Combining cutting-edge technology with a splash of creativity takes live events to the next level.
Today’s options in event production technology offer the possibility of bringing effects previously reserved for large-scale events to affairs of any size. But with so many innovations at your fingertips, it may seem overwhelming. Which elements should you incorporate into your event to engage your audience and give you the most bang for your buck?
Not to worry — this is where the event professionals come in. We are here to strategize with you through each aspect to create an incredible event that leverages today’s advanced technology to ensure your event will leave a lasting impression on your guests or attendees.
Audiovisual production is one of the best ways to bring truly transformative elements to your event, whether you are planning a celebration event like a monumental birthday, a life-changing event like a wedding, your corporate holiday party or sales conference, a nonprofit gala or an annual conference event. We harness the power of production to transform a blank canvas — your event space — into a work of art.
In this segment, we’ll introduce some of the current trends in lighting, audio and visual elements to provide a glimpse of cutting-edge production's transformative abilities.
Lighting is one of the most powerful ways to create a sense of warmth, texture and energy in any event space. Adding thoughtful lighting to a space recasts a blank slate into an eye-catching and immersive environment to hold your event. With the addition of staging, décor, seating and tables with thoughtfully designed centerpieces, this transformation takes on new heights.
The dramatic use of lighting goes back to the days of ancient Greek and Roman theater when the light of the sun at different times of day was used to light the stage. Through the centuries, stage lighting expanded to include candles, oil lamps, gas lamps and ultimately electric lighting, thanks to the invention of electricity and the light bulb. From these humble beginnings, lighting has continued to evolve into the advanced types of stage lighting you might associate with popular music concerts and Broadway productions of today.
An incredible array of technology with a range of programmable intelligent lighting fixtures is now available for events of any size. When used in series and in counter-balancing ways, these fixtures create a visual performance for the audience.
Think of the last concert you attended by a big-name recording artist. The use of lighting within their performance was critical and delivered a separate artistic expression. Lighting captivates and thrills the audience. It conveys mood and meaning and highlights movement within the music. Lighting design and execution has become a show of its own.
You may not want or need this level of lighting for your event, but it will still be a critical piece in setting the tone, mood and vibe for your event. If your event includes multiple elements or a progression, lighting will aid in making the changes from segment to segment of your program. That means having a highly skilled Lighting Designer is vital.
An experienced and professional lighting designer will walk into a space and see the possibilities. This pro will consider the movement of the event and the dynamic elements required for any entertainment, as well as the need to highlight specific areas of the room based on the nature of the event.
For example, let’s say you are planning an elegant evening, and have put a lot of focus on the table setup, such as linens, place settings and centerpieces. To make these elements stand out and provide a dramatic effect the minute the doors open, and people walk into the room, pinspot lighting focused on those tables will highlight the beauty created by your decorator. Even better, adding uplighting around the perimeter of the room gives a contrasting backdrop to the table lighting. Depending on the color scheme of the space and your event, programmable lighting with a variety of pattern gobos can change as the event progresses and the mood needs to shift.
Then there is the stage, and here, lighting gets even more exciting. It can be is used to create a truly dramatic effect and to work in concert with your entertainment (no pun intended).
If there is a dance floor, you will want to draw energy to that space to encourage your guests or attendees to get up and out of their seats. On the dance floor, lighting might come from above from a rigged truss, reflect off disco balls, or even beam up from below thanks to today’s variety of LED dance floors.
There is so much more we could say about lighting, but we’ll continue to our next element.
Along with technological advances in lighting, audio systems have also continued to evolve. The level of clarity and quality of sound has become incredible, which is great news because audio is critical to every event.
Whether you have a cast of presenters who will speak to your audience, video content produced or individual toasts being made, quality audio is key. You want your guests and attendees to be able to hear clearly what is being broadcast, and you want to be sure there is even coverage everywhere – from the center section to those sitting in the back and along the sides. Did you know that achieving equal sound coverage sometimes requires a series of speakers strategically placed around the event space that is on delay? This technique ensures the sound is consistent and clear throughout.
With stage performances, unless you are holding a concert, you want the volume to be at a level where people feel it, but not to the level that it’s unpleasant or makes it impossible to hold a conversation. This is probably the biggest complaint from people attending an event with live entertainment – the inability to talk with people and hear what they are saying without straining or moving far from the stage.
It’s a fine balance! Achieving the right volume requires an audio engineer (A1) who knows how to mix for a variety of settings and events. An outdoor festival or concert for 4,000 people is completely different from a corporate event or a wedding for 400 guests in a ballroom.
Talk with your service provider and stress the importance of the volume level for your specific event and make friends with your A1 before sound check. You will be glad you did.
Another sound-related element to consider is whether to “fly” your audio system or choose one that is “ground-supported”, which is when the speakers are setup on the ground next to the stage or on the stage. Both options have pros and cons.
If you have a large group in a tight space, and people will be seated to the sides of the stage, consider “flying” your audio and lighting system if there are accessible rigging points. This means you use the built-in rigging points at the venue to attach hangers to the line array audio cabinets to get them off the ground and out of the sightline from the audience to the stage. By contrast, “ground supported” means the audio cabinets are stacked on top of one another either on the front corners of the stage (downstage) or just off the edge of the side of the stage.
Ground-supported audio is more visible to the audience, while flying your system takes longer and is more expensive. However, flying removes sightline issues and offers a cleaner look to the event space and the stage setup. This is especially important when there is a lot happening on stage, such as décor or an exciting backdrop like an LED wall (more on these below). Ground-supported audio systems are quicker and less costly to set up, but they create sightline issues and challenges around overall aesthetics.
With recent advances in video production technology, the sky has literally become the limit in what we can do with video and content for live and virtual/hybrid events. This is one of the areas that will be most captivating to your audience and will deliver your message most effectively. Thanks to the competition among video equipment manufacturers, cost has decreased quite a bit in recent years, including in one of the most versatile tools for video production around today – LED panels.
The LED technology and level of clarity now available allow you to create a branded environment or even transport your attendees to another world if that’s your goal. These panels are much more lightweight than in the past and feature very high resolution, which is especially important for smaller spaces where the audience is positioned closer to the screen. LED panels make an excellent stage backdrop, but they can also be used in 360-degree installations, creating a unique experience.
With this technology, stage set design has taken on a whole new dimension. Additionally, the panels can be used in various ways like being stacked in groups inside or outside the event space. They can even curve and provide dramatic entrance and exit from the stage. That’s because today’s LED panels are thin, plastic squares that can be applied to glass or other surfaces to create a video screen anywhere.
With the unbounded content options and the ability to tell stories and provide data to your audience, LED panels’ only limit is our imagination!
It’s important to note that depending on your concept, extensive creative content might need to be developed and this could make cost may become a factor. But if this is the right fit for your event, the application is there, and at All Stage Productions, we will work side by side with you to design the video strategy that works best for you, your goals, your message and your budget.
As you can see, there is so much cutting-edge technology we work with today to truly transform events and event spaces – from lighting to audio and video production. What are you envisioning now?
Give us a call and let us help you take your event to the next level while delivering your message to your audience in an innovative and memorable way.
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