CANADA / DRAKE
Drake’s Iceman Pt. 2 : A Citywide Live Music Video.
The musician and rapper Drake launched his new album, Iceman, by live-streaming the second episode of a series of cinematic short films produced by CANADA. Drake’s Iceman livestream series pushes the boundaries of music and live production by blending cinematic storytelling with real-time streaming.
For Episode 2, CANADA led the production, delivering a city-wide broadcast across Manchester, with Groovy Gecko brought in to provide the live streaming in coordination with YouTube. The result was a unique hybrid of narrative, performance and live audience engagement.
BACKGROUND.
The creative vision for Iceman Pt. 2 was to stage a narrative-driven live broadcast that captured Drake journeying through Manchester. The production needed to balance cinematic quality with real-time reliability, maintaining the look and feel of Pt. 1 and debuting new tracks from the upcoming album while sustaining a storyline that included cameos and dramatic sequences.
With only a few days’ notice, the challenge was to deliver a seamless live experience with multiple moving parts, from location shoots and artist performances to remote production workflows, all streamed globally via YouTube.
OUR SOLUTION.
To achieve this, Groovy Gecko deployed 14 high-end cameras consisting of Arri Amira and Arri Alexa Mini’s with Zeiss super speed lenses and 28 LiveU units across Manchester City centre:
- 12 cameras strategically positioned around the city.
- 2 Steadicams to capture dynamic tracking shots.
- 28 LiveU units for primary and backup feeds
All camera feeds were transmitted wirelessly over 4G & 5G into our production hub in Old Street, London, where the director had full visibility and control. Using robust audio comms, the director could communicate with both camera crews and on-screen talent, giving him remote creative oversight of the entire production.
The narrative unfolded live:
- Drake travelled through Manchester City centre, eventually arriving at Victoria Baths
- There, he met Central Cee and debuted two unreleased tracks.
- The storyline concluded with Drake being pursued by a mysterious Pinocchio character, before escaping into the night.
The entire production showcased Groovy Gecko’s ability to deliver complex, cinematic live streams at scale, blending artistry with technical precision.
“Please extend CANADA’s thanks to all of the camera operators, AC’s and technical streaming assistants that joined us in Manchester and also back in London making it all work.”
CANADA CANADA
THE RESULTS.
Drake’s Iceman Pt. 2 redefined what live streaming in music can be transforming a performance into a cinematic event unfolding in real time. With multi-camera coverage across Manchester City centre, remote production control from London, and seamless global delivery, Groovy Gecko demonstrated how live streams can go beyond simple broadcasts to become large-scale cultural moments.
1 million
live viewers on Drake’s YouTube channel.
7,000+
live comments during the broadcast.
1.2 million
additional on-demand views over the following weekend.