Live streaming — The Spoken Caption

When you are live streaming, it is incredibly important to tell your viewers what is happening, as often and as thoroughly as possible. Joining a live stream midway can be confusing. “What’s happening here” is often the first message viewers send to a broadcaster.

At the beginning of a live stream it seems obvious to start with a description of the events the viewer is about to see. What may not be so obvious is how transient a live stream audience can be. And so, within a couple of minutes of starting you may have thousands of new viewers who did not hear your opening explanation.

It is for this reason that we advocate the use of “The Spoken Caption.” This is effectively the old photojournalist’s caption — who, what, where, when, and why, although as you are live there is no need to say when the events are happening.

By using the spoken caption regularly, you can maximise the number of viewers who have a good grasp of the background to what they are seeing.

The frequency with which you utilise the spoken caption will depend on the rhythm and tempo of your live stream. If you are moving around in a crowd, interviewing people as you find them, it may be useful to repeat your caption during these natural lulls. However, if you are in the middle of a riot, and there is tremendous noise and fast moving action, your opportunity to speak to your viewers, and more importantly, the chance of you being heard, may be severely impaired.

This is where the two way conversation inherent in live streaming is particularly great — you can ask your audience if they can hear you, and they can answer with a message on your screen.

The importance of the spoken caption can not be overstated. Who, what, where, and why, are the pillars of your story, and by ensuring that your audience understands these basics it massively increases the likelihood of your audience staying with you for the rest of the broadcast.

If you are interested in learning more about live streaming, or about working with Verifeye Media, please sign up at www.verifeyemedia.com