BESPOKE VIRTUAL PRODUCTIONS
We meet you
where you are.
Whether that means you tell us what you want and let us run a project from top to bottom, you are a part of all the nuts and bolts, or it’s somewhere in the middle, we are here to make it work for you.
We know that every project is different, so we plan on every collaboration being different. Got a great in-house designer? Awesome! We’ll just curate the stream. Have a tech-savvy staff that can run the show? Love to hear it–we’ll send over the file and they can take those cues in live performances. We don’t rule anything out and neither should you.
Ask Transcend Streaming for the project that you believe is impossible and we are here to make it a reality.
TOOLS IN THE TOOLBOX
Letting Artists Be Artists
Much of our work revolves around putting tools back into the toolboxes of our collaborators. Directors can have staging; actors can focus on acting and not being their own video technicians; sound designers can underscore (yes, even over Zoom). When you start to bring in tools like green screens, you start being able to pull off effects that you couldn’t even do on an in-person stage.
Plus, you can work with actors from anywhere, and cast exactly the right performers for the roles without having to worry about flying them out and housing them. Spend your budget on your team, not on an AirBNB.
Kyra says, “We’re looking at elevated readings, not rushed productions. Design and virtual staging give the audience context around time and place while seamlessly keeping the reading moving. Plus, it lets the actors focus on being actors if they don’t have to be their own video technicians since we control all of that! Rehearsal time focuses on the art and the script, not on learning when to push the “start video” button.”
SPECIAL EFFECTS
It's Raining, It's Snowing, It's Black and White
One advantage of digital work is that effects that would be cost-prohibitive, time-prohibitive, safety-prohibitive, or flat-out impossible by the laws of physics… can be easy.
If it’s snowing in a scene of a play, or foggy, what would traditionally be a big conversation about rental costs becomes a simple dip into our large inventory of video effects.
Flashbacks scenes can be done in real black and white or in sepia tone. One person can be duplicated into a crowd; we’ve even turned actors into holograms or ASCII art or anime characters.
DEVELOPMENTAL WORKS
We Specialize In The New
Developmental readings or workshops are an area where digital production can really shine. Playwrights who are developing a new play might realize they need a new scene in a totally new location.
Rather than hampering the play’s natural growth with considerations of budget, we can simply swap out the design of the digital backdrop.
Plus, you can work with actors from anywhere, and cast exactly the right performers for the roles without having to worry about flying them out and housing them. Spend your budget on your team, not on an AirBNB.
Kyra says, “We’re looking at elevated readings, not rushed productions. Design and virtual staging give the audience context around time and place while seamlessly keeping the reading moving. Plus, it lets the actors focus on being actors if they don’t have to be their own video technicians since we control all of that! Rehearsal time focuses on the art and the script, not on learning when to push the “start video” button.”
ACCESSIBLE BY DEFAULT
Closed Captioning and ASL with Transcend Streaming
Accessibility is central to our mission for performers and audiences alike. Early in the pandemic, we pioneered the use of “open captions,” or captions that are burned into the live feed for everyone. Of course, that was a boon for folks who are hard of hearing or Deaf, and then we found it had the unexpected benefit of making it easier for everyone to follow along if they had an internet blip.
After a few months of work, we’ve finally managed to implement closed captions for scripted content. That means even in fully live shows, we’re able to send captions that can be turned on-and-off by anyone watching (the same way you would on Netflix, but LIVE). Normally the software, hardware, and personnel to pull that off costs thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. We can pull it off using our in-house system and pass those savings along to you–plus you’re making the cool work you do accessible to everyone.
Many of our projects include ASL interpretation. We have a ton of experience integrating interpreters into projects of all kinds, whether it’s something you’ve planned on since the beginning or something you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it.
THE PROCESS
So how does
it work?
We meet you where you’re at so the process can be as smooth as possible. Some clients come to us with a clear vision and an in-house team. Others have the spark of an idea and want to work with us step-by-step to take it from idea to reality.
In some projects, we’re in every rehearsal from day one and provide every moment of design from the time the audience tunes in. In others, we enter during technical rehearsals and focus on amplifying the work of other artists. Every process is custom-designed to meet your needs, your budget, and your dreams.
