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

2020 Conference Tips

2/12/20

We’ve done our research on conference tips & trends and have come up with our top 4 pro tips. Think outside of the box here, folks, as we dive into wellness, participation, different learning styles and human emotions.

It’s no suprise that “Event producer” is consistently listed as one of the most stressful jobs in the world. This truth has brought to light the importance of health and wellness not only for the event producers but for planners and attendees as well. It’s exhausting to be ‘on’ all day no what your role is during a conference. Amenities such as water stations, snack stations (with breaks long enough to enjoy said snack!), and aromatherapy are are all some ideas to assist with wellness. Artificial light contributes to feelings of fatigue, consider natural light areas or breaks which encourage everyone to get outside for at least 10 minutes.

Guests tend to want to interact with the event content and get involved, so its always a good idea to schedule interactive elements into your conference. There are many ways to do this, interactive presentation anyone? Studies have found that attendees want to be able to tell a story, to be in the know, and to share an interesting experience post conference. Regardless of the event type, attendees want to feel the power of choice, freedom, friendship, and accomplishment.

Some of the most effective conferences have a perfect mix of structured networking and unplanned moments, both of which achieve different goals and accommodates different personality types. To promote learning, retention, and positiveness for all participants, regardless of learning style, should be top priority. Being cognizant of the differences between introverts and extroverts, is crucial in creating a mix of session types and discussions! Optional 20-minute small-group breakouts after each speakers’ presentation for those extroverts and that 20 minutes could be used as a breather outside for introverts!

Even at a work conference, people want to FEEL. It’s almost extinct these days; human interaction face to face. We have found it to be important for companies to bring that level of humanness to their brand. Encourage conversation about company morals or having vignettes placed around the conference center showcasing a charity the company supports.

There are many different ways to achieve all of the above tips and we are happy to help on the technical side of things!

Corporate Events, Uncategorized

Charleston Collegiate

2/5/20

From time to time we like to put our clients on spotlight! And our friends over at Charleston Collegiate are just so sweet we thought they should be it!

According to Bonnie Scapellato; “We can’t say enough fabulous things about working with Fox Audio Visual. We have struggled over the years in finding a dependable and affordable service to assist with our audio/visual needs for our school’s annual auction and gala & Fox came to the rescue!”

Apparently they had little to no luck with AV support in years previous. This year they wanted to try something new and took a chance on us! Bonnie continues, “Steve was extremely responsive throughout the entire process. He was creative in coming up with solutions for our event needs. Steve and his team had fabulous advice and were extremely professional. When the event day came, Steve and his team literally SAVED THE DAY. “ Thats something we love to hear; SAVED THE DAY.

Time and time again we are told that we’re one of the few companies that actually care about our clients. That we treat them as our family. This is something we take pride in. “We are still blown away at how much they went above and beyond to assist our school.We can’t wait to work with the Fox Audio Visual team again and tell event planners all over town just how fabulous they are!” Bonie, and Charleston Collegiate, thank YOU for being so amazing. We are excited to work together again!

Customer Spotlight, Uncategorized

Corporate Event Planning

2/3/2020

Corporate event planning includes a wide range of different event formats. So its no suprise that planning these various event types will require attention to different sets of details. Luckily, Fox AV knows all the things!

Let’s consider the social events such as awards dinners, golf outings, team building and holiday parties! All of which are more fun than informative, right? Then we have the more goal-specific events like town hall meetings, business updates, as well as investor presentations, just to touch on a few.

As for the social events category event, our planners have a bit more freedom, creatively speaking. There is less focus on time management efficiency and a bit more wiggle room so to speak. We generally can get a bit more creative with ambience as well!

For the goal-specific events group, planners are tasked with providing the structure to deliver the most content in the shortest amount of time thus maintaining “control” over the entire day.

No matter the corporate event format, we have the very best creative solutions for you. The sooner you loop your AV team in the better so give us a call today!

Corporate Events, Uncategorized

Confidence Monitors

1/31/2020

A confidence monitor is widly popular among presenters and put simply it is a versitile way to display improtant information to the presenter. A confidence monitor is a video display, anywhere from 32” to 60” in size, that sits on the ground at the foot of the stage. This allows presenters on stage to see what slide is on the screen(s) without turning their backs to the audience.

Screens you say?!? Yes, thats right. You can synnchronize multiple screens to see, for example, 3 different slides in a slideshow.

Got a few notes for each slide? No problem! New powerpoint, song lyrics or even a timer? Piece of cake. Confidence monitors are your answer!

Many events now a days take questions from folks who aren’t physically in the room. Could be from a client watching a live stream, or someone on social media following along. Confidence monitors are a fabulous way to get these questions to stage. You can filter out which questions to ask, type them on a laptop and let your presenters see and respond to exactly what you want them to.

If you’d like us to go more in-depth on the technical side of things with confidence monitors, give us a call today!

Production Services, 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

Hospitals and Healthcare

The expertise that Fox AV is known for in the corporate meeting world has translated very well to our clients in the hospital and healthcare fields. Our attention to detail, crystal clear communication skills, and an understanding of the strict budget requirements have us uniquely situated as a perfect fit for hospital and healthcare events!

We are able to transform any space, as well as provide creative solutions to fit a wide range of budgets and needs. Our team members are specialists in logistics, technical equipment, and live event production! We are able to transform any space into a perfect environment for your event.

We believe that every event and every client is unique and deserves the best, most creative tech solutions this industry has to offer! We look forward to working together soon!

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

An Ideal Partnership

As AV production specialists, it’s our job to continuously find the best ways to deliver your message to an audience. And since audiovisual is usually one of the top costs for any given event, it’s on you, the events coordinator, to get the most value for your dollar. Forming a partnership with the tech guys just may be in your best interest, folks!

We have found 3 pillars of which an ideal AV partnership is built upon! Performance, consistency/reliability and creativity. At Fox, we deliver creative technical solutions consistently and seamlessly. If last year’s experiences with your AV production team doesn’t leave you feeling like all of those boxes are checked it’s time to rethink things!

Maybe you work with different vendors for different events, or you are talked into using an inhouse AV provider (you almost never have to use them), or even if you just haven’t thought to consolidate down to one AV relationship for your team of event planners, it could be a missed opportunity on a number of benefits.

Reducing costs, saving time, and last but not least trust building are among the advantages of forming a partnership with an AV production team. Give us a call today, we would love to connect over coffee/tea soon to discuss the technical details of your next event!

Uncategorized