C3 Productions and Square Media CEO, John Castrillon, takes the hot seat

JOHN CASTRILLON

CEO of C3 Productions and Be Square Media takes the hot seat to discuss Be Square – an interactive streaming platform connecting performing artists with audiences in real-time.

What live events companies have been integral to the creation of the platform? I run C3 Productions, an event production company based in Brighton, which, like most of the industry, has suffered considerable losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After conceiving the concept, we created a PDF, which was shared within the events community in our city. Although the concept seemed far-fetched at first and involved an endless amount of work, a good colleague of mine, Jon Wood Director at Ooosh Tours – a backline, vehicle and rehearsal space hire company – took to the idea. He casually shared the idea with a developer friend of his, Tom Barnsbury. Then all of a sudden, the project took off, leading us to create our company, Be Square Media.

What does Be Square bring to the live events market? Be Square is an interactive livestreaming platform which joins performers with their audience remotely, creating an immersive and inspiring event. It is a platform that lets friends interact in real time with each other in groups of up to six, while also watching and interacting with performers in real-time. What has the feedback been like from performing artists and the sector at large? During early testing, we partnered with the Battersea Arts Centre in London, running a weekend of shows – ranging from stand-up and improv comedy to live music. In addition, we streamed an album launch for Speelburg. What was really interesting from this show was that we had viewers from 10 separate time zones, from LA to Greece. This showed us the true capabilities of the platform and where we were heading was pretty groundbreaking. The common anecdote that I get from every show is, ‘that strangely felt like a real show!’

When was Be Square created and how has it developed throughout the pandemic? Be Square was conceived in April 2020 amid the uncertainty of the live events industry. A month into lockdown, I discovered that most of our clients were streaming their live shows but there seemed to be something missing, which was, of course, human interaction. It is something that we take for granted though and with more than 20 years’ experience in events – ranging from festivals and concerts, to comedy, dance, theatre, corporate awards and others – I’ve figured out that the one common denominator on successful events of any kind is human interaction.

Where do you see the future of the platform? We see the platform becoming an addition to the way we watch and interact with live shows. The platform is not intended to replace live performance but to push the streaming and virtual performance landscape to a new level. It will open doors to people with disabilities, travel restrictions and provide ease to those who cannot make it to a show.