Hybrid event examples with the SpotMe platform

SpotMe for your in-person and virtual events

In addition to over 20 years of experience supporting in-person events, the SpotMe platform has established itself as the perfect standalone tool for providing an immersive virtual event experience to your attendees.

The mobile app and the web app work hand-in-hand to allow access to your event to both in-person and remote attendees, offering all the interactivity that your participants need.

In short, whether your speakers and audience are attending your event remotely or in-person, you can use the SpotMe platform to deliver your event with the same high standards.

SpotMe Studio in particular offers everything you need for your virtual events, in order to mirror the in-person experience:

• Dedicated virtual green room and live stream.
• Live stream preset layouts for displaying speakers and content.
• Live stream branding via backgrounds and logos.
• Built-in web-only (no install required) conferencing for remote speakers.
• Speaker and host content sharing.
• Full control of the live broadcast and the speaker transitions.
• Full interactivity for your remote audience (clapping, Q&A, polling).

So, what about hybrid events?

When planning for a hybrid you will typically have the same set-up that an onsite event has: a stage, in-person speakers, plasma screens for sharing content, etc. Now, what defines a hybrid event is the mix of in-person and remote participants - both for the audience and the speakers.

Your audience will be attending in-person AND remotely, so you will need to produce an in-person experience AND a virtual experience for them. Thankfully, as outlined above, the SpotMe platform is ideal for this, in particular thanks to the mobile and web app, and the powerful live streaming capabilities it offers.

Your speakers may also be attending both in-person AND remotely. Having remote speakers implies that they need to be seen and heard by your audience at the in-person experience (be present in the live event) AND in the virtual experience (be added to the live stream broadcast). It also means that your remote speakers need to be seen and heard live by the speakers and the other remote speakers in the event, for the event to take place smoothly. To accomplish this, you need to have the right set-up.

Below we provide three “tier” examples of events, two of which have remote speakers, and we explain in detail how you will need to proceed for each hybrid scenario.

Hybrid event with no remote speakers

In this scenario there are no remote speakers. You basically need to:

1. Film the live event using the right equipment.
2. Send the captured audio and visual to a live stream production tool.
3. Use that tool to produce the live stream, and connect it to the SpotMe platform.
4. Configure the live stream interactivity tools that will allow the audience to engage with the event.
5. Broadcast the event via the SpotMe app.

We’ve provided an example (tier 2 without remote speakers) below to better describe this type of event and explain how it is set-up in more detail.

Hybrid event with remote speakers

In this scenario, in addition to the live event with in-person speakers, remote speakers will be attending the event. As a result, there are two important steps to take into consideration.

Step 1 - Producing the live stream for the remote attendees

In order to render the onsite experience into a quality experience for your remote audience, you will need a live stream production tool. This tool will allow you to centralize and mix all the audio and visual elements that are seen at the onsite event, including the remote speakers.

With this, the producer will be able to create a finalized live stream with all the necessary layouts, transitions, branding, shared content etc.

The produced live stream is then connected to the SpotMe platform via RTMPS streaming or via SpotMe Studio (using a “virtual camera” plugin).

Once connected to the SpotMe platform, you will be able to reach your audience wherever they are, via the mobile app for in-person attendees or via the web app for remote attendees, and use all of the SpotMe engagement tools such as virtual clapping, live stream and in-person Q&A, live stream and in-person polling, lists of who is watching, live stream analytics, etc.

We’ve provided two examples (tier 1 and tier 2 with remote speakers) below to better describe hybrid events with remote speakers.

Step 2 - Bringing in the remote speakers to the onsite event

Remote speakers need to be seen and heard live in the venue by the in-person speakers, by the in-person audience, by the other remote speakers, and of course by the remote audience as part of the live stream.

The remote speakers can join the onsite event via the conferencing system that will be used, whether it is built-in to the live stream production tool (StreamYard, vMix, SpotMe Studio) or a third party tool (Zoom, Webex, etc.).

The audience will see the remote speakers on the venue display, as a rendered image that the producer and the AV team have created on a specific layout, using the live stream production tool or an AV video switching system.

The in-person speakers will see the remote speakers on comfort monitors that are placed in front of the stage. These are also displayed there using the live production tool or the AV video switching system.

The audio from the remote speakers’ conferencing tool is sent to the public address system in the room using an audio mixing desk, so the audience and speakers can hear the remote speakers.

A return audio signal is sent from the room into the live producer’s computer so that the remote speakers can hear the in-person speaker in the room.

Examples of hybrid event set-ups

Below we have selected three examples of real hybrid events, with various degrees of complexity, in order to describe in detail how they were set-up and produced.

Tier 2 hybrid event - no remote speakers - SpotMe retreat event

Complexity: ⭐ ☆☆☆

This is the SpotMe retreat, an internal quarterly meeting for SpotMe employees only, that takes place at an external venue. It is attended by employees in-person and remotely. Speakers are in-person only.
Moderation is performed by organization staff based on the needs of the event (Q&A, polls).

All employees join, either in-person or remotely. It is hosted by the CEO, other speakers include the members of the executive team who attended in-person.
The event is handled internally by three people: 1 person live stream production + 1 person handling sound + responsible for workspace in Backstage.

