corporate event production

Finding an Event Production Company for Your Concert, Tour or Music Festival: What To Look For, How to Vet Them, and What You Need To Know

April 30, 2021

2020 was a challenging year for event production. Many event production partners had to pivot and change their businesses to survive, and others had to shut their doors. Now, as the live events industry begins to spring back to life, there are many pop-up shops and new, inexperienced production companies flooding the market and making it more challenging to find a qualified vendor. That’s why we put together this article with our decades of live event experience to help you know what to look for in an event production partner for your concert, tour or music festival.

Start With The End In Mind

Before searching for your ideal concert, tour, or event production company, make sure you set the relationship up for success. This preparation includes starting early. Pre-production meetings for your event should begin roughly three months prior to the event’s date. You should also take this time to develop a clear vision for your event. Even a veteran event production company can have difficulty bringing out the potential for an event if your vision isn’t clear. You also need to make a checklist of the needs for your concert, event, or tour production. Items for your checklist include:

Sound & Lighting
Crew Size
Interactive Components
What equipment is being provided by the venue
What equipment needs to be rented
Will the event be broadcast, live-streamed, or need to be professionally recorded?

AV Company vs. Event Production Company: Make Sure You Understand What You Are Looking For

Once you have the idea and the rough needs of your event outlined, you should start looking for an event production company. The first thing to identify in your research is that your prospective partners are professional event production companies. Sometimes an audio-visual company likes to stretch its offerings and moonlight as an event production company. An AV company is competent in running event equipment and can help you set up said equipment for your event, but that is where their expertise ends. They are not an event production company.

An event production company does provide equipment setup and operation, but also much more. A full-service event production company can help you design your event from the ground up. Onstage Systems has helped many clients early in the event process with tasks like venue selection and permitting. Beyond setup, an event production company will help bring your event vision to life. They can help you with the design and coordination of your stage, audio, lighting, and multimedia, turning your event idea into an extraordinary audience experience. That’s in addition to providing the nuts and bolts of offstage event production like crowd control and security. Events are far more than running lights and sound. It’s essential you work with an event production partner that can provide the full scope of services your event needs.

Event Planning, Event Management, and Event Production Companies

You also want to make sure you’re looking for the correct type of event production partner. Though they may sound similar, there are differences between an event planning company, an event management company, and an event production company. An event planning company helps on the front end, assisting clients in finding venues, finalizing event dates, hiring caterers, manage budgets, etc. In contrast, an event management company handles the project management side of event production. These companies help with event registration, managing event staff, and resolving onsite conflicts, to execute your event. An event production company focuses on the live, stage presentation of an event. They often work with the presenters/acts, AV crews, and technology vendors to produce and deliver the amazing live experiences at an event, concert, or tour. Generally, the event production company handles all production aspects of the stage production for the client.

Consider Event Production Companies or AV Companies Outside of Your Search Radius

Online research will skew towards your location. That can keep you from finding great event production companies that are outside your metro area, who would be an excellent fit for your event, and who are willing to travel. For example, Onstage Systems is based in DFW, but we help put on events, concerts, and tours from Nashville to Albuquerque. You could miss out on a great event production company partner by centering your research on your current location.

Establishing a Budget For Your Event

One of the biggest questions for a group planning an event is price. Look for an event production company partner whose pricing seems fair and reasonable for what you ask them to deliver for the event. To determine what is right and fair, consider what all your event entails. An event production company provides labor but also may provide equipment, staging, furniture, crowd control, security, and transportation. In addition to those costs, there are creative design, insurance, permitting, and taxes. An event’s costs can quickly balloon, especially if you begin involving multiple event partners like an event production company, event planner, and event management. The more moving parts in your event production, the more expensive it will become.

Sticker shock can drive some groups to search out budget solutions and low bids. But, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Often a budget price translates to a budget production. The last thing you want for your event is to spend less and feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth. Remember, your event’s success is determined by its impact on the audience and how memorable it is. So spend your money where it will have the most impact, in the event’s production. Engage a full-service event production company early in your event timeline. A good, full-service event production company can help review your budget and suggest ways to use it to provide the best production, “bang for your buck.” They may be able to help you negotiate discounts and uncover additional cost savings to help your event production budget stretch further.

Vetting Event Production Companies

One of the first things you should consider when culling your list of potential partners is event production company specialties. Some event production companies specialize in corporate events like trade shows, conferences, seminars, and product launches. That company is likely not the ideal partner for your summer concert festival. Similarly, you may forego working with an event production company that specializes in broadcast if you’re not planning to broadcast, stream, or record your event. Many 2021 events have transitioned from full virtual to hybrid events, featuring in-person production, crowd control, and live-streaming. So you may be looking for an event production company partner like Onstage Systems that has been doing hybrid events for over a year now, and producing live events for over 40 years.

Experience & Licensing

Once you’ve assembled a shortlist of potential partners, you can start investigating them to find your best partner. One of the best hallmarks to look for is experience. How long have they been in business? Does their track record of work fit the type of event you’re producing? In addition to experience, ask about an event production company’s certifications, licenses, affiliations, and ensure they have general liability coverage and workers compensation coverage.

