Virtual Whisky Festivals

Virtual Whisky Festival Production for a Global Audience

An established whisky festival normally brought visitors together across several distilleries on Scotland’s western isles. For its virtual edition, the organisers wanted to retain the tastings, conversations and sense of occasion while reaching a much larger online audience.

WaveFX provided the studio and technical production needed to turn three days of festival content into an engaging Facebook broadcast.

The client brief

Working with London production company REDUX, WaveFX delivered the virtual festival for Diageo one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and beer.

The programme included guided whisky tastings, conversations with master blenders, product announcements, live questions and pre-recorded films. Presenters joined remotely from different locations, while the complete programme was assembled and broadcast from the WaveFX studio in Cambridge.

“WaveFX made a complicated virtual festival feel completely manageable. They looked after our remote guests, videos, graphics and webcasting, and everything ran exactly as planned. The audience response exceeded our expectations and we were delighted with the result.” REDUX

Audience size and locations

Thousands of viewers watched live and on demand from the UK, Europe, North America and other international locations.

The online format allowed existing festival followers to participate from home while introducing the event and its brands to viewers who hadn’t previously travelled to the Scottish islands.

Platforms used

Zoom brought presenters, whisky experts and contributors into the programme from their respective locations.

The completed broadcast was streamed in HD to multiple Facebook pages, allowing each participating brand to reach its own audience. Viewers could watch, comment and submit questions throughout the festival.

Production setup

The six-hour virtual event was managed by a three-person WaveFX studio crew using:

• Six production laptops
• Zoom for remote presenters
• A LiveStream HD550 vision mixer
• Custom-branded presenter layouts
• Pre-recorded videos and product films
• Live titles, graphics and presentation content
• HD streaming to multiple Facebook pages

Instead of showing a standard video-call layout, each contributor was placed within a festival-branded design that remained consistent throughout the broadcast.

Production challenges and how we addressed them

Remote presenters were joining from several locations with different internet connections and equipment. Each contributor received guidance and a technical check before appearing live.

The running order moved between tastings, interviews, films, graphics and audience questions. All content was prepared within the studio so the production team could cue each element without interrupting the programme.

Streaming to multiple Facebook pages required careful coordination. The outgoing feeds were monitored throughout the event, while the studio team remained in contact with REDUX and the presenters.

Measurable outcome

WaveFX delivered:

• Three days of virtual festival content
• Six hours of live broadcasting
• A three-person studio production team
• Remote contributors managed through Zoom
• HD distribution to multiple Facebook pages
• Thousands of live and on-demand viewers
• Audience participation through comments and questions
• International reach beyond the festival’s usual locations

The virtual format expanded the festival’s audience while retaining the expert conversations, product stories and shared experience that made the original event successful.

Planning a virtual festival?

WaveFX is a virtual festival production company supporting food, drink, music, cultural and public events. We manage remote presenters, graphics, videos, live interaction and online distribution.

Call Jamie or Chris on 01223 505600 or email hello@wavefx.co.uk to discuss your event.