5 AV Top Tips For A Higher Quality Event Experience
Audiovisual & Event Technology can easily be you greatest tool or your worse enemy. The best event content can be absolutely ruined by a bad AV experience. Don’t make some of these common mistakes by following our AV top tips that are guaranteed to give you a smoother event. Read through to get some of our unique solutions to common problems.
“Audiovisual & Event Technology can easily be you greatest tool or your worse enemy.”
1.First AV Top Tip : Don't Go for the cheapest option
In the race to the top unfortunately there are those that want to take shortcuts. Undercutting others on price and subsequently on quality is sadly a common problem in the AV industry.
Staying true to budget is of course important. But often going for the cheapest supplier will often have negative repercussions further down the line.
Find a competent supplier that is trustworthy, ask around or consult with your venue, and then negotiate with that supplier. If someone else is much cheaper make sure that they are providing the same quality service. Mainly in terms of equipment and personnel. Having enough people on your AV team is very important for a smooth event.
If you are unsure about what these suppliers are offering exactly and you feel like they might be trying to confuse you with technical lingo, don’t hesitate to ask for help, you can even shoot us a message. Otherwise maybe it’s time to upskill and learn about the basics of AV.
2. Ask For Spares Or Equipment Backups
Even with a good supplier problems can happen. Technology is definitely more reliable these days but issues still happen. A good supplier will suggest or provide spare & backup equipment but if not it is worth asking. If some of the equipment breaks obviously you shouldn’t have to pay more but at least you won’t have to wait for several hours for spares to arrive on site.
Having live backups running of PC’s with your videos & presentations is a good way to avoid any issues and have a safety net.
3. Get Dedicated AV Technicians For Each Discipline
Some people make it seem easy, but being an AV technician is quite a demanding job. There is a lot of information to process and things to keep on top of. For you it might all be AV, but sound, light and video are very different disciplines. Now on a smaller event with a handful of items one technician may be enough, however on a larger show there is a lot to handle.
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
There is much debate on this saying, is it better to be a specialist or a generalist. This applies to AV as well, some people are general technicians and some only focus on one discipline. However here this is not the point, whatever level of skill a person may have in an area or many is irrelevant if they have do it all. The best of us will struggle under a mountain of jobs.
You should have a dedicated technician for each discipline to guarantee the best results!
4. Sound Is One Of The Most Important Aspects Of Audiovisual
Good quality sound is crucial for any event, it can have one of the biggest impacts of all disciplines on guest experience. Having issues with sounds just tends to be more awkward and irritate people more.
Make sure you have enough microphones for all of your speakers and that your PA system is suitable for your venue space. Your AV supplier should know the venue or go for a technical visit. Most will, however I have seen companies from out of town not bother and turn up with totally unsuitable equipment for the space.
An often overlooked aspect of a good PA is subwoofers. A subwoofer to me is an essential part of any system, it provides the bass which completes a sound. Makes you feel the sound which really gives you that live event feel.
For the PA if the option is available, space dependent see if you can get a line array. This often doesn’t cost much more and will give you great results.
5.Last Of Our AV Top Tips : Attendee Engagement Is Key!
Keeping your attendees engaged is a very important side of your guest experience. There are now plenty of tools available to facilitate this. This is one of the most important AV top tips as your attendees will expect this sort of service at your event.
It is however now time to go beyond a simple Q&A session. That simply won’t suffice nowadays in a world of interactive apps & mobile engagement tools. Think polls, word clouds, surveys and quizzes. Check out this article Here where we cover those option in more detail.
This is really an important factor in todays world of events especially online. Make sure to budget for it!
AV Top Tips : Wrap up
AV & Event Technology has an important place in any event. Make sure not to leave it until the last minute in your planning. It is equally important to prepare for things on the day. Like gathering all of your content and creating a running order. If you need a crash course on this go check out this AV 101 course we have. For less than the price of a cup of coffee it’s worth at least having a look…
Sign up here. >> AV 101 – Intro to AV <<
Don’t forget to share & comment if you have any more great AV top tips.
