Will the livestream be live or will my friends and relatives watch a recording?

The aim is for the bereaved to be able to watch the funeral live as it happens.Sometimes that won't be possible because of the internet connection at the crematorium or church. On the day of the funeral service the technician arrives at the venue and checks the internet connection, only then can a decision be made as to wether the service can be webcast live or if it has to be viewed as a recording later. Live transmission or not a video of the funeral service will remain available for some time after the service.

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Will anyone be able to watch the webcast because it is on the internet?

No. The link is unique, a new link is created for each livestream service. Only the people who have the link can access the video webcast and watch it. If the link is accidentally sent to the wrong person or people then a new one has to be created to ensure the confidentiality of the webcast. This new link is then sent to all the people who will be viewing the webcast.

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If there is filming at at the funeral will there be a lot of people and equipment?

The technology for live streaming has changed dramatically over the last few years - the webcast can take place with a single camera and microphone controlled by a lone technician at a discreet distance. With discretion in mind the aim is to avoid the use of extra lights, while this can effect the quality of the video transmitted and recorded it means the mourners attending the service are not disturbed by the strong lights.

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What happens if it doesn't work?

If you cannot find the livestream please make sure that you are using the link in the PDF invite correctly and that your device is connected to the internet. If you have found it but the video will not play or is of very poor quality you can try refreshing your web page or changing web browser.  Remember a recording of the funeral service will be available for sometime afterwards.

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Will the camera film every mourner present, will the microphone hear everyone?

If you do not want to appear on the livestream or there are other people who feel the same way you just need to say. The microphone only picks up the person that it is pointed at.

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We would like to play some favourite music from Spotify or Apple music and maybe sing?

YouTube and Facebook are both able to sense when recordings of third party, copyrighted music is being used in a livestream and the subsequent online video. This means that a warning can be issued during the livestream by YouTube which means the live sound may have to be faded until the music has finished playing at the venue or YouTube may terminate the livestream. However if you plan to perform music that is out of copyright, like a hymn, then that should not be a problem.

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Is it possible to webcast speeches from the church and then the crematorium?

It maybe that the service you have covers more than one location, there is no problem when it comes to filming and live streaming from two locations. Again if the internet link at one or both of these locations is not good enough then video from one or both can be combined and go out as a single video on the internet after filming at both venues is complete..

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Can I just have a video made without transmitting live on the internet?

Yes you can just have the service filmed and then share this on social media with your friends and family without having the funeral go out live, equally you can download the video as a file that you can send to other people. The price per hour is the same as for a livestream.

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If you have another question...

If you need any more information your first point of contact is the funeral director who will either answer your question or put you in contact with someone who can. You can also send a question to webcastfunerals@gmail.com

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