Name: Brian Duffy

Title: Strategic Account Manager, Live Entertainment

Company: Panasonic

rAVe [PUBS]: Tell us a little bit about your role at Panasonic Connect.

BRIAN DUFFY: I serve as a strategic account manager for live entertainment at Panasonic Connect. I work closely with our partners and customers, including theme parks and other live entertainment venues, to design and implement the latest visual technologies. I love collaborating to find ways to integrate new visual solutions into an exhibition to create a one-of-a-kind shared experience for audiences. At its core, this is really what live entertainment is all about. Whether it be a touring concert, a roller coaster or a new immersive venue, the goal is to create a space that gives the audience a unique shared experience that can’t be recreated in a virtual environment.

It’s been interesting to see the work evolve since I first started in the industry and the focus was mainly on theme parks. Since 2020, we’ve seen the rise of other immersive environments and museums that use visual technology to transport audiences to the landscape of a famous painting or the world of their favorite movie. I look forward to seeing what the future brings for the industry.

rAVe [PUBS]: How did you get involved with the live events community?

BD: My initial work in the live events community centered on supporting the rental and staging market. That was my focus when I first started at Panasonic Connect in 2017. Rental and staging partners purchase our solutions to rent for temporary events that range from corporate conferences and trade shows to concert tours and traveling exhibits. This was a booming market early in my career, but the shift to virtual meetings and events in 2020 made us wonder what the future of live events would look like.

The rise of streaming technology that came with this led many to predict live events would move permanently to the virtual world. I remember attending one of these virtual trade show events, trying to navigate through a 3D virtual space with my avatar. It was so challenging to communicate with others. I found myself missing the organic conversations that would take place at in-person trade shows. In the years following, the industry learned that while virtual environments can help create efficiencies and give people flexibility, when necessary, they cannot replace the human element of live events. Today, the number of live events supported by our partners now exceeds pre-2020 levels. I’m excited my focus has gone back to supporting these live events with the latest visual technology to create truly unique guest experiences.

rAVe [PUBS]: In live events, planning ahead is crucial to avoid day-of disasters. How does Panasonic Connect collaborate with event planners, AV integrators and other stakeholders to ensure seamless integration of your technology into diverse event environments?

BD: We work with very technical and talented professionals who support the integration of our technology into live event experiences. Panasonic Connect offers training to ensure the set-up process is seamless and efficient. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive service and warranty program in case troubleshooting is necessary.

We also offer remote monitoring software that works with sensors inside the projectors and displays to give our customers real-time feedback on the status of their equipment. This way, they can predict issues before they result in downtime. It’s also helpful for our service center and engineering team to ensure everyone has access to the same data for efficient troubleshooting.

rAVe [PUBS]: In that same vein, quality and reliability are critical to day-of success. How do you ensure your technology provides a consistent performance under such a wide variety of usage scenarios?

BD:Our technology endures rigorous testing to ensure 24/7 operation in many types of environments, from hot and cold to humid, dry and high altitudes. This is very important given our solutions support outdoor events, like the LUMA Projection Arts Festival and Let’s Glow SF. They need to be able to deliver a reliable, consistent performance regardless of the environmental conditions.

rAVe [PUBS]:How does your company approach innovation in projection solutions to address the evolving needs of event professionals?

BD: At Panasonic Connect, we view innovation as a collaborative process. We rely on our customers and partners to share their feedback so we can incorporate their ideas into future innovations. It’s important for us to understand how they are using our technology, so we can test it out and innovate appropriately. With consistent feedback, open communication with customers and partners and alignment with R&D, we can successfully innovate in response to customer needs. This includes bringing our live entertainment partners together with our developers on occasion to discuss market and tech trends.

One of the recent customer challenges we explored is remote image adjustment. Experiences relying on multiple projectors can be complex to produce because the images from each projector need to be blended and color matched to create one seamless image. This used to be a very tedious task, in which event professionals had to manually align the projectors, measure the color and calibrate accordingly. We were able to streamline a large portion of that process by advancing our remote calibration capabilities. Now, calibration can take place from the other side of the world so technical teams don’t necessarily have to be onsite or together at the event.

