Events Education
By Thomas Lawlor, CTS
We are constantly called on to put 10lbs of crap in a 5 lb room. My boss doesn't like it when we call it crap. He suggests that we are putting quality audio visual products and services in a 5 lb room. As space is usually at a premium, here are some methods that have worked for us in the past.
Safety first
The #1 concern is safety. Check with local fire authorities. Blocking fire exits is a huge mistake. The fire department can close you down; you will also be liable if anything tragic happens.
Look up
The first direction in the room that we look is up. If space allows, you can hang speakers, projectors, lights, plasmas, etc. from the ceiling. Ballrooms have air wall tracks. Many other places have rigging points, and tents have poles. Be sure to use a bonded rigger for hanging equipment. Larger jobs require truss to be hung and then instruments hung off the trusses.
Up until now it was difficult and expensive to hang things off lower suspended ceilings. But with the availability of lightweight projectors, this is now an option. Manufacturers have white 2 x 2 foot metal pans that temporarily replace a ceiling tile. With a little reinforcement, they can hang a lightweight video projector. The combination of the pan, the new projector mounts, and the slim projectors means only six inches is needed. When you are done, just move the original tile back in place.
Look around
We put equipment behind the bar. Sometimes, this requires delicate negotiation with the bartender. If it out of the way and is not too loud or distracting, it usually can be worked out. Watch for things that can short because of moisture.
Pillars, planters, or anywhere people are not walking in a direct path, we consider an option. Talk with the venue first. Some are a little sensitive about having their plants trampled. We once placed speakers at the feet of the elephants at the American Museum of Natural History.
Look out
Temporarily, remove some doors and put up a small tent outside which would abut the space. Again check with fire codes, but you can use the new space for rear projection, equipment, or just added space for guests. If you provide heat or use air conditioning and remove the doors, people can flow effortlessly back and forth. We have put speakers outside and aimed them back in an open window. Once we put a screen on a sidewalk, and people in the restaurant viewed it out a large window.
Smaller equipment
Plasma screens are only 4 inches thick as opposed to the old monitors which were about 2 feet thick. Their stands consist of two pipes and a fairly large thin base that can go under carpet. 2000 lumen projectors now weigh 4 lbs, and can be hidden almost anywhere. They no longer have to be on the same plane as the screen. The screen can go against the wall, or use the wall. With new software, the projector does not have to be on axis to have a squared up image.
Equipment is getting smaller and lighter, but space is getting to be more of a premium. We are constantly being asked to do more with less. And that 5 lb room is not getting any bigger.
Thomas Lawlor, CTS, of M Communications, has been in the AV industry
for 18 years. M Communications is a full service Audio Visual Company
serving the New York Metropolitan Area from offices in Stamford, CT.
Thomas can be reached at Tlawlor@mcommunications.com.