Everyone in events is familiar with large-scale projection mapping; on buildings, on stage, and at activations. But there’s almost limitless potential to tell your story on a much more personal scale. Sharing a meal is one of the most intimate human social rituals, and projection mapping onto the dinner table is emerging as a fantastic way to communicate, delight, and impress your audience. At Encore Event Technologies, we’ve been teaming up our amazing digital artists with our high-definition projectors and tech crew to create breathtaking, Insta-worthy, wildly shareable content that transforms any meal into a multimedia event. Projection Mapping for Personalisation For Dom Pérignon, we took the long and storied history of the company and used its immediately identifiable visuals to completely brand a dinner for 100 VIPs at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom. The dining table became a canvas for telling the Dom Pérignon brand story with customised animated content projected onto it. Personalised name cards in the shape of the Dom Pérignon logo were projected onto place settings, followed by custom graphics perfectly aligned with crockery, cutlery, and glassware. Each course had its own projected content, complementing the menu and highlighting the decadence of Dom Pérignon Champagne. Projection mapping was a visually striking way to intertwine the brand's rich history with the intimate dining experience and left guests wanting more! Projection Mapping for Branding At the National Convention Centre Canberra, we used the colours and images associated with the annual Enlighten Festival of outdoor art, illumination, and culture to personalise a lunch for 40 special guests, selling Canberra as a destination for world-class business events. Local food and wine were complemented by animations, with each dinner plate individually lit for impact. Guests’ names were projected onto their seats, offering a unique personal touch and making networking easy. The autumnal colours of Canberra and signature looks of client InterContinental Hotels Group were all incorporated to the projection mapped content to take event branding to the next level. Projection Mapping for Story Telling To help global hotel giant The Accor Group tell their story, we staged a one-off special event at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, Cairns, for 10 influential clients. We partnered with Belgian creative geniuses Skull Mapping to license their viral sensation ‘Le Petit Chef’ , and built a reef theme in a function room using lighting and set elements, highlighting the natural beauty of the region. Guests were then utterly stunned when their ‘tablecloth’ turned into one of Le Petit Chef’s animated adventures. The VIPs were so impressed, they asked to see the animation a further four times! Table projection is still such a fresh technique that most guests (and event producers!) are still to experience it live. It’s an utterly entrancing spectacle that has everyone whipping out their devices and saturating social media with images and video. It has an amazing power to communicate your brand, personalise an event to a micro level, and tell any story; the creators of Le Petit Chef are even using it for two-hour dinner shows that trace the culinary discoveries of Marco Polo! For a recent Experience Encore event, Encore's Sydney team chose to create a unique dining experience using projection mapping to match table content to the meal - it's taking meal pairing to a whole new level! The menu was designed by popular culinary personality, Justine Schofield, and each course had its own unique table design to compliment its theme. Each course had a uniquely themed kinetic light show to match the vibrant and fun personality of the food; the ceviche entrée and matching wine saw tables transformed into a beautiful underwater wonderland. As the second course of sticky beef cheek was announced, the room transformed to reflect a rural kaleidoscope of foliage. The ‘encore’, was a delicious panna cotta which ignited the final animation, a stunning soft pink and white design, wrapped up the culinary experience. The audience were transported on a culinary and sensory journey like no other, incorporating theatrical elements and custom table projection mapping to the food and entertainment. Speak to the experts for projection mapping at your next event For maximum impact, content creators, event planners, and the tech team have to work very closely – table projections have tolerances in the millimetres, and the biggest implementations have pixel counts in the millions! Encore Event Technologies have learnt through practical experience how to make large scale table projection mapping work, and would love to partner with more event planners to create unforgettable experiences. If you are interested in using Table Projection Mapping in your next corporate event, get in touch with the experts today by sending an online enquiry. ... Read More

The 105th Rotary International Convention was confirmed to be held in Australia for the first time since 2003. The event brief outlined the four day event schedule featuring two opening plenary sessions , 5 plenary sessions, 1 business session and 28 breakout sessions with the overarching brief to deliver an event that was intrinsically Australian. ...

