Conference Equipment Hire

Allow time. We often have clients who want to do award ceremonies, yet their tenancy of the venue doesn’t allow time for setup or any rehearsals. For the sake of what could be a small fee to get in earlier, it can make things unnecessarily difficult.

It’s also important to share as much information with your AV supplier as possible. A client will always know their event better than anyone else, but sometimes they make assumptions that you’re equally well informed. For example, they take for granted you know they’re referring to the presenter when they’re talking about their HOD or CEO.

So, give as much information as you can and allow time for rehearsal. Those two things mean that if any issues pop up, you can do something about it.

Is it important to leave time for the speakers to rehearse?

Professional speakers can often hit the ground running but it’s definitely a good idea if you have people presenting who are not used to standing in front of an audience.

We often ask clients if we can get in touch with these speakers in advance to find out about how they want to speak. Would they prefer to use a lapel mic, or a headset mic or perhaps they might prefer to stand behind a lectern? It’s important for us to understand any technical requirement’s e.g Does your presenter need to get online or run specialist software.

Sometimes they might say they want to use a lapel mic but suddenly when they’re speaking, they develop a nervous ‘grab of clothing every 30 seconds or constantly hitting the lectern so we can help to rearrange mics. If we know that in advance we can give them another type of mic they’re not going to fiddle with. It’s just having that knowledge and the time to make the presenter feel as relaxed as possible so that they can deliver a confident presentation.

The ideal lead time is hard to define because you really want to know the shape and scale of the event. We’ve delivered events worth thousands within two weeks, but we’ve also done £500 events the same day. A lovely lead-time would be about a month, but often its much less than that!

You may already have had some experience in organising events or this may be your first. Either way it is important to consider a few basic things in order that your event is as successful as possible.The design and the dimensions of the set, screen and stage is the starting point. These are governed by:

Nature/style of the event
Room dimensions
Audience size
Activity required on stage i.e. video, presentations, live entertainment etc.

As a general rule, screen sizes are dictated by the size and seating arrangement of the audience. Ideally, the screen to audience ratio for cabaret seating with standard 4:3/16:9 ratio are:-
1-60 people: 6’ x 4.5’ screen 61-120 people: 8’ x 6’ screen 121-250 people: 10’ x7.5’ screen
250-450 people: 12’ x 9’ screen 451-650 people: 14’ x 10’ screen 650 + people: 20’ x 15’ screen

To ensure your event is a total success, the most important element is a highly skilled crew. From rigging to operation, their expertise is paramount.The number of crew required varies dependant on the size and scale of the event or conference. For instance, a small scale conference or event which is technically simple would normally be staffed by ‘all round’ technicians. These people have a good broad knowledge base and skills within A/V and are trained to manage and deliver such events.Larger or more technically demanding events will require specific technicians to perform such things as projection, lighting, sound and vision mixing and as such would require additional crew. This would ensure complete event co-ordination.

Streaming means relaying live or pre-recorded video to a specific URL. This is intended for target audiences to view from their desktop, home or on the move. Any part or all of your conference/event can be streamed live using our portable production stream unit.Streaming will add a new dimension to your event or conference, allowing world wide viewing (if required). Live video streaming also provides user interaction and supports features such as real time polling with instant results display live to screen.

Nearly all events require some element of lighting, even if it’s just generic. Whether it is lighting a single lectern or using multiple lights to ‘wash’ a set with colour, lighting can really create many conference ‘moods’. Lighting can easily transform your event. From using spotlights, moving lights to full intelligent lighting systems that can provide complete control giving numerous light and mood settings for each presenter or agenda item of your event. You may even want to consider using Gobo light projectors to project a company ‘strapline’ or ‘logo’ to the stage, set or even moving around the room.

A P.A. system consists of three fundamental elements. Firstly, the loudspeakers to deliver the sound to your audience. These need to be strategically ‘placed’ dependant on room and audience size to provide maximum sound displacement and to ensure clear sound throughout. Next, the mixing desk. This takes all microphone, C.D.player, laptop and any other audio inputs. Here, the sound engineer has complete control over who hears what and when. A specialist job, especially when your event has multiple audio input requirements. Finally, the amplifier. This simply takes all of the mixed sound from the mixing desk and amplifies the sound level to supply the loudspeakers.

Cameras can be used to enhance and bring your event to life even more. From a single fixed position camera relaying your speaker/presenter back to screen, to multi-camera options for streaming, DVD production or training purposes. Our portable production unit allows vision mixing between cameras, recording and full playback facility.

An image can be projected on to a screen from the front of the screen or from behind. The factors determining front or rear projection are usually down to room capacities, room layout and audience sizes. In most cases rear projection is favoured, keeping all the technical equipment behind the screen and allowing presenters in front of the screen without affecting the beam and image. We also need to consider the “throw”. This is the distance required between the lens of the projector and the screen. Again, room capacity and size will determine this factor but as a rule, the “throw” is calculated at 1.5 times screen width.Example: An 8ft wide screen would require a 12 ft throw – 8ft x 1.5 =12ft. Our experienced team will be able to advise you on what AV and projection equipment will be best suited to hire for the event.