)

.

#hashtag #hashtag @tagsomeone (example: for the Summer Uprising, use #SummerUprising)

Blurb - Twitter

Say you’re live + use the headline + hashtags as you only have 280 characters available

EXAMPLE BLURB:

LIVE: Protestors in Milton Keynes douse Boris Johnson in Oil!

Whilst visiting the site of a proposed new oil shaft in Milton Keynes, extinction rebellion rebels surprise Boris Johnson and cover him in "oil". Don't worry though, it's vegan and eco-friendly! We are even offering to pay his dry cleaning bills. (He didn't accept).

We're doing this because despite committing to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (which in itself is too late) the Prime Minister Mr. Johnson just gave the greenlight to four new oil drilling operations on UK soil, with plans to pour it over indigenous communities. Extracting and burning fossil fuels increases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which directly leads to global overheating and catastrophic climate change.

We're asking Boris Johnson to cancel all fossil fuel extraction operations now. Please sign our petition HERE.

#SoilNotOil #ActNow

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Material

Phone

Sound

Earphones with mic

Microphone with windsock

Fully charged

Battery pack(s)

Image

Gimbal or monopod

Other

Drinks & snacks

Clothes with pockets

Data

PHONE

Before the action

Make sure it’s fully charged
Charge your battery pack(s) and make sure your cable works
Do you have enough data? (up to 1GB / hour with vMix)

HEADPHONES / MICROPHONES

You don’t have to use headphones or a microphone, but the sound might be better with them

Use earphones with built in mic (when doing interview you can pass on the bit with the mic to the person you interview)
You can also use a microphone

A long cable one is a good option for interviews so you can be farer away from the person you’re interviewing and still frame bits of the action
Make sure to have a “windsock” to put on top and have a better sound

GIMBAL / STABILISATOR / MONOPOD

Not essential but can make the experience more comfortable and the image more stable.

Always try your material and train with it before the action (also make sure it’s properly charged and that you have a spare battery pack for it if you’re planning a long livestream)

OTHER

Having trousers or a jacket with pockets is super helpful to store your battery packs, cables, headphones… so they are easily accessible.

Check the weather in case you need a rain jacket or even an umbrella (not the most convenient but you don’t want your phone to drown)

Bring your snacks and drinks

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What to talk about?

Introduction

Interviews

facts
insights

Engage the audience

Repeat

Before the livestream

Take some notes on a very small piece of paper (you don’t want to read from it, just write a few bullet points):

What do you want to talk about?
Have a few facts ready

During the livestream

Introduce yourself

You can start in ‘selfie mode’ (if you’re comfortable showing your face) then switch to your front camera (practice beforehand so you’ll know where the options are)

Share your facts sporadically (nobody will remember anything if you dump facts on them, have 2-3 facts ready that you can repeat & comment regularly during the livestream)
Describe the action

What’s happening? Where? Why?
What happened before (if you didn’t start the livestream at the start of the action, and also to let people who just joined the livestream know)
Comment, use humour, but don’t go off topic

Interview people taking part
No swearing
No jargon (or explain it)

Non XR people will watch so try to have a ‘neutral approach’

Remind the watchers to share, comment, like

And repeat the whole process (for the viewers who missed the start of the livestream)

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Interview

How are you doing?

What are you doing here today? Why are you taking part in this action?

What do you hope to achieve?

Is there anything you’d like to say?

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What to show?

Banners

Crowd

Different views

Speeches

Capture the action: banners, show number of people, try different points of view of the action if possible (but move slowly to avoid having a shaky image).

If you are filming speeches, go to the front to film.

Avoid filming the public faces (go behind them if possible)

Watch out for the samba band (if there is one)

And stay clear of them. It's almost impossible to livestream while they're playing because your sound is going to be awful (unless they are far away).

Make sure you know in advance if they are going to be here and what time. You can coordinate your livestream with the band so they start once you're done (eg if you're planning a 30 minu livestream tell them, and maybe you can conclude your livestream by "That's all from us here for now, we will end this livestream by listening a bit of music" and film the samba for a few minutes before ending the livestream).

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How long should the livestream be?

