Then & Now Event Tech Trends

3/9/2020

Much has changed in the convention and trade show world, with event technology has being one of the most dominant change agents! From LED displays, Wi-Fi solutions, and attendee engagement technologies including audience response, charging stations, kiosks, e-literature software, and digital signage. Out with the old school static signage and flyers!

These options are serving many goals for event planners, sponsors, exhibitors, and even attendees. Now event participants just need to carry their mobile devices (instead paper brochures & flyers along with other promotional materials!) which contain all the important event info. In comparison to the old school boring static booth signage now a days we’re seeing video walls and digital signage galore! Multiple LED screens can be arranged in a wide range of arrays to create high-impact video walls that will surely be a memorable experience. Charging stations, where participants can charge their mobile devices, are yet another engagement technology that planners, sponsors and exhibitors alike are using in today’s events.

While these event technologies were once reserved for some of the more innovative, conventions and trade shows, they have since become a core component for all events, no matter the type. Fox AV is up to date with these technologies and we’re ready to provide you with top notch AV services today!

Events, Uncategorized

Theme Ideas for ANY Event

A theme is a fabulous way to tie your event together and create a sense of unity. Often times we overlook the whole theme idea for corporate affairs…why? This little list is perfect for any event planner!

National Holiday! While it’s key not to get too gimmicky, consider how integrating a holiday theme could give your attendees that desired break (without taking away from productivity). For example: Halloween might be overdone at fall fiestas or social gatherings, but it’s very unusual (and could increase audience engagement!) for a conference to get in on the spooky fun! Ask your AV team if they have a Catchbox (throwable microphone) and toss it around for a football themed party. Some simple red, white, and blue snack items during a break can remind attendees of 4th of july!

Embrace different Time Periods! Let’s think “glitzy” roaring 20s, “colorful” 60s, or “kitschy” 90’s, which all can be great concepts to start styling your event. An LED Wall displaying images from your chosen era is a great way to assist in transforming a space. We understand that committing your entire event to a time period theme can be tough, especially with corporate events. Try bringing hints of the theme into sessions, lighting, marketing, event branding, name tags and notepads. Simple yet effective!

Bring in Color! Ya’ll, don’t be afraid of using color even with corporate events! Try monochromatic with a pop of color or maybe a 2-3 complimentary color combo. Your production team can assist with a lighting design, as subtle or elaborate as you wish, that embraces your chosen colors!

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box when planning your next event. Be sure to chat with your professional audio visual team about ways they can help, on the technical side of things, to enhance whatever theme you choose!

Events, Uncategorized

4 Key Questions All Event Planners Should Ask

2/20/2020

Seamlessly aligning with your audio visual provider is key to the success of any event. We’ve got for you, the top 4 questions you’ll want to ensure you ask before the event day!

Where is “front of house”? “FOH” can be defined as the location where the av crew has their controls for the event. This is important to establish because the more av you have at your event, the more space FOH will take up. The best location for this is a spot where your technical team has prime view of the entire stage/various elements they are controlling. Be sure both the technical team and the events team are on the same page as this is paramount to the success of your production components!

Where are you getting power from? This is very important especially if your event has substantial power needs. You’ll want to mark on your layout where a power drop (large boxes which are used to convert power) might be placed. Your technical team may need it placed in a certian area so proper communication on this is key!

Where are the cables going to be run? It’s important to ask your AV company where they plan to run cables for a few different reasons…safety, aesthetics, and your personal preference(s)! We wish everything in technology was wireless but it is not and moving the cables can SEVERELY impact the room layout as well as what gear we use.

Are the projectors front projection or rear projection? Your AV team should be able to do either rear or front projection. If you are rear projecting, your projections will be placed behind stage. This is great if you are looking to safe footprint in front of the stage. If you front project, you have to keep in mind that you need to place the projector in front of the stage, this could affect traffic flow etc. Chat with the tech specialists about it, weigh the pros and cons of each option!

This is but a start to ensure clear comunication with your team of technoogy specialists. You often times get what your pay for in terms of av assistance so keep that in mind when gathering quotes from different sources!

Happy planning!

Events, Uncategorized

LED Wall Benefits

2/14/20

All one needs to do is experience an event with LED walls and it becomes clear why event planners are requesting them. They are super versatile; offering clearer, brighter and bolder images in any setting…indoors or out! LED Walls are a suprisingly affordable way to get super creative at your event, allowing you to make it uniquely awesome!

LED walls can be stacked and positioned in many different ways to give event content new life and a super modern twist. LED walls allow versatility in size for video content to be used as all or simply part of a backdrop! Indoor/outdoor rated screens are the bees knees too, folks! Allowing us to watch a video in the middle of the day, no problem.

While the use of LED wall(s) requires a team of tech specialists to set up, it will limit the amount of effort needed to prepare for your event thus saving in labor and graphic support costs. While it may sound like its difficult to get the wall up and running, let us assure you that it is a seamless process for our technicians.

Bright, bold and ultra colorful images are what you can expect from these amazing LED walls. LED walls create their own light which makes deeply saturated colors possible. Who wouldn’t want the video display of content to be extra clear and easy to see?

Reach out today to learn how we can assist in taking your event to the next level!

Events, Uncategorized

Non Profit Organizations

1/31/20

Fox AV specializes in understanding the audiovisual needs as well as the financial requirements for nonprofit clientele. Allow us to assist in making your event top notch while being mindful of your budget.

Events are crucial to fundraising! And we 100% understand that. We will work with you to meet your event objectives while stepping into the technical specialist role that your organization requires to execute a successful event.

