2,500 party goers, 3 stages, and 20 artists from Poland and abroad. These 3 numbers sum up the Festivaland by The M, a New Year's Eve party that took place on the last day of 2024 in Poland. Piotr Tymosiak, head of video production for this project, chose WiTalk9 to coordinate his team across the large venue in real-time, make quick decisions, and locate cameramen in a fast fashion.
Coordination Needed to be Real-time
With 20 artists to shoot on and off the 3 stages, the 4 cameramen (including Piotr himself) had to be on the same page in real-time. "One operator was supposed to cover a specific stage, but without a communication system, we wouldn’t have known that they had moved to a different location," says Piotr, giving us an example.
Decision-making Needed to be Quick
Things change fast at a live event, so teams have to adapt. Or according to Piotr, "You need to quickly communicate changes in the plan, adjust camera settings, or decide on specific shots."
Locating Team Members Needed to be Easy
With dim lights, loud music in the background, and 2,500 people jostling at the event, finding a specific cameraman would prove hectic, should he be urgently needed.
To tackle all the challenges above and beyond, Piotr used to turn to WhatsApp and walkie-talkies for help, but neither of them fully met the demands of team coordination — Internet issues might occur to WhatsApp at an event of such a big scale, making it hard to get prompts or make calls; Walkie-talkies were great for immediate communication, but interference could be an issue. In addition, cameramen needed to operate hands-free. Holding a walkie-talkie in hand while operating the gimbal would prove difficult and distracting.
(One of the cameramen capturing an artist's on-stage moments.)
Real-time Coordination
Built on DECT that features ≤83 ms latency and a less crowded frequency band, WiTalk9 was designed for team's real-time communication. "Before the event, the system was incredibly helpful for camera checks, tests, and team briefings. On the day of the event, it gave us constant (consistent) communication, helping us manage operators on each stage and coordinate with artists. The system made it easier to manage time efficiently and organize shots. For instance, one operator was focused on the DJ on stage, while another captured the same scene from within the crowd," shares Piotr.
Quick Decision-making
Also included in the team were an FPV drone operator and an on-site editor who coordinated to produce social media content for the artists. "During a live event, you need to quickly communicate changes in the plan, adjust camera settings, or decide on specific shots. WiTalk9 let us react immediately to artist needs and deliver materials to the on-site editor without delay," says Piotr the filmmaker.
(The FPV drone pilot operating his drone during the event.)
Easy Location of Team Members
To move cameramen around the event venue as things change, the camera operators had to stay in the know where everyone was. So the ability of locating team members became crucial for the head of team. "With such a large event space, finding a specific operator in the crowd would have been nearly impossible without real-time communication. WiTalk9 allowed us to pinpoint where everyone was and manage tasks more effectively," says Piotr in a WhatsApp interview.
(One of the cameramen capturing on-stage moments from the crowd.)
As of December 2024, the WiTalk9 and WiTalk9 SE are available in 36 countries and regions worldwide, with their availability continuing to expand.
Any content creation teams, filmmakers, and rental companies are encouraged to head to www.saramonic.com/buy/find-the-city to find their local distributor for a free demo and hands-on experience.
