hybrid events

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Project Spotlight - 2024 AI Engineer World's Fair

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Talon Audio Visual was proud to support the biggest technical AI conference in San Francisco, the 2024 AI Engineer World's Fair. This marquee event brought together leading AI companies, founders, VPs, and engineers, featuring over 30 companies on the exhibit floor and more than 100 speakers delivering live talks and workshops to approximately 1,500 in-person attendees and thousands more online.

Talon Audio Visual provided technical production services and oversaw all audiovisual technology for the show. We also provided the Show Caller for the General Sessions and managed a team of a dozen breakout producers and over 40 union technicians and stagehands who covered 11 different rooms.

Challenges and Solutions

The project was daunting, requiring hundreds of hours of pre-production planning. Our production team faced several challenges, including multiple sessions, mid-show program changes, and unique tech needs. Here's how we tackled them:

  1. Managing Multiple Sessions: With 11 breakout sessions and a General Session that split and re-combined twice a day, keeping everything running smoothly was a significant task. We succeeded through careful planning and quick adjustments.

  1. Last-minute Changes: Our team handled numerous last-minute speaker changes and content updates. This required coordination between Talon, our partners, and the many producers and technicians. It also meant many live updates to the run-of-show. Our teams coordinated with presenters and producers to ensure seamless updates without disrupting the ongoing show.

  1. Specialty AV Needs: The tech-heavy show featured many live demos requiring rock-solid network connections, complex AV routing, and custom audio filters. Our team collaborated closely with speakers on their last-minute needs and handled these unique requirements with ease, ensuring every demo went off without a hitch.

Teamwork

The success of the event was a true team effort, involving:

  • Argus HD Event & Digital Productions: The AV team from Argus HD and their partners provided solid leadership and expertise.

  • IATSE Local 16: The union technicians and stagehands showcased their skills and dedication throughout the event, and made the show possible.

  • San Francisco Marriott Marquis: The Banquets and Event Services Teams at the Marquis were incredibly helpful, adjusting room setup and reset times, crew meals, and security schedules to support the production, and the in-house IT Team provided consistent network support throughout the event.

The entire production team managed the show and navigated challenges with confidence and grace. The AI Engineer World's Fair was a tremendous success, thanks to our team’s and our partners’ hard work and support. The event's complexity and scale pushed us all to grow, and demonstrated the strength of our teams. Together, we delivered an exceptional event and we are excited to deliver an even better show next year.

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Outside Looking In - a vendor perspective on event production for internal production teams

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In Spring 2023, I had the opportunity to present at the University of California Video Producers Conference. This annual event brings together video and production professionals from all over the University of California System to share resources, reconnect with colleagues, and inspire each other with new ideas. As a founding member of this group, I was asked to come back as a featured guest speaker and present to an audience of my former colleagues with an outside perspective on the work we share.

Tim Kerbavaz of Talon Audio Visual presents at the University of California Video Producer's Conference 2023, hosted at UC San Diego

Giving Thanks with a Picnic: Project Recap - UC Davis Gratitude Gala & "Powering Up"​ Film

This last year, my clients at UC Davis came to me with a challenge - reimagine their 2021 Leadership Giving Society Donor Gratitude Gala as a COVID-Safe Event. They had plenty of ideas - a drive-in-movie and a dinner in the round were some ideas floated. The uncertainty of COVID restrictions, need to ensure attendee safety, and a strong desire to return to a fully-in-person event made for a unique set of circumstances, and led this project to a different kind of “hybrid” production.

With the need to keep the event outdoors to meet COVID safety requirements, the event was re-imagined as an outdoor sunset picnic. An army of production vendors transformed an athletic field into a “park” - cocktail tables for two were pre-set with a light picnic basket meal, an open-air bar served beverages, guests mingled amongst a showcase of exhibits showcasing highlights from across campus, and cabanas provided secluded spaces to share a moment with your “pod” while enjoying the live music from the stage. A short spoken program punctuated the joyous reunion with a message of gratitude from senior leadership.

Talon AV provided technical production for the event including audio reinforcement for the music and the spoken program, as well as all power distribution for the stage and exhibition area.

Event Design by Samie Novan, Lonnie Muntz, Korie Gannon, and Jesse De La Trinidad, with rentals from Celebrations and Designer8. Catering from Barn & Pantry, Floral and decor from Dixon Florist & Gift Shop.

Here is a brief Behind-The-Scenes recap of the event:

Keeping the event short was an important consideration, both for safety reasons and the weather - an event in late October provides an uncertain climate for an outdoor function. A key part of this event is showcasing for donors what areas of campus have been most impacted by philanthropy, so cutting the spoken program short meant that this messaging needed another avenue. Talon stepped up here to produce a short film showcasing the ways campus was “Powering Up” for the new in-person school year, in large part thanks to the support of philanthropy.

As a companion to the in-person event, the film served to supplement the shortened spoken programs by bringing the message of gratitude directly to the donors inboxes post event. The video also allows that message to live on past the event, and become an “evergreen” message of gratitude that can be shared beyond the exclusive invite list of the event.

I hope you enjoy “UC Davis: Powering Up”