How to select the right visual content for your show or concert that not only effectively conveys your message but also creates a unique atmosphere for the event?
Suppose you have the opportunity to use LED screens, projections, or large TVs. Congratulations, now you have a chance to delight and amaze your audience, creating a brighter and more engaging atmosphere, but, of course, not without a headache during the preparation process.
Where to start? How to approach this matter? And, most importantly, why bother thinking about it at all?
The problem is that many often have unrealistic expectations of visual content for their show or concert, which can lead to disappointment and conflicts. Let's figure out why all this is necessary and how to deal with it.
What factors influence content and its production? Let's not classify every single detail as if writing a dissertation, but limit ourselves to four main ones: budget, deadlines, goals, and place. We'll leave all the technical details off the table because you'll discuss them with professionals during the project implementation stage.
Suppose you have the opportunity to use LED screens, projections, or large TVs. Congratulations, now you have a chance to delight and amaze your audience, creating a brighter and more engaging atmosphere, but, of course, not without a headache during the preparation process.
Where to start? How to approach this matter? And, most importantly, why bother thinking about it at all?
The problem is that many often have unrealistic expectations of visual content for their show or concert, which can lead to disappointment and conflicts. Let's figure out why all this is necessary and how to deal with it.
What factors influence content and its production? Let's not classify every single detail as if writing a dissertation, but limit ourselves to four main ones: budget, deadlines, goals, and place. We'll leave all the technical details off the table because you'll discuss them with professionals during the project implementation stage.
Goals
It seems pretty clear here: goals solve everything. But, oddly enough, as a studio owner, I often encounter two extremes: the belief that content will do everything for you, and the opinion that content is just a screensaver with a logo on top. Both extremes overlook real goals - why you're using content in the first place. In one case, clients expect content to solve all their problems, while in the other, they mindlessly cover “video surfaces with anything.”
Content is a fantastic communication tool that has three important advantages:
- Size: screens at the venue are usually at least 3-4 meters long, so your content will attract attention and be visible from almost every angle.
- Visual language possibilities: content is visual storytelling, rich in elements, and allows you to talk about everything, and not just straightforwardly.
- Manageability: you can turn on and off, change content when you need to (I sincerely believe that someone responsible for the button or timer is present at the venue).
So why do we need content at all? To convey brand messages? To create an atmosphere that immerses people in specific emotions? To convey specific statistics? To entertain during waiting times and prevent the audience from getting bored while waiting for the next speaker or the start of the event? To support your performer on stage?
It's a great topic for discussion with a design studio and your team. After this conversation, you'll be able to formulate exactly what you need - whether it's regular pause screens, experimental clips, infographics with pleasant animation, video clips from your projects, or even a show with video content.
Without delving deeper into this topic, I'll highlight the main questions:
- What do you want to convey to your audience? (Emotions/message)
- Do you want content to be your main tool, or is it supplementary?
The answers to these questions will generate many new ones, from which you'll be able to create a proper strategy and formulate your request. And don't let the studio or team overload you with references or graphic materials. Defining goals is not about beauty and style; it's about mathematics that needs to be calculated long before even the project starts.
Content is a fantastic communication tool that has three important advantages:
- Size: screens at the venue are usually at least 3-4 meters long, so your content will attract attention and be visible from almost every angle.
- Visual language possibilities: content is visual storytelling, rich in elements, and allows you to talk about everything, and not just straightforwardly.
- Manageability: you can turn on and off, change content when you need to (I sincerely believe that someone responsible for the button or timer is present at the venue).
So why do we need content at all? To convey brand messages? To create an atmosphere that immerses people in specific emotions? To convey specific statistics? To entertain during waiting times and prevent the audience from getting bored while waiting for the next speaker or the start of the event? To support your performer on stage?
It's a great topic for discussion with a design studio and your team. After this conversation, you'll be able to formulate exactly what you need - whether it's regular pause screens, experimental clips, infographics with pleasant animation, video clips from your projects, or even a show with video content.
Without delving deeper into this topic, I'll highlight the main questions:
- What do you want to convey to your audience? (Emotions/message)
- Do you want content to be your main tool, or is it supplementary?
The answers to these questions will generate many new ones, from which you'll be able to create a proper strategy and formulate your request. And don't let the studio or team overload you with references or graphic materials. Defining goals is not about beauty and style; it's about mathematics that needs to be calculated long before even the project starts.
Place
This is perhaps my significant pain as a producer when a client comes with references to exquisite or very expensive content, and in the end, at the event, the screens are placed aside or they're just small TVs... My pain stems from both a love for graphics and design and the difficulty of conveying to people that these are unnecessary expenses for them.
Ideally, if you have an agency or technical specialists in-house who develop a placement plan and design for you. But even if you do everything yourself, ask yourself - where is the action happening, and where is your audience located? After all, the ability to influence a person depends not only on how the studio and you try but also on where the viewer is.
Showcasing expensive exclusive content in a corridor where people pass by? Or launching an amazing show when everyone is focused on their plates at a gala dinner? Or creating stunning landscapes for TVs in the foyer, where they're hardly visible due to the crowd? It sounds logical, but you wouldn't believe how often this happens.
Put yourself in the viewer's shoes, turn your head, or walk around the office, look at the distance to the presumed screen. You'll see many interesting things that will help you not only in choosing content but also in other aspects of your event or show.
Ideally, if you have an agency or technical specialists in-house who develop a placement plan and design for you. But even if you do everything yourself, ask yourself - where is the action happening, and where is your audience located? After all, the ability to influence a person depends not only on how the studio and you try but also on where the viewer is.
Showcasing expensive exclusive content in a corridor where people pass by? Or launching an amazing show when everyone is focused on their plates at a gala dinner? Or creating stunning landscapes for TVs in the foyer, where they're hardly visible due to the crowd? It sounds logical, but you wouldn't believe how often this happens.
Put yourself in the viewer's shoes, turn your head, or walk around the office, look at the distance to the presumed screen. You'll see many interesting things that will help you not only in choosing content but also in other aspects of your event or show.
Deadlines
Everyone is busy with their own work and, of course, shouldn't know and understand everything. But it's essential to understand that graphic production (even if it's ultra-modern and real-time) takes time. And, unfortunately, despite progress and the professionalism of the studio working with you, it can take a lot. Sometimes, even too much.
So, familiarize yourself with the studio's work and ask how much time it took for certain productions to understand how much time you need for your project.
Deadlines, among other things, are inversely proportional to the following point:
So, familiarize yourself with the studio's work and ask how much time it took for certain productions to understand how much time you need for your project.
Deadlines, among other things, are inversely proportional to the following point:
Budget
The question is not about paying more and more for content, although it would be great. The question is that graphic production is a labor-intensive process, and the budget directly affects its level of detail and complexity. So, before you start, determine your budget and see what you can realistically achieve within its framework.
And always align your budget with your goals. These two points are related, but not always directly. Because, a little secret, your goals can be achieved in various ways, and they don't always require huge expenditures.
And always align your budget with your goals. These two points are related, but not always directly. Because, a little secret, your goals can be achieved in various ways, and they don't always require huge expenditures.
So, these are probably the four main questions we need to answer before moving on to other matters: goal, place, production timelines, budget. Because they determine your further journey and the amount of sleep during preparation.
Good luck, and I hope this was helpful to you!
Good luck, and I hope this was helpful to you!