What magic lies in the make-up of a spy theme that makes it so popular with event planners and attendees? How is it that one character, has managed to captivate audiences for so many years? Perhaps we all secretly yearn to be a suave secret agent or the girl who catches his eye. Whichever one you are, find out how we took this popular event theme to a whole new level. To live up to the heightened expectations that come with a spy themed gala event, Crown Melbourne’s brief included four key objectives to create an immersive experience to delight guests at their two Palladium VIP Events: To create a spectacular and innovative visual, lighting and multimedia production To create connection between performances and multimedia To creatively utilise over 520 LED panels throughout the production To develop animated content for over 520 LED panels As the in-house AV team at Crown Melbourne, Staging Connections has produced this event annually since 1996 and in 2015 was set to exceed the client’s expectations like never before! Producing an immersive Spy themed VIP gala dinner Staging Connections produced two exhilarating events using world-leading audio visual, lighting and multimedia production to bring the thrill of a spy themed movie to Melbourne. . As the doors to the The Palladium opened, the 650+ VIP guests were immersed in a James Bond adventure. A grand entrance to the event was designed using 64 LED panels suspended from the roof, arranged to form four arches which together, created a tunnel effect. The LED archway was brought to life using motion graphic content of iconic James Bond opening sequences. Guests were invited to walk beneath the canopy and into the main area for the gala dinner. This made for a dramatic start to the evening and set the tone for what was to come! Once guests were seated, James Bond himself descended from the roof via a pre-installed foot loop to surprise guests, while Ninja’s abseiled down from the ceiling at different points around the room. At the conclusion of the opening performance, Kate Cebrano appeared from behind a 15 metre Kabuki drop reveal that doubled as the scenic backdrop for James Bond’s opening number. Behind Kate Cebrano on the main stage, stood a magnificent 15 meter LED - one of the newest products to Staging Connections' vision portfolio. Our talented Melbourne event stylists chose to use sophisticated yet minimal event styling so the sweeping stage design, LED archway and AV remained the hero elements of the night. They created beautiful table centrepieces with crystal beaded chandeliers and beaded wired cylindrical votives as the hero features. The beaded chandeliers and votives beautifully reflected light around the room and added to the drama and grandeur of the 'Spy' theme. Using the latest AV and motion graphics to enhance the Spy event theme Performances of iconic James Bond theme songs by Kate Cebrano and Sally Cooper, were enhanced with bespoke animated content, lighting routines and wind machines for additional effect. A total of 75 moving head and 55 static light fixtures accentuated the mood of each performance with dramatic colour changes. Throughout the evening, beautiful scenic vistas from various Bond movies were showcased across 180 LED panels that combined to create a 14 metre panoramic screen across the stage. This was further enhanced by two additional 30 metre x 10 metre drop screens with 18k Christie projectors. Accentuating the theme, 340 LED panels were artistically used across the venue with LED totems on stage, 4 metre LED strips at the front of the room and four LED arches that welcomed guests at the door. Staging Connection’s digital media team created all themed content for the evening, including six custom animations and over 30 scenic stills that used the Ken Burns effect to create running movement. Overall, the content stretched over 12,000 pixels wide, well beyond the normal capacity of 1920 pixels. Staging Connections responded to the client brief bringing world class technology to life for maximum effect. Crown Melbourne was delighted to treat their VIP guests to two spectacular events that left a lasting impact on all attendees. Staging Connections Melbourne Events Team Our Melbourne team is proudly led by Haig Walker and comprises some of the most talented design and styling professionals in the industry, offering event excellence across 7 key venues. If you're looking to host your next corporate event in Melbourne, than we're the experienced events team you can rely on. We proudly offer Australia's largest range of event services across audio, lighting, staging, vision and extending to styling, multimedia and digital event solutionslike webcasting, live polling and event social media. Get in touch with us today or call 1800 209 099 to speak with one of our event experts. ... Read More

Your business has a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a LinkedIn presence. Depending on your market sector, you might also be on Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ or any of the other geographic, professional or language-specific social networks. Marketing on social media might be second-nature to your organisation, but integrating social into a living, breathing real-time event adds a dimension that takes a new level of thought and management to succeed. Using social media as an integral part of your event is so much more than sending event invitations on Facebook or tweeting a URL to register. A vertically integrated social media strategy based around a live event can provide real R.O.I. before, during and a long time after the fact. What you need to be clear about is who your audience are, which networks they’re on, and what they’re prepared to do for you. 1. It's a channel thing The first thing to ensure is that you’re communicating with your audience on the right channel. Each network has its own character, which affects the kind of material shared, the kind of brands and companies people pay attention to and how likely the audience is to publicly associate with your event. When people present themselves on social media, they do so in different ways according to the tone of the network. We all know that LinkedIn is the most formal of the big social networks. This is your customer in a suit, putting their best foot forward in the workplace. Facebook has a casual air, but belies the fact that everyone is carefully managing their appearance. Depending on industry sector, Twitter can be either a work tool to reinforce a form of personal branding, or a completely informal stream of consciousness. Pinterest has a reputation for leisure pursuits and domesticity. Both Instagram and Tumblr styles themselves leaders in culture, particularly visual. Understanding your target audience and the perception of your event in the market will help identify the most likely forum to communicate successfully. 