Coventry Moves: City Wide Livestream Production
Four live programmes across Coventry, connected through one production control room workflow with accessible versions and a continuous broadcast feed for the BBC.
Connecting a city wide cultural programme from home
Coventry Moves had to open the UK City of Culture year during pandemic restrictions through a programme audiences could follow from home. Live performances moved through four Coventry locations across the day, alongside supplied short films, graphics and a community radio finale.
The broadcast workflow also had to serve several destinations. Online audiences needed stable live streams and accessible versions, while BBC teams required a continuous broadcast quality feed they could use for television and news coverage.
Four locations connected to one resilient production control room base
We linked mobile camera crews at Spon End, Mantilla Drive, Earlsdon Street and University Square to production control room at the Ricoh Arena. The gallery combined live coverage, supplied films, graphics and access feeds into four scheduled live programmes.
Bonded cellular contribution, protected encoding and recording paths supported the moving production. We also tested and supplied a continuous pull feed for the BBC, while closed captions, BSL interpretation and audio description were integrated into the delivery plan and retained in separate public playlists.
In numbers
A city wide opening moment built for broadcast
Coventry Moves opened Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture on Saturday 5 June 2021. Directed by Justine Themen and made with people across the city, the programme combined live performance, community participation and supplied short films across a day designed for audiences watching from home.
We delivered the live stream broadcast, with Jay Rozanski leading our production as Director/Producer. The commission called for a city wide livestream production that could move between distinct locations, return each contribution to one production control room base and feed online destinations and the BBC.
Four live programmes across four Coventry locations
Across the day, we delivered four live broadcasts: A Single Voice at 08:00, Powered by People at 11:00, Innovation in the afternoon and Rising Up at 19:00. Between them, supplied documentary films explored sustainability, people power, innovation, resilience and social justice before the city’s community radio finale.
Camera teams worked sequentially at Spon End, Mantilla Drive, Earlsdon Street and University Square. We linked every crew move to the programme schedule, rehearsing on 4 June before the full transmission day on 5 June. A camera jib, mobile camera units and location sound supported coverage that ranged from intimate community moments to a large finale beside Coventry Cathedral.
One production control room workflow for a moving event
The Ricoh Arena acted as the production control room base. Remote pictures and sound arrived from around Coventry, while the gallery combined live coverage, supplied films, graphics and access feeds into the day’s outputs. This central architecture gave the director a consistent production view even as the action and crews moved across the city.
We protected the live encoding path with UPS power, bonded cellular contribution across several mobile networks, secondary vision mixing options and multiple recording routes. Those measures were prepared before transmission and supported a day in which each live window depended on the previous location clearing, the next crew reaching position and the gallery staying ready throughout.
Accessibility integrated into the production path
Accessibility formed part of the technical workflow. Closed captions were prepared for the online destinations, and dedicated BSL interpretation and audio description versions were produced through practitioners working from booths at the production control room base. Their feeds connected directly into the live production desk so that access provision travelled with the programme.
We delivered caption files, audio described masters and separate published playlists for the standard, BSL and audio described versions. Accessibility was built into the delivery across the day. Viewers can still explore the standard Coventry Moves playlist, the audio described playlist and the BSL playlist.
Online delivery and a live route to the BBC
Coventry 2021 presented the day through its online platform and social channels. At the same time, BBC teams needed a broadcast quality route they could use for news coverage. We tested and supplied a continuous pull feed ahead of the event, with the BBC receiving team confirming that it was stable once transmission began.
The feed remained available across the day so BBC teams could take the scheduled live material as required. It sat alongside the project’s YouTube and Facebook delivery and the BBC’s own filming and radio coverage. This combination connected local performances with home audiences and national broadcast partners through a coordinated outside broadcast workflow.
A documented audience for the opening event
Coventry City of Culture’s published monitoring report recorded 95,545 combined Facebook and YouTube views across Coventry Moves content in the 5 June reporting period. The total belongs to the event as a whole and includes the supplied short films as well as the four live programmes produced by us.
We delivered transmission recordings, camera media, programme masters, caption files, accessible versions and gallery photographs. Together, those assets show how one workflow carried live pictures, accessibility outputs and broadcaster feeds through a full day across the city.
What this project demonstrates
Coventry Moves needed creative timing and technical timing to stay aligned across an entire city. Remote crews, production control room, supplied films, accessibility, online distribution and the BBC feed all shared the same broadcast day. Our role was to make those moving parts function as one live production.
For cultural organisations planning work across several venues or public spaces, the same principles still apply: define every route, build contribution resilience, rehearse handovers, integrate access early and preserve recordings at several points. The result is a production structure that supports the story while giving partners clear, usable outputs.
For practical planning advice, read our remote production workflow guide. Explore our Ghosts in the Ruins broadcast for related production work.
Frequently asked questions
What did you deliver for Coventry Moves?
We delivered the live stream broadcast workflow, connecting location crews with production control room, online destinations and a continuous feed for the BBC.
How many live programmes did we produce?
Across the day, we delivered four live programmes: A Single Voice, Powered by People, Innovation and Rising Up.
How was Coventry Moves made accessible online?
The workflow supported closed captions, BSL interpretation and audio description, with standard, BSL and audio described playlists retained online.
When did Coventry Moves take place?
Coventry Moves took place on Saturday 5 June 2021 as the first major event of Coventry’s UK City of Culture year.
