Our General Manager – SA/NT, Ashley Gabriel discusses the challenges outdoor events can present and shares his thoughts as to how you can make the most of your next outdoor event. Our General Manager – SA/NT, Ashley Gabriel discusses the challenges outdoor events can present and shares his thoughts as to how you can make the most of your next event. What epitomises an Australian summer more than attending an outdoor event?
Apart from the weather, have you ever considered the other numerous challenges that face event producers when delivering high quality event experiences in outdoor locations? Things like: 1. Making sure the public attending feel part of a community or brand experience. 2. Keeping safety as paramount at all times. 3. And most importantly, creating an interactive experience for those attending and those watching at home. Whether executing an audio visual solution for over 750,000 spectators in South Australia or providing staging for a parade which attracts close to 400,000 people we have combined creative and technical elements to deliver a recent slew of outdoor events under challenging outdoor conditions. The Santos Tour Down Under, the southern hemisphere’s largest cycling race, held annually in South Australia is a prestigious road cycling competition drawing cycling greats from around the world. By working together with the team over numerous years, we have been able to determine the optimal location of speakers and screens at multiple sites throughout the week long festival of cycling. Over four hundred 100 volt Line Speakers were spread throughout the streets of Adelaide, its suburbs and country towns with over 30 km of copper cable for the street PA’s used. In order to ensure the outmost safety for both the riders and the public, a bespoke audio system was installed into some of the race day cars which travel ahead of the parade. All of this combined allowing for all attendees to be enthralled with the unfolding action whilst ensuring the riders were not distracted from the task at hand.
In celebration of the Tour’s 15th birthday acclaimed Australian dance music group, Sneaky Sound System took to the stage on Saturday 19 January 2013 to kick things off. We set the staging, concert lighting and LED screens withIn celebration of the Tour’s 15th birthday acclaimed Australian dance music group, Sneaky Sound System took to the stage on Saturday 19 January 2013 to kick things off. We set the staging, concert lighting and LED screens with live footage for over 30,000 spectators. We installed a comprehensive audio system suited the crowds, eliminating the audio bounce back that can often occur at outdoor events. Toward the beginning of Summer, we also assisted with the Credit Union Christmas Pageant in Now in its 80th year, the parade attracts over 400,000 people each year and many more for the TV audience. Our team of 12 staged the event with over 200 speakers along a 6km route through the city streets and over 60 individual MP3 audio systems in various floats and walking characters. We worked closely with the Pageant, even disguising two crew members as Clowns so they could ride in the pageant and fix any audio issues on the floats without taking away from the magic of the parade from either the live or TV audience. Although outdoor events present numerous challenges compared to Indoor ones, we find that our crew love taking on that challenge and working in the great Australian sun. Being able to contribute to a major outdoor event in a way which enhances the public’s enjoyment (whilst remaining relatively in the background) is part of the thrill the crew enjoy. With temperatures reaching 40+ and usually non-stop sunshine, we have developed logistics and plans to suit to all weather contingencies and ensure that not only our staff & general public remains safe but that the show goes on and all deadlines are met. Written by Ashley Gabriel, General Manager – South Australia/ Northern Territory. Ash shares with us that the best event he ever worked on was a Video conference for the Queen. He commented that whilst there were obvious challenges in ensuring technology worked in two countries, it was all worth it once the team saw the Queen smiling and amusing to see Prince Philip’s reaction when he realised we were watching him back here in Australia. … Read More
Optimise your event communication
Mar 19 2018
Have you ever considered what impact the technical elements can have on the success of your event communication? Our National Trainer & Assessor Andrew discusses how event design and production can impact the success of your message delivery. Have you ever considered what impact the technical elements can have on the success of your event communication? This diagram shows how all the production elements work together in an integrated way to deliver the best communication outcome for your event. Audio
Audio delivers the emotion for an event. Imagine you are at an auction, where the auctioneer is yelling and speaking very fast. This conveys a sense of positive energy and excitement around the subject matter. On the other hand imagine, you are at a memorial service, where the speech is very slow and considered with long pauses in between words. This conveys a sense of sombre energy and reflection around the subject matter. Vision
Vision provides the stimulation for an event. Imagine you are at staring at a still image such as a graph for a length of time. This provides very little audience engagement and your mind goes to sleep.
On the other hand, imagine you are watching a moving image such as a video, this will keep you engaged and alert as the imagery changes. Lighting
Lighting affects the mood for an event. Imagine you are in a theatre, where the performer is spotlighted using dark colours and lighting angled upwards casting long shadows. This conveys a sense loneliness or isolation around the subject matter. On the other hand imagine the performer is spotlighted with warm bright colours and lighting angled downwards. This will convey a sense of happiness and enjoyment around the subject matter.
By carefully utilising all three of the technical elements in unison, you will be able communicate with your audience through multiple levels of emotion, stimulation and mood.
Written by Andrew Thorne, ANZPAC Trainer & Assessor. Andrew Thorne is ANZPAC National Trainer & Assessor and drives our technical training programs at Staging Connections, including our Certificate III in Live Production, Theatre and Events program for new trainees. ... Read More