2. It's never too early to start Your social media presence is a great tool to draw people to your event. Start your promotion early to build anticipation. Build custom pages on your website that either provide a recap of a previous event or teasers about the next. Make it inviting, intriguing and above all, worth sharing. 3. Social marketing to hit the sweet spot Hit your database of previous attendees and your guest list with emails that lead to your social presence. Try to provide an incentive for people to both click through and share your information – discounts, content, and exclusivity – anything that would be perceived as a value-add. The trick to successful social marketing is very simple but very hard to get right; people will share content that makes them look intelligent, successful and interesting. Real success comes when you can identify and recruit the heavily socially connected parts of your audience to promote your content for you. 4. #iloveyourevent Make sure that all of the mechanics of your live event’s social presence are promoted way ahead of the date. This means that any hashtag, URL, YouTube channel, Facebook Page or Google+ Hangout that will be active during the show needs to be built in to all pre-event communication. Warm up the social platform you’ve built for the event in the lead-up by posting content to it and encouraging guests to do the same. 5. The medium is the message With your audience spreading their attention across at least two, if not more, social networks, it’s tempting to employ one of the many software platforms that offer some variation of a ‘post it once, post it everywhere’ cross-platform service. It’s a seductive proposition; why should you manually post variations of the same information three or four times? Surely it’s cleaner and more efficient to keep your message identical across networks?. The problem is that each network has its own style, etiquette and tone, which in turn shapes the form of content posted. It’s very common for people to link their Twitter feeds to their Facebook profiles, but these results in Facebook posts that feel too brief and impersonal. LinkedIn updates can be automatically shared to Twitter, but are too formal in tone for most of the Twitterati. Image and video attachments and links often don’t survive cross-platform posting, which will frustrate your audience. As time consuming as it may sound, shaping the message according to the style and tone of the platform will provide the best results for your brand in the long term. 6. Identify your prime time Remember that social networks are powered by human behaviour, and because of that they run according to schedule defined by our daily habits. Each network has its own audience peaks and troughs during the day, which you need to take note of to make sure you’re broadcasting your message in your audience’s ‘prime time’. 7. (Social) Access All Areas Good use of social media during an event enhances the experience for the attendees in the room and can capture the attention of your entire market. A lively event Twitter feed displayed on screens in the venue encourages audience participation, but it also gives those who didn’t attend a tantalising glimpse of what they’re missing out on. User-generated images and video posted to Instagram and Vine will capture what it’s like to be on the inside, again providing a powerful message to the social-only audience not to miss out next time. 8. Moderate for success Real-time event social streams such as hashtags, or any other event-identified channel, need to be moderated live if they are being displayed or interacted with at the event. Event technical staff in co-operation with an organisation’s marketing or communications personnel have to work together to ensure that no malicious, inaccurate or offensive content is accidentally broadcast to a mass audience. It’s the double-edged sword of social media; in exchange for the possibility of almost unlimited promotion and publicity, you must guard against the possibility of your message being hijacked. Staging Connections have extensive experience in live moderation of social streams and can assist with this aspect at your event. If you’re in doubt as to how this affects audience engagement, speak to a technical expert. 9. Capitalise on your second screening Live event engagement on social media is mobile. The audience at the event will be participating via smartphone and tablet. Make it easy for them. Ensure that there’s plenty of obvious information about, and links to, the correct app for their devices. If you have had an app developed especially for your event, ensure that you promote it in all pre-show communication and that instructions on how to install it are prominent throughout the venue. 10. Curating vs. creating Don’t completely rely on your audience to document and content-create throughout your event – make sure you’re getting material too. Capture it via event webcast, record HD video and get great photos. Do all of this with a mind as to how you’re going to continue to use the material as collateral, integrated with the social presence created for the show. Again, Staging Connections can work with you to extend the live and reach of your event. 11. Think after the event before the event If done correctly, the social channel you built for your event turns into a powerful marketing tool after the date has passed. Along with all of the pre-show teaser material and audience-created content before and during, you now add your own documentation and post-show wrap. Use YouTube or Vimeo to show off the highlights of your event, take to Twitter to brag about attendee numbers, thank everyone on Facebook for coming and poll the event audience about their favourite content. 