Event technology has always been a crucial component of any successful event production, and it’s become more and more advanced, especially over the past decade. Without it, audience members may leave your event disappointed in the overall experience. That’s why it’s so important to always ensure you have everything covered when it comes to things like sound, lighting, visuals and beyond.
From stunning modular LED backdrops for outdoor concerts to laser light shows to booming outdoor sound systems, here’s how to use event technology to boost the audience experience – here we go!
LED Displays that Draw Attention
LED screens can provide crucial information to audiences, from on-stage action to on-the-go event video streaming to stationary sponsorship messaging and beyond. Modular displays, which are individual LED panels tied together to form one screen, can create massive backdrops that will enhance every audience member’s experience, while new innovations in mobile LED displays are popping up at top-tier events around the country.
It’s important that you remember what’s really important when choosing an LED video wall for your event: the content. Creating a captivating experience for your audience members will rely on whether or not your content is clear, unique and fulfilling. Take a look at some of the examples below to see some innovative LED implementation ideas:
Event LED Examples
Coachella 2019 Modular LED Wall
The California-based music festival, Coachella, implemented a unique LED system to serve as a backdrop for bands and artists performing this year. Featuring a gigantic modular system, with curved portions around the stage and an overhead truss with unique mood lighting, the performers that occupied the stage were elevated by the magnificent LED production. View an example below:
Comcast Holiday Event
Greeting visitors in the Comcast Lobby over Christmas was a huge video wall installation. It brings the interior walls alive, displaying holiday-themed content, complete with dancing snowmen, children singing and even a mouse fighting a nutcracker doll. Take a look below to see it in action:
Capture the Mood with Event Lighting
Lighting provides essential visual support for your event – without the proper lighting system in place, a production can seem flat. And it’s much more than just placing a spotlight on the performer. Proper lighting creates specific moods, ambiance and can be used to provide focus on everything from stage elements to moving props or people.
The latest trend in event lighting systems is the use of LEDs. While incandescents and fluorescents are still used as backdrops and flood lighting, high-powered LEDs are quickly becoming the go-to choice for event production professionals to use in a variety of applications.
There are many benefits of event LED lighting:
- Emit any color – with LEDs, the day of sorting through and changing color gels or filters are over. You can get pretty much any color on the rainbow from a single event LED light system.
- Higher efficiency – since an LED is considered a directional light source (meaning they emit light in a specific direction, rather than in all directions like incandescent or fluorescent bulbs), you can have a more robust lighting system while saving money on the electricity bill and doing your part to stay green.
- Long-lasting – an LED light can last more than 60,000 hours, compared to an incandescent bulb, which only lasts 1,000 hours.
- Safer – unlike halogen and incandescent filaments, LEDs are cool to the touch, meaning they’re less of a risk for injury or fire.
Booming Outdoor Event Sound Systems
To crank-up your production, invest in a fantastic sound system. From large outdoor amphitheaters to festivals in an open field, the type of sound system you use will impact how well your audience can hear (and feel) music, speech, sound effects and more. Outdoor events, for example, are usually in an open space without walls to cause soundwave reflections, potentially providing better audio quality – however, you will also need a larger audio system to cover the same area that you’d have in an indoor application.
Using the inverse square law, you can properly calculate which sound system you should use for your outdoor event. This law tells you that for every doubling of the distance from the sound source in a free field situation, the sound intensity will diminish by 6 decibels. Of course, none of us ever work in a truly open field with absolutely no reflective surfaces, but for the most part, this calculation is accepted as workable. In real-world terms, this means that for each time you double the distance between your sound source and a listener, the power of the audio drops by 75%. To find out which type of sound system you’ll need, check out this inverse square law calculator for sound.
Event Social Media Integration
More and more, event marketers are realizing the power of social media integration into event technology. Social media walls, for example, can be displayed on LED screens, broadcasting posts and photos that contain your event’s hashtag. When audience members can see their names on the big screen, you create real-time excitement, as well as motivate attendees to post interesting content around your event. Let’s take a look at some event social media tips that you should follow when the big day rolls around:
Using Social Media at Events
Use short, unique, easy-to-remember hashtags – without this, you may struggle to take full advantage of the power of social media. Hashtags give you the chance to filter conversations online and track them prior to, during and after the event. This let’s you see what people are talking about in real time, and also lets you quickly find and deliver those posts to the jumbotron, backdrop, LED screen, etc.
Provide Internet access to event goers – the majority of people will have 3G/LTE connections, that doesn’t mean that they want to use all that data posting about your event. Plus, any foreign attendees are going to be dependent on Internet service. Provide free, no-password-needed WiFi throughout the venue and make sure that it’s powerful enough to serve your entire audience, so they can keep posting all day long.
Give people a reason to post – whether it’s through regular announcements over the loudspeaker to remind people to post or incentivizing them with a contest for the most likes, help them help you.
Always implement the best event videography – without it, the crowd’s experience may be degraded by poor angles and low-quality feeds.
Make Your Job Easier
The final tip to enhancing the use of event technology is focused on improving the overall management process. The easier you can make your job, the more smoothly your event will run. Sometimes it makes sense to work with an outside team when putting on a best-in-class event.
Our event management team has been at the helm of some of the most successful events in the Southeast, U.S.A., and are ready to help you make a bigger impact on your audience. All you need is the right team and the best technology, and you can make event day more enjoyable, not just for the attendees, but for you as well.
For more information about MEP’s service and product offerings, call (678) 310-7332 or fill out a contact form today.
