LiveU Delivers a Solid Connection to Groovy Gecko for Drake’s Iceman Cinematic Live Streams
Over 2.9 million viewers experienced the live streams of Drake’s groundbreaking Iceman Episode 2 and 3 films powered by LiveU and Groovy Gecko’s seamless partnership.
Over the summer, world famous musician and rapper Drake continued the rollout of his new album Iceman, by live streaming the second and third episodes of a series of cinematic-style short films, blending symbolic visuals, track launches and real-time streaming. To orchestrate a seamless global live broadcast, LiveU assisted creative streaming partner Groovy Gecko with the delivery of the live streams to Drake’s YouTube channel, which has over 31 million subscribers. Groovy Gecko coordinated with YouTube and partnered with production company Canada Canada tocreate a unique hybrid of narrative, performance and live audience engagement.
The flexibility of the LiveU technology enabled the production crew to shoot immersive footage from different angles. Patrick Hanlon, Online Video Solutions Specialist at Groovy Gecko said, «Drake wanted us to capture a cinematic short film live across a citywide network of locations. This included underground clubs and moving vehicles, all while maintaining an ‘extra crispy’ level of production quality.»
Episode 3, which live streamed on 4th September, was set against a visually striking backdrop across 12 locations in Milan. Groovy Gecko used a mix of 40 LiveU multi-cam LU800 and compact LU300 units, with the LU800s serving as the primary units and the LU300s operating as backups. They also used five return servers, 19 cameras and live drone feeds. Challenging locations were boosted using Peplink and Starlink units for LiveU, ensuring zero dropouts.
The footage from the car is an example of the flawless quality achieved. «That shot is beautiful; we were keen to get the LiveU units on the move to see how they worked and we could not have been more impressed.» The live stream saw 1.9 million viewers on Drake’s YouTube channel and over one million additional on-demand views within the first five hours of streaming.
For Episode 2, the LiveU units supported 12 cameras strategically positioned around the city of Manchester, plus two Steadicams used to capture dynamic tracking shots. The feeds were transmitted wirelessly over 4G and 5G to Groovy Gecko’s production hub in London. The stream had over one million live views and 1.2 million additional on-demand views over the following weekend.
Groovy Gecko switched between wireless and hardwired feeds depending on the site. Hanlon says, «In Milan for example, we used hardwired feeds at a couple of locations. In Manchester, everything was run using the LiveU units. We had the feed from the LU300 going into the LU800 in DataBridge mode, with the LU800 transmitting the feed back to our servers.»
Hanlon highlighted the importance of being flexible throughout as the creative brief continued to evolve until the moment the streams went live. «LiveU were absolutely fabulous at helping us get everything together, they did a lot of groundwork before the Milan job, prepping and sending units from Amsterdam and Germany, which really helped set us up for success. Our strong 14-year relationship with LiveU made the process easier, with years of trust built up from previous collaborations.»
Matthew Stringer, Sales Director UK, LiveU added, “The success of this fast-moving, high-pressure project demonstrates the power of the seamless partnership between LiveU and Groovy Gecko. Flexibility and scalability proved essential in a production environment of this scale. The project spotlights LiveU’s global rapid deployment capabilities and the company’s ability to support high-profile events in any location. As the creative brief evolved from Episode 2 to Episode 3, LiveU’s infrastructure enabled Groovy Gecko to adapt instantly to location requirements. The mobility of the units delivered creative freedom to work anywhere, resulting in highly artistic, engaging and groundbreaking short films that push the boundaries of streaming live music content.»