12. Post promotion Email the potential audience for your next event linking to the social footprint of your last. If a potential customer is weighing whether or not to attend, positive social media posts are a convincing argument from a neutral third party. We are much more likely to trust a recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague than a direct communication from a brand or company. That’s the heart of the power of social media – if you can gain your audience’s trust, then they are ambassadors of your message to everybody that trusts them. Written by Tim Chapman, General Manager - Digital Event Services Tim is continuously supporting and developing Staging Connections digital event components, looking for new and innovative ways to utilise technology to take any event from stage to screen. Tim comes from a background in corporate events where he pioneered large scale video conferencing projects and global webcasting of major events. Want to stay up to date with industry trends? Browse our range of downloadable Event Insights papers ... Read More

As we live in global workforce, companies and event planners alike have to account for their audiences being geographically dispersed across nations, countries, and time zones. With this rise in globalisation and business expansion we're witnessing more and more event organisers look to innovative ways to still engage their audiences in the most cost-effective way. Tim Chapman, General Manager of Digital at Staging Connections explains the satellite event phenomena and what it means for Australian Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs). -- At the recent MEA Conference 2016 held at the Melbourne Conventions Centre, I was invited to speak on webcasting and the benefits of digital innovations in facilitating more meaningful connections with our audiences, across the globe. Whilst webcasting is not a new technology, what has been interesting to see and something that has become a hotly discussed topic is the rise of satellite events using webcast technology. Satellite events are smaller, geographically dispersed events which run simultaneously to the main event which is being live streamed to the smaller venues. For example, your conference may be held in a convention centre in Melbourne and be attended by 300 people while there would be 5 different boardrooms, with 50 people positioned in each, at each of the 5 metros watching the main event take place. Satellite events are popular amongst professional conference organisers in the UK and US and we’re starting to see this trend permeate the events industry here in Australia. Why? Satellite events increase webcast engagement and decrease drop offs Webcasting is an essential element of your event if you want to maximise attendance. It lets you reach attendees in different countries, at more convenient times and sometimes in perpetuity depending on your webcast hosting plan. Webcasting has a huge potential to positively impact your event, however, the key is how you shape your event and communications around webcasting from the outset. When attending a webcast, the average person’s attention span is 90 minutes. That means if you are webcasting an event that runs over this time, you are likely to lose a large portion of your viewers. After 90 minutes your satellite attendees can take a break, go and enjoy some light refreshments and discuss with fellow attendees what they’ve just learned. This break away from your content, means your attendees will come back re-energised for another round. Satellite events make webcasting more social Human beings are social creatures. We need interaction for us to feel engaged. Expecting a viewer to sit alone and watch an event on a screen all day is unrealistic. Satellite events are mini-events in that the attendees get the experience of attending your main event but with fewer people in the room. One of the biggest pull factors for conferences and association meetings is the opportunity to network and mingle with your industry personnel. Satellite events make networking possible. Medical meetings, technology conferences, union announcements these are some examples of events where attendees enjoy networking and meeting people within their field. Networking at a satellite event might lead to new ideas, new business or simply, new friends. Satellite events achieve higher content retention Just like in-room audiences, webcast audiences need to be engaged through tailored presentation tactics and interactivity. An event webcast has higher content retention when watched in a group environment. When you are able to actively and openly debate and discuss the content you have just watched, you are more likely to remember what you have just learnt. Even better, you also have the ability to build upon it by listening to the questions and opinions of other attendees. For an educational seminar or conference, you could plan for your attendees to break out into groups to complete activities relating to the content. Then when the session recommences, you could discuss the findings of each group. Satellite events still allow for live participation Despite being held in different locations, satellite event attendees still have the option to participate in Q&A sessions and live audience polls via Event Poll, in the same way as the main event by using live audience polling. In some respects satellite events create opportunities for greater attendee engagement because attendees can even join the conversation happening over social media thanks to Event Feed technology which scans social media platforms for pre-determined hashtags and displays them on a screen for your audience. If you are hosting a product launch event via satellite events, your webcast attendees can still ask questions, answer polls, or tweet their teaser posts just like as if they were in the room. The key to making satellite events successful As with any event being webcast – the key is shaping the event around webcasting from the outset. This means developing a communications plan to ensure it is adequately promoted, RSVPs are managed, reminders are sent etc. Some things you can do to be sure that your satellite even will be a success is to make sure your speaker or presenter engages your satellite audiences by addressing these attendees personally. As attendees of your satellite events