Sonic Boom 2013 (lost livestream of "Sonic the Hedgehog" convention; 2013): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:25, 21 December 2022

An image of the stream on its original webpage, taken when it was still live.

Status: Lost

Sonic Boom 2013 was an event hosted by SEGA of America on August 10th, 2013, in St. Louis.^[1] The event was designed for fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series to meet other like-minded people, take part in a large variety of activities^[2], pick up new merchandise and watch a stage presentation, featuring new trailers, live performances, and fan contests. One of the heavily advertised highlights^[3]^[4]^[5] of the event was Crush 40's concert performance^[6], a band known for making many vocal tracks for Sonic games.

An official live stream of the full stage presentation at the event was conducted online by Live Alliance, on behalf of SEGA.^[7]^[8] However, recordings of this livestream have become very scarce, with no official VOD available, although there was one for a short time after the stream finished^[9]. The only video found so far makes up a dozen minutes, of the seven hours^[10] the stream ran for.

The stream contained multi-camera professional-grade video, cutting between 3 human-operated cameras^[11] and a video feed from the projected screen^[12]. All the cameras are on tripods and remain in fixed positions throughout the production, albeit with changing zooms and panning from the operators as appropriate^[11]. Two of the cameras were positioned in equal locations on a sectioned off, raised area of the flooring around the crowd either side of the stage, while the other was positioned near the centre-back of the room, typically offering tight shots of the key member on the stage.

Throughout the stream, logos periodically fade in and out of each of the bottom corners, with "Sonic Boom 2013" in the bottom-left position and "Live Alliance.tv" in the bottom-right.^[11] It's estimated these logos appeared once every few minutes, but not enough continuous footage of the stream exists to confirm this theory for certain.

The exact resolution and framerate of the final broadcast is currently unknown.

Audio

The audio on the stream was a form of soundboard audio, potentially a custom mix for the livestream. Audio from crowd mics is mixed in, although it is worth noting that during louder segments like the concert, the crowd is effectively inaudible due to the intensity of the actual music. During sections where the stream shows trailers from the projected video feed, the crowd mics are muted and only the trailer is audible.^[12]

All known recordings have a minor degree of compression applied to the audio, particularly with higher frequencies seemingly sounding "harsher" than they should, leading it to be likely this was an artefact of the stream as opposed to the released recordings.

Release

The livestream was hosted on Live Alliance's website, with the URL http://livealliance.tv/sonicboom. This in turn used the Akamai content delivery system to deliver the stream to the viewers. After the stream finished, there was a VOD was available from this site for approximately 24 hours after^[13].

In addition to the original stream on the site, a fan-run simulcast was set up at the same time, to host a live "reaction" to the stream. This was hosted by SSF1991 of Sonic Paradox on livestream.com^[14]. Unfortunately, despite the high probability livestream.com contained a VOD of this reaction stream for a long period of time after, there are very few found clips of this either.

In addition, there appears to have been a screen at the back of the venue setup to show video from the stream to the performers on-stage. Unfortunately, it is very rare for a camera to be pointing in this direction so there are only a few shots that show this clearly. An example is the official recap video.

Found media

Images

Some images taken by viewers have been found. Two are of the fan simulcast, while the rest were taken directly of the stream.

A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken during an intermission where the singer talks about how he repeatedly introduces the guitarist
A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken at the end just before they bow and leave the stage
A frame of Aaron Webber, the main presenter at the show, taken during the stream
A frame of Aaron Webber talking to the crowd - this shot shows the variety of angles the cameras were set up to take
A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken just after they finished the song "His World"
A frame from the stream of the very beginning of the "Sonic Dancing" segment
service1 =,, but it's in noticeably degraded quality compared to the image
Image of the costume contest section, from the livestream
Image of the costume contest section, from the livestream
A frame from the stream the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken during "His World"
A picture of the fan simulcast
A picture of the fan simulcast
A clip of Sonic dancing from the fan simulcast
Short GIF of the very beginning of the livestream.

Fan-recorded video

These are the only found clips of the stream uploaded by the viewers:

Sonic dancing, with the original audio replaced to be "more appropriate"

Poor quality video of the Q&A, with audio replaced as a joke

Audio of the Crush 40 performance taken from the stream

Recording from the stream of a previously unseen trailer shown at the event - At the end, you can see it fade to one of the stream cameras very briefly.

Recording from the stream of another previously unseen trailer shown at the event

Poor quality video from the stream of the host announcing a new section of the show - taken from the fan-run "simulcast".

Recording from the stream of the presenter (Aaron Webber) introducing a previously unseen trailer shown at the event.

Official media

After the event, SEGA created a short 3-minute recap video, attempting to capture and summarise some key moments of the event^[15]^[16]^[17]. A significant amount of this recap video is made up of video taken by SEGA's own internal media team, separate from the stream^[18]. However, upon some close examination, there are a few clips from the stream featured in this video as well:

1:54 - 2:10 - A clip of the Q&A portion of the show. The positioning of all the angles seen here match exactly with the already detailed specification above.
2:16 - 2:19 - 3 seconds of the Crush 40 performance taken from the stream. The exact positioning of the camera in this shot matches with already found clips, in addition to having a noticeable framerate difference to non-stream footage in the video.

