Event Planning for Lighting, Truss and Effects

As our company grows we are finding more and more clients, not only need to rent audio visual equipment, lighting and staging but also need assistance in the planning phase of their events. The knowledge we gain, performing and teching on a daily basis, as audio visual technicians, is invaluable to a client who may only plan 1 to 2 events per year.
The ideas we have in our heads have been attained just by being present and observant during the shows we work day-to-day. I implore event planners, wedding planners, trade show organizers and the like, to pick the brains of your AV suppliers. Oftentimes, the AV sales rep may not even know the knowledge they possess.
Here are some improvement tips and ideas for your room, stage and overall event:

1. Lighting - An easy, valuable addition to your event is the simple inclusion of a few parnel (par) lights, strategically placed on stage.

First of all, I highly recommend moving to L.E.D. lighting over traditional lighting.

Why?...L.E.D. Lighting is green.

( eg. Traditional Pars can consume up to 90 Watts, while L.E.D. Pars consume approx. 7-10 Watts of electricity )

Additionally, L.E.D. lighting offers a multitude of color options and color mixing, without the use of gels. Adding lighting to your stage is an attention getter; be it basic up lighting or lighting mounted on truss. It provides the necessary 'wow' factor to your show and adds some eye pleasing color for the audience, photographers and videographers.

See Pic (L.E.D. Pars used along with draping): http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Marathon%20Lights&image=Pink%20Stage.jpg

Going one step further can be including intelligent / moving head lighting. L.E.D. Moving Head lights are great for the same reasons stated above; however, the price difference between L.E.D. and traditional moving head lights does not yet warrant blindly going with L.E.D. What you need to know if you plan to use intelligent lighting is...in order to get the full benefit, you will need a dedicated lighting engineer to set up and run the fixtures properly and efficiently.

Lastly, a major concern when using lighting is the available electricity in your event room. You should, when possible, consult the building engineer or put your AV and Lighting supplier in touch with the building engineer to ensure there are not any circuit breakers tripped or power outages during your show.

2. Trussing - Trussing is primarily used for mounting of lights, video screens (we will discuss later), speakers and adding fabric effects for lighting. The same lights discussed above can be alternately be mounted to truss towers. When deciding to use truss, or not, you must be aware of your available stage space and truss weight limitations. This is where you make your AV supplier earn his or her salary. With your supplier, you should be able to verbally explain your vision and have them execute the same vision, to your satisfaction.

For visual stage effects, using trussing and a few pieces of Spandex or Lycra fabric you can create a beautiful and professional looking stage

to serve as a dramatic backdrop during your show. When using truss for this stage effect be sure to use bases and/or enough trussing to ensure its sturdiness. the last thing you want is your trussing toppling over before or during your show.

See Pic (truss with fabric):

http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./BAE%20at%20Sheraton&image=IMG_1483.jpg

See Pic (extravagant truss set up with crane and hoist)http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Obama%20on%20NBC&image=Picture1.jpg

Comment - I really like working with trussing because in the long run it clears the stage by allowing us to truss mount almost anything.

3. Video - For the purposes of this blog, I have one idea and one word to add the 'wow' factor to your event; it is 'I-Mag'.

I-Magging is the act of shooting and broadcasting live video, simultaneously.

What Do I Need: You will need a video camera, LCD or DLP projector and projection screen.

What Do I Do: With the video camera, you will shoot the presenter, send the video output

to the LCD projector and project it on a projection screen,

most commonly placed behind the presenter. You can alternately route the video output to a plasma or LCD monitor(s). If you are using trussing you can easily mount a Da-Lite Fastfold screen to the trussing. If stage space is a concern, I recommend using a short throw projector to conserve. Lastly, be sure to use a projector with sufficient Lumens to not be effected or dulled by the nearby lighting.

See Pic ( Necessary Imag Rental Equipment):

http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/events.html

If you are in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware area we would be ecstatic to quote and possibly be involved in your next event!

Bruce Johnson

A.V. Rental Services, Inc.

4039 Comly Street

Philadelphia, PA 19135

http://www.rentmyplasma.com/

http://www.audiovisualdeals.com/

How To Buy An LCD Projector

With the saturation of LCD projectors entering the audio visual equipment market, it has become an overwhelming task in selecting an appropriate projector for any application.

A few things to keep in mind while perusing the crowded market are luminosity (projectors brightness), contrast ratio (how well the projector recreates blacks), high or standard definition and throw distance.

