The Future is Here - Remote Access (03.14.2020)

Covid-19 has affected a lot of portions in our lives - leisure, work, gigs. Anything that is planned to occur until Holy Week is scrapped and that includes concerts and gigs. LockedDown Entertainment showed what could be done in today’s technology-heavy age by providing some lockdown entertainment.

The event occurred across two venues - Bentedos and Tarsius played in Raymund Marasigan’s House while Bass Relief played in his. The set-up at Raymund’s house was great. All audio went straight into the video feed so all the lines were crispy and matched well with the samples from both acts. What was surprising was the production. They used multiple cameras - I counted 3 in total. Mad respect for the one camera on a slider and rotating ball head to keep the feed dynamic. There were also LED lights to illuminate the set. Bentedos was up first with his energy and bars accompanied by Jiggawho. His energy is infectious live and I’m glad the charisma is still there over a video feed that peaked at about 410 viewers. After the set, the feed stopped for a couple of minutes to set things up for Tarsius. A pulsating light, and some laser party lights were more prominent during their set - very fitting for their sound. The drums and samples remained clear throughout the set with the feed peaking at about 260 viewers. There was a slight hiccup in the feed during this set but everything was smooth after that. After their set, the feed shifted quickly to another location for Bass Relief’s set. The set was different this time - just one camera and the audio didn’t seem like it was directly into the video (I’m sorry for the terms if they are incorrect). The set-up was still adequate though for the viewers.

I feel like the experiment was a success but there are some lingering questions - how does it feel not playing in front of a live audience? How do you keep the audience’s attention? How will a full ban sound? How do you keep the feed from stuttering?

As with any use of new technology, there will be some growing pains but Remote Access has proven that even with the metro under quarantine, music lives on and live events are feasible.