Agile thinking, collaboration and the ability to pivot during this unprecedented time of business interruption has a silver lining. With the onset of COVID-19 impacting on the ability to deliver events, businesses and associations are turning to virtual events to enable their conferences, meetings and training agendas on track. SMC has transformed one of its newly refurbished conference rooms into a dedicated studio that can be adapted for multiple configurations with managing hygiene and social distancing rules at the forefront of the configuration.
SMC’s partnership with Create Engage and Audio Visual Events (AVE) has seen their ON AIR studio solution set an industry-leading solution to the professional delivery of virtual events.
The collaboration brings Create Engage’s experience in streaming and AVE’s technical and top of the line and bespoke audio visual equipment to the mix. The result is a state-of-the-art studio facility located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD designed to give the professional edge to businesses looking to communicate with their customers and teams.
“COVID-19 has upended the events industry and government orders that rule out mass gatherings mean large-scale face-to-face events are unlikely to resume for some time. We understand that organisations still need to communicate with their clientele, associates and their staff,” notes SMC General Manager Paul Davison. “ON AIR sets the stage for all manner of virtual events from conferences and conventions to award ceremonies or live-to-air training and webinars”.
Director of Sales Scott Cooper says there are endless options for the team to deliver creative solutions completely customised to the needs of associations and organisations. For instance, the Department of Education had a roadshow planned in June for multiple locations that has been reimagined and formatted into a virtual event experience. The Department’s event organiser can bring in an MC to convene proceedings and live-cross to talent and contributors in other locations or video-conferencing platforms. Only a minimum number of people are required on site – adhering to social distancing guidelines – and attendees can join the event online via zoom or any other streaming service of their choice.
Given the studio is set for recording live content (both on-site and remote) and broadcasting live communications, another association is turning to ON AIR at SMC for their virtual award ceremony. They will select and engage an MC who will join an event manager onsite. Entertainment can be pre-recorded and programmed into the ceremony or the band can play live in another event space at SMC and seamlessly integrated into the live stream. Winners can make their acceptance speech live, or the team can add pre-recorded snippets into the feed or into the post- production video.
Organisations have access to Create Engage’s long-trusted Create Live and Create Live Pro streaming platforms as well as their experts for best practice advice for online and digital communications. In all cases, top event managers and whip-smart, client-focused technicians deliver the show; transforming online meetings into memorable virtual experiences.
One major advantage of the ON AIR studio is the supersized LED video wall. Installed by AVE and at 7m wide by 2.5m tall, the custom-built LED wall is ideal for rich backgrounds and video content. It can display a single image/video or multiple heads/videos at once. Other AV benefits include:
- moving head lighting
- 4k pan tilt zoom cameras
- E2 for presentation management
- show laptops and MacBooks
- microphones and foldbacks
- audio, vision and lighting control
- dedicated 1GB fibre internet connection
- access to stylists and impeccably curated furniture and design elements
Organisers booking ON AIR events can make the most of SMC’s on-site facilities including two free car spaces, large green room and multiple workstations, exceptional catering with individual serves to minimise the possibility of cross-contamination. Every aspect of ON AIR has been carefully tailored to meet approved social distancing and strict infectious control guidelines. The health and safety of clients, visitors, colleagues and the community are at the forefront of ON AIR operations and SMC has taken extra precautions to keep everyone safe during the public health crisis, including:
- allocating larger rooms that exceed the 4 square metre per person rule
- rigid cleaning processes
- signage throughout the venue, in bathrooms, lifts and offices
- hand sanitiser stations and ISO wipes in all public areas
- single serve menu options that reduce cross-contamination
- individually controlled HVAC in each room
- continuing to monitor and review hygiene and safety precautions.
“ON AIR was born out of our collective wish to keep the heart of the events industry beating until our industry colleagues are in a position to return to mass gatherings and large events. This was, and will remain, a key focus for our ON AIR collaboration,” says Paul Davison.
Contact Scott Cooper and the sales team to discuss ON AIR options and virtual event solutions for meetings, conferences and training that is essential to keeping your organisation running. The SMC team is dedicated to helping you succeed in any way they can.
