Are Outdoor Venue Constraints Killing Your Conference?

How Do You Top Last Year’s Conference?
May 15, 2018

Are Outdoor Venue Constraints Killing Your Conference?

Many event planners have bold visions to help their clients achieve meeting perfection. But unfortunately, the chosen venue may throw a monkey wrench into the plan by presenting challenges that can significantly limit the vision. Challenges like room size, available power, weather, and various other factors can crush a great idea in an instant. That’s why a proven AV company is a necessity – they know how to meet challenges.

Let’s start by considering a small room flagged for 160 attendees. Next, let’s make it very small, say 30’ x 80’. And, what if the room also has low ceilings of only 10’? Right off the bat THERE’S A PROBLEM. It’s evident that traditional methods of projection will be severely limited. Typical projectors need 1.5’ distance for every 1’ of screen width. This requires a 15’ separation from a 10’ wide projection surface. Now the room size has been reduced to 30’x65’. But, no problem because you have a short throw lens, right? Well even with a better lens you still need a 10’ projection depth. Now the room is even smaller with a length that has been reduced to 70’.

ceiling projector

And it doesn’t stop there. Rear projection will also take up valuable real estate. What if you hang the pro

jector from the ceiling to conserve space? Well, in this scenario the projector would have to be mounted at the height of 7.5’, and would impede the view of the top of the image. Even if you could make it work, the attendees in the back third of the room would be challenged to clearly see the content on such a small screen. There are also structural limitations with regards to suspending equipment (weight and liability).  OK, it’s evident that ceiling projection is not the solution for this room, now what?

outdoor event video

Eureka!  You have the perfect solution – move the event outdoors. There won’t be any space limits, so you’ll have total creative control, right? Not so fast. Remember, you’re outdoors and any projector will be hard pressed to compete with the sun. But there will be a tent providing shade, right? Sorry, the ambient light from the sun will greatly diminish the effectiveness of your projector. And, to make matters worse, there are also moisture considerations with humid areas such as the southeast USA. So, are we back to square one or is there a solution?

Three letters will solve all of these challenges – LED. First, an LED wall has a footprint of 3’ or less than 4% of the room depth. Now we have the room for the attendees to be comfortable and not feel cramped. Second, we can increase the size of the image by 50% to 15’ wide. This would provide a large 15’x8’ viewing surface so that even those in the very back can see without issue. Third, the presenters can walk directly in front of the image without blinding light or casting unsightly shadows.

outdoor LED Wall The use of an LED wall can elevate the professional look of your conference to the next level, like Elon Musk or Steve Jobs type presentations. And, LED walls can be placed outside in direct sunlight and still maintain a brilliant clear image. LED walls are extremely bright and can be adjusted to fit any environment. Some LED walls are even rated specifically for outdoor use. And as if all of this isn’t enough, LED walls are water proof and can operate in the rain!

When your next venue presents these types of challenges, think LED wall, and then call Lucas Productions Audio Visual.