2021 : An Events Odyssey

2021 : An Events Odyssey

“The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine.” -Governor Newsom of California, April 14, 2020

"Large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events may not be approved in the city for at least 1 year... It's difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year," -Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles, April 15, 2020

This is about what I was expecting, but for those of us who make our living in events, it means we’re likely out of work until mid 2021 or beyond.

I’ve honestly been expecting that timeline for a while now, so while it’s devastating news, it’s at least somewhat validating to have more official certainty on that point.

Our industry is extremely adaptable, extremely flexible, and extremely nimble. Show business will still exist now and in the future - there are too many of us addicted to the craft for it to disappear. Online productions will fill the gaps, creative technologies and solutions will be more and more common, and communication, education, and entertainment will continue.

Live from Quarantine - The New Normal of Live Events

Live Events are changing and we’d better keep up

Watching The iHeart Living Room Concert for America presented by FOX on Sunday evening, I was struck with the overwhelming sense that this is the “new normal.” This is what a live event looks like now, at least in the immediate future.

Clients have been calling me all week, assessing how to put traditionally in-person events like galas and graduations online. As an events professional, my job is to bring the expertise, technology, and teams to execute my client’s vision, whether that’s projection mapping an abandoned cement factory, holding a benefit concert in a downtown intersection, or figuring out how to hold a graduation or a gala fully online. Events bring people together over shared goals and shared connections, teach and share knowledge, reinforce social bonds, and build communities. The challenge now is how to convey to an online audience the messages and emotional impacts we experience live and in-person. This is the problem I hear over and over again among my peers, friends, and even competitors as our whole industry grapples with connecting services to our communities during COVID-19. How do we continue to educate, inspire, and bring joy to our audiences in this time of social distancing?

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Death by Dongles

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Death by Dongles

If you give presentations regularly, chances are you’ve had a video adapter mishap more than once.

Perhaps you worry as you head to a new venue: Does the room have the right video connection for my laptop? With so many devices and so many competing connection standards, can you be sure you’re prepared and have the correct adapter before you present?

Here are a few suggestions for making sure you have the correct adapter for the job and some ideas for organizing your adapters.

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Microphone Tips from the Pros

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“Is this thing on?”

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard someone announce this uncertainty into a live microphone to a room full of attentive listeners.

Microphones: Using one should be simple, but event attendees and presenters are often confused when you hand them a mic. Where do I hold it? Where do I set it down? And the eternal question, "IS THIS THING ON?!"

Hopefully this blog post will help clear up some basic misconceptions about microphones, and help make you a microphone pro.

11 Quick AV Tips

Before your next meeting, take a look at these 11 AV pointers.

Starters

  • When you walk into a meeting room, make sure you know where the light controls are, where the microphones are, and who to ask if you need help - you don’t want to be scrambling if there’s a problem during the meeting.
  • If you have an onsite technician, make sure they know who will be speaking - give them an agenda so they can follow along and be prepared for the next part of the meeting

Thank Goodness for the ADA: An AV Guy’s Challenge for 2016

Thank Goodness for the ADA: An AV Guy’s Challenge for 2016

Last week, I fell and hurt my leg. It’s not a serious injury, and I’ll be fine in a week or two, but it’s eye opening to see how much harder it is to work and live in a world designed for people with two working legs. I’m really grateful for the accessibility features of public buildings, particularly door openers and easy-to-grab handles and railings. Because I’m suddenly using these features, I’m noticing how often they are not there. In one venue, I came up against exterior doors and restroom doors without automatic door openers, room doors without easy-to-grab pull handles, and aisles between chairs and tables that were not wide enough to maneuver crutches through.

 

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You want how many microphones?

You want how many microphones?

“You want how many microphones?”

 

I’ve found myself asking clients that question on many occasions. Big board meeting. National membership meeting. Round-table committee discussion. Meetings where there are 30 to 100 people who all need to be able to hear and be heard.

 

I’ll be honest -- you cannot have 50 microphones live at once in one meeting room without digital processing and expect to not have feedback. There’s no way one sound technician can manually keep track of who’s speaking and who’s up next and keep it all going smoothly. It’s not going to be pretty. And think of how many cables you’d need!

 

Luckily there’s a solution that lets everyone have a mic, prevents feedback, and keeps technicians from ripping their hair out.

 

It’s called an Audio Discussion System, or alternately known as a “Congress” or push-to-talk system.

What Causes Audio Feedback?

What Causes Audio Feedback?

What is feedback?

Ouch! That screech you hear from the sound system when you hold the mic wrong? That’s Audio Feedback. No, no, not negative comments -- Audio Feedback is when sound from the loudspeakers comes back into the microphone, creating a “feedback loop” and causing an awful howl.

Here's a video explaining what feedback is and how it works...

Presenter's guide to preventing AV problems

Have you ever launched full-swing into a great multimedia presentation, only to have the technology fail in the middle of your talk? Have you been left wondering, “Why won’t my video play?” or “Why won’t my file open properly on this computer?” We know we can’t always be there to help, so we’ve developed this guide with our best tips to help you make sure your own presentations go off without a hitch.

You're prepared for your big presentation, with backups in hand, but what do you do if you encounter problems at setup, and don’t know how to fix them?