Archive for the ‘Event Production’ Category

Mike McAllen armed with a flip cam and a flickr.com account heads into the Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley California on the first of MeetingsPodcast venue search/venue selection series. Mike will be covering the San Francisco Bay Area.

Meetings Podcast welcomes short videos of venues in your area to be included on the MeetingsPodcast site. If you do a video with us pleas geotag the video which will help planners if they are venue selecting. Email Meetingspodcast@gmail.com

Here is another video I saw on Youtube which has a tad better production value than ours…. (not done with a flipcam)

Hat tip to Dynasty Video Productions

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Meeting Planners podcast source for what’s new and exciting in meetings and events industry!

Mike McAllen of Grass Shack Events & Media interviews Sasha Souza of Sasha Souza Events
Sashas Blog
About Sasha
Sashas Wedding Design Book:

Please leave us a question or comment, which we will try to address on the show ASAP!

Email us at meetings podcast@gmail.com

or here on the MeetingsPodcast site.

www.MeetingsPodcast.com

Music by the http://www.delgadobrothers.com/

Audio mixing by www.RipTideGraphics.com

Brought to you by Grass Shack Events & Media
Copyright 2009 MeetingsPodcast

Transcripts:
Read the rest of this entry »

Our goal as meeting professionals is to make sure our attendees are educated, motivated and are networking together.  Usually the C-level executives who are charged with one or two meetings a year forget this and forces as much content down the attendees throats as they can in the allotted timeframe.
I had the good fortune to see Cirque du Soleil LOVE show in Las Vegas which blends the music and life of the Beatles with the theatrics of Cirque du Soleil.   I was mesmerized by the combination and I wondered what could I take away from this experience and bring to my clients.

The Beatles music, by itself, conjures up images in your head. When the Cirque du Soleil theatrics and design are added it creates a catalyst of exciting creation in your mind.  The inspiration is brought on by the color, composition, style and of course the athleticism.  Certain areas are all framed on the stage in little mini shows.   You cannot watch everything, which leaves you wanting more.  And I thought that is what you want your attendees leaving with………. wanting more.

The last thing which struck me is no words are spoken, no slides of information, but I left feeling educated, motivated and the networking really came after the show as we walked out. Everyone had just shared a great experience.

How can we work these feelings into our Meetings and events?  Of course I don’t expect you to try and talk the CEO into wearing tights but maybe the use of music and creativity to engage the audience in ways they want more.

Dominic Champagne, (link) who directed and wrote the original concept for the show, explained his vision for LOVE: “I wanted to create a Beatles experience rather than a Beatles story, taking the audience on an emotional journey rather than a chronological one, exploring the landscapes and experiences that have marked the group’s history.”

If you get a chance to see this Show do it.

I think the meetings and events industry is moving in this same direction:

From www.internalcommshub.com

Why crisis planning is now incomplete without social media

In recent years, we’ve seen an important change in the way the world communicates around global crises such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. This change is due to social media. Messages now spread faster and wider, and this communication can minimize the level of damage caused. Euan Semple explains exactly why communicators need to get up to speed with these tools sooner rather than later. The time invested, he says, will be invaluable in times of organizational crisis.

Why event planning is now incomplete without social media:

More and more events,  meetings and workshops are finding to really tap into the three main objectives of live meetings- education, motivation and networking. They are all enhanced by social media and the other virtual experiences that can will ultimately be part of every event in the near future.  Are event management guiding meetings in this direction? Or are meeting planners holding on to the old ways as long as possible?

How to Run Microphones for Q&A at a conference or workshop.

Running microphones is an easy job but shouldn’t be the focus of the question and answer session.

I recently had a shows where the client supplied the Mic runners.  They had young shy associates doing this job.  The executives were constantly yelling at them to go here and there and the Mic runners became the focus.  This problem can easily be avoided.

Three things to remember for great Microphone running:

1) Microphone volume is controlled by the Audio Tech who is usually sitting in the back of the room at the control table. This person will be the one usually who handed you the microphone.