At least 30 minutes

Easier to engage your audience

One link you can share around

Minimum 30 minutes

Go live for 30 minutes minimum. It will give people time to connect and follow the action.

Most social media platforms will send out a notification to tell your followers you’re going live. But the platforms don’t like lots of consecutive streams as they think you’re trying to spam people with notifications, so they stop sending out notifications…

No maximum time, apart from your own endurance (you can also plan to have someone to relay you: in that case, use a burner you can hand over to the person instead of your personal smartphone!)

XRUK Livestream Team record was a 9 hours live during the April Rebellion in 2022, which was made possible thanks to multiple experiences livestreamers. No one expect such a long live from a local group action 😉

Engage with your audience

Your audience will have more time to figure that you are live and click on the video to watch it.

That will give you more time to tell the whole story (and repeat it once in a while for late viewers).

If you do a short livestream (less than 10 minutes), then another one just a few minutes later, your audience might think that the livestream has ended and won’t watch the next bit.

So make sure to plan your livestream when something exciting is happening, take your time to show the whole action and interview people. Thirty minutes is actually short to do all that!

Share the link of your livestream

Doing one big livestream instead of multiple ones means you’ll have a unique livestream link to share around to encourage people to watch.

If you have someone at home, this person can send this link via email to your local group’s mailing list and ask people to watch, engage with the live or even join you in the streets. You can also share the link on Twitter, in Instagram Stories, on various Facebook pages and groups, in chats etc.

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Checklist

Just before the livestream

Switch to ‘Do not disturb’ (or switch off notifications)

Switch off Wifi

Switch on the automatic rotation of your screen

Copy the blurb

Install your phone on the gimbal if using one

Plug your headphones

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Technicalities

Auto-rotate option

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Technicalities

How to go live on Facebook

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Technicalities

How to go live on Facebook

Rotate your phone

Click “Slideshow” on the top right-hand corner to play the animations on this slide.

9. Rotate your phone in your hand to use the landscape mode

10. Activate selfie-mode to introduce yourself face camera, then deactivate to use your back camera

11. Go Live!

OPTIONS

Icon with little people = share to groups

You can use it if you want your livestream to be shared automatically to a group you’re part of (eg if your local group has both a Facebook page and a Facebook group)

Select the groups you want to share with, then click “Save”

Icon with two arrows = crosspost on another page you’re admin of

Great if you’re organising an action involving more than one local group. Bear in mind that you need editor or admin rights to both (or more) pages to use the option.

Select the pages you want to use, then click “Continue”

Three little bars = more options

You won’t need them if it’s your first livestream, keep things simple!

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Technicalities

How to go live on Instagram

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Technicalities

How to go live on Twitter

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Any questions?

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Resources

TRAINING - Livestreaming, vMix, Legal Training and Interview Skills (1.5 hour)

https://youtu.be/OT9HWrIeRuw

GUIDE - Livestream

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lr3UeQfMnzPDmkcWnGGuoXAV4LGYb6cLLQJbiklZ_W4/edit?usp=sharing

GUIDE - Interview skills

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Yqv_4Lp8wxF_Q1WQMzmZHHPxYSn6OWSN59ekUQO2KM4/edit?usp=sharing

GUIDE - Material

Getting fancy equipment is not a requirement, you just need a fully charged phone with plenty of data!

For those of you who want to 'upgrade' for comfort or better sound and image, here's the list made for livestreamers before the Rebellion (this list mentions vMix and Iphones a lot: you don't need an Iphone to go live!)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uYQu3EIvOmx_pIaCXXGyQFx26xplYvtapaCZS82ZjbA/edit#

FORM - Get your action on XRUK channels

In both cases, keep in mind they might not be able to help. Only use this form if you're organising a big action that would be worth livestreamed on XRUK channels (Youtube, Facebook...) and/or if you need more than one livestreamer on site.

Bear in mind that your action has to go through Action Circle first, so get in touch with your local or regional Action working group for help.

Join XR UK Livestream Team

We need people in the streets and also at home to help during Rebellion: there is a great variety of roles available (presenter, camera, live clipper, social media…)

Training will be provided for each role.

Get in touch: https://xrlivestream.tv/

And make sure to follow us on Twitter: @XRUK_Live