Luminosity: Consider your company's or personal application. Will your new projector have to battle daylight or the room's lighting between the projection distance? The projection distance is the space between the projector and the projection screen. The luminosity can range from 1000 Lumens to up to 10, 000 or 20, 000 Lumens, or more. FYI: Movie theater projectors are, commonly between 10K and 20K Lumens. If you are able to get your conference, meeting or theater room completely dark during the projectors use you can get away with a projector with lower luminosity (1000-2500 Lumens). Having so said, this is true when the projection throw distance is, say, under 15-20 feet. If your projection throw distance is over 20 feet you will want to consider increasing the projector's luminosity to 2500-3500 Lumens. See below for more information on throw distances.
If your application is in a room not in total darkness you will want to consider a projector with higher Lumens. Fluorescent lights are a particular challenge in that the projection distance will play a larger part in effecting the brightness of your projector. Within a 5-10 feet projection distance, a 1500-2500 Lumen projector will still perform satisfactory. If your projection distance is between 10-20 feet a 2500-4000 Lumen projector will perform well. At a projection distance of 20-30 feet, a 3500- 5000 Lumen projector will perform well.
Note: Whenever considering projectors on luminosity; any difference under 500 Lumens is hard to detect with the human eye.

Contrast Ratio: Contrast ratio comes in to play more when your application is showing movies. People with home theaters will be more concerned with a projector's contrast ratio. Due to the fact a projector's contrast ratio effects a projector's ability to show the color black, if your application is mainly Powerpoint presentations a high contrast ratio should not be your major concern. However, with Powerpoint presentations becoming increasingly sophisticated; with photo and movie clips embedded, contrast ratio is becoming increasingly more important for everyone.
If viewing movies is your primary application I would not buy any projector with a contrast ratio under 1000:1. If Powerpoint presentations, with photo and movie clips embedded, are your primary application I would not buy any projector with a contrast ratio under 1000:1. If Powerpoint presentations, without photo and movie clips embedded, are your primary application I would not buy any projector with a contrast ratio under 500:1.

HD or Standard: When deciding if your new projector will be HD capable or not, consider the source. What will be your primary source to the projector? When I say source I mean; for example, laptop, DVD player, high definition DVD player, Blu-Ray player, standard definition video camera, high definition video camera. When that question is answered, it becomes a very simple answer to the requirements of your new projector's definition capabilities. If your source is high definition than your projector needs to be able to support the high definition signal.

Throw Distance: The throw distance, in most instances, is one of the most flexible variables when considering purchasing a projector.
Basics: As you move a projector further away from its projection screen, the projector's image will get larger.
There have been alot of short throw and extreme short throw projectors entering the market, as of late. For the consumer, this is good. In my experience, renting and setting up projectors for clients' events, the most common issue has been, having enough room between the projector and the screen to get an image large enough to satisfy the number of people in the room.
If you are not as flexible in how much throw distance you have, you need to perform diligent research on the projector you intend to purchase. When shopping online, most resellers will provide the throw distance for the projectors they are selling. However, for you math enthusiasts, there is a formula for figuring the throw distance of any projector; given the throw ratio of same projector.
Formula: Throw distance equals the screen width multiplied by the throw ratio.

Here Ye, Here Ye!!

We have a new video up on the website. It is an instructional video on how to build a Da-Lite Fastfold screen.

FastFold screens are the huge convention style screens with drapes on the top, sides and bottom of the viewing area. They are erected on site and I tell my new technicians it will take them about 3-5 times setting them up before they get the hang of it. It is not a screen you can just look at and figure out to build it. However, they are the majestic way to go in the field of screens. If you are looking for a clean, professional appearance the Da-Lite FastFold is the way to go. Draper has similar portable screens and they are on the same par. i am preferential to Da-Lite but I know Draper is an excellent company with an excellent product as well.

When you click on our website link below, scroll down to the bottom to view.

www.RentMyPlasma.com

Should We Go

Let me preface with, personally, I love Las Vegas. When our business, A.V. Rental Services, Inc., was first starting, Infocomm was very helpful in acquiring vendors to purchase from. Since we have been in business for over 5 years acquiring vendors is not as necessary as then. While we could stand to use more vendors, in attempts to get better pricing and/or service, the cost and time of going to Infocomm is becoming more challenging. We rent, sell and install audio visual equipment in the Philadelphia, PA area. Sales are soft as all get out at www.AudioVisualDeals.com but the rental side is very healthy. I guess offering 24 hour emergency AV equipment rentals was a good idea.
The Infocomm date of June is okay because business is slowing by that time butI believe later in June would be better.
The first year we went, we had a very capable staff, able to handle the business in the managements absence. This year we are still training a majority of our staff.
Personally, I am in a unique position of being able to book last minute flights for no charge but I need to get on the ball when it comes to hotel booking. As always, I will book my trip so I can stay through the weekend to enjoy Las Vegas as a vacation subsequent to Infocomm.
Having so said, I would like to hear why you are going to Infocomm 2010, as well as why people may not be going to Infocomm 2010.
By the way, my son made a promotional video for our audio visual equipment rental company, www.RentMyPlasma.com. To take a look click the link below:
www.AudioVisualRenting.com/promovid.html