No need to tap the mic to see if it is on at any time.  The Audio tech will bring up the Microphones volume once the person starts to ask the question.

2) Keep moving confidently- keep your eyes on the audience and look for people looking at you.  If they look like they are interested in you start to move towards them.  They will wave you off if they don’t want to ask a question.  Step back and scan for the next person.  If you remember the TV show Donahue was know for running through the audience to get the question

3)  Something that helps the Audio technician is when you hand the microphone off, raise your hand and make eye contact with the Audio Tech. Once he or she nods at you put your arm down and either step back or kneel to keep from blocking the audience behind you.

When the question has been answered get the mic back and repeat the whole process.

Photo credit.. Tim Dorr

Related articles by Zemanta and MeetingsPodcast

• Behold: The World’s First Laser Microphone (Video) (wired.com)

Site surveys have always been an important part of any meeting planner or event management teams list of essential things to do to prepare for an event. On a recent event planning trip to the Moscone Convention Center in downtown San Francisco, California the prominent arches are always a challenge for rigging points and line of site for production teams coming into the venue. So when budgeting for a site survey obviously everyone involved cant come along. So this great iphone application can help keep everyone on target. Its called Pano. You take pictures from left to right and it gives you a really simple interface, semi transparent guide that lines up the shots perfectly, you can take up to 16 shots and they all mesh together to make great panoramic pictures. The final outcome is transferred to your camera roll. All for $2.99 from the itunes app store. Pretty fantastic for big venues like this. I look forward to using Pano to take creative shots plus shots of our stage designs.

I was having lunch with a meeting planner the other day and the subject of Hybrid events came up. She and I wondered what the benefits of a hybrid event was. So we googled it and my buddy Mike McCurry’s blog came up. Go add his blog to your reader it is filled with a ton of great information on events. Here is a little piece of the article:

So what is truly the value of a “Hybrid” event? Well, the answer to that question is multi-faceted:

* For event sponsors and the hosting organization hybrid events clearly widen their exposure in the marketplace.
* Live webcasts create an opportunity to make new connections with folks that would otherwise be difficult to reach. By creating a registration process contact information is captured, which will provide potential ROI value to event sponsors and the organization itself.
* The sense of community created across organizations is heightened.
* In a tough economy many people can not afford to attend f2f events. A hybrid event makes it possible for virtual attendees to at least leverage the educational content at some level, and network with live attendees albeit a twitter feed. The ultimate result may be enhanced member/customer loyalty to the organization hosting the event.

“Hybrid events are demonstrating over and over the power of social media to extend the reach and impact of a face2face event by connecting virtual attendees with those on site at the event. The ensuing collaboration and conversation is remarkable.

What do you think about hybrid events? I think they will be woven more and more into live events the benefits really out weigh any negative reasons.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Meeting Planners podcast source for what’s new and exciting in meetings and events industry!

Mike McAllen of Grass Shack Events & Media
Tom Hillmer of Creative Group Inc
Jon Trask of Alliant Event Services

:45 Mike screws up intro of show.

1:13 Sponsors Hilton Hotels eEvents, BlueSkyFactory and BrandCreative

2:00 More talk about the AIG incentive meeting that has gotten so much media attention. Wachovia Greek isle cruise and other perceptions and realizations about meetings and incentive trips. Read the rest of this entry »

Just because a transition is available does not mean you have to use it. Keep it simple.

I came across this Duarte Design video today on a very cool Blog Slide:ology. The blog is named after Nancy Duartes new book Slide:ology! The Duarte Design folks are really creative! I hope you will look forward to our next interview featuring Nancy which will be posted later this week!

When was the last time you put together a presentation? How many transitions did you use? Grass Shack Events & media

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Meeting Planners podcast source for what’s new and exciting in meetings and events industry

1:25 Listener Greg Ruby sent in an email about an idea for group sales people. CASE program certificate. Good idea! Thanks Greg. Greg’s Baltimore property link www.bccenter.org Read the rest of this entry »