I am a director who designs the mood, lighting, sound, and video so that attendees can pay attention when a singer sings on stage. The fields that a director has to deal with in performances and events are very broad. I want to share the story of the stage footage I experienced on stage with you.

Recently, audition programs are very popular in Korea. In particular, you can see programs performed by talented singers in each field on several TV channels. The program that impressed me was ‘Sing Again’, an entertainment program of JTBC broadcasting station, and the LED background video here is worth introducing.

It is a program where numerous singers compete to show their talents, and it is an entertainment show where outstanding singers in Korea compete. The background video attracts attention as much as their singing skills, and the video jockeys create videos that match the songs the singers sing. Among the winners of Sing Again Season 1, several songs have surpassed 10 million YouTube views. As much as the talent of the singer, the colorful flames and fire images reflected on the LED background made a strong impression on the judges. Recently, there is a singer who has surpassed 10 million views in Sing again Season 2 as well, and it is the stage background that makes him stand out as much as his husky voice. When he sang, his screaming voice was delivered as an image of waves reminiscent of a tsunami, and the emotion was multiplied several times.

It is the same when you see it on TV, but how about the impression of those who attended the site?

At this time, what kind of background is added is very important, and it is up to the director to decide whether it will be a singer’s face or a fire flame, or a cool wave. There is one episode about me. The day before the event, the video could not be played due to copyright issues. Tomorrow is the day of the event, and I was so urgent that I struggled to find copyright-free videos until late that night. I was looking for a suitable video by going into the sound source one by one for the event. It was my mistake not checking the copyright in advance, but fortunately, I was able to prepare it that midnight. And the next day, at the event venue, I was able to direct the final rehearsal.

Example of commercial copyright-free background video

Subtitles are mandatory for entertainment programs to video these days. A program without subtitles is rather awkward. The host’s question, the other’s answer, and even each other’s feelings are all inserted with subtitles. If time is given in advance, the editors add subtitles to make the video stand out. There are already closed captioning software sold in the market, and there are people who are exclusively dedicated to it. At the event site, subtitles are included in the order of importance. The name of the event MC, the introduction of the speaker, and the list of participating VIPs are also included with subtitles to help everyone who participated in the field and broadcast to understand.

Instead of subtitles, the list of winners or award details is introduced with PPT or illustration images. This is because, if the audience is too large, the moderator’s ability to deliver the message is limited. In particular, when there are many audiences to be called, for example, when several winners are called or a specific department is introduced in a short time, the director displays a background cut on the LED screen and tells the MC, “Those who are on the screen can come up to the stage.” message can be delivered.

We always see something. This is especially true these days when face-to-face activities are not easy. People are preoccupied with things on the subway, at the telecommuting place, and in the library on their mobiles and PCs. Depending on the background video content, the degree of attention to the event will vary. It is also important to show what you show to enhance the quality of the event. In the era of talking and communicating through video, background video is an important material that makes a director a director.