will have dwindling interest after 90 minutes, it is best to ensure that, at each of your satellite venues, there is a break room. You can also go the extra mile and organise catering for the break. You can also maximise the success of your satellite events by organising content-related activities for your satellite audiences to complete during their break. These activities should encourage thought-sharing and networking between the attendees of your event. The content for your event should also include audience interaction via live polling using Event Poll and should encourage social media use amongst the attendees of your satellite events, via Event Feed. Is webcasting right for your event? Is your target audience widely spread across a country or the world? Are you hosting your event during office hours? Do you want to sell access to your event recording after it concludes? Is your event part of a series you wish to make available over a long period of time? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you should consider webcasting your next event. Staging Connections offers Australia’s most customisable webcasting platform, which has the ability to stream your event recording alongside the synchronised presentation slides on a branded website. It even has the ability to embed downloadable documents, advertise sponsors, and encourage Live Chat and social media integration. Webcasting is becoming a common feature to most events even awards nights and gala dinners. In this day and age where time is precious not all of your intended audience can physically attend your event. Webcasting allows them to experience your event at a time, or place that suits them. Plus depending on your content, even planners can even increase their return on investment as we’ve previously explained. If you’re interested in discovering more about webcasting your event, speak with a Staging Connections representative today by calling 1800 209 099 or by sending an online event enquiry. -- Written by Tim Chapman, General Manager of Digital, Staging Connections. ... Read More

This year, immersive themed events are hotly tipped to be the way to give your guests an exciting and memorable celebration and importantly - end the year with a bang! Some event themes are classic and will always inspire, while others trend alongside popular culture. This year Christmas event styling is focusing on creating immersive events that ‘tell a story’ with festive flair. Immersive events are about going above and beyond your typical styling treasure trove to embracing audio visual solutions that transform your venue. We want to give you a taste of what is hot this year in event styling and our top tips for really bringing your theme to life. Part 1: Vintage Circus and Carnival || Part 2: 12 Days of Christmas || Part 4: Northern Lights HOLLYWOOD AWARDS Turn an old favourite into an on-trend event experience. Bring the Hollywood award party theme to a new era and enhance with a range of stylish and decorative props and decor. Create chill out zones with funky furniture, photo opportunities with photo booth backdrops and props, or even create zones to break up the room. To create intimate and unique areas within the venue space, we recommend using curtains, lush velvet drapes, or crystal curtains. These divide the room and inspire interest. Hollywood Awards theme moodboard and props The overall aim of this interactive end of year party theme is to make all guests feel like a true star. Strut your stuff on a glamorous red carpet entrance and strike a pose in front of a custom designed illuminated Hollywood Event Backdrop. We can even set up a lighting sequence, to imitate the flashes from the paparazzi cameras. Red carpet arrival for guests with Event Backdrop at the end. Whether a professional photographer is taking shots, or guests are doing their own ‘Selfies’, it’s a fabulous way to keep your guests excited and entertained. But don’t let all of your hard theming work go to waste! Staging Connections’ audience engagement platform, Event Tweet, captures your event’s Tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts via a designated hashtag and displays them instantly on-screen. Now everyone can have their 15 mins of fame. Event Tweet used at a recent gala dinner Nothing creates atmosphere better than sound. And with this event theme you are like a kid in a candy shop – with so many well-known soundtracks and movie sound effects to blast throughout the room all night. Use large impactful props like awards to create a Tinseltown sized impact and create a high end feel. Team the event styling with theatrical lighting such as moving spot lights on the red carpet, Hollywood inspired gobo projection and ambient up lights. Bring the styling to life with unique entertainment such as interactive Hollywood actors who perform through the crowd in costume. Or use Staging Connections’ audience polling platform, Event Poll, to vote on Best Dressed. You can also use this for your end of year staff awards. Event Poll was used to vote on Best Dressed at this year's Oscars. Top tips Be bold and create a large ceiling installation which can be a cluster of chandeliers, crystal curtains hung in interesting patterns or a cluster of large exposed globes. Fresh floral centrepieces are very popular at the moment, so create a sophisticated low line centrepiece. Simple, sleek table linen will compliment this theme and the table centrepiece. For a little extra attention to detail, create movie reel menus for each guest or place small movie clapper boards as a gift at each place setting. For something more grandeur, use height in your centrepieces such as oversized candlesticks, and use it over and over. Repetition makes a statement. Foreground: Table setting with mirrors for dramatic effect, Hollywood colours and Oscar statue. Background: Gobo 'Star' projections across the wall. Want to see what other predictions we have... Part 1: Vintage Circus and Carnival || Part 2: 12 Days of Christmas || Part 4: Northern Lights ... Read More