One of the most beautiful, intricate and technically complex stage designs of 2015. Staging Connections delivered a visually captivating event for the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) Awards for Excellence at The Star Sydney. Celebrating the best of the hotel service industry, the event offered guests a visual feast, combining complex stage sets, intricate styling, technically advanced projection mapping and strategically prepared video content. Inspired by the geometric logo elements the Staging Connections event production team built a custom stage design comprised of a 20x5m hard projection set interspersed with coloured acrylic panels to emphasise the geometric elements of the clients’ logo. Video and imagery was projected onto the 3D set using state-of-the-art projection mapping, illuminating the stage in a thousand colours that drew the audience’s attention and ensured a memorable result. Projection Mapping uses everyday video projectors, but instead of projecting on a flat screen (e.g. to display a PowerPoint), light is mapped onto any surface, turning common objects of any 3D shape into interactive displays. More formally, projection mapping is “the display of an image on a non-flat or non-white surface”. Selina Rumble, General Manager of Partnerships & Events at the Australian Hotels Association was delighted with the creative event design that perfectly answered the Association’s brief to deliver a memorable occasion. “The Australian Hotels Association has worked with Staging Connections across Australia for nearly 10 years, and the team know how to push boundaries to produce a stellar result every time. They went above and beyond for our Awards for Excellence, delivering not only a visually stunning experience but a seamless event as well for our 500 guests. “Whilst a celebration is memorable in itself, we delight in using technology to create a striking event environment that our guests want to share with their friends. Staging Connections have the technology, the team and most of all, the know-how, to deliver special events that continue to impress our guests,” said Ms Rumble. Stu Buchanan, Event Director at Staging Connections led the team in managing and producing the entire event. “It was a star-studded event and we were keen on impressing both our client and the event’s attendees. Our team worked hard to design the multimedia for the event that took over 125 hours to prepare, and the result was a dynamic and impactful backdrop that guests raved about. “As an integrated event staging provider, every element of the event was carefully thought out, from the set design of tessellated triangles, to the mapped digital backdrop, to the three 16:9 screens and the table styling featuring illuminated glass terrariums filled with copper string lights. The event environment was warm, inviting and had an ultimate wow-factor,” concluded Mr Buchanan. Staging Connections worked in collaboration with The Star Event Centre’s technical and audio visual team to deliver the spectacular result for the Australian Hotels Association Awards for Excellence. Related Articles First of its kind - a Kinetic ceiling installation at The Million Dollar Lunch gala Transform your corporate event with creative stage design How projection mapping can add an extra dimension to your events ... Read More

Each week we aim to demystify the world of AV equipment and event services lingo and reveal exactly what those techs are talking about. In this weeks #TechieTuesday we look at Telephone Hybrid Units, those magical little machines that broadcast your call over the radio!. Welcome to another edition of Techie Tuesday! Each week we aim to demystify the world of audio visual equipment and event services lingo. Ever wondered how you can hear a talk-back caller speak on the radio from their own phone? Or perhaps how a news correspondent can be heard on television when they’re reporting from a remote location without a camera? This is all thanks to the Telephone Hybrid Unit. AV Discipline: Audio AV Category: AV Equipment AV Jargon: Hybrid, Phone Interface, THU What is a Telephone Hybrid Unit? In its simplest form, a telephone hybrid integrates a telephone call into an audio system, allowing the event to extend outside of the function room. It is typically positioned at the Technician’s control desk for ease of access and connectivity with other audio equipment. Hybrid units enable presenters to deliver their speech remotely over the phone, with the live audience listening in the function room, or allow remote participants to listen into a live presentation via the phone. How Does it Work? When you want to present or broadcast a telephone conversation, the telephone hybrid is used to convert the call into a particular format that is compatible with audio systems. For example, when a listener calls a radio station’s talk-back line, the phone is connected to the telephone hybrid unit which gets activated by the on-air announcer ie the DJ. With a simple switch of a button on the hybrid unit, the phone signal is converted into an audio compatible signal which gets fed through the station’s live broadcast and out to the listeners. The AV technician will have individual control over the send and receive signals, ensuring no unwanted feedback (echo or high-pitched robotic noise) is present on the telephone call. Why do you need a Telephone Hybrid Unit? Event types such as Conferences, Product Launches and Annual General Meetings commonly use this device to connect delegates into the event, when they are unable to attend in person. Just like a normal phone call, the telephone hybrid allows for two way communication. The only difference is that instead of using a handset, an audio system with microphones and speakers are required. While other technologies such as video conferencing and web casting have the distinct advantage of being able to use visual elements to communicate, the telephone hybrid is the simplest and easiest method of connecting a remote presenter or audience. It also doesn't rely on internet connection, so for events in remote locations, a telephone hybrid may be the best solution. When you’re next at a conference listening to a speaker present remotely, you‘ll be one of the very few who knows how they do it! If you have any words, terms or lingo you would like our AV experts to demystify for you please send your suggestions through to info@stagingconnections.com Written by Andrew Thorne, ANZPAC Manage Safety & Training, Staging Connections. Andrew Thorne drives our training programs at Staging Connections, including our Certificate III in Live Production and Services Program for our new trainees. Related Blogs Techie Tuesday: Talk Back Systems Optimise your event communication with design and production Techie Tuesday: What is a Graphic Equaliser and why do I need one? Love learning the latest lighting and AV techniques? Download our range of free White Papers today. ... Read More

We humans have been fascinated with creating art that fools our eyes and transports us physically since the beginning of civilisation. From perspective tricks in murals to the fake windows on blank building walls of the trompe l’oeil tradition, we delight in deceiving our senses. Now, in the 21st century, 2D and 3D projection mapping ...

