Live event production used to be simple.
Point the camera, capture the action and broadcast the result. Job done. No one expected to feel as if they were sprinting alongside an Olympic athlete or rubbing shoulders with sweaty onlookers at Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage. But modern audiences – restless, insatiable and spoiled by cinema as we are – now demand that a live broadcast feels less like watching an event and more like inhabiting it.
This expectation has transformed what was once a luxury of big-budget cinema into an absolute requirement for live broadcasts. Gone are the days when a static camera and the occasional slow pan sufficed. No, today’s audiences want sweeping, cinematic shots that move through the action – all without so much as a jitter. But live events, unlike films, are uncompromising beasts – there are no second takes, no edits and absolutely no opportunity to rewind time if the video feed stutters or cuts out at a crucial moment.
To deliver this new standard, cameras must move freely and dynamically across vast distances without reducing the stage to an obstacle course of dolly tracks, cabling and panicked camera operators dodging for cover. And, just as importantly, they must do this all while transmitting an uninterrupted, high-quality video feed. Because if the footage arrives as a quivering mess or, worse, it doesn’t arrive at all, then all that ambitious cinematography is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
This is why mobility and connectivity are now inseparable in live production – and why the combination of Motion Impossible’s AGITO and Vislink’s wireless video transmission is changing the way live events are filmed.
AGITO: The Camera That Moves (Without Getting in the Way)
AGITO – a modular, remote-controlled robotic camera dolly – eliminates the limitations of traditional camera movement while excelling in long-range movement (up to 1km, no less).
Steadicams, for all their merits, require operators to jog alongside them – not exactly discreet. While dolly tracks, on the other hand, are the studio equivalent of a railway line – effective, but hardly conducive to spontaneity. AGITO is neither. Moving freely and remotely, it executes elaborate tracking shots without cluttering the stage or turning it into a maze of trip hazards. Performers stay undisturbed, the audience stays immersed and the technical ballet behind the scenes remains invisible – just as it should be.
Of course, when precision is paramount – like in a studio setting – AGITO can be track-mounted. But live events follow their own unruly logic. They may seem like a three-ringed circus, but certain moments demand control, which is where AGITO MagTrax comes in. Using an invisible, magnet-guided path, AGITO moves with total accuracy – yet fundamentally, it isn’t shackled to one route. When the action shifts, it can break away and free-roam, ensuring directors get the shot they need, no matter how unpredictable the performance.
Keeping the Connection Alive: Vislink’s Role
But as any seasoned broadcaster will tell you, all these advances in camera movement are only half the battle. The other half? Ensuring that what’s being filmed actually reaches the audience.
Live events are not, to put it mildly, known for their hospitable RF environments. Stadiums, arenas and festivals are an electromagnetic free-for-all, teeming with thousands of competing signals – phones, microphones, in-ear monitors, Wi-Fi networks – all vying for precious bandwidth. In this swirling digital soup, a fragile video connection isn’t just an inconvenience – it’s the difference between a seamless broadcast and an unwatchable mess.
This is where Vislink earns its keep.
Vislink’s technology ensures that AGITO’s footage is transmitted wirelessly, instantly and – crucially – without interference. Its ultra-low-latency, high bandwidth transmission means there’s no lag, no buffering and no inexplicable drop in quality just as the action reaches its peak. And it manages this anywhere – whether slicing through the signal-drenched melee of a music festival or a sold-out stadium – its RF and 5G solutions, keep the feed solid, uninterrupted and gloriously sharp.
Adele in Munich: A Case Study in Wireless Filming Perfection
For proof of how essential this combination is, look no further than Adele’s record-breaking ten-show residency at the Munich Messe residency last August. Featuring a 320-metre stage, a record-breaking 730,000 fans and – for good measure – the world’s largest LED screen looming behind her, this was not a production that could look anything less than spectacular. It had to feel both intimate and colossal, like a private performance somehow scaled up to stadium proportions.
Traditional filming methods weren’t an option. Dolly tracks were too rigid; Steadicams too restrictive. Instead, production company Vis-A-Vis deployed two AGITO MagTrax systems, laying down 320 metres of MagTape – the longest ever used for an AGITO setup – around the stage. This allowed the cameras to move effortlessly alongside Adele, tracking her with cinematic precision as she moved along the passerelle and thrust, all while preserving the intimacy of her performance.
But none of this would have mattered if the footage behind her had suffered from even a moment’s lag or distortion. With a venue bristling with competing signals, Vislink’s HCAM transmitters ensured an uninterrupted, crystal-clear video feed. Every frame arrived in real-time, without glitches, dropouts or the dreaded buffering wheel of doom.
From Munich to the Super Bowl: The New Norm for Live Events
If Adele’s residency was proof of concept, then the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show was its baptism by fire. With only minutes to set up, execute a high-energy performance and clear the stage before the game resumed, the margin for error was non-existent. And with 133 million viewers scrutinising every detail, there was simply no room for technical gremlins.
Yet again, AGITO and Vislink delivered. No stuttering feeds, no awkward cutaways to static cameras, just seamless, cinematic immersion at the most-watched live event on the planet.
And so, Adele’s residency and the Super Bowl have confirmed what we’ve suspected for some time: the age of the static broadcast is over. Audiences expect movement, immersion and the visual poetry of film, even in the chaos of live performance.
Which is why the AGITO-Vislink partnership is not just an upgrade – it’s a revolution. One provides the means to move, the other ensures every moment is transmitted flawlessly. Together, they have set a new benchmark for live event production, one where motion and connectivity exist in perfect harmony to create the immersive experiences audiences now demand.
Because in live broadcasting, it’s no longer enough to simply show what’s happening. The goal is to make people feel it.
Article co-authored with Chelsea Fearnley, Head of Marketing & Brand, Motion Impossible
