Author: Super Fan

Social Distancing at Live Events

Super Fan

Social Distancing at live events won’t bring live back the way live is meant to be.

Fan2Stage helps fill the gaps even when we start returning to live shows. Since several states have partially opened we have been able to take part in a few live show. The first was a live music show in our car like a drive in. It was a great concept, but the same thing on pay per view at my home with the same two friends would have been better.

Live shows aren’t just about seeing the event live. It’s about the energy. Some say on stage energy drives the audience. Others say that the fan energy drives the show. I think live shows are an energy circle where they each drive the other.

Filling every third seat doesn’t cut it. Social Distancing at Live Shows needs F2S

As the host of COOLTOYS, and speaking on stage, I can tell you that keeping my energy up is easier if the audience energy is up. I also know that if I don’t get the energy started, the audience energy dies out. Rock bands might have it a little easier when there are 10,000 screaming fans when the lights come up. That day may or may not come back so we need to find a better solution.

I think we did with Fan2Stage and the cloud based version F2S. Our Virtual Audience server gives you real audience input to your live shows. Real fans can buy tickets to your virtual show, and use the Fan2Stage app to be a part of the show. Even if you aren’t up to the level of selling tickets, you can add a tip jar and make a couple of bucks for your work. Don’t give in, go live!

Waiting for a packed house might kill your career. Why do that when you can bring it to your house with Fan2Stage.

Virtual audience for any studio

The Virtual Audience For Any Studio

Super Fan

In Todays World a Virtual Audience might be the best you can get. Now we have one for any studio.

Building a system for a Virtual Audience for any studio isn’t an easy task. For home users that don’t have the money or the technology, you need a simple system that just works and doesn’t interrupt the show.

Pandemic world or not, lets face it, more fans are better. Being able to reach out across the country or around the globe is the best way to do it. You can host an event or a “meeting” and look ad a couple dozen little faces or you can get a virtual audience. All those little faces are really a distraction for many live shows. A few can be great as focal points. That is why Fan2Stage was built to work with just about any platform.

Now we have versions that are compatible with Home Studio events, Pro Studio events with streaming channels and even Broadcast TV studios. Yes we now make a virtual audience server that will work with any studio.

All of the new plans go into effect on February 1st, 2021 and with that comes a new pricing structure. Recognizing that Broadcast TV isn’t always on 52 weeks a year, we now offer a quarterly plan for them. Our broadcast plans include streaming as well. One show, multiple threads.

As we announced earlier with the upcoming release of version 2.0 we will add the ability to collect tips or donations. Every account gets at least 70% of the money collected. You put on the show, we’ll send you the money you earn!

New Year, New Fan2Stage

New Year, New Fan2Stage

Super Fan

Yes Virginia there is a new Fan2Stage coming

While we have been very pleased with the performance of Fan2Stage you told us you wanted more. So we are giving it to you. Version 2 is in the works with a new look, and a dark theme. Fans told us the original version was “too bright” with the white background if they were watching a show. We get it, no one wants to see a concert with all the lights on. Bad on us for not figuring that out first, good on you that told us to fix it.

Building a virtual audience system isn’t easy. Without the audience, there is no virtual system is there? Thanks to the fans that gave it a shot when we first started, we now have a better virtual audience system on the way.

That isn’t the only change. With the new release there will be an option for artists to charge for events or receive tips from the fans. We know that if you aren’t getting paid, entertaining is a very expensive hobby.

The new logo is already here on the site, and when you see the next update in the app stores, it will have the new logo.

Fan2Stage Icon
Fan2Stage V 2.0 Logo

The biggest news is that we are expanding F2S, the cloud based version so any single zone show can use it for up to 10,000 fans. This way you can pay by the show, the month or get your own server, even with a larger fan base.

With 2021, we hope live shows are back. But if you are still in your car for a rock concert or at home for the comedy show, let them know you like the show with Fan2Stage!

Fans Will Be Back With F2S

A Real Audience In Your Home Studio

Super Fan

Yes it is possible to have a real audience in you home studio.

What is a real audience anyway? Is it the guy in the booth at the football game hitting the “applause” button? Is it the guy in the booth at the talk show hitting the “laugh” button? No. It is real people with real responses to a live show.

