The United Stand Scales Live Fan Show with Blackmagic Design Workflow
ATEM Constellation 8K and HyperDeck Studio HD Plus underpin podcast studio workflow.
As one of the UK’s biggest football fan channels, The United Stand has grown far beyond its origins as a webcam based online community. The channel now reaches 2.26 million YouTube subscribers and has generated around 1.83 billion views, with a match day schedule that can stretch across pre match build up, team news, watchalongs, post match reaction, clips and social content.
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To support that output, the team has built a studio around a Blackmagic Design workflow. “When we started The United Stand, the community was already huge, so I feel that the goal has always been the same since day one: simply to give Man United fans a voice,” said the show’s producer, Greg Hartley.
According to Hartley, the growth of the channel really dawned on him once the live output moved from a handful of fans on webcams to a full studio production running multiple times a day. “We now operate a busy live schedule on match days supported by producers, editors and social media staff all working in parallel,” he said.
But as Hartley explains, what viewers see on screen is only part of the picture: “What people don’t see is the planning and pressure behind every live show. In the background there are producers overseeing everything, editors clipping moments in real time, and people tracking breaking news, watching press conferences, managing the live chat and on screen graphics, and covering socials while also keeping tabs on the running order.”
To make that level of output possible, the team built a permanent studio with its own broadcast gallery and two modular sets. The gallery uses an ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher, an ATEM 2 M/E Advanced Panel 20 for control and HyperDeck Studio HD Plus broadcast decks for playback and recording, providing a live production workflow that can handle the demands of a fast moving football schedule.
“We built the studio to handle the speed and pressure of the busy football schedule and match day content,” Hartley said. “Everything is permanently set up so we can go live instantly, with a dedicated gallery space for production and areas for editing, graphics and socials.”
For Hartley, the workflow has made a practical difference on match days, especially when the running order changes quickly or the team needs to bring clips and prebuilt elements into the show. “The DaVinci Resolve and HyperDeck workflow has given us more control and speed,” he said. “We can handle multiple inputs, graphics, cameras and bring in clips and pre built VTs much more easily now. If something changes during the show, we’re in a much better place to deal with it.”
Even as the studio has become more capable, Hartley says the team remains focused on keeping the production in service of the format. “Blackmagic gives us the flexibility to switch cameras, drop graphics or react to news instantly, but we never want the show to feel overproduced,” he concluded. “The priority is always the conversation, the opinions and the connection with the fans. The tech just makes it smoother.”
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