As a busy event planner, you know there’s a lot that goes into the planning and execution of each conference and seminar that you’re involved with. At Encore, we want to make it easier for you to stay organised, share information with event attendees and plan a successful and stress-free conference or seminar. That's why we’ve released Cumulus, a free corporate event app that is easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate and an all-inclusive tool that puts all of the information pertinent to your event at your attendees’ fingertips. Our event app will allow you to share your conference agenda ahead of the event, allow your guests to access profiles and bios of the key speakers at your seminar, make it easier for attendees to navigate to and around the venue and so much more. Best of all, Cumulus is no charge to event planners that use us, exclusively, for their AV services. If you want to pull off a fun, engaging and informative conference, seminar or corporate event, our event app is essential. Here are 10 ways our free event app, Cumulus, will enhance your corporate seminar or conference experience: 1. Upload your event agenda Feature: Agenda Upload your event’s agenda or program so that your guests can access it ahead of the big day so that they have information about what meetings will be part of your conference or seminar, as well as the date, time and location for each meeting. Allowing your guests to access the schedule for your event means that they will be able to attend the meetings and seminars they are most interested in. 2. Include important information on your presenters or speakers Feature: Speaker Information Who is speaking at your conference or imparting important information at your seminar? Let your guests know by uploading bios and profiles that introduce each of the key speakers at your event to your guests. 3. Distribute important venue information Feature: Facility Overview Including a map so that your attendees know where to go is an excellent touch. You can also include transport and shuttle information for out-of-town guests. 4. Attendee List Feature: Attendees One of the biggest advantages for guests of conferences and seminars is the networking possibilities that these types of events open up. You can make networking even easier by uploading a list of attendees which offers users the opportunity to e-mail one another. Unlike other event apps, Cumulus allows users to click on an attendee and the app will take the user straight to their device’s e-mail client to send an e-mail. 5. Upload important downloadable documents Feature: Downloads Rather than handing out hard copies of important documents, you can upload essential meeting material, documents, bulletins, floor plans and much more so that your event’s attendees can access this important information from their smart phone or tablet. 6. Showcase your sponsors Feature: Sponsors With our free event app, you are able to highlight your event sponsors in a unique and dynamic way. With a dedicated area for your sponsors’ information, you can create a partnership recognition area that includes flexible rich text content, sponsorship messaging and internet hyperlinks to your sponsors’ content. With many sponsorship levels, you can customise your sponsor area to meet the needs of your event. 7. Include live polling for attendees Feature: Links Including a link to our live polling platform, Event Poll, let's you ask your attendees questions, encourage discussion, promote brainstorming and receive instant feedback. Adding Event Poll to your conference or seminar is a great way to garner audience engagement through participation. With an event poll, you have the opportunity to host a live Q & A session, run polls on hot topics and so much more. 8. Keep your attendees updated Feature: Bulletins With our event app, you can help your attendees stay up-to-date on the conference or seminar they will be attending by including a dedicated news area where you can upload news and important bulletins. 9. Uploading supporting videos Feature: Videos Videos are great, easily digestible content that give a large amount of information without requiring a large time commitment from the viewer. Uploading videos via Cumulus is an excellent way to share rich and dynamic content with your event’s attendees. The videos can be brand, sponsor, product or destination related and so much more. 10. Promote venue deals and offers Feature: Links / Downloads When you host a conference or a seminar at a venue that has promotional offers for your audience, our event planning app allows you to share this information with all of the attendees of your event. Watch Cumulus in action! AHICE used Cumulus at their 2019 conference to distribute key information and connect with attendees. Cumulus App Demo for AHICE from Encore Event Technologies on Vimeo. Our free corporate event app, Cumulus, is just one of the ways that Encore Event Technologies can help you plan and flawlessly execute a stand-out conference or seminar. We also offer you the skills and expertise of more than 30 years of experience and we can provide you with a professional and organised event production team who will assist you in the production of a conference or seminar that will blow your attendees away. To find out how Event Briefcase can enhance your event, speak with one of our Encore representatives today by calling 1800 209 099 or by sending an online enquiry. -- ... Read More