When you host a virtual event, you have a great deal of competition to contend with when it comes to other digital media, but one way to position your event as one to watch is through an AV rental to enhance engagement. Why, you ask?
What Classifies as AV Rentals
Whether you’re hosting an event for your business to present your services or products or as an individual looking to gain exposure to enhance sales, you have a number of AV rental products to help improve your presentation, such as lighting equipment. Other event production equipment in the AV realm includes:
- LED panels
- Microphones
- Cameras with or without accessories
- Ring lights
- Headphones
- Advanced streaming devices
- Softbox lights
- Lighting washes
- GOBO projections
- Tripods
- Green screens
- Backdrops
Why AV Equipment Is Necessary
Though each piece of AV equipment serves a unique purpose for your presentation, overall, these elements maintain engagement with your audience. It’s easy for someone to turn off a live stream or even recorded video if they’re not interested, possibly leading them never to see your full presentation and what you wanted to share. And if they remain on the video, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll actively listen if it’s merely you speaking to the audience with no other added elements to capture their attention.
Other pieces of equipment may enhance the presentation to ensure your audience can hear and see you and any other aspects of your video. It could also be a matter of prospective clients or customers seeing you as a professional. If your presentation looks like something an amateur would put together, the audience could see you from an entirely different perspective than you were aiming for with your production.
High-quality technical devices also reduce the possibility of equipment-related problems. Keep in mind that technical difficulties can equate to losing viewers along the way, which is preventable when you have a rental you can rely on.
As you’re creating a video of your conference or whatever it is you’re presenting, at times, you may need to divert people’s attention to a certain screen, product, or another site within your setting. You can accomplish this through the use of AV equipment. Specifically, you can highlight aspects of your service or product.
Types of AV Rentals
As noted, AV rental is a broad term that covers a number of components, with each serving a different purpose. Choosing the right piece(s) takes understanding your audience, what you’re presenting, and how to blend all the elements into a seamless presentation. With that said, these are some of the most common pieces of AV rental equipment you can select to increase engagement for your virtual presentation.
Lighting
Poor lighting can make it difficult for your audience to see you and any props you have, hindering you from maintaining viewers’ attention. It also doesn’t create a professional appearance for you when you have poor-quality equipment.
Ideally, you want to use light to make yourself and any stage item appear clearly. The light elements you choose shouldn’t add glare or shadows. You can also use it to set the right mood for your presentation, which equates to you having more of an impact on your audience.
Let’s taking uplighting, for example. This event production equipment serves the purpose of illuminating a surface from above. It could easily be used if your presentation will take place on a stage, in a conference center, or anywhere you plan to record your event really.
The purpose is to set the ambiance and highlight certain elements on the set. You could also use it to shine light on yourself during the presentation.
Pinspots are another type of lighting used to set a mood or theme. It specifically shines a certain element of your presentation and consists of a solid beam of light shined on the area you wish to highlight. Lighting washes are also theme lighting that consists of multiple colors of light in one area.
Audio and Sound Rentals
While illumination can put you in a positive light, the sound effects and any microphones of voice amplification can get your point across loudly and clearly. Without a solid, quality-tested AV rental to support your sound needs, your presentation could easily fall flat, with interference, sub-par volume levels, or even a total loss of sound due to unreliable devices.
Besides knowing the importance of high-quality sound machines for any industry, it’s important to understand the types of units and gear available. For instance, a speaker system is almost a necessity if you’re hosting a virtual event and are speaking. You want to boost the sound level so you come across as crystal clear to your audience.
A microphone (or multiple microphones if you’re having a number of speakers) is another sound device to consider. One that fades in and out or doesn’t magnify your voice adequately could very easily lose the attention of your audience. But when you have a mic that increases the volume of your voice without any distortion, your viewers will know exactly what you want to say and remain engaged.
When you want music to really elevate your presentation to a new level, you need the right gear, and that means the rentals used for weddings and other major events, such as a DJ system and/or mixers. These are what the pros who work in music use to change songs quickly, mix up a current track, and keep the audience captivated.
Video Rentals
What’s audio without visuals? You essentially need both to have a well-balanced presentation.
Think about it… some people are visual learners. They have an easier time learning about the world around them and in general when there’s a visual element. It’s also easy for somebody to tune out what you’re saying when there’s nothing visual to catch their attention.
The right visuals to enhance your presentation can make all the difference. There are a variety of options to select from.
For one, LED TV rentals allow you to transmit high-definition video that helps educate your viewers. Projection screens are another option, which will let you show video on a large screen. Another option for professionals looking to enhance their engagement and the caliber of their demonstrations include LED video walls — a video display with multiple LED panels that provide viewers with authentic, superior imagery, perfect for persuasion.
Additional Services From AV Rental Centers
When you’re looking for equipment, it’s possible to purchase the equipment you need. But if you only need it once, or even a few times, the cost of an AV rental versus purchasing is considerable.
Not to mention, what you don’t receive with a rental is support services from technicians. These specialists understand your particular equipment and can extend their services to you in the event something isn’t turning out as expected.
As a result, every element of your virtual demonstration will go off without a hitch when you have support personnel behind you who understand the ins and outs of your equipment. Not to mention, you have a wide variety of options to select from whenever you opt for rentals, allowing you to mix and match and find the perfect combination for your presentation.
Choosing the Right Company
You might be ready, able, and willing to take that presentation to the next level because of everything an AV rental can offer. But with so many options for AV rental companies, how can you possibly find the right one for you? These factors are the ones that can help you most.
Location
As you’re looking for a company that offers AV rental services, you don’t want to look nationwide. Instead, narrow down your searches locally to ensure swift support when you need as well as safety upon delivery.
Rental Options
Additionally, take a look at what the rental company offers for their inventory. While you can view an inventory list online, you can also request a price list and see all the items available, everything from sound systems to light walls.
As you’re looking, you should ask yourself, “Does the company offer what I’m looking for or at least a variety of items to select from to best encourage engagement with my audience and pique their interest?” Besides the equipment itself, take a look at the rental stipulations, such as how long you can keep the items.
Check Reviews
It’s never a bad idea to check out reviews, either. There’s only so much you can learn about a company on its website, considering it’s specifically designed to highlight the company’s best attributes. Though it can be accurate, it could miss some key factors about the company that aren’t positive for business.
Reviews provide you with an idea of what previous customers had to say about the rentals and the business’ customer service. Displeased customers can write what they didn’t like about the company, and you can get an idea if any complaints could possibly affect your presentation if it happened to you.
AV rental allows you to take a potentially dull presentation and take it to new heights, increasing engagement along the way. Plus, if it’s a repeat virtual program, you’ll be more likely to have return visitors because you provided them with something for the eyes, ears, or both.
