AV 101: Audio, Video, Lighting
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AV 101: Audio, Video, Lighting
Providing Audio Visual support for a meeting or event can be overwhelming.
Many people in the AV business tend to talk in technical terms and use a
language that the everyday meeting planner may not be familiar with. I find
myself doing it all the time. I have included here what I call AV 101. It is a
short group of thoughts and ideas about audio, video projection and lighting
for a simple corporate meeting.
Audio 101
Microphones: Do we need a microphone? With smaller meetings this is a
fair question. Here are a few things that may help you decide.
If the presenter has deep voice with low tones, his/her voice will travel farther
and tend to be louder than a person with a higher voice. Your presenters will
be a big factor in deciding.
Your audience may be another. If your audience includes people over 40 they
may not hear quite as well as they used to. Years of loud stereos, concerts
and just plain getting older may have taken their toll.
The room is another variable. If the ceiling in the meeting room is high, the
sound may seam to disappear. And if there is another meeting in the next
room, there may be competing audio coming through the wall.
Except for small meetings of 15 or less, I would suggest using a
microphone.
Wireless microphones: If there was no such thing as wireless mics, I would
not have any gray hair. When wireless mics were first introduced they not very
reliable. They would eat batteries, pick up interference and generate
feedback. I have had wireless phone calls and constructions radios come
booming through the sound systems. These days wireless mics are very
reliable. Make sure the batteries are replaced every morning and at noon.
Here is a way to tell if the mic battery is good or not. If you have not personally
taken the battery out of it’s package in the last 2 minutes, it is no good.
Replace it, take the old one home, and put in a kids toy.
House Sound Systems: House sound systems are the systems that are
permanently installed in the meeting rooms, usually in the ceilings. The
quality of these systems can vary from great to very bad. These systems take
a beating day in and day out. Audio guys will over drive them and damage the
speakers, or even disconnect some of the speakers. It is a good idea to
check the system if you can. During the site inspection, ask the hotel to play
some music over the system. Listen to see if the music sounds clear, and
walk around the room and make sure the level is equal through out. If you
don’t like the quality, or the level drops or increases in different parts of the
room, you may want to consider renting a separate system.
Audio from computers and DVDs: If you have audio from a laptop or DVD
player, you will need what is called a mixer. This is a box that you can plug
mics and computers and DVDs into and control the volume of each. Most
hotels will have a mixer but you may have to ask for them ahead of time. Also
ask if they have the proper cables or if you need to provide them.
Audio Tips:
Do not walk in front of the speakers with the microphone.
Always use new batteries in wireless mics.
Always have a back up mic.
Audio Sidebar
Basic Audio: I attended a trade show in Chicago and heard an audio expert
speak. She opened her presentation with a simple explanation of basic
audio which I will pass on to you. She then spoke for another 90 minutes on
the science of audio. I will not pass that on.
Picture yourself standing on a bridge a few feet above a small pond. Drop a
frozen pea into the pond and watch what happens. Small circular ripples
appear from the point of impact and travel outward. The ripples disappear a
short distance from the point of impact. These ripples represent the high
tones in audio. Now drop a bowling ball. The ripples are much larger and
travel farther. These ripples represent the low tones in audio. We will get
back to this as we talk more about audio.
Video 101
Basic Video Projection: Video for most meetings today consists of projecting
power point, DVDs or the internet.
Video Projectors: Every video projector is rated for what is called lumens. The
greater the number of lumens a projector has the brighter the picture will be.
For most small meetings today, 1200 lumens and higher will work quite well.
Most projectors also have a number of input connecters. One input will be for
a computer, another for a DVD player and others for equipment that we will
talk about in the AV advanced article. Check before the meeting to make sure
the projector has the proper input for the equipment that you are using. If you
are renting the projector from the hotel or conference center, make sure that
you arrive early to set up and test the system.
When you attach your computer to the projector, you may have to select the
monitor output to send the image to the computer. Most laptops have a
function key and F key combination to switch the external monitor on and off.
Mine is function F4.
Internet Service: Most meeting facilities now have wireless internet. This
makes accessing the internet quite easy. However, this should also be
checked ahead of time. You may have to make changes in your computer or
call the facilities tec support for help.
If the facility has wired internet, make sure you have enough cable to reach
the wall outlet and test this ahead of time as well.
Video Tips:
Come early and check your equipment. If you can check it a week before the
meeting that is even better. It will give you time to work out any problems you
might have.
Make sure you save your PowerPoint to your computers hard drive and not to
your companies internal system. Many presenters have had to present
without their PowerPoint because they did not have it saved onto their hard
drive.
Clean the lens of the projector with eyeglass cleaner and soft cloth.
Video Sidebar
Front or Rear Projection: Quite simply, front projection means the projector is
in front of the screen, and rear projection means the projector is behind the
screen. Which one should you use?
Front projection is easy and convenient. The projector sits in front of the
screen where you can turn it on and off and adjust it easily. Attaching
projectors and DVD players is also easy. However, there are a couple of
issues. The projectors make noise that can sometimes be a problem.
People sitting behind the projector may have an obstructive view. Presenters
may stand in front of the projector and block the picture. During breaks,
attendees have been know to play with the gear or spill their coffee in it.
Rear projection requires more space in the meeting room. You will need to
place the projector behind the screen and have 10 – 15 feet of space
between them. You may also need to have longer cords for you computers
and DVD players to reach the projector. And, you will need a projector that is
capable of reversing the image so it reads correctly on the screen. On the
plus side, it makes for a very clean looking presentation. The gear is out of
the way and you do not need to work around it. In a situation where there will
be some room lights on, many people like the look of rear projection over
front projection.
Lighting 101
For lighting 101 we will talk about using the lighting that is available in the
meeting room. Most meeting rooms have basic lighting such as a
combination of florescent lights and small spot lights. These can usually be
adjusted to accommodate your meeting. Sometimes there are 3 or 4 settings
that can be programmed into the system and all you need to do is press one
of the buttons to have the lights adjusted to your liking.
In larger meeting rooms where the room divides into smaller rooms, the
lighting system may have to be programmed by someone at the facility. This
is another item for you list of things to do when you arrive early.
Lighting Tips:
Make sure your attendees have enough light to read and make notes. As we
get older, It gets harder to see in low light. Today’s video projectors are bright
enough to make a nice picture even with some of the room lights on.
There may be a light that is shinning on your projection screen. The facility is
almost always willing to unscrew the light bulb for your meeting.
Hannon Productions - Green Bay, WI - 920-562-1437 - hannonproductions@sbcglobal.net