WL Blog – Keeping Ahead of the Game

White Light looks at how clients are approaching event production differently in 2018.

As the event industry heats up for a busy year, here at White Light, we are starting to see some key trends appear in production and event technology. The overarching theme is an ever-increasing demand to deliver a fully immersive event experience. However, with budgets continuing to tighten, we look at how to deliver events with minimum input but resulting in maximum impact.

In the planning

This immersive experience starts as early as the planning stages. Advances in technology has allowed WL to improve its sales tools and offer clients the chance to visualise their event prior to the actual build. Clients get to view the room set up and the effects of any production within the space. This, in turn, saves a huge amount of time and can reduce costs during the design process.

The University of Cambridge Fundraising saw WL transform Banqueting House to create a fully immersive experience. The event went on to win two awards: AV Technology Europe Best Small to Mid-Scale AV Project and Best Use of AV Technology at the Event Technology Awards.

Clients expect more from venues

There continues to be a growing demand for new and unique settings that reflect the key messages of an event. For public-funded buildings, this is welcome news as they find themselves relying more and more on commercial avenues to increase their income. For the client, London offers up an amazing choice of stunning venues and very little is needed to be done to enhance the physical space.

There is an increasing demand for the live streaming of events and it is expected that 63% of planners will be looking to invest more in live streaming this year. There is also a greater demand to bring in video feed and for events to communicate to a wider audience through social media channels such as YouTube. In addition to this is the desire to hold simultaneous events throughout the world. With restricted budgets, clients look to venues to have the necessary infrastructure in place to support these events. If not, they find themselves faced with costly solutions to overcome such hurdles, or may simply look elsewhere for a venue that delivers such solutions. In response to this issue, WL now has a growing portfolio of ‘managed’ venues where it has invested in both the equipment and resources to ensure venues are fit for purpose and offer great value for clients.

Further advances in lighting, audio and video technology help the team at WL to deliver more in a shorter time which is extremely valuable in venues with a tight get in. These tools are becoming simpler and faster to set up while providing the designer with a wider range of capabilities. The advances in technology also limit any potential risks of equipment failure.

WL supplied the complete technical solutions for the European Space Agency Space for Inspiration event at the Science Museum. The event was live-streamed across the globe.

Creative not costly

With the fast moving pace of technology, it is often an assumption that clients need to be solely focused on using the latest equipment to stay ahead of the game. This may be true for some brands that naturally align themselves with the latest tech but, for many, the focus needs to remain on the key messages and understanding guests well enough so that they become fully engaged with the event. These messages can often and very effectively be communicated by making use of the venue itself, working in synergy with the aesthetics of the building. For example, with the University of Cambridge Fundraiser at Banqueting House, WL replaced the actual windows inside the space with projected versions, allowing guests to be transported to different environments. The technology worked holistically with the historic building’s architecture creating an immersive environment without the AV equipment being obtrusive. The event has since received global recognition and has won the AV Technology Europe Best Small to Mid-Scale AV Project Award along with the Event Technology Awards’ Best Use of AV Technology accolade.

Clients now have the ability to enhance the experience of their guests by delivering more meaningful interactions as well as gaining invaluable insights into their behaviour and expectations, leading them to deliver a far better event experience. Communicating messages via guest participation is becoming more popular, with interactive displays engaging tactile senses, the sending of information from large screens to handheld devices and the use of projection mapping; which has become increasingly more cost effective and is still a captivating experience.

Joined up thinking

Working across so many sectors of the production industry, WL has the unique capability to make use of new technologies and processes currently being used in theatre and television. WL’s clients are being introduced to a more interesting and diverse range of products as many of these new technologies can now be adapted and utilised for their events.

2018 has seen a rise in smaller production agencies and creatives who are reaching out to WL to support them with their technology requirements, particularly in the experimental event market. WL works very closely with these agents, providing each client with a collaborative approach and responding creatively to their brief.