iStrategy Labs: Volkswagen Rival Road

Turning Volkswagen’s Rival Road RC Race Into an 11-Hour Live Webcast

11Hour Webcast

10Camera Production

2Day Live Event

In This Case Study:

Services
Challenge
Solution
Impact
Deliverables
Key Information
Photo Gallery

iStrategyLabs brought in BMG to provide live production, technical management, and production staffing for Volkswagen’s Rival Road, a two-day branded livestream event in Washington, DC.

The 11-hour webcast featured races from some of the country’s top RC car drivers on a custom-built indoor track, with live commentary, winner interviews, graphics, pre-produced content, and recap segments built into the show.

BMG handled the production planning, technical infrastructure, temporary control room buildout, 10-camera production, audio, communications, staffing, and on-site execution needed to turn a warehouse venue into a working live broadcast environment.

The Challenge: Producing a Branded Race Broadcast From a Warehouse

Volkswagen Rival Road had the energy of a live sports event, but it was built inside a temporary branded environment with limited existing infrastructure.

BMG needed to support fast-moving RC racing, commentary, interviews, branded content, and a long-form webcast from a warehouse space that had to be production-ready before the show could happen.

A Venue With Limited Infrastructure

The warehouse had the space needed for the custom RC track, commentator booth, interview area, and production setup, but it did not come with the infrastructure required for an 11-hour webcast.

Power, lighting, internet, air conditioning, cabling, and production space all had to be planned and addressed as part of the build.

Fast-Moving RC Race Coverage

The main feature of the event was a custom-built indoor RC car track.

Capturing the races required a camera plan that could follow small, fast-moving cars while also covering the commentators, winners, branded environment, and live event activity around the track.

Recap Content Without a Traditional Replay System

The show needed race recap moments throughout the livestream, but the production did not include a full instant replay system.

BMG had to develop a practical recording and playback workflow that allowed the team to capture race footage and roll recap videos back into the live show.

Volkswagen Rival Road track camera setup

The Solution: A Temporary Live Production Operation Built for the Event

BMG designed the production workflow around the warehouse, the custom track, and the creative format of the webcast.

Planning and Site Surveys

BMG worked closely with iStrategyLabs leading up to the event through regular strategy calls and site surveys.

The team reviewed camera positions, cable paths, technical logistics, power needs, internet requirements, and the layout for the temporary production operation.

10-Camera Production Setup

BMG built a 10-camera production workflow to cover the RC races and the surrounding event environment.

The camera plan supported track coverage, commentator shots, winner interviews at the step-and-repeat wall, and additional angles needed to keep the webcast visually active across two days of programming.

Temporary Control Room Buildout

BMG built a temporary control room inside the warehouse to manage the live webcast.

The control room supported camera feeds, audio, communications, graphics, pre-produced video content, and the live production workflow. This gave the event a centralized production space without relying on a permanent broadcast facility.

Audio, Communications, and Content Integration

BMG provided audio and communications for the production team and on-camera talent, including the two-person commentator booth.

iStrategyLabs supplied the graphics and pre-produced video content, which BMG integrated into the live program throughout the webcast.

For recap moments, BMG created a workflow to record race footage and play back edited segments at key points during the stream, giving the show a replay-style element without a dedicated replay system.

Production Staffing and Technical Management

BMG staffed the production with a local Washington, DC crew, with a Technical Manager brought in from New York.

Andrew Ryback served as Production Manager for the event, overseeing the production team and technical execution throughout the two-day webcast.

Impact

BMG helped iStrategyLabs turn Volkswagen Rival Road into a polished live digital experience.

The production transformed a warehouse with limited infrastructure into a temporary broadcast environment capable of supporting a 10-camera race production, live commentary, winner interviews, branded graphics, pre-produced content, and recap playback.

For Volkswagen and iStrategyLabs, the result was an engaging two-day webcast that brought the custom RC racing experience to viewers online while supporting the creative and promotional goals of the activation.