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Friday, July 11, 2014
The Resurging Video Interview
Java On Board: “A what Not to do” Blog & Podcast
A true story, as told by one of our anonymous Executive Producers …
Last year we were asked by some associates, whom shall also remain nameless, to stage manage a 1,000 plus attendee event. Their client had booked them late after an on-staff event manager left to take another position just weeks before the meeting.
As experienced Event Producers, we want to know exactly who the key people are on a job, what equipment they are proficient with and what their depth of experience is. Important things to know just in case a live event doesn't go exactly as scripted.
With none of these answers in hand, I told them we were uncomfortable about it and would prefer not to do the show. There were key process steps being skipped, different teams, and different players. I told them it made me nervous.
In the end, we like these guys and they needed a favor. So, I unceremoniously caved and said yes, with the understanding that our company would not be held responsible for the outcome if things went sideways. They agreed.
Sometimes I wish that little voice in my head would speak louder and more clearly.
Night one: General Session. I watch in horror as the 9 x 12 projection screens display dual error messages in one foot tall Arial! Apparently, the rented laptops had trial versions of PowerPoint® that timed out right in the middle of the presentation. The corrective actions (new laptops) were in before the AM session. However, the “new” rented laptops were in fact so “old” that they simply crashed every time a complicated slide animation started. I heard the little voice say, “I told you so”, and it did sound louder that time?
We have rules when we produce a show ourselves that our crews know to comply with. One such rule involves the simultaneous use of liquids and boards. Yep. The unimaginable happened on day three after a mid-morning break. 16 oz. of hot java was spilled on the lighting board. After draining the board of, say 14 oz. of now lukewarm coffee, the main presenter takes the stage. Off we go, fingers crossed and heart pounding. 10 minutes in … still good. 30 minutes in; we remain alive. Then lights mounted to the truss begin blinking. They stop a minute or two later. We may have dodged a bullet? Nope, that’s not the case. Now we’re dark. The backup lights power on at full and blind the presenter!
The audio person has run over to assist, and he’s banging on the lighting board so loud that 400 or so of the 1,000 attendees are now turned around in their seats watching the spectacle unfold in real-time. I race over to assure him that no amount brutality or aggression is going to dry those circuits any faster. As soon the words fell from my lips, almost on cue, we’re dark again. The house lights go on for the remainder of the presentation. The little voice in my head was now screaming, “You never listen to me.”
After the show, as we started to pack up, a contrite lighting tech came over to apologize one more time. I reminded him that he had a done a great job right up until the coffee thing. Then he looked at me and asked, “I just have to know one thing, if that’s OK? When we had to go to house lights, and you walked off holding your head in your hands, why did you say, 'Shut up, why weren’t you screaming when I agreed to do this?”
Moral of the story, know your people, know their capabilities, and know your equipment. Then test all three of those things a few times before opening the show! Oh, and never believe it when you hear, “We have everything taken care of, you can just fly in and do your thing!”
Last year we were asked by some associates, whom shall also remain nameless, to stage manage a 1,000 plus attendee event. Their client had booked them late after an on-staff event manager left to take another position just weeks before the meeting.
As experienced Event Producers, we want to know exactly who the key people are on a job, what equipment they are proficient with and what their depth of experience is. Important things to know just in case a live event doesn't go exactly as scripted.
With none of these answers in hand, I told them we were uncomfortable about it and would prefer not to do the show. There were key process steps being skipped, different teams, and different players. I told them it made me nervous.
In the end, we like these guys and they needed a favor. So, I unceremoniously caved and said yes, with the understanding that our company would not be held responsible for the outcome if things went sideways. They agreed.
Sometimes I wish that little voice in my head would speak louder and more clearly.
