A Free 'WOW' Factor Idea

"Wow" Factor Idea For Events

Oh the never ending quest for incorporating the WOW factor in your event!

This idea we explain here, we will call the Truss Spandex Splat. 
While it may appear difficult and/or expensive, it is not difficult to erect and should cost between $750 to $1500 to rent depending on the light types and quantities. 

Additionally, in this blog I will mention some vendors, in which you can buy or rent some of the items. All photos in this blog however, are from events in which A.V.Rental Services Inc. were the contracted vendor.

First of all, spandex or Lycra fabric may be used but I do recommend white when used along with lighting. I will explain how to build a system with 1 piece of fabric. For bigger events you can add more fabric, truss sticks and lighting.

We mostly use Tomcat 12" x 12" truss, 10ft long but 20" truss may be used as well. Two 10ft truss sticks must be bolted to a large truss base with 4 bolts, then stood upright making what we call simple truss towers. The fabric will be connected to the sides of each truss stick. 
If using lighting mounted directly to the truss connect the fabric to the back side pipe of the truss to allow room for light fixtures to be mounted to the front side. To connect the fabric to the truss you can buy fabrics from Rose Brand, located in NJ, CA and Canada; with built in fabric loops. Alternatively, you can tie good knots at each fabric and use zip ties to truss connection. There are splats with as little as 3 points and splats with 6 or more points. You will need a third stick of truss when using 6 point splats.
 
The third truss stick will go overhead; bolted to the two upright truss stick towers by way of truss corners; making what we call truss goalpost. (See Pic) =>

The 2 upright truss should be spaced apart far enough to stretch the fabric taut, eliminating all wrinkles. If you are building a truss goalpost your fabric must stretch to, and become taut at the width of the top truss stick. That is to say, if the top truss stick is 10 feet long then your fabric should reach maximum tightness and lose all wrinkles at 10 feet.

Once the truss and fabric portion is built you can add your lighting. You can use pars to shine a color on the fabric. We primarily use L.E.D. lighting due to all the available colors, the low electricity draw compared to conventional pars and L.E.D. pars have the ability to change automatically and fade between colors when set on auto. 

As I mentioned above, you can mount lighting directly on the truss with 'C' clamps or cheese borough clamps. (See Pic Above)

 Another light option is a gobo design with a Leko (ellipsoidal spotlight). This light system projects a gobo design, wedding party names or logo onto the fabric surface. This is a great personalization selling point for weddings.

Gobos can be purchased through A.V. Rental Services, Inc. but please allow at least a week for the manufacturer to custom build. Complete Leko & Gobo light systems can also be rented from A.V.Rental Services, Inc.

Tips:

1. For a slightly different look you can use white fabric truss covers. 
2. In addition you can put small par lights inside the truss (truss warmers) to color the truss cover fabric.

3. When buying fabrics, Rose Brand has multitude of fabrics, some with colored trim to keep with any event color schemes.

Send me your pics and let me know how you 'Wowed' your audience!

Bruce Johnson

A.V. Rental Services, Inc.

4039 Comly Street

Philadelphia, PA 19135

PH: 800-695-5943

FX: 215-904-8503

bruce@RentMyPlasma.com

www.RentMyPlasma.com

Event Planning & Stage Design Advice

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Advice on Stage Design

As our company grows we are finding more and more clients, not only need to rent audio visual equipment, lighting and staging but also need assistance in the planning phase of their events. The knowledge we gain, performing and teching on a daily basis, as audio visual technicians, is invaluable to a client who may only plan 1 to 2 events per year.
The ideas we have in our heads have been attained just by being present and observant during the shows we work day-to-day. I implore event planners, wedding planners, trade show organizers and the like, to pick the brains of your AV suppliers. Oftentimes, the AV sales rep may not even know the knowledge they possess.

Here are some improvement tips and ideas for your room, stage and overall event:




1. Lighting - An easy, valuable addition to your event is the simple inclusion of a few parnel (par) lights, strategically placed on stage.
First of all, I highly recommend moving to L.E.D. lighting over traditional lighting.
Why?...L.E.D. Lighting is green.
( eg. Traditional Pars can consume up to 90 Watts, while L.E.D. Pars consume approx. 7-10 Watts of electricity )
Additionally, L.E.D. lighting offers a multitude of color options and color mixing, without the use of gels. Adding lighting to your stage is an attention getter; be it basic up lighting or lighting mounted on truss. It provides the necessary 'wow' factor to your show and adds some eye pleasing color for the audience, photographers and videographers.
See Pic (L.E.D. Pars used along with draping): http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Marathon%20Lights&image=Pink%20Stage.jpg
Going one step further can be including intelligent / moving head lighting. L.E.D. Moving Head lights are great for the same reasons stated above; however, the price difference between L.E.D. and traditional moving head lights does not yet warrant blindly going with L.E.D. What you need to know if you plan to use intelligent lighting is...in order to get the full benefit, you will need a dedicated lighting engineer to set up and run the fixtures properly and efficiently.
Lastly, a major concern when using lighting is the available electricity in your event room. You should, when possible, consult the building engineer or put your AV and Lighting supplier in touch with the building engineer to ensure there are not any circuit breakers tripped or power outages during your show.

2. Trussing - Trussing is primarily used for mounting of lights, video screens (we will discuss later), speakers and adding fabric effects for lighting. The same lights discussed above can be alternately be mounted to truss towers. When deciding to use truss, or not, you must be aware of your available stage space and truss weight limitations. This is where you make your AV supplier earn his or her salary. With your supplier, you should be able to verbally explain your vision and have them execute the same vision, to your satisfaction.
For visual stage effects, using trussing and a few pieces of Spandex or Lycra fabric you can create a beautiful and professional looking stage
to serve as a dramatic backdrop during your show. When using truss for this stage effect be sure to use bases and/or enough trussing to ensure its sturdiness. the last thing you want is your trussing toppling over before or during your show.
See Pic (truss with fabric):
http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./BAE%20at%20Sheraton&image=IMG_1483.jpg
See Pic (extravagant truss set up with crane and hoist)

http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=./Obama%20on%20NBC&image=obama.jpg

Comment - I really like working with trussing because in the long run it clears the stage by allowing us to truss mount almost anything.

3. Video - For the purposes of this blog, I have one idea and one word to add the 'wow' factor to your event; it is 'I-Mag'.
I-Magging is the act of shooting and broadcasting live video, simultaneously.
What Do I Need: You will need a video camera, LCD or DLP projector and projection screen.
What Do I Do: With the video camera, you will shoot the presenter, send the video output
to the LCD projector and project it on a projection screen,
most commonly placed behind the presenter. You can alternately route the video output to a plasma or LCD monitor(s). If you are using trussing you can easily mount a Da-Lite Fastfold screen to the trussing. If stage space is a concern, I recommend using a short throw projector to conserve. Lastly, be sure to use a projector with sufficient Lumens to not be effected or dulled by the nearby lighting.
See Pic ( Necessary Imag Rental Equipment):http://www.audiovisualrenting.com/events.html

If you are in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware area we would be ecstatic to quote and possibly be involved in your next event!

Bruce Johnson
A.V. Rental Services, Inc.
4039 Comly Street
Philadelphia, PA 19135
http://www.rentmyplasma.com/