FELIX & PAUL CASE STUDY

Felix & Paul Studios live-stream the NASA
Artemis I Space Mission Launch

Challenges

High-quality, diverse format streaming and content management
Live stream backup and interruption handling
Operational control, standardization, and infrastructure rollout

Benefits

Reduced streaming downtime
Achieved cost savings
Boosted audience engagement & user experience

Executive Summary

Felix & Paul Studios, an EMMY® Award-winning producer of immersive media experiences, faced the daunting task of live-streaming NASA's Artemis I Space Mission Launch in various formats with low latency. Partnering with Futuralis, they leveraged AWS Elemental Services to transmit high quality video to numerous endpoints and maintain a continuous experience by seamlessly switching between live and static content. This solution not only met Felix & Paul Studios' requirements but also resulted in increased audience engagement, improved user experience, reduced downtime, increased brand exposure, and substantial cost savings.

The Challenge

Felix & Paul Studios was tasked with live streaming the launch of NASA's Artemis I Space Mission. They intended to use VR cameras and 8K-360o video quality for this historic broadcast. However, they faced the challenge of transmitting this video content in a low-latency manner to various endpoints in 4K-360o, 4K-180o, and Dome-Master projections. They also desired the ability to present static material to global viewers prior to the launch and the capability to switch from live broadcasting to static content during any technical or unforeseen interruptions. Additionally, they required the backup of the live stream in AWS for post-production use. This was a massive endeavor with several technical obstacles, mainly revolving around handling multiple video stream outputs, operational control, standardization, and ease of handling for infrastructure rollout.

Why Futuralis & AWS

Felix & Paul Studios chose Futuralis due to their established expertise in utilizing AWS Elemental Services to develop media solutions. Futuralis was uniquely positioned to address the customer's challenges, bringing a combination of technical skill, comprehensive AWS knowledge, and the capacity to develop and deploy diverse workflows for various use cases.

Our Solution

Futuralis, with their extensive experience in leveraging AWS Elemental Services to create Media Solutions, was a natural choice to help Felix & Paul Studios overcome their challenges. They partnered with the Studios to develop and deploy a variety of workflows for different use cases.

They utilized AWS CloudFormation templates to standardize deployment templates for different environments such as development, staging, and production. This ensured better operational control, standardization, and ease of handling for the infrastructure rollout.

Futuralis set up parallel workflows using AWS Elemental services to handle different video presentations. They used a combination of Elemental Link device and MediaConnect to ingest the live footage from the ground to MediaLive channels. This approach allowed them to manage multiple video stream outputs, including 360, 180, and dome master projections.

To address the need for a seamless transition between live broadcast and static content during interruptions, they facilitated the ability to play static material as per the client's choosing. Additionally, the live stream was backed up in an AWS S3 Bucket for future usage, such as creating a Video On Demand, removing sections of the stream to play on different platforms, editing the video, or adding animations

For an in-depth look at the solution check out our blog post with AWS.

Results & Benefits

Engagement and User Experience

Increased Audience Engagement: The successful deployment of high-quality streaming workflows increased audience engagement, potentially raising the number of viewers.
Improved User Experience: Users’ ability to choose their preferred audio tracks, combined with a high-quality streaming experience, significantly enhanced the overall user experience for Felix & Paul Studio’s end-users.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings

Reduced Downtime: Broadcasting static material during interruptions or pauses in the live stream significantly reduced downtime and ensured a continuous streaming experience.
Cost Savings: Felix & Paul Studios realized cost savings through the utilization of AWS Elemental services and CloudFormation templates, optimizing infrastructure deployment, and reducing manual deployment efforts.

Brand Exposure

Increased Brand Exposure: The project allowed streaming to various destination sources, providing a broader platform for increasing brand exposure and awareness for Felix & Paul Studios.

About Felix & Paul

Felix & Paul Studios is an EMMY® Award-winning creator of immersive entertainment experiences, creating unparalleled, highly engaging and inspired virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality experiences for audiences worldwide.

About Futuralis

Migrate – Modernize – Manage

Futuralis is a global tech consulting firm and AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner based in Washington, DC. We specialize in migrating complex workloads to AWS, modernizing them into fast, enterprise-grade solutions, and providing top-tier cloud management. Our ethos of Shared Business Excellence guides our pursuit of client capability enhancement, global customer satisfaction, and measurable results.