A virtual audience server is the only way to do that, and Fan2Stage is the only real virtual audience server. The way we see it, all live shows need audience feedback. Sure you can make videos for YouTube and Vimeo or even TikTok and hope you get a thousand views but what does that really mean?

Fan2Stage

The only thing that matters is what fans really think of the show. More importantly what they think at the time of the show. If you have a home studio and can live stream, why not have a real response from a virtual audience? Yes you can have a two way video stream and try and figure out what 50 little windows are doing. The reality is that it becomes a distraction, not an enhancement to the show.

Only with a virtual audience server can your fans be heard my you and other fans. Imagine hearing the laughter and the applause live and in real time. It can happen with Fan2Stage. You can have a live audience in your home studio. If your fans download the Fan2Stage app, you can host a live show and get real time feedback from a real audience! Why not sign up today?

Are You Ready To Go Live?

Super Fan

If you think your show is ready to go live, stop waiting!

Talk shows, stand up comedy and live music are just a few of the shows that you can host live from your home or studio regardless of where the audience is. A virtual audience is key to success in todays world. Times have changed and the show must go on.

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If you have an idea for a live show or stopped performing for some reason, get Fan2Stage and get going. Fan2Stage® connects you and your audience no matter where they are. The patent pending technology allows fans to react to your show. Better you can hear and see the reactions live and in real time.

If you just have a small audience, try our cloud based version, F2S. At Fan2Stage we know that now everyone can fill a stadium or can sell tickets to every show. Get back to the job and get your show going today!

Fan2Stage

Talk Show Host Tests Positive

Super Fan

If the headline was Talk Show Hosts Tests Positive, what do you think today?

The talk show host is critical to the show. Testing positive for anything is bad, and today the obvious thought is Covid-19. No matter which side you believe, Covid-19 is in our conscience for good. At least the next couple of years. So how does a talk show have an audience in a socially distanced and distant world? What will you do the next time fans can’t sit in the studio for any reason?

The safest way to have an audience with live feedback is a virtual audience system. You can be ready for now and the future with a Fan2Stage syste. Fan2Stage is the only virtual audience system. With it’s patent pending technology fans can be 6 feet apart or 5 miles apart. Unlike F2S, the cloud based version, Fan2Stage is fully customizable to fit your show. Need to group the audience, we can do it.

Fan2Stage 4U Custom Server to help talk show hosts connect with fans
Fan2Stage Custom 4U Zoned Virtual Audience Server

With the ability to add multiple sound cards, your audience can be divided into zones. Zones allow your host to have challenges and real fan interaction that a Q&A session won’t allow in a little computer screen chat box. Our patent pending technology addresses both host and fan safety in a way no other system can.

More than just audience noise.

There are other features too. This isn’t an engineer pressing the “applause” button. This is real fans clapping, booing and laughing along with the show virtually. The Fan2Stage system uses live feedback from real fans to give your host a true sense of how the fans feel and are reacting. Don’t fake it with the applause button.

Obviously keeping your talk show host separate from the fans is a big step for host and fan safety too. There are other benefits to a virtual audience as well. The biggest benefit is to bring in fans from anywhere in the world to participate in the show. Don’t make them drive to Culver City, Atlanta or Manhattan where parking is already at a premium and then run them through security when they can simply join the show via the Fan2Stage app and be a part of the show.

The show must go on, so why not expand your reach safely with a Fan2Stage Virtual Audience System? Call for a quote today!

Talk Shows and The Virtual Audience

Talk Shows and The Virtual Audience

Super Fan

Can Talk Shows Survive with a Virtual Audience? Can They Survive Without Them?

Talk shows have been very different thanks to the lifestyle changes imposed on us by the government. All television is changed for that matter just slightly. While I can’t fix soap opera’s lack of intimacy issues, I can bring in a virtual audience.

If you are thinking, “But Scott, the pandemic is almost over.” I’d say you are looking at the problem wrong. Have you ever been to a live talk show taping? The security hassles are incredible. What if there is an issue with security, or another pandemic? Covid-19 is just the most recent pandemic. During the last election we had the Zika pandemic.