Night one: General Session. I watch in horror as the 9 x 12 projection screens display dual error messages in one foot tall Arial! Apparently, the rented laptops had trial versions of PowerPoint® that timed out right in the middle of the presentation. The corrective actions (new laptops) were in before the AM session. However, the “new” rented laptops were in fact so “old” that they simply crashed every time a complicated slide animation started. I heard the little voice say, “I told you so”, and it did sound louder that time?
We have rules when we produce a show ourselves that our crews know to comply with. One such rule involves the simultaneous use of liquids and boards. Yep. The unimaginable happened on day three after a mid-morning break. 16 oz. of hot java was spilled on the lighting board. After draining the board of, say 14 oz. of now lukewarm coffee, the main presenter takes the stage. Off we go, fingers crossed and heart pounding. 10 minutes in … still good. 30 minutes in; we remain alive. Then lights mounted to the truss begin blinking. They stop a minute or two later. We may have dodged a bullet? Nope, that’s not the case. Now we’re dark. The backup lights power on at full and blind the presenter!
The audio person has run over to assist, and he’s banging on the lighting board so loud that 400 or so of the 1,000 attendees are now turned around in their seats watching the spectacle unfold in real-time. I race over to assure him that no amount brutality or aggression is going to dry those circuits any faster. As soon the words fell from my lips, almost on cue, we’re dark again. The house lights go on for the remainder of the presentation. The little voice in my head was now screaming, “You never listen to me.”
After the show, as we started to pack up, a contrite lighting tech came over to apologize one more time. I reminded him that he had a done a great job right up until the coffee thing. Then he looked at me and asked, “I just have to know one thing, if that’s OK? When we had to go to house lights, and you walked off holding your head in your hands, why did you say, 'Shut up, why weren’t you screaming when I agreed to do this?”
Moral of the story, know your people, know their capabilities, and know your equipment. Then test all three of those things a few times before opening the show! Oh, and never believe it when you hear, “We have everything taken care of, you can just fly in and do your thing!”
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Hey, I can see the future! (Augmented Reality)
Hey, I can see the future!
Donning the most hi-tech fashion eyewear known to man is Not the only way Augmented Reality (AR) will be interjecting itself into your lives. Marketers and publishers are finding new ways to make what they do more relevant and engaging by connecting print and video via AR.
According to Jaek Amos, Marketing Technology Manager for Communicorp—a wholly owned subsidiary of Aflac, Inc — "The ability to make print an entry point for cloud content, especially video, is a game changer. We don't have to direct the audience to a URL and hope that they log in later. They scan an image and it opens up another medium. It delivers an immediacy of engagement that is unprecedented in our field."
AR is certainly opening new doors creatively, but Marketing bosses are also happy about the data collection potential associated with AR. The 'content immediacy' provided to the consumers of the messaging also provides managers with actionable data very quickly. In fact, results on campaign and program effectiveness are often available in time to make course corrections while they are still in flight.
Communicorp recently completed an exceptionally cool AR project with outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer RealTree®, where a printed image of a hunter and his Labrador retriever in a duck blind. When scanned with the AR app, the picture launches a video in which the scene comes to life, the hunter stands and shoots, then the dog leaps into the marsh -- water drops even appear to splash on the video camera lens. It's immersive for both the Labrador and the viewer!
Why AR is driving interest:
- Adding AR links to classified and on page ads is making some newspapers relevant again (and adding millions in revenue)
- AR software maker Layar has 65,000 publishers and 38 million apps downloaded
- Ford used AR as part of its 2014 auto show events – launching video from graphics on show vehicles
- In 2015 Audi owner’s manuals for some vehicles will use AR – point your the smart phone AR app at the radio to launch a video How-To demo on using the sound system, navigation, etc.
- Lego has interactive kiosks that scan the toy packaging and launch video of the finished assembly
- Ikea is delivering videos of assembly instructions via its packaging
- We are currently working with themes that use AR to create interactive games, engaging attendees and presenting key information in new ways at -- and after corporate events
Want to talk about how AR can help move your audiences to action? Connecting Print & Video
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