Guest blogger Annmarie Mansour, Account Director at Zadro Communications, shares her top tips on making the most of your next tradeshow. Guest blogger Annmarie Mansour, Account Director at Zadro Communications, shares her top tips on making the most of your next tradeshow. As with any event, it’s the thought and work that happens before that makes the most impact. A tradeshow is one of those events that requires time to allow it to be a great success. There are a few simple steps that can be addressed in a targeted three step approach; Pre Show Preparation and Promotion, At the Show and After the Show. 1. Pre-Show Preparation A tradeshow is not all about shell schemes and stand size. Once you have booked your space, take the time to ask key questions and undertake some important steps: What is the purpose of your presence at the show? As with any element of your marketing campaign there needs to be a purpose to any tradeshow presence. Are you attending the show to launch a new product; introduce a new brand; create brand awareness or to generate sales? Nut down the goals of your presence to help you gain the greatest return on investment. Establishing clear goals and objectives gives you and the team clear direction. Dedicate some time to read your exhibitor pack. Exhibitor packs include policies and procedures, and ideas and steps to help make your time at the show a hassle free experience. Stand Design - you’re booked in, you know what you want to achieve and you’ve read your exhibitor pack. Now is the time to think about how to create the greatest impact and stand your company apart from your competitors. Conduct a pre-show briefing to train the staff who will be hosting your stand. The briefing should cover the show including layout and amenities; the stand and what it will look like; behaviour expectations, any special promotions you will have at the show and last but not least why you’re involved and what you want to achieve. Promotion You've booked your space, now it’s time to let everyone know you’ll be there. Invite your clients. Tradeshows are a perfect opportunity to invite your clients (current and prospective) to take another look at your company and your brand as well as starting a new conversation with them around new products; new team members and new ideas Take it online. Whilst your presence at a tradeshow is very much physical, use all the online resources you have to promote your participation in the show: Website - Add a blurb to your website about the show and share your stand number Social Media - Create a series of social media posts in the lead up focussed on what your key messages will be E-news. Use your own internal and external newsletter to start sharing information about your time at the show 2. At the show When you’re at the show there are so many more opportunities to making the most out of the show then just your stand Be Interactive. Encourage visitors to your stand with vibrant displays, videos, giveaways, tastings and most importantly, a refreshed, fed and energised team. Be Approachable. Tradeshows are not a case of if you build it they will come – you need to design your approach to start the conversation with attendees. Make sure all your team are aware of the conversation starters and confident in their own individual approach. Lead Generation. Make your team’s life easy – provide them with an easy to use lead sheet. Lead sheets that are simple to use help your team start the conversation with prospective clients at the stand and also capture the information you need to continue the conversation long after the tradeshow. Come Prepared. Ensure the collateral you have on your stand tells your story simply so that when visitors walk away they understand what you do but are not victims of information overload. 3. After the Show Follow Up. The success of your time at a tradeshow hinges largely on your ability to continue the conversation with those you met after the event. Assign the responsibility of follow up before the first day of the tradeshow and ensure it happens within 48 hours after the completion of the tradeshow. De-brief with your team. A tradeshow is a learning experience for everyone. Sit down with the entire team involved and discuss what you did well and what could be improved for next time. It’s amazing what ideas a fresh perspective can inject into your planning process for next year. All that said tradeshows are the perfect opportunity to show off your company’s personality through the team, the ideas and the inspiration that represents your brand! Written By: Annmarie Mansour, Account Director, Zadro Communications. ... Read More

Leading sporting stadiums around Australia and the world are turning to event service providers to help provide fans with an impactful and memorable match day experience. The same is said for major sporting clubs. Staging Connections has been the official audio visual partner of the Adelaide Football Club (the Crows) for over 6 years now. Throughout the partnership,we’ve helped the Club grow their fan base and match day attendance by delivering a more interactive and memorable experience. This has been achieved by improved ground lighting and AV installations, live social media and fan polling, as well as staging, vision and audio for the entertainment and other Club related events. In 2016 Staging Connections worked with the Crows and other partners such as TLA Worldwide to ramp up the match day experience. For last week's inaugural 2016 Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, the Crows wanted to celebrate by providing a unique and special pre-game segment to honour their current and past Indigenous players. Staging Connections and TLA Worldwide worked together to create an unforgettable experience for fans, projecting images of their current Indigenous players onto the grandstand’s roof, turning the stadium itself into a branded canvas and mural to the players. In what was a first for the Adelaide Football Club, the stadium lights were switched off before the game which allowed the player projections to shine whilst a Welcome to Country and other entertainment celebrated the Indigenous Round. Using gobo projection was the simplest and safest way to ensure a great outcome but also working in with the logistics on ground prior to an important AFL match. Each light was protected from the weather in inflatable domes on individual trolleys to ensure a speedy exit prior to kick off. But we aren't just engaging the fans in the stadium. The Crows have extended their fan engagement strategy outside the stadium, to the surrounding grounds, buildings and