6 Things Event Planners Need to Know About AV Systems

What’s your event vision? Having a clear idea of your event’s end goal is vital for easy planning and efficient execution – but, of course, you may need some help along the way. Technical jargon can easily make it difficult to efficiently plan an event alongside an AV hire company, but don’t fret. We’ve created a list of 6 things that event planners should discuss with their AV partner in order to ensure a smooth-sailing event. Read on to find out more…

6 things event planners need to discuss with their AV hire company

AV equipment requires a team of specialists to work the gear, but who actually makes up the technical crew, and how many people will you need to budget for? It’s important to understand who makes up the team you’ll be working with, even if the project manager is your only point of contact, simply to gain a wider understanding of how your event will piece together and an idea of a crew pricing quote.

The project manager:

They will be your touchpoint throughout the event planning journey from start to finish. Their role includes managing the account, communicating with you, preparing quotes and final costs, and managing the quality of equipment and crew you hire.

The production manager:

Working closely with the project manager, this member of the team will overlook the entire on-site delivery of the event, ensuring a smooth-running process and the coordination of operations, scheduling, and management of technical staff on the ground.

Technicians in various fields:

Many technicians have multiple areas of expertise but would be booked to deliver just one element of the audio, lighting, video, or staging equipment – responsible for installing, operating equipment and fixing any issues that may pop up prior to and throughout the event. A standard working day would be 10 hours, with chargeable overtime on top of this.

The build and break crew:

This section of the team is key to timely set-up and breakdown of equipment in line with tight deadlines. The build and break crew, overseen by the production manager, will be tasked with the heavy lifting of equipment and loading/unloading before and after the event. Some members of the build and breakdown team may also be technicians. It’s important to ensure that you have enough members of staff to account for shift patterns.

Perhaps, you may feel more comfortable leaving the technical know-how to the AV hire company, but no matter how much you know about AV systems, the AV company you hire will be more than open to offering advice and guidance on the best options for you.

Venue information and scheduling

Here at Neuron, we’ve worked in many interesting venues – including ITM Power’s hydrogen energy electrolyser factory. No matter how elaborate your venue needs, such as in the case of a conference, you will need to discuss these requirements with your hired AV company – and the more information you provide, the better. Some aspects important to consider and communicate are as follows:

Venue availability

Are the date, time, and location of your event feasible for the venue? This may seem obvious, but it should be one of the first things you confirm to get started with the rest of the planning process. If the date isn’t made clear to your AV hire company they may not be able to move forward with the project.

In-house equipment

Does the venue have in-house equipment available? You may choose to utilise the gear available at the venue to cut costs on transportation, set up, or other AV-related expenses. This is entirely up to you to decide, but it’s definitely worth comparing several AV hire companies in order to reap the best deals and benefits possible.

Access and general logistics

Will the AV hire company find the venue easy to access? This is necessary for your AV hire company to know in order for them to plan efficient build and break down of equipment. Time is precious, and even the smallest delays can throw off the whole itinerary.

You also need to discuss the kinds of rigging, structures, and power supply that your event requires. Does the venue already have this type of gear available and is it suitable for your event’s needs?

Staging, set, and branding

How big a stage platform do you need? Do you require any specific set design or branding components? Again, depending on your goals and event objectives, you will have particular stage requirements that your AV hire company will be more than happy to do all in their scope to achieve. There is no harm in asking, a good production company will do everything possible to deliver the image in your head.

Use of space and facilities

Your event goals and needs will determine whether the size of the venue will be suitable for what you have planned, or if you require a certain dimension of space to allow for the complexity or size of the equipment.

Is your event a simple presentation or awards show for example? Depending on your event and subsequent needs, you may require particular facilities as part of your venue of choice. For example, an installed PA system may sound like a bargain. However, if it’s only suitable for speech reproduction, it may not be the right fit for your awards show where you want high energy music, or even live music being played. In this case, you will be better off hiring in an audio solution designed by your AV hire company that meets your needs.

