Mashable: The Mashable Show Live at SXSW
Delivering Live Entertainment Production from the Heart of Austin
90Minutes Daily Live Show
9Cameras
5Days of Live Streaming
2Live Stages
In This Case Study:
Mashable brought in BMG to provide live production support, production staffing, and technical management for The Mashable Show, a daily live program produced during SXSW in Austin, Texas.
The show featured celebrity interviews, filmmakers, musicians, pre-produced Austin segments, Sesame Street characters, and daily live activations, including a Guinness World Record burrito-making attempt and Mashable’s Shark Tank-inspired segment, Dolphin Habitat.
Each 90-minute live production was streamed to Twitter from Mashable House, with BMG supporting the production through a nine-camera flight pack workflow, on-site encoding, redundant transmission, lighting design, audio, staffing, and technical execution.
BMG Main Services
The Challenge: Building a Daily Live Show Inside SXSW
The Mashable Show was produced inside a larger SXSW activation, where space was limited, the schedule moved quickly, and the creative changed from day to day.
BMG needed to build a compact live production workflow that could support interviews, live events, audience moments, and streaming without the footprint of a mobile production truck.
Limited Space Inside Mashable House
The production took place inside Mashable House, a former music venue converted into an event space.
Because the live show was part of a larger activation, BMG had limited room for equipment storage, cable paths, and control room operations.
Two Live Production Areas
The show used a main interview set and a second activation stage.
BMG needed to support smooth transitions between both areas while maintaining live coverage across the full 90-minute program.
Creative Elements That Changed Daily
Each show included different guests, segments, and activations.
The production also featured Sesame Street characters as co-hosts, which required custom set pieces, camera blocking, and adjustments to make the characters work within the live environment.
No Truck Access
Due to parking restrictions, BMG could not use a traditional mobile production truck.
That meant the team had to bring in a flight pack production system capable of handling switching, encoding, transmission, monitoring, and live production inside the venue.
The Solution: A Compact Flight Pack Workflow for a Live Daily Show
BMG provided the technical planning, crew, equipment, and on-site workflow needed to produce The Mashable Show each day at SXSW.
Pre-Production and Site Planning
BMG participated in weekly prep calls with Mashable leading up to the event, reviewing creative concepts, technical requirements, show flow, and production needs.
The team also conducted a site survey in Austin several weeks before SXSW to plan equipment placement, cable runs, camera positions, and blocking for the live show.
Nine-Camera Live Production
BMG supported the show with a nine-camera production setup covering the main set and the second activation stage.
The workflow allowed the production to move between interviews, guest segments, audience moments, live entertainment, and daily activations while maintaining a consistent broadcast look.
Flight Pack Control Room
With no space for a truck, BMG built the production around a compact flight pack control room.
The flight pack supported the core live production workflow inside the venue, including switching, monitoring, encoding, and streaming.
This gave Mashable a full live production environment without needing a larger mobile unit footprint.
Production Staffing and Technical Management
BMG provided full production staffing and technical management for the daily shows.
Most of the crew was booked locally in Austin, with specialized roles brought in from out of town, including audio support and a Technical Director. BMG leadership also supported the project, with Todd Mason serving as Executive in Charge of Production and Andrew Ryback serving as Production Manager.
On-Site Streaming and Redundancy
All streaming and encoding were handled on site.
BMG used primary and redundant hardware and internet connectivity to support reliable live delivery to Twitter throughout the event.
Lighting and Audio Support
BMG provided full lighting design for the production and audio engineering support for interviews, live segments, audience moments, and musical elements.
The setup had to work within the existing venue while supporting the pace and variety of a daily entertainment show.
Impact
BMG helped Mashable turn its SXSW activation into a daily live entertainment show streamed to audiences on Twitter.
The production brought together interviews, music, comedy, audience interaction, pre-produced packages, Sesame Street characters, and live activations from inside one of the busiest festival environments in the country.
By using a compact flight pack workflow, BMG delivered a nine-camera live production inside a space-constrained venue without a mobile production truck. The project showed how BMG can adapt live production infrastructure to fit the venue, the creative, and the platform without losing production quality.
Deliverables
Turnkey Live Production
Technical Production Management
Production Staffing
Flight-Pack Control Room
Nine-Camera Production
Live Streaming & Encoding
Redundant Transmission Systems
Lighting Design
Audio Engineering
Site Survey & Production Planning
Key Information
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