Adelaide city itself. If you have been to Adelaide recently you may have seen the Crows’ badge lighting up the night sky. The custom projections shone the Crows’ logo and “We Fly As One” tagline across iconic buildings on the riverbank, including the Adelaide Festival Centre and InterContinental Adelaide. Even the Adelaide Oval exterior, surrounding parklands, footpaths and trees were lit up with the colourful projections, making them a talking point for fans on arrival at the stadium. For a final touch, the Crow’s club colours were beamed into the night sky using theatrical moving lights with custom glass gobos. This ‘call to arms’ tactic promoted team loyalty and provoked the all important club rivalry during the first half of the 2016 Toyota AFL Premiership season. Anna Muecke, Brand & Marketing Manager at Adelaide Football Club commented on the successful brand activation and the impact it had on the match day experience. “We are always looking for new and exciting ways to engage with our fans both inside and outside the stadium. Our trust for Staging Connections’ technical know-how to create this activation allowed us to effectively utilise the dark space around Adelaide Oval to create and build a strong sporting atmosphere. “The results were outstanding and captured the attention of our team’s supporters, the wider public, fans on social media and news outlets. The simple techniques were applied in creative ways to truly reinforce our brand and rally our supporters – the visuals added to a fantastic match day vibe,” said Ms Muecke. Staging Connections communicated with several stakeholders and authorities to ensure the safe operation of the powerful lights in a busy flight path and an active pedestrian, vehicle and public precinct. Staging Connections is the official audio-visual partner of the Adelaide Football Club and worked alongside their activation partner TLA Worldwide to light up the Adelaide sky. ... Read More

A theatrical set is a combination of engineering, practicality and imagination that, at its best, becomes part of a show’s narrative as it helps tell it. The ubiquity of digital video technology means that your event can benefit from the same attention-grabbing visual techniques that wow Broadway audiences. With the right content, your brand, message and story can fill screens, dance across walls and create long-lasting impressions in your audience’s memories. Even better, your content can be transported to new venues, re-used in electronic communication, broadcast on web and re-purposed as a promotional tool after your event is over. What is a digital stage set? ‘Digital Stage Set’ is a catch-all term for a combination of techniques, equipment and strategies that all use digitally created graphic content to enhance a live event. A Digital Stage Set can be any combination of static, animated or video content displayed on screens, projected on surfaces or animated across LED lighting fixtures. The options with projection alone are almost limitless! With one projector you can present an animation on a central screen all the while projection static branding on two peripheral screens. Set the scene of your event The first thing you need to consider when using digital sets is the venue you intend to deploy them in and the projection space that allows. Small function spaces - will be well served by projection to a modest central screen, augmented by strategically placed flat-panel displays. Larger theatre-style presentation spaces - can support multiple projection screens and projection onto walls. Extremely large ballroom or gala centres - allow you to stretch your imagination. They can house multiple sized custom screens, curved screens and projection mapped immersive visuals, all on a grand scale. Designing to your message The aim of your event is to convey your message, a digital set is intended to enhance it not outshine it. The development of your content and its technical implementation should go hand in hand. The best AV companies now have graphic designers, computer animator and video content creators in-house, which is the ideal team for enhancing your message. Take your speaker’s PowerPoint or Keynote presentations as a starting point and work through them with the content creators. They will pick out themes, selected static or animated visuals, highlight the most important sections and help structure the presentation with visual markers. Making use of the natural breaks You obviously don’t want to subvert attention during your speakers presentations but there are several natural breaks in the proceedings; introductions, walk- ups speaker changes that allow you to use the whole Digital Stage Set to entertain the crowd. For example, introducing a speaker allows you to use all visual displays in unison to immerse the whole venue in a single visual sequence. An image can traverse the room making heads spin, light and fire can rise from every corner in your event. All these transitions should be made with tight, precise timings before bringing the focus right back to the speaker. Making an experience for your guests Envisage this: Video operators ensure that all presentations are queued up on a central computer and can be edited at a moments notice if necessary. All of your creative content will be deployed across projectors and screens via media servers run through powerful video mapping software. Lights go down, animation and video come up and your first speaker will take to the stage, right in the middle of the digital set you have created. Your presenter speaks. Slow video loops of your logo and slideshows of images pertinent to your theme run unobtrusively on secondary displays, quietly setting the scene in your audiences peripheral vision. At the moment when the major new product/direction/award is unveiled all displays leap to life in concert with the key image and text. As the details are explained, different points and illustrations make their way to different parts of the room, adjusting and focusing the audience’s attention as necessary. As the presentation ends, the room becomes one image, surrounding the crowd in the environment of the idea. Take your digital set with you Marketing memory After the applause has died down and the audience has left, your Digital Stage Set is ready to keep working for you. You should follow-up