Audio systems and what it all means

The PA system you decide on will affect some really important parts of the event. You want crystal clear vocals (if you have people speaking on-stage) and high-quality speech intelligibility from wherever your audience is positioned. It’s also key to consider microphones necessary for your event, and whether handheld, lapel, or headset microphones are most suited to the presenters on stage. These are all things you will need to discuss with your own team, as well as with your AV hire company.

Different speaker systems have different advantages. Your AV hire company will guide you on what audio system is most suitable for you according to your requirements and the scope of the venue. The main elements that need to take into consideration when choosing an audio solution are as follows:

• Programme material – Frequency response this is described as the ability of a speaker to reproduce sounds of different frequencies. You programme material will dictate this, e.g. music content will require subwoofers to reproduce the full intended range, compared to speech content alone.
• Coverage area – how far does the sound need to travel and how wide is the audience area? This will dictate the types of speakers chosen and their placement in the venue. Each speaker has defined dispersion pattern, a good AV hire company will be to show you a frequency response model of their proposed PA system within your event space.
• Speaker placement – Is there the capability for the speakers to be hung from rigging points? This can improve sightlines and improve the coverage area for all frequencies. However, budget or venue roof loading may be prohibitive for this, so a distributed ground-based solution might be more suitable.

Poor sound quality during an event is possibly one of the worst outcomes, as not only will it affect what the audience can make out audibly, but can also cause physical pain or annoyance. Not ideal!

Lighting: what do you need and what are the benefits?

Imagine attending an event and not being able to see a thing. Good lighting allows for presenters to be seen clearly on-stage, allowing them to communicate via body language to get their message across. Atmospheric, moving, or colourful lighting can be used in creative ways to wow the crowd. Not only for aesthetic purposes, but the use of lighting at events can be in conjunction with your brand’s colours – making the entire event individual to your company!

Whilst lighting can be used in all kinds of creative ways to tell stories and create a unique atmosphere, it also has some more fundamental uses. Your AV supplier can give you back control over how your event looks, making your stage not only visible but sharp and memorable. Event lighting can be shaped, focused, and contrasted to highlight whatever you need to get across to your audience.

If you are filming your event for remote viewing or marketing purposes, you will want a crisp image. To achieve this, you will need carefully positioned lighting fixtures suitable for use in-camera. Another lighting-video consideration is ensuring you minimise direct lighting fixture spill onto the video display system, whether that’s a projector or LED video wall, as this reduces the contrast of the content and it will appear washed out.

For more information on corporate event lighting, see our complete guide to lighting hire for corporate events.

Video: making the most of visual content

Natural light is beyond the reach of even the best AV company to control. On a bright day you risk drowning out your stage in a deluge of reflections and sunlight. Unless using incredibly powerful projectors, which are expensive, this can make projected images impossible to see. If utilising a projector during your event for a backdrop or for presenting information, the image will not be adequately projected without control of natural light. Depending on where the natural light is coming into the venue, your AV hire company may be able to control this using stage drape.

An alternative and popular solution is to use LED screen, which provide gorgeously intense and bright colour contrast, and can be scaled up to provide incredible sized content canvas. However, these can be much less cost-effective than using a projector due to the cost of the technology, the size and weight of the transport, and the crew needed to build and break the LED screen.

It’s important to keep in mind the positioning and distance of your audience so that an optimum view is guaranteed at all times. If your budget doesn’t stretch to a gigantic video display solution on the stage, you may want to position LED displays further to the rear of the room to ensure that attendees have a good view of the video content at all times.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of expertise and thought that goes into AV hire services, and although it’s not your responsibility to be clued up as much as the experts – it sure helps to have some understanding of the aspects that go into the component parts of a successful production. Remember, the AV hire company is here to help you, so make sure to keep them in the loop with any discrepancies or concerns you have.

A lack of communication can lead to some degree of failure, which is best to be avoided, no matter how minuscule. By taking into account the aforementioned questions, the combined effect of all these aspects is bound to leave you with a successful event and a great experience for your attendees!