Author: Greg Kamprath

Or “Why do I need an EQ?” or “How do I prevent feedback?” Early in my career I worked at a company where I didn’t have a piece of equipment: an equalizer. I did ok on events with one podium microphone and a wireless handheld. But then I had a panel using eight wireless lavaliers,…

Or “Do I need a mixer?” A mixer combines the audio signals from more than one microphone and adjusts their volume. It can also combine other audio signals (“sources”) like sound from your computer, DVD audio or music from an MP3 player. How do you decide when you need one?

Or “Why is X provider so much more expensive?” or “Why is my bill so different this year?” I recently sent an event proposal for $20,000 and the hotel AV provider’s quote was $30,000. (And their total was after a 30% discount.) On the other hand another recent proposal was $14k and we lost to…

Or “What are moving lights?” “What is automated lighting?” So you’re planning an event and want to impress some executives. You’ve already put uplights around the perimeter of the room and ordered a gobo of the company logo. What’s next? If you want to take things to the next level you might consider intelligent lights.

Or: “What do I do if the ceiling is very low?” or “How do I make sure everyone can see?” At one property I worked at, the highest the ceilings got were 12 feet. But the room also had chandeliers, so the usable height was closer to 9 feet. So you could only fit screens…

One time I was working an event for the Bermuda Department of Tourism and wasn’t paying close enough attention. I took a gobo out while it was still hot and got half of the word “Bermuda” burned on my hand, kind of like that guy from Indiana Jones. Does that answer your question of what…

Or “Do I need a switcher?” The previous presenter finished. My colleague went up to help the next speaker. Everyone in the room watched as they removed one laptop, wrapped up its power cable, unplugged the mouse, plugged in the new computer and switched the video cable. The next presenter’s laptop came up on the…

Or: “What information should I include on an RFP?” A few months back I was communicating with a client about a three day event and they sent an RFP (request for proposal) including a list of specific equipment. Any other potential partners they were in touch with got the same document. I couldn’t create a…

Or “What is a downstage monitor?” or “How can I make sure my presenter sees their slides?” Did you ever take a public speaking class? One of the points they always stress is the importance of eye contact and engaging the audience. When your presenter is speaking often the computer isn’t visible, which means they…

Or “What is a PCDI?” or “How do I play computer audio through the sound system?” Does your presentation have any sound effects in it? Video clips? Music? How will attendees hear it? In my experience a lot of folks don’t think about computer audio until the first time they don’t have it.