your attendees via email, framed in the same style and content as the event and send out a link to video highlights. Make sure you tie their experience into your emailed content. You have created a memory that is branded with your visuals in each attendee’s mind, and every time you communicate with them make sure to use these same images. If your content and message were compelling, they will recall the event even more fervently. Portable set If your event is travelling its easy to take your digital set with you and adapt it as needed to the new venue. Projections can be scaled up and down according to room size and available surfaces. Similarly, images that were split across multiple devces can be amalgamated to one or vice-versa. Digital Sets are incredibly malleable and coherent content with a clear message with translate well no matter what media is carrying it. Your digital content is now a business asset that cost a fraction of its physical counterpart with the ability to be scaled down to an iPad or up to an arena. Digital Stage Set Event Packages - Digital Banners & Widescreens Staging Connections offer two Digital Stage Set packages for Digital Banners and Widescreens. In-house content creators work with you with options for either static or animated imagery. Standard display options include projecting from one projector onto multiple screens or from multiple projectors onto ultra wide screens, if your venue can physically accommodate them. In all cases and all combinations, Staging Connections work with you to bring out the heart of your message, and enhance your event with the right combination lighting, sound and decoration to fit with your theme. Unique boxes The standard package does not limit your ability to create something truly unique. Staging Connections’ creative team and event planners love to extend themselves by creating totally individual events that create an environment for the organisation’s message. Whether it is bringing a character to life, creating a new display concept for a revolutionary product or finding a way to communicate a radical idea with absolute clarity, the Digital team love a challenge. That’s the great thing about the digital visions tools of modern AV – it’s never been easier to bring the hardest-to-image concepts to life and it’s never been more affordable to create a theatrical experience for your audience that’s every bit as entertaining as a night on Broadway. ... Read More

We have been lucky enough to be involved in some great events for our amazing clients over the last few months. So we thought we would share a few of our most recent awards nights and pass on a few top tips from our wonderful team of event experts on what to remember when staging an awards night or large gala dinner. We have been lucky enough to be involved in some great events for our amazing clients over the last few months. So we thought we would share a few of our most recent awards nights and pass on a few top tips from our wonderful team of event experts on what to remember when staging an awards night or large gala dinner. 1. cievents - Awards Night This annual awards night was held at The Royal Hall of Industries next to The Hordern Pavilion in conjunction with our event partner’s cievents. The concept was to tie the stage look in with the industrial vibe and feel of the venue. We wanted to create impact and a party atmosphere but were also conscious about making sure everyone had a great view of the stage as the evening was going to be heavily focused on the stage and the award winners. 2. AICD Gold Medal Awards Night Our newest in-house venue, the beautiful not long restored Brisbane City Hall, was home to the 30th annual AICD Gold Medal awards. The historic venue provided an amazing setting for the night as the stage provided a great vantage point for the awards to take place, making sure everyone had a great view of all the action. The newly restored dome provided a great backdrop for the lighting and our talented team created a bespoke lighting sting to showcase the new space and create some ‘extra’ entertainment for the evening. 3. AFTA Awards Night The AFTA awards were held in The Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. The awards ceremony is the premier industry event of the year so each year needs to be delivered bigger and better! This year was no exception and our talented team followed the brief to the letter. Our large scale stage set featured the Southern Hemispheres (and the world’s 5th) largest mirror ball weighing in at a massive 287kg and measuring 7ft in diameter!! It certainly had the wow factor and helped create the party atmosphere desired. The room also featured some amazing bespoke centrepieces from Qantas and the table layout created the stage walkway for the award winners and a floor space for the entertainment acts throughout the night which included three Aerial acts and Australian signer Jessica Mauboy. Our top tips for staging an Awards Night to Remember 1. Get inspired and watch the biggies Our creative teams get inspiration from the big commercial awards night such as the BAFTA’s, Academy Awards and home-grown Logies! Watch some of these awards nights and take on board any ideas or trends that you would like to replicate. An experienced technical production team will be able to reproduce some of the most complex looking staging with audio and video stings, lighting ballyhoo’s and dynamic set pieces. 2. Make everyone feel like a winner with clever sound, lighting and vision It’s important that you keep everyone involved and energised to create that celebratory mood for the night. Table positioning with clear line of site of the stage is paramount to keeping your attendees engaged. If the space doesn’t allow for clear vision think carefully about screen placement. The sound of the night can help create the buzz, think about introducing individual sound stings for each award winner or a pop song instead of the classic music. Lighting will also allow you to build up energy with lots of movement and changes in colour. 3. Set the formality of the event with Styling The dress code can have a big impact on the formality of the night and sets your guests expectations. You need to make sure the styling of the event reflects the formality. For instance if you are having a black tie event, adding black chair covers and black linens instantly sets the formality and the tone for the evening. 