Our world is changing and it might be time to change with it. Even if you keep a live audience, a virtual audience can be a great addition to the show.

DayTime TV

Since I generally work very early in the morning and shoot video during the day, I haven’t watched much day time TV. I can’t imagine a show like “The View” being nearly as cool without an audience. Sure a few people could zoom in. In the crazy land of TV I bet someone pitched putting an iPad at every seat and having everyone in the audience FaceTime their own seat.

Late Night TV

I do from time to time catch a few minutes of late night talk shows. Sadly none measure up to the great Johnny Carson or even Jay Leno. Those guys were centered and funny. They could make fun of anyone any time without making a ridiculous political statement. These days everyone apparently wants to clearly be “on a side”.

CoolToys TV Roadtrip
You can Take a Virtual Audience With You!

Late night talk show hosts complained incessantly about not hearing the laughter of the audience. I agree. COOLTOYS® TV isn’t nearly as fun without fan energy. We tried the chat box on our live stream. It was a failure. We tried the Q&A box and had someone reading them and giving us signals. At a social distance of course. That too failed.

Meeting an Audience

While zoom and Microsoft Teams are great tools for virtual meetings, they are failures at the virtual audience. FaceTiming more than a dozen people on iPads is crazy, but lame as well. The reason the audience is there is to feed energy to the performers. Talk show hosts are performers. If you don’t believe me, try it some time. I spent a lot of time in class at Marki Costello’s “Become a Host” program to understand the dynamics of talk.

Talking to a person and making it interesting for an audience is a lot harder than you think. One key piece is the feedback from the audience. Without live feedback energy the show lacks life. Someone in the booth pressing the applause button doesn’t add life.

Sound Designers

Yes there is a job designing sound. Specifically sound for pro sports. The guys that sound design for the NFL do a great job. The audience sounds real. The problem is that the players and the few fans that are there know it isn’t. Therefore the fans know it isn’t.

Fan2Stage isn’t about designing sound. It is about bringing real fan energy back to the stage or the field. If you want to hear your real fans, get Fan2Stage.

Fan2Stage Releases F2S. Cloud based VAS

Fan2Stage Releases F2S. Cloud based VAS

Super Fan

F2S is the cloud based version of Fan2Stage for smaller venues.

Realizing that not everyone has the budget or the fan base for a full Fan2Stage system, F2S was created. F2S is the cloud based version for entertainers and smaller houses of worship that allows fans and parishioners to participate from home or anywhere else they can stream an event.

The F2S system provides a visual chart and audio feedback of the inputs made by the people on their phones. If you aren’t sure which version you need there is a handy comparison chart on the F2S.Live website.

Fan2Stage offered two free years to the first 100 artists that signed up but there is a catch. “The first 100 are helping to debug and perfect the sound feedback. The big difference is the customization” said Scott Lee, the lead programmer. With Fan2Stage we can use recorded response from your venue to keep the acoustics unique to your location. With F2S the response is scaled based on the number of people logged in and participating.

The more that log in and the more that participate, the “bigger” the feedback according to Lee. That makes the Virtual Audience System by Fan2Stage® a solution that works for anyone.

The Fan2Stage App is now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Fan2Stage – The Live Stream That is Really “Live”

Fan2Stage – The Live Stream That is Really “Live”

Super Fan

One of the things we learned producing CoolToys during the Quarantine and lockdown periods is that fan feedback matters. The tough part with hosting a show even if on a Live Stream is getting instant feedback. Without someone telling you what the fans were saying in the chat box, you look silly reading the chat box. At least that is how we felt about CoolToys™.

We figured out what we were missing was a live audience. Without instant feedback the hosts weren’t sure if they were connecting. While that might be fine for radio, the best entertainment needs the connection to the audience. The energy from the audience elevates the show to another level. Don’t perform without all the energy you can possibly get. Use Fan2Stage to bring the audience in no matter where they are!

Fan2Stage is a patent pending system that brings the real feedback from the audience. No engineers piping in fake applause. Real people, real fans, real feedback, real energy. That is what seperates a good show from a great one.

Have a great show, get Fan2Stage.

CoolToys Live Studio now with Fan2Stage!
CoolToys™ Live Studio with Fan2Stage.