The Eurovision Song Contest is not well known in the United States, but nearly a quarter of a billion people tune in to this European TV spectacle every year. The contest itself is now 60 years old, and in 1974, a previously unknown band named ABBA, shot to international fame and stardom, following their winning of the contest.
Last year, the winner was Swedish entry Måns Zelmerlöw, with his rendition of “Heroes”, a catchy tune and innovative performance that lit the imagination of millions of European viewers across the continent, who voted in their (tens of) millions to decide the winner.
The nation that wins the contest each year gets to host the following year’s competition, and its Sweden’s turn this year.
Melodifestivalen is Sweden’s extremely popular national Eurovision festival, and we were asked to supply a professional 360 camera rig and 360 streaming expertise to power Melodifestivalen’s first live 360 production, for production company Wonderworld VR, and their client SVT. Wonderworld VR are based in both LA and Sweden and is one of few companies capable of delivering end-to-end solutions with high quality live 360 VR broadcasting.
We worked closely with Wonderworld VR to provide a valuable supporting role, as equipment manufacturer and live 360 streaming consultants.
The project included particularly tight deadlines and a demanding specification to produce extremely high quality 360 footage under low light, concert-like conditions. It was a comprehensive test of the Blackmagic Micro Cameras, their ability to handle stage lighting, and the results far exceeded expectations. (A low quality sample is was below (host Vrideo no longer in existence), a much higher quality, shorter clip is available in our 360 demo footage folder.)
The project resulted in positive media coverage for Wonderworld VR and SVT, and on the delivery side included a lightning fast turnaround of the live-stitched footage, with edited 360 clips of each performing act, appearing in less than 24 hours in a custom VR app called SVT 360 on the Apple App Store and Google Play store, as well as Gear VR. The app quickly rose to become the most downloaded app in Sweden following the broadcast.
If you have a need for the world’s preeminent professional solution for capturing live and on-demand 360 video, and want the industry’s most high praised picture quality, please check out our Mini EYE™ range of professional 360 cameras, and live 360 streaming solutions, or get in contact.