Producing the Event

The most important part of the Event is actually running it.  The interface as a producer is very different from a normal teams meeting but it is quick to get used to if you setup your own test event first and have a play in a safe space with no one watching!

This guide is long but the actual process is very simple once you have a play!

Before we go into details its worth making not of the following key points:

  • Before you "Go Live" only producers and presenters can hear or see each other.  Use this time to jump on early and make sure everyone is clear on there roles, who is producing the event and the running order if you are switching between lots of people.
  • Once you are "Live" all producers and presenters can be heard all the time, it is important you mute your microphones if not talking.
  • Chat messages are private during the meeting so use this to organise or send messages once the meeting starts.
  • Only one video can be streamed to viewers at a time.  You can however share your screen just like a normal meeting to show a powerpoint or play a video.
  • Presenters and Producers join the meeting through Teams just like a normal team meeting.

A live event follows this workflow

  1. Presenters and producers join the event using Teams
  2. The producer Starts the event when ready.
  3. The Producer controls which video is sent to the live stream and queue's up the next presenter.
  4. Presenters can share their screens to send video to the producer to be included in the event.
  5. Normally at the end of the event time is allocated to go through any Q&A that might of been raised during the event.
  6. When finished the Producer ends the event.  The presenters can then discuss and relax in private to organise any wash-up needed.

The Producers View

The top left shows the number of attendee's and the current status of the stream.

  • Pre-Live means that the event is ready to start but no-one can see anything yet.
  • Live means that the event is live and viewers can hear and see the chosen video.

The top right contains all the controls for accessing tools during the meeting:

  • Health and performance - stats about the stream
  • Show Q&A - To access and manage the questions and reply to them
  • Meeting Notes
  • Show Conversation
  • Show Participants
  • Show Settings Pane
  • Call Info

The middle of the page shows your Queue and the current Live Event and has the controls to start the event and send the queue to the live stream.  The left side is the content you have queue'd up ready.  The right side shows the current live stream.

Yellow means is Pre-Live, Red means its Live

The very bottom of the page shows the video sources available to stream and the share and mute controls

Queuing up and sending content to the Live Stream

Click on a video or shared screen in the bottom of the view to add it to the queue.  You can also click on the picture in picture button to allow you to queue up two video's side by side.  Great for a PowerPoint with someone talking over it.

Once you are happy with the queued content, you can click Send Live to send that to the live stream that your viewers are watching.

You can then begin to queue up the next video or content in the background.

Going Live

Once you have your first video in the Live event view on the right hand window, you can then click the Start button to begin your stream. 

You can only go live once!  If you start the stream and then end it you will have to create a whole new live event!

Ending the Stream

To finish the stream, click on the End button.  It will ask you to confirm you wish to do so.