4. A strong MC to control that party atmosphere Choosing a MC for your awards night is a big decision as the choice of MC can have a huge impact on the mood of the night. They act as the thread that holds the evening together and they need to be there to raise the energy at the start as well as control the atmosphere as the night progresses. Always hire a professional with a strong portfolio of awards night hosting. It will add a sense of professionalism and credibility to the evening. 5. And finally, what awards night wouldn’t be complete with a PARTY a. The choice of act for the finale is key to keeping the party atmosphere going and ensuring the night ends on a high! You want to be dragging people off the dance floor as the event is packing down at the end of the night; there is no better sign of a successful evening. Written By, Stuart Buchanan, Sydney Sales Manager With event production experience spanning 17 years, Stuart’s local and international knowledge and know-how has set him up to be a true industry professional. From the early 1990’s Stuart worked as a music and fashion event promoter before moving into the corporate events field and has been with Staging Connections for over 12 years. ... Read More

Nothing makes you feel more invigorated and motivated than being by the beach, which is why launching their newest skincare product sea-side at Adelaide's Glenelg Beach made perfect sense for Modere Australia. The product launch took place as part of a three day conference and leading event services company, Staging Connections, were brought on board to give this year's conference wow-factor. The Event Brief Staging Connections partnered with the innovative Australian skincare, wellbeing and home care brand, Modere to deliver their bi-annual conference. The three day conference was to be held at the stunning seaside venue, Stamford Grand Adelaide in February 2017. Staging Connections were engaged to execute the conference, alongside the social events which included an evening cocktail function, an impressive product launch and a stylish after party to conclude. Keeping in line with the brand essence of Modere, Staging Connections needed to deliver a stylish, smart and sophisticated conference that left guests feeling inspired, motivated and eager to continue building a successful business and helping to truly transform lives. The Event Solution As the in-house event services provider at Stamford Grand Adelaide, Staging Connections provided an end-to-end solution for the Modere Australia three day conference and social events. The solution encompassed all audio vision, staging, lighting, styling and digital event services, with the combined effect resulting in a seamless event experience that brought the Modere brand to life. In attendance were over 600 Modere employees from all levels of the business, interstate and even international guest speakers. Setting the tone for the conference was a stylish Welcome Cocktails event for the Elite Modere Team. Staging Connections bathed the room in red and white lighting to reflect the Modere brand colours and guests were treated to a performance by a pianist playing under some street light props. Following an all-day conference, Friday night saw the Staging Connections team create an event look and feel that screamed ‘Colour!’ to support the launch of Modere Australia’s bold new makeup line. Beautifully bright and lush furniture decorated the room to match the backdrops and floral arrangements. Staging Connections enhanced the theme with spectacular coloured uplighting which added movement and bursts of colour to the space. Pictured: Staging Connections used clever AV and lighting to support the 'Colour!' product launch. The main event took place under a large marquee situated on the beachside front lawns of the Stamford Grand. The look and feel of the After Party reflected the Modere motto – Live Clean – and was created under the guise of ‘modern jungle ’ with lots of greenery, crisp whites and touches of Modere’s red as branding cues. Pictured: Event styling by Staging Connections Pictured: A green wall was used as a stage backdrop for the DJ. Along the marquee’s side stood giant letter lights spelling ‘Modere’, and inside the marquee lived an abundance of ‘Hamptons’ style furniture and large dance floor for guests to relax and dance the night away. Pictured: Giant letter lights were installed along the side of the marquee. The Modere team walked away with a live recording of the conference thanks to Staging Connections’ Event Record product. The recording captured two days of the conference, including the special guests and international speakers, and means the Modere team have a copy of the entire event at their disposal. The Special Touches From the moment the guests entered the hotel, on a sweltering hot Adelaide day, they were treated to a calming VIP event that celebrated the success and new developments for the business. The location and venue, offered perfect ocean views and reflected the Modere Australia motto and left the guests feeling inspired and motivated. What did the client say about the conference and product launch? Modere Australia were delighted with the successful event, and the exceptional customer service provided by the Adelaide Staging Connections team across the three days, notably identifying the special touches from the team, to ensure a professional, yet fun and high quality event. Natalia Colombo, Event Coordinator for Modere Australia noted the outstanding service provided by Staging Connections. “Dion is exceptional. With him at the helm I never had to worry. He really went above and beyond and has amazing people skills and professionalism. Alana is extremely talented and also went absolutely above and beyond. Without her, the after party wouldn't have been anywhere near as much of a success. Chris - worth his weight in gold. I never worried when he was around and nothing was too much trouble. These three people are truly amazing and I am very grateful. Cooper and the 'A' team were also lovely and easy to deal with. All in all, you have one happy customer that won't be going anywhere else for her future event needs.” Natalia Colombo, Event Coordinator, Modere Australia. ... Read More