We also update technology to respond to rising industry trends. For instance, as immersive experiences evolve, technology requirements change. Now, instead of just projection mapping on one wall, event professionals are looking to wrap an entire room from floor to ceiling in immersive visuals. In response to the production complexities these experiences can present, Panasonic Connect developed the new PT-RQ7 Series 1-Chip DLP 4K Projectors to give production teams and integrators more choice. The PT-RQ7 Series projector produces high-definition 4K visuals, while supporting reliable and efficient workflows. Similarly, we designed our REQ series projectors to support the level of immersion event professionals are looking to create. This series of projectors was designed to create experiences that surpass expectations with 4K resolution and up to 240 Hz projection.

In addition to responding to these trending challenges across the industry, we’ve also worked with customers to develop solutions catered to the unique experiences they were looking to create. For instance, we collaborated with Illuminarium Experiences for the development of their next-level immersive experiences transporting guests to new places, such as a safari. Illuminarium was looking to create a multi-sensory experience where guests could walk up close to an animal and feel as if they are actually on a safari, via projection mapping technology. This meant having high quality projection technology that could eliminate shadowing, ensuring images were presented in a crisp, unobstructed manner. To achieve this, we worked closely with their team to develop a custom-built short throw lens for full guest immersion.

rAVe [PUBS]: What’s the one Panasonic Connect product live events professionals have to have in their tool kit and can you share a little about that product?

BD: As live experiences grow even more sophisticated, audiences expect a high degree of immersion that’s difficult to deliver with conventional projectors. Content creators across music, art and other live event venues are always seeking ways to better connect with their audiences and envelop them into the experience. As their technology partner, we understand that sophisticated location-based entertainment production drives demand for products that simplify workflows.

Our PT-REQ15 Series 1-Chip DLP 4K Laser Projectors are ideal for live event professionals looking to achieve these dynamic experiences. The series was designed to streamline productions and expand the endless possibilities of entertainment by delivering exceptional, highly engaging immersive experiences with up to 15,000lm brightness, 4K resolution and 240 Hz projection capability. This projector series evolved from our award-winning best-in-class 1-Chip DLP platform, and adds the expanded features from our industry benchmark 3-Chip DLP projector portfolio. These models smooth out installation hassles and push image quality to the limits for live events, themed entertainment, digital arts and much more. Rental and staging partners use these projectors for their compact footprint and easy installation as well as the reliability of our 4K projector portfolio.

rAVe [PUBS]: What’s next for Panasonic Connect in terms of live event technologies?

BD: We’ll continue to focus on evolving our auto calibration tools to keep streamlining workflows for live event professionals. These solutions will be critical as part of a wider toolset so event organizers can control and monitor equipment remotely. Remote monitoring capabilities will be critical for the future of live event technology. Events are scaling to different locations across the country, so it’s more important than ever for technical experts to have the ability to monitor the status of all equipment from one central location.

rAVe [PUBS]: Anything else you’d like to add?

BD: The future of dynamic live events will require technology solutions and services that fit specific customer needs. Working with a trusted technology partner ensures the right solutions are used to create the best audience experience.

Creating a true multi-sensory experience that’s efficient to produce will require more than high-quality projectors. Panasonic Connect’s new ET-FMP50 Series Media Processor, for instance, works alongside projectors to help streamline workflows through features such as warping, blending adjustment, and 4K media playback.

It’s also important to consider alternate visual effects. Our new Silky Fine Mist solution provides a way for event professionals to create a fog-like atmosphere without the use of harmful chemicals found in traditional haze machines. This allows theme parks and immersive venues to add another visual element, to create the misting effect of a rainforest, for instance, stimulating audiences’ senses and making them feel as if they are navigating through a real rainforest.