Live streaming is here to stay, and the number one complaint is that it lacks “life”. Adding a little life to your live stream used to be nearly impossible. Now there is Fan2Stage.
The Pandemic Phase Shift
The pandemic changed how we do just about everything from cooking food to farming. Going to the office every day just seems stupid now. All that paper that used to be in the desk? Nothing but dead trees. Technology was forced to live up to its hype and yet there was no real life in a live stream show. Something was missing.
Some comedians tried to use meeting apps but looking at the little tiles and trying to read the chat box killed the show. Only one person at a time could really be heard, and one voice does not make an audience. Live shows need live fans and that’s plural as in a lot of them.
The Audio Problem.
The first idea was just to open up the microphones on everyones mobile device or computer and play all of that sound to the host of the show. Very quickly it became obvious it wouldn’t work. As the fans laughed and it played out of the speakers for the host. It then played out of the speakers for the fans. It did so just far enough out of phase that a ‘feedback loop’ was created.
Both sides heard nothing but a loud squeal after a few seconds. The idea wasn’t lost thought and a small group of people kept working on it and Fan2Stage was born.
A Simple Solution.
The solution turned out to be live sound, but without the live sound. Really it is recorded sounds controlled by the fans. Sitting on set one day, CoolToys TV host Scott realized that the problem was solved in the 1960’s when laugh tracks were added. The problem is that artists and comedians know the laugh track isn’t real. They crave a live audience.
Giving the fans control of the laugh track changes the game. It took recording several thousand laugh tracks to make it work correctly, but that was the trick. Fan control meant that the artist knew it was the fans they were hearing, not a laugh track from one person in a booth being played on que. With the Fan2Stage app, fans can control the laugh track, cheering booing and more. Six responses in all.
The Fan2Stage server uses a proprietary algorithm to play the correct level of audience feedback based on several factors. The applause and laughter feels real because it is really controlled by the fans. Bomb a joke, get nothing, murder it on stage and hear them roar. The audience is back.
