Covid19 shut down the American Idol "live" studio performances after the top 20 was selected in pre-taped shows. They obviously scrambled to salvage the season, and last night they had the first live performances, all done remotely. It was an interesting demonstration of video photography and internet technology.
Each contestant performed from home. All sessions were made with iPhones. I don't know if they somehow sent technicians to each home to set up equipment, lighting, and scene prep, but I doubt it. I'd bet they shipped equipment to each location and coached people how to set it up.
Each session had 3 different camera angles with 2 different zoom levels. Some were indoors some outside. Often they would pop up thumbnails of background singers and musicians, apparently also performing live, not via a pre-recorded soundtrack. The main camera in each session was set in the center of a large ring light. Few other lights were used.
Most of the 20 sessions were amazing quality, both audio and video. There were only a couple not-so-good technically. Necessity is the mother of invention, of course, and American Idol did an outstanding job of overcoming the obstacles of Covid19.