In addition, throughout this video, soundboard audio is consistently used when portions of the event are shown, and it's highly probable that soundboard audio was taken from the stream, suggesting SEGA did at some point have a recording of the full stream. However, SEGA's HQ moved locations two years after this event, resulting in a large staff turnover^[19]^[20], and it is possible that some of their archives, and by extension this recording, may have been lost during that move.

References

[1] SEGA Blog | Your Complete Sonic Boom Information Guide (archive.org)

[2] Sonic Lost World can be played at Sonic Boom 2013

[3] SEGA announces Crush 40 to be at Sonic Boom 2013

[4] SEGA announces Crush 40 to be at Sonic Boom 2013 on Twitter

[5] Sonic Boom 2013 referred to as "featuring Crush 40" in official promotions

[6] SEGA Blog | Your Complete Sonic Boom Information Guide (archive.org)

[7] Official Sonic Facebook Post

[8] Sonic Boom Livestream: Going Live, Right Now - The Sonic Stadium

[9] Twitter | GamersVlog

[10] Seek bar from screen recording of VOD

[:0-11] 11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 Every clip available uses these three angles

[:1-12] 12.0 ^12.1 Demonstrated by this video

[13] Twitter | GamersVlog

[14] Sonic Boom 2013 Fan Simulcast

[15] Sonic Boom 2013 Recap Video

[16] Sonic Boom 2013 Recap Video Promo

[17] Aaron Webber (show host) announces recap video

[18] An image of footage seen in the recap video credits a former SEGA employee as taking it

