building the spaces ourselves, we can design and equip them for purpose.“ As part of the new facility build, the team assessed how its toolkit had developed and identified where improvements could be made. Previously, the team would use a one-camera set-up, pointing at either set or green screen. “As livestreaming has become a significant part of our output, we set up. We wanted to streamline face- to-cam videos, for example, while also making sets more visually engaging,” says Chambers. To improve this, WhatCulture has adopted a multi-camera set-up based on the Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro, combined with the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and the ATEM Mini Extreme ISO for streaming and recording. “Where we were using a DSLR on a little tripod, we’ve now created a workflow designed with live content production, with recording capability in mind,” explains Chambers. “It’s a huge step-up in terms of production values and output, which our audience wanted to adapt our production process to make things quicker and easier to
foam panels on the wall, painted them green and that was pretty much it! “As we started expanding, that space became a massive bottleneck for us in terms of how much content we could produce, relative to the number of channels we had. It ended up becoming a fight for space. “We then took steps to dismantle our old office reception and built a little set in there. But, again, it was
has picked up on and already responded to. A huge part of the decision to use Blackmagic Design throughout was that we wanted to tighten up our process. This has allowed us to make the best use of the spaces we now have, and simply pump out better content, faster. “Even finer details, like the tally lights working with the mixers instantly, meant that despite the pandemic, we got the studio together quickly. Because we have so much space and so many members of staff, it’s now easier to have one universal system I can teach everyone, rather than a disjointed set-up.” When asked what advice he would give to budding streamers wishing to become independent creators, Chambers stresses the importance of taking the plunge. “Just do it – get whatever equipment you can find, phones these days have insane cameras, start filming and get it out there,” he says. WhatCulture’s journey has not finished here. The next project will focus on one of its new, dedicated podcast studios, to strengthen that branch of its offering, as well as the launch of WhatCulture Horror. You can check out WhatCulture’s YouTube channel here at: youtube.com/whatculture
ANOTHER ANGLE A multi-camera set-up leads to higher-quality production value
IT’S NOW EASIER TO HAVE ONE UNIVERSAL SYSTEM
a case of sticking foam tiles onto the walls and blocking doorways to deaden sounds from the office. So, enough was enough. With our continued growth, we bought this new building and moved in.” Those premises, based in Gateshead, finally provide WhatCulture with space to breathe creatively and expand its offering. “Building the new studios, it’s been important to create the right workflow, source the right people, use the best equipment and optimise the space,” says Chambers. “As we are
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