# Launch event backgrounds: stage screens and livestreams

[Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/background-for-product-launch)

On launch day the background is on screen longer than the product. It plays while people find their seats, sits behind every slide and fills the stream. Here is how to plan it so it holds up everywhere.

## The short version

- A launch event background is the moving image behind a stage, a keynote and a livestream, and it is on screen for most of the event.
- Design the master at 1920×1080 for the stream and slides, then confirm the exact pixel size of any stage or LED wall with the venue before making a version for it.
- Plan the background by moment: a calm holding loop, a countdown, a quiet version behind slides, one bigger reveal, and a closing loop.
- Slow, broad motion works on both a huge stage screen and a compressed livestream; fast detail flickers on LED walls and blocks up online.
- Using the same background for the stage, the stream and the launch posts makes the whole day look like one campaign.

A **launch event background** is the moving image behind everything on launch day: the holding screen while the room fills, every slide in the keynote, the reveal and the livestream. Build one master at 1920×1080, give it slow and broad motion, and make variations for each moment of the show rather than one loop that plays all afternoon. Then confirm the stage screen's real pixel size with the venue, because walls are rarely the same shape as a laptop.

## Plan the background around the run of show

A launch has a rhythm, and the background should follow it. One loop for the whole event gets tiring by the second speaker and leaves no headroom for the reveal. Write the run of show first, then decide how the background behaves in each part.

| Moment | On screen | Background behaviour |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Doors and holding | Event name, date, wifi or hashtag | Calm loop, slow drift, mid brightness |
| Countdown | Minutes to start | Same loop, light gradually building |
| Keynote slides | Headlines, product shots, numbers | Quietest version, darker, almost still |
| Product reveal | The name and the product | The one big moment: brightest colour, most motion |
| Q&A and panels | Speaker names | Back to the calm loop |
| Close and stream end | Where to get it, next steps | Holding loop with the product name |

Six moments, one background family. The reveal is special only because everything around it is quieter.

A widescreen holding screen for a launch event with a countdown line over a slow gradient

The holding screen at 1920×1080. Calm motion, a clear time and nothing that needs reading twice.

A widescreen product reveal slide with the product name over a brighter version of the same gradient

The reveal on the same background, brighter and with more movement. Same look, bigger moment.

## Sizes for stage screens and livestreams

The livestream and the slides are almost always 16:9 at 1920×1080, so make that your master. Stage screens and LED walls are a different matter: they are built from panels, and the resulting canvas can be wider, taller or lower resolution than you expect. Ask the venue or production company for the exact canvas in pixels, the frame rate and the file format they want, before you design anything for the wall.

- Stream and slides 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080
- Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920
- X post 1600×900: 1600 × 900
- LinkedIn post 1200×1200: 1200 × 1200

The formats one launch usually needs. The stage wall gets its own canvas once the venue confirms it.

> **Never stretch a 16:9 file onto a wide wall** A 1920×1080 loop stretched across a wider screen distorts everything on it, including your logo. Make a version at the wall's own pixel size, with the important area in the middle where every seat can see it.

## Stage and stream need different things

The same background is seen two very different ways on the day. In the room it is enormous, bright and watched from far away. On the stream it is small, compressed and watched on a phone. Design for both from the start.

### On the stage screen

- Viewed from 10 to 40 metres away
- Bright room, bright screen: avoid pure white grounds
- Fast detail can flicker on LED panels
- Words can be smaller relative to the frame
- Dark grounds make the stage lighting look better

### On the livestream

- Viewed on phones and laptops
- Heavy compression: fine detail turns to blocks
- Smooth dark blends can band
- Words need to be larger to read
- Speaker camera often covers part of the frame

What works in both places is slow, broad motion on a mid to dark ground, with a little fine grain to stop banding. If your stream uses a picture in picture layout, keep the calm area of the background on the side where slides or the speaker sit. [Stream overlay backgrounds](https://gradiently.design/guide/stream-overlay-background) covers layouts in more depth.

## Choosing launch colours

Take the product's own colour and build around it. A dark ground lets that colour glow on a big screen, flatters stage lighting and hides the edges of the screen in a dark room. Keep the brightest version of the product colour for the reveal.

- Stage ground: #0b0f1a
- Night blue: #1e2a4a
- Product blue: #3b5bdb
- Reveal light: #7dd3fc
- Title white: #f8fafc

An example launch palette: a near black stage ground, the product colour, and a pale light saved for the reveal.

## Preparing files for the production team

1. **Get the technical spec** Canvas size in pixels for every screen, frame rate, codec, and whether they play files from a laptop or a media server.
2. **Make the loops** Holding, countdown, slide and reveal versions, each a clean loop. [Seamless loop video](https://gradiently.design/guide/seamless-loop-video) explains how to hide the join.
3. **Export with headroom** MP4 at a high bitrate for every screen size, plus a still PNG of each as a fallback if playback fails.
4. **Name files by moment** For example `01-holding-1920x1080.mp4`. Operators work fast on the day; clear names prevent the wrong loop going live.
5. **Test on the real screen** Book time at rehearsal to play every file on the wall and check the stream output. Colours on LED walls often need adjusting.

## Carry the look beyond the room

The background should not stop at the venue doors. Use it on the countdown posts the week before, the announcement on the day and the recap after. [Launch day graphics](https://gradiently.design/guide/launch-day-graphics) lists the full set, and [countdown post design](https://gradiently.design/guide/countdown-post-design) covers the run up. For the slides themselves, [keynote slide design](https://gradiently.design/guide/public-speaker-slides) has layouts that read from the back row.

This is where Gradiently fits well. Design the holding loop, slides and launch posts on one moving Mark, and resize to every format in one step with Pro, including a custom canvas for the stage wall between 200 and 8,000 px. The Mark moves its calmest area behind your words on each size, and Pro exports MP4 up to 4K where your browser supports video recording. If you are short on time, describe the event to the Designer and it lays out the set for you.

## FAQ

### What size should a launch event background be?

Make the master at 1920×1080 for the livestream and slides. For stage screens and LED walls, ask the venue for the exact canvas in pixels and make a version at that size.

### Should a launch event background move?

Yes, gently. Slow, broad motion keeps the room feeling alive between moments; save the most movement for the product reveal.

### What file format do stage screens use?

Most productions accept MP4 at a high bitrate, but media servers vary. Confirm the codec and frame rate with the production team and supply a still PNG fallback.

### Why does my background look different on the livestream?

Streams are heavily compressed and watched on small screens, so fine detail blocks up and dark blends band. Use broad motion, light grain and larger text.