[19] SEGA downsizes & moves

[20] SEGA moves to Southern California

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 |status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
 }}
 Sonic Boom 2013 was an event hosted by SEGA of America on August 10th, 2013, in St. Louis.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160624032754/http://blogs.sega.com/2013/08/05/your-complete-sonic-boom-information-guide/ SEGA Blog | Your Complete Sonic Boom Information Guide (archive.org)]</ref> The event was designed for fans of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series to meet other like-minded people, take part in a large variety of activities<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150726123051/https://www.blogs.sega.com/2013/07/08/play-sonic-lost-world-at-sonic-boom-2013/?q6003550=1 Sonic Lost World can be played at Sonic Boom 2013]</ref>, pick up new merchandise and watch a stage presentation, featuring new trailers, live performances, and fan contests. One of the heavily advertised highlights<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/SEGA/photos/a.133608051795/10151780820886796 SEGA announces Crush 40 to be at Sonic Boom 2013]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/SEGA/status/355763500305494018 SEGA announces Crush 40 to be at Sonic Boom 2013 on Twitter]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/352441636522950656 Sonic Boom 2013 referred to as "featuring Crush 40" in official promotions]</ref> of the event was ''Crush 40''<nowiki/>'s concert performance<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160624032754/http://blogs.sega.com/2013/08/05/your-complete-sonic-boom-information-guide/ SEGA Blog | Your Complete Sonic Boom Information Guide (archive.org)]</ref>, a band known for making many vocal tracks for Sonic games.
@@ Line 13: / Line 14: @@
 ===Video===
 [[File:1147702 10201163908452360 2098805864 o.jpg|thumb|Taken before the show started. One of the stream's cameras can be seen on the left side of this image.]]
-The stream contained multi-camera professional-grade video, cutting between 3 human-operated cameras and a video feed from the projected screen. All the cameras are on tripods and remain in fixed positions throughout the production, albeit with changing zooms and panning from the operators as appropriate. Two of the cameras were positioned in equal locations on a sectioned off, raised area of the flooring around the crowd either side of the stage, while the other was positioned near the centre-back of the room, typically offering tight shots of the key member on the stage.
+The stream contained multi-camera professional-grade video, cutting between 3 human-operated cameras<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDSAQrpUDHU Every clip available uses these three angles]</ref> and a video feed from the projected screen<ref name=":1">Demonstrated by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MY5-ONzZQY this video]</ref>. All the cameras are on tripods and remain in fixed positions throughout the production, albeit with changing zooms and panning from the operators as appropriate<ref name=":0" />. Two of the cameras were positioned in equal locations on a sectioned off, raised area of the flooring around the crowd either side of the stage, while the other was positioned near the centre-back of the room, typically offering tight shots of the key member on the stage.
-Throughout the stream, logos periodically fade in and out of each of the bottom corners, with "Sonic Boom 2013" in the bottom-left position and "Live Alliance.tv" in the bottom-right. It's estimated these logos appeared once every few minutes, but not enough continuous footage of the stream exists to confirm this theory for certain.
+Throughout the stream, logos periodically fade in and out of each of the bottom corners, with "Sonic Boom 2013" in the bottom-left position and "Live Alliance.tv" in the bottom-right.<ref name=":0" /> It's estimated these logos appeared once every few minutes, but not enough continuous footage of the stream exists to confirm this theory for certain.
 The exact resolution and framerate of the final broadcast is currently unknown.
-=== Audio===
+===Audio===
-The audio on the stream was a form of soundboard audio, potentially a custom mix for the livestream. Audio from crowd mics is mixed in, although it is worth noting that during louder segments like the concert, the crowd is effectively inaudible due to the intensity of the actual music. During sections where the stream shows trailers from the projected video feed, the crowd mics are muted and only the trailer is audible.
+The audio on the stream was a form of soundboard audio, potentially a custom mix for the livestream. Audio from crowd mics is mixed in, although it is worth noting that during louder segments like the concert, the crowd is effectively inaudible due to the intensity of the actual music. During sections where the stream shows trailers from the projected video feed, the crowd mics are muted and only the trailer is audible.<ref name=":1" />
-All known recordings have a minor degree of compression applied to the audio, particularly with higher frequencies seemingly sounding "harsher" than they should, leading it to be likely this was an artifact of the stream as opposed to the released recordings.
+All known recordings have a minor degree of compression applied to the audio, particularly with higher frequencies seemingly sounding "harsher" than they should, leading it to be likely this was an artefact of the stream as opposed to the released recordings.
 ==Release==
@@ Line 38: / Line 39: @@
 Some images taken by viewers have been found. Two are of the fan simulcast, while the rest were taken directly of the stream.
-<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
-File:Img1.png|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken during an intermission where the singer talks about how he repeatedly introduces the guitarist
+File:Img1.png|alt=Sonic Boom 2013 webpage, with tight shot of lead singer and guitarist of Crush 40 together visible|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken during an intermission where the singer talks about how he repeatedly introduces the guitarist
-File:Img2.png|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken at the end just before they bow and leave the stage
+File:Img2.png|alt=Sonic Boom 2013 webpage, with wide shot of lead singer and guitarist of Crush 40 together visible|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken at the end just before they bow and leave the stage
-File:Img3.png|A frame of Aaron Webber, the main presenter at the show, taken during the stream
+File:Img3.png|alt=Sonic Boom 2013 webpage, with tight shot of the show's presenter visible|A frame of Aaron Webber, the main presenter at the show, taken during the stream
-File:Img4.png|A frame of Aaron Webber talking to the crowd - this shot shows the variety of angles the cameras were set up to take
+File:Img4.png|alt=Sonic Boom 2013 webpage, with a wide shot of the shot's presenter and crowd in the same shot|A frame of Aaron Webber talking to the crowd - this shot shows the variety of angles the cameras were set up to take
-File:Img5.png|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken just after they finished the song "His World"
+File:Img5.png|alt=Sonic Boom 2013 webpage, with wide shot of lead singer and guitarist of Crush 40 together visible|A frame from the stream of the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken just after they finished the song "His World"
 File:SonicDancing.png|A frame from the stream of the very beginning of the "Sonic Dancing" segment
-File:Img7.png|A frame from the stream of the middle of the "Sonic Dancing" segment - we have this part [https://youtu.be/vO4gNapHKOY?t=126 in video], but it's in noticeably degraded quality compared to the image
+File:Img7.png|A frame from the stream of the middle of the "Sonic Dancing" segment - we have this part rt s:   {{Video|perrow  =3   |service1     =,, but it's in noticeably degraded quality compared to the image
+File:SonicBoom2013Img8.png|Image of the costume contest section, from the livestream
+File:SonicBoom2013Img9.jpg|Image of the costume contest section, from the livestream
 File:Boom2013Image.png|A frame from the stream the Crush 40 concert coverage, taken during "His World"
 File:Spboom.png|A picture of the fan simulcast
 File:Spboom2.png|A picture of the fan simulcast
 File:Bo1JuZpCYAA9SYh.gif|A clip of Sonic dancing from the fan simulcast
+File:SonicBoom2013GIF2.gif|Short GIF of the '''very beginning''' of the livestream.
 </gallery>
-===Fan-recorded video===
+=== Fan-recorded video===
 These are the only found clips of the stream uploaded by the viewers:
@@ Line 94: / Line 98: @@
 In addition, throughout this video, soundboard audio is consistently used when portions of the event are shown, and it's highly probable that soundboard audio was taken from the stream, suggesting SEGA did at some point have a recording of the full stream. However, SEGA's HQ moved locations two years after this event, resulting in a large staff turnover<ref>[https://www.dualshockers.com/sega-of-america-moves-out-of-san-francisco-downsizes-the-business-and-cuts-workforce/ SEGA downsizes & moves]</ref><ref>[https://www.dfcint.com/sega-of-america-office-moves-southern-california/ SEGA moves to Southern California]</ref>, and it is possible that some of their archives, and by extension this recording, may have been lost during that move.
-== See Also==
+==See Also==
 *[[Shadow the Hedgehog (lost Teen rated version of platformer; 2005)]]
 *[[Sister Sonic (lost build of cancelled "Sonic the Hedgehog" localization of "Popful Mail" Sega CD side-scrolling platformer; 1993)]]
@@ Line 118: / Line 122: @@
 *[[Sonic Runners (found endless runner mobile game; 2015)]]
-==References ==
+==References==
 {{reflist}}
 [[Category:Lost recordings of real incidents]]
 [[Category:Completely lost media]]