Using Studios and Technology to Increase Engagement

Adding high production value to your virtual event is the one sure fire way to increase engagement with your audience. The 4K cameras, rigging, lighting, and professional design studios offer a creative and polished experience your audience will appreciate that are safe during COVID. Creative use of technology allows for virtual event solutions to real-life problems. Read on to explore ways you can add value to your next event.

Event planners and directors work together to coordinate what amounts of several smaller events for presenters all over (possibility the world). Selecting studios, aligning designs to compliment each other, working with and setting key dates, virtual run throughs, compatibility and broadband testing, managing guests and teams to ensure your event runs smoothly is the event planner/manager’s goal. A director acts as the planner/coordinator for the actual filming and management of the audio/visual, film editors, and switch board directors. Working together transcends the boundaries that keep the presenters and audience from engaging with each other. Be sure you have a team that works well together to get the best experience for both your company and your attendees. Their level of professionalism matters!

Most companies are opting for a “as-live” or combo “as live/live-live” event. “As live” is an event that is pre-filmed and edited and presented as live at a specific date/time. The benefit of this style is rehearsal, retakes, editing and overall polishing the presentation to be perfected in every way. Supportive graphics, transition music/video clips, social media marketing quibs and other elements can also be created and added to as-live too. And because the event is pre-recorded, it frees presenters and monitors to focus on engaging in other ways such as live-chat during the event go-live.

It also allows for on-demand review after the go-live date and surpasses issues with time zones. However, it can mean less engagement opportunities for attendees because the presenters are not physically present (and virtually pipped in) to adjust to real-time changes. Things like filmed Q and A or round tables are best presented live-live. An event can be a hybrid combination of as-live and live-live to allow the best of both worlds.

As-live and on-demand events typically allow for much higher attendance rates – upwards of 10x higher in unique users attending! This is because the attendee can pipe in at a time that is convenient for them vs a live-live event which is presented at a specific date/time and not recorded for review.

A great studio will have everything you need to film a Hollywood like presentation. There is much to be said about rigged lighting, 4K cameras, acoustic design, and the right audio capturing equipment (like boomers). Most lights and cameras are now able to be controlled remotely, reducing the number of staff and allowing for safer filming for your presenters without compromising on quality. Studios are also designed for high electrical output.

When used creatively, these power houses permit large LED screens that allow additional presenters (or even attendees) to be “present”. Create a branded virtual lounge where presenters can “sit together” while being hundreds, even thousands of feet apart. Additional screens create a realistic, real-time video feed of each person (visible for everyone on stage) to interact with.

In-home filming can suffice when a studio is not available. Gear packages and tech support can be made available ahead of time to help the presenters become familiar with the technology. A limited number of professionals can also be dispatched to provide on-site support in certain circumstances. However, in-home filming will inevitably lack the polish, professionalism that a studio can provide. Homes are not designed with acoustics in mind and few people have rigging space (or power output) needed for the correct lighting or ability to film multiple camera angles. Backdrops can be designed, printed and sent to setup in-home if space is available.

Technology offers some creative solutions to virtual event challenges. The one thing that technology has the largest impact is the ability to reach audiences of enormous sizes while invoking controlled responses.

As-Live and On-Demand events allow for guests to attend at a date and time that works best for them. This means when they sit to participate in your event, they are dedicating their attention to your event message in a way that a live event hopes for. They are willing participants giving you undivided attention because it is on their terms. To add to this, when interruptions do happen (as is life) they are able to rewind and truly ingest every bit of information unlike ever before.

Add that hands-on touch with participation elements, such as polls, Q&As, virtual applaud buttons, voting and so much more. Raffles, games, questionnaires, the list is endless … allow you to help your attendees engage in the event (even with on-demand events!) and reinforce specific messages or invoke specific emotional responses (such as appreciation and fun!).

A company president can now sit across from the audience as if they are having a fireside conversation one-on-one. With proper directing (leaning in, eyes on camera, close head shots, etc) and the right script, your presenter goes from a seminar to a cafe conversation. For larger-than-life feel, wide camera angles and sweeping captures from a staged speech can help influence the atmosphere of the event, regardless of where the audience is.

Hollywood has been perfecting the film industry for decades. Bring their experience to your virtual event to amp up the production value and, ultimately, the success of your presentation. To get started planning your high production virtual event, contact our event planners today.