Hi everyone, and welcome to our most recent episode of LAVNCH & LEARN, hosted by Steph Beckett, managing editor at rAVe [PUBS]. This week, we discussed how AV has the power to create emotional experiences during live events. We were joined by panelists Wallace “Ace” Johnson, founder and executive producer at DXG Agency, Christine Latour, chief marketing and communications officer at Solotech Inc., Mitja Prelovšek, CEO of LightAct, and Donald Guzauckas Jr., vice president of HB Live Inc. We covered a lot, from projection mapping to kiss cams, so be sure to watch the whole event on demand to get all the details!

After introducing themselves, our panelists discussed the question of the hour: What role do lighting, sound and visuals play in creating emotional atmospheres during live events? Latour believes that it’s all about the content and how it’s delivered. She says that creative effects are never big enough nowadays, and that people will always want to go “bigger and crazier.” Prelovšek explained that technology helps immerse the audience in the story, and that we, as AV professionals, are a vehicle for the performer to tell that story.

Our guests moved on to discussing strategies for creating a space that connects your audience with your vision and goals for an event. Guzauckas thinks the first step is to understand what the key stakeholder is trying to achieve and the core emotion they are trying to evoke, then align that with the content of the event. Johnson added that approaches vary greatly depending on the nature of the event; for example, at a TED Talk, people come together for a sense of community and shared purpose. At a concert or festival like Coachella, however, it’s all about amplifying the energy and excitement of the performance. These differences in the mission and expectations of the stakeholders dictate decisions made about the event and its outcome.

We then discussed whether we’d rather give people an experience that gets them off their phones and makes them live in the moment, or if we are trying to provide an experience that’s “instagrammable.” Guzauckas says it goes back to the content and message. For a “wow event” like an awards show or concert, it’s good to be taking pictures. But when you’re trying to deliver an important message or recognize somebody, that’s when you want to give the audience a reason to put down their phones and pay attention. Beckett concludes by saying that if you’re truly successful in creating an emotional experience, people won’t think twice about putting their phones down because they won’t have a reason to be on them.

That’s all for this recap! To hear some questions from our audience members, the four key elements of a successful virtual event, and more, make sure to watch the entire event on demand here.