Evan Bentley of Marketscale recently sat down with Harry Shaub, the Head of Audio for Elite Multimedia, to discuss acoustics and innovations in audio technology. Here are some of the highlights of the Q & A session. Read more
Preparing for a big event is a huge task that requires not only talent, but also endurance and patience. Pulling off a successful shindig is dependent on good planning, and a strong plan has lots of moving parts and should allow for management of the unexpected. It can be helpful to distill those details down to the essentials. So, let’s look at four key elements that help ensure your guests have the time of their lives.
Planning for big corporate events can be a major challenge. Hundreds of moving parts, lots of people to please, and all sorts of specifics to get right. There are locations to find, menus to deal with, and, just as important—the lighting, sound and video. But audio-visual services entail far more than just setting up some lights and a soundboard, particularly when big, complicated corporate events are concerned.
Last December, high winds caused a stage in Brazil to collapse in the middle of a music festival. The DJ performing at the time was tragically killed and several concertgoers were injured. For Trey Merritt, Elite Multimedia’s Rigging Manager (and safety guru), this disaster was reminiscent of the 2011 Indiana State Fair in which seven people were killed by a similar stage collapse.
“That date is burned into my mind, it’ll never go away,” says Merritt. “After those events, we’ve learned there are a million actions that can be taken to prevent the loss of life.”
Lighting can make or break your event. And the basis for much of event lighting continues to be conventional fixtures. While these tried-and-true workhorses aren’t as flashy as some of today’s new intelligent lighting fixtures, there are many conventional lighting options available that can make your next event a success. Read more
Today’s marketing clients are increasingly turning away from traditional media, and are instead investing in experiential projects. “Two or three years ago, clients saw it as an incremental spend,” says Debbie Kaplan, EVP of Experiential Marketing at WPP’s Geometry Global. “Now they’re moving dollars previously slated for media or broadcast into experiential. No one is tweeting or posting about a billboard.” Attending an event or sharing an experience with others constitutes an investment for visitors using the currency of time. Supplemental lighting and audio can play a huge role for innovative brands looking to create a memorable immersive experience.
Do you want your events to be successful—or memorable? That’s a trick question! The fact is, you want it to be both. If all your lights, sound, and video go off without a hitch, but the event production as a whole wasn’t memorable, then how successful were you, really? Nor should we forget that one way an event can be memorable is to have several things go wrong. The last thing you want is to be remembered as the people who screwed up the event production. What everyone wants is to create a completely successful, completely memorable experience. Read more
Meet Jason “Cannonball” Jenkins
Cannonball Jenkins is Director of Operations for Elite Multimedia Productions. He provides touring and event support, including special events, product launches, and corporate theatre. He runs the day-to-day operations for audio, video, and lighting, manages logistics, people, and equipment, and oversees full production design. Cannonball’s attention to detail and holistic approach means, whether you are putting on a concert or a corporate event, the entire production will exceed your expectations. So, when we wanted to get some advice on the differences between concert and corporate event lighting, he’s who we went to see. Read more
Apps on our smart phones and tablets have made life easier, both professionally and personally. For audio visual (AV) professionals, a lot of factors affect installations and setups. Some valuable apps on your smart phone can help ensure your setup goes off without a hitch. But with millions of apps available for mobile devices, how do you choose? Read more
You cannot have a truly successful event without proper lighting. Lighting can create the ideal ambiance, making your space intimate and inviting, or open and inclusive. It can define the features of a space, or focus on the principal elements of a room. The last thing you want is to leave key areas or leading subjects in the dark, so providing the optimum lighting for your specific event is imperative.