Don’t let the fear of going over budget keep you from reaching out to the best in the biz! Call today for your free consultation.

Video shoot for Iron Wolf Recovery — Non Profit event support

Events, Uncategorized

Wonderful World of Webcasts & Beyond

1/7/20

Hybrid meetings are the bees knees! If you are looking to connect individuals, spread new ideas, and create shared experiences? We’ve got all the answers! Often referred to as “hybrid” meetings, these events cater to the portion of the audience that is not physically in the room. There are also a few different variations of these meetings.

Webcasting is quite popular and will continue to be one of the most effective technical solutions for reaching remote audiences. We see these types of meetings requested when there are keynotes, business updates, or any other program thats intended for larger audiences. This is only a 1 way communication platform, FYI.

Video conferencing offers all the advantages of video on demand PLUS the added bonus of live engagement! Sweet! Wonderfully customizable complete with company branding to display virtually any type of media.

Depending on your communication needs (1 way or 2 way) you would want to use either of these types of hybrid meetings. Instead of paying for your employees to travel coast to coast, call us today to learn how we can set this up for your next meeting.

Events, Uncategorized

Using Hotel AV is Not Required

This lovely little blog post is just a friendly reminder…YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE HOTEL AUDIO VISUAL SERVICES!

Some venues make commission when booking audio visual services through a provider they have contracted with. If you bring in your preferred provider they don’t get that incentive pay. This is why they push for clients to use “their team”.

A hotel cannot prohibit you from bringing in equipment or av technicians provided they are within local safety standards laws and you are not mounting equipment on walls or ceilings. Be sure to have any clause removed that restricts your rights to bring in your vendor of choice! Before signing anything for a hotel meeting room rental get this clause added to all contracts.

Contracting an outside audio visual provider makes you the top priority. Should you choose to go with hotel av, just keep in mind the likelihood of other events going on at the same time is high. Hotel av contracts limit competition, which means they’ll provide poorer service and less value than an outside company can provide. More room for error when using the hotel av.

Hotels are sneaky with their attempts to hide charges! Your full service audio visual production team will be able to bring in a MiFi FCC clearly states: No one can ban you from bringing in your own MiFi devices or blocking their signals.

Better service, clearer sound, more knowledgeable technicians? Sounds like bringing in your own av team is the safest solution for your event!

Events, Uncategorized

Boo! To You From Our Crew

October 1 2019

October is a fun and festive month filled with pumpkins, cinnamon spices, and costumes! At Fox Audio Visual, we celebrate Halloween for as long as possible. Its our favorite holiday, EEK! We see no reason children should have all the fun with this spooky holiday! Adults in the corporate workplace can have equal amounts of fun during the day. We have came up with a few ideas!

You could host a staff costume party! It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate to get in the spirit of this glorious holiday. This is a great way to get coworkers to interact and not just over same ol’ business related conversations.

Time for a “coffin” break! Which you could take during a Halloween breakfast or lunch. Who doesn’t want to enjoy some festive fall eats during the work day? Defiantly a morale boost!

Team pumpkin carving is a messier way to celebrate the season and do a little team building. Such a cost effective way to conduct a team building activity! Just be sure to give a dynamite prize to the winners!

All of the above ideas wouldn’t be complete without spooky music and lighting. That’s where a full service audio visual and production team comes in! Call today to hear about how we can enhance your Halloween festivities!

Corporate Events, Events

Let’s Get Ready for Football!

We can’t think of a better way to host a pre-game event than on a massive outdoor LED screen! No need to be bummed about not having game tickets! You can display a live TV feed of your favorite game onto our screens!

Whether you want to be the most happenin’ tailgate spot in the lot, or are hosting a business related tailgate bash, our LED wall is sure to take it to the next level.

Gather your friends and family, make some delish eats, then sit back and relax to the game on your LED Wall! We are happy to work within your budget, reach out to us today!

Football LED Wall Rental — Football field

Audio Equipment Rentals, Corporate Events, Equipment Rentals, Events, Lighting, Production Services, Uncategorized, Video

Audio Visual Production Misconceptions

We wanted to chat about some of the most common misconceptions about the audio visual production industry. “Its just lights so it should be cheap, right?” or what about “The cost of labor is too expensive!”, and “This isn’t complicated so anyone can set it up”.

Lets look at lighting. This is a major aspect of event production, event atmosphere depends on it! Lighting sets the mood and ties all the décor together for your event. The lights we use to create magic are of a super specialized technology which require a lot of maintenance and upkeep! The lighting consoles we use to control these lights are complex and require constant updating and technician training. There’s a lot that goes into this event aspect if you really think about it!

Labor costs are not as high as you may think considering all you are getting for your money. A well trained tech team is required to load in and set up audio, lighting and video equipment ( plus break down and load out post event). Also needed are riggers to ensure that everything is installed safely, as well as properly trained techs for safe wiring and to operate audio mixing and lighting boards. Our highly trained staff is a one stop shop! We offer all the things!

We assume your goal is to create a magical, memorable environment with seamless technical execution! We do that for our clients every day, but it isn’t always easy. The entire process of arriving at a finished product for you on event day is often a long one. Often starting with site visits, then design, scheduling & planning and finally implementation. Our highly trained technicians will be on hand the duration of your event to operate lighting and sound flawlessly.

We are absolutely ready to work within your budget so don’t be afraid to give us a call.

Articles, Audio Equipment Rentals, Corporate Events, Equipment Rentals, Events, Production Services