In-person venue: Office main reception room	Live stream solution: OBS + SpotMe Studio
Physical stage: Small stage with one static camera and one manned	Virtual rendition: Full stage view + Speaker focused view + Shared content
Onsite display: 2 plasma TVs	Virtually shared content: Slides
Onsite speakers: 1 to 6 / Virtual speakers: 1 to 4
Onsite attendees: Up to 30 attendees / Remote attendees: up to 60 remote attendees
Onsite and live stream production teams: Internal trained staff
Interactivity: Q&A and polls via web app and mobile app
Steps to convert in-person to virtual Step 5: This allows the producer to have SpotMe Studio see the video output of OBS as a speaker webcam and the audio output of OBS as a speaker microphone.

 

Tier 2 hybrid event - with remote speakers - in professional recording studio

Complexity: ⭐ ⭐ ☆☆

This is an event with an in-person studio audience and a virtual audience. It also has in-person speakers and remote speakers. The production is supplied by a third-party studio production vendor, mixing together the onsite studio and remote elements, and then channeling them to the SpotMe platform.

In-person venue: Live production studio	Live stream solution: vMix directly connected to the SpotMe platform via RTMPS
Physical stage: medium sized studio stage + 3 manned cameras	Virtual rendition: Full stage view + Speaker focused view + Shared content
Onsite display: Multiple plasma screens	Virtually shared content: Slides, videos, graphics
Onsite speakers: 1 to 4 / Virtual speakers: 1 to 4
Onsite attendees: Up to 20 attendees / Remote attendees: up to 500 remote attendees
Onsite and live stream production teams: Professional studio and live stream production company.
Interactivity: Q&A and polls via web app and mobile app
Steps to convert in-person to virtual

 

Tier 1 hybrid event - with remote speakers - in large venue

Complexity: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆

In-person venue: Large specialized venue	Live stream solution: vMix directly connected to the SpotMe platform via RTMPS
Physical stage: Large stage + 2 static and one manned camera	Virtual rendition: Full stage view + Speaker focused view + Shared content
Onsite display: Large flown LED wall, as a stage backdrop.	Virtually shared content: Slides, videos, graphics, live camera
Onsite speakers: 1 to 4 / Virtual speakers: 1 to 4
Onsite attendees: Up to 50 attendees / Remote attendees: up to 1000 remote attendees
Onsite and live stream production teams: Third-party on-site AV production company
Interactivity: Q&A and polls via web app and mobile app
Steps to convert in-person to virtual

 

Equipment and software needed for a hybrid event

Below is a generic list of the software and equipment needed on-site for a hybrid event:

• Lighting/sound system adapted to venue/stage/audience.
• Audience display screen(s) adapted to venue/audience.
• Wireless mics for each in-person speaker & comfort monitors depending on needs.
• Video switching system (mixer).
• Video and audio USB converters depending on needs.
• A live stream production solution depending on desired level of production.
  
• SpotMe platform to broadcast stream via SpotMe streaming and allow interactivity (for in-person and remote audience).
• 1 MacBook pro for running live stream production solution.
• 1 MacBook pro for playing the content that will be shared during event (slides, videos, music, etc.).
• 4 external monitors to see all possible renditions of the event (all perspectives) at all times:
  • Studio in Backstage (real-time).
  • Live stream seen through the app.
  • Run and show (schedule timeline of event and who is doing what).
  • Backstage with workspace open.
• Separate display screen for polling/QA if desired.
• Wired internet connection 50mbps down and 30 up.

Summary of live stream production tools

Below is an at-a-glance overview of the main live stream production tools that exist and can be used for broadcasting your event with the SpotMe platform:

	Remote speakers	Power & customization	Ease of use	Cost
vMix	Built-in dial in	Most powerful tool for producing virtual events. Highest degree of customization. Preferred tool when working with third party live production studios.	Training needed + production background	High
OBS	Requires third party conferencing tool.	Powerful with high degree of customization. Challenging for managing remote speakers. Time consuming as presets need to be built before they can be reused. Often used when organizations are restricted to specific third party conferencing tools.	Training needed + production background	Free
StreamYard	Built-in dial in	Powerful with limitations. Existing preset layouts that are good but cannot be customized.	Training needed + production background	Average
SpotMe Studio	Built-in dial in	Powerful with limitations.	Training needed + production background	Part of SpotMe platform

 

Using comfort monitors at hybrid events

Comfort monitors are used to provide real-time feedback and support to the host and speakers during events. They will play an even important role at virtual and hybrid events, in particular if you have a combination of onsite and remote speakers.

Below are some examples of how comfort monitors can be used:

• Live broadcast rendition: So in-person speakers can see what is being shown in real-time to the remote audience.
• Seeing the remote speakers: So in-person speakers can see the remote speakers they are talking to while facing the audience.
• Seeing slides: The current (live) and next slide can be displayed on two separate comfort monitors.
• Prompter and cues: Auto-cue and script / speaker countdowns.
• Interactivity: Q&A questions and polls, including results.