Online Presence

Delving into an event production company’s social media, website, and old event footage is a great way to get a feel for their event production. You can also learn a lot about the company’s core values, the quality of the people they have on their team, and the quality of service they provide. For example, looking back through our social media, you can learn about some of the challenges we needed to overcome to help produce a 1,000 drone open-air light show in December.

Also, check online for feedback, reviews, and referrals. You should also consider asking vendors, venues, and other event producers if they know or have worked with an event production company. This feedback can help you quickly discover less desirable event production partners.

Creativity

How do the events your prospects produce look and sound? At the end of the day, this is how event attendees and concert-goers will judge your event. Look for an event production partner that is bringing something unique to the event. Look for photographs and videos of their events across the internet to see if they have a wow factor that can benefit your event.

Event Production Company Questions

Once you’ve winnowed down your potential partners, it’s time for direct questions. These questions are in the final step to help you determine if an event production company is right for you.

What are your core services?
What equipment can you provide, and what will you need to rent?
Are you able to travel?
Can you source local labor on the road?
Can you hire/coordinate your own AV labor?
Can you provide a show flow or cue-to-cue document?
Can you tell me about the latest event production trends and technology?
Choosing Your Ideal Event Production Company

Like any good partnership, you have to like and trust the people you work with. In your gut, do you trust an event production company can bring your vision for an event to life? Even after your interviews, if your potential event production partner checks all the boxes but your gut says otherwise, it may be best to trust your gut and keep looking.

Now you are ready to find your ideal event production company for your Spring and Summer event, concert, or tour. In your search, consider Onstage Systems. We have more than 40 years of experience in live events and offer full-service live event production with audio engineers, lighting experts, and technicians ready to bring your vision to life.

Learn More About Onstage Systems Event Production Capabilities

Audio Visual Solutions for Corporate Event Staging

March 19, 2018

corporate event staging The purpose of a corporate event production is to create an avenue to showcase your brand, products, and services in the best light possible. If done right, you could end up expanding visions of existing clients, attracting some new ones, and creating a vehicle for the introduction to a broader market.

With corporate event staging, there are many things to consider with all of the technology that's available today to make your event memorable and positive for your bottom line and image. At any budget, the ability to make a good first impression and achieve an impactful result is key. Take a moment to consider the following AV solutions for corporate events as you make your decisions about what's right for your needs and budget.

Corporate Event Staging Solutions

Top-Quality Sound

sound for corporate event staging

An essential part of corporate event staging is the sound. After all, what's the point of preparing an amazing presentation if all attendees can't hear it? Before getting into specifics, first, consider the size of the venue where your event will be held. No matter how big or small your event location is, your main focus should start with audio equipment.

Audience size is also worth considering. A smaller venue that's going to be crowded will need sound reinforcement differently than the same venue with a smaller group of attendees. Size also matters when figuring out how you will select your sound equipment. But there are some tricks you can use to work around limitations with space. For example, angling speakers down from a higher height to reduce reflection off of the back wall (echo) can help improve clarity.

As for the quality of your sound system, the L'Acoustics Syva is an excellent choice for many corporate events. Syva is a co-linear system known for producing the top-notch sound that's expected at corporate events. Ideal for medium throw stealth applications, Syva has a sleek design that can work well for events where you want the sound system to be more discrete. It also has a convenient enclosure that contains everything, with a plug and play design making it easy to set-up where it will work best. For events where you might need to address a larger or even smaller audience, Onstage Systems and L’acoustics offer a full line of speakers designed to deliver pristine clarity to any environment.

Effective Lighting

lights for corporate event staging Whether it's decorative, functional, or a combination of both, lighting is what sets the tone for corporate events. The right approach to lighting can even help establish your identity as a business if you're a newer company or a start-up owner trying to catch the eye of investors. Stage lighting is particularly important for corporate event staging. You want everyone in the audience to be able to clearly see the presenters regardless of where they're seated. Consider the following options with lighting:

Up-lighting to create textured shadows
Pin spot lighting with focused beams to make the venue feel cozier
Outdoor lighting and projection mapping to project your brand's logo on venue walls

One way to enhance overall ambiance for your event is to go with a quality solution like the Chauvet Ovation E-260 WW IP rated LED Leko. Amazingly bright, it's an LED light that produces uniform lighting that's easy on the eyes. This is a smart choice because it can provide the right lighting for both indoor and outdoor events. Additionally, the power efficiency of the LED Lekos can be utilized in ballrooms and other venues where minimal power is available. Extremely flexible, in the hands of the right designer, an impactful first impression is made. Tailor your delivery to match the approach to the message because it’s everything to the presentation. Another good product for either drape lighting or eye candy to line your trussing is the Elation Color Chorus 48, A tremendously power efficient solution.

Awesome Visuals

visuals for corporate event staging Never underestimate the importance of the quality of the audio-visual equipment for your corporate event. Your amazing audio system isn't going to be all that impactful if the visuals aren't equally awesome. With visuals, consider the tone of your event and the overall image of your brand. Your visuals should be in line with what makes sense for the image you want to project. Remember, the visual memory of the event is paramount to a lasting impression of the presentation and must not be overlooked.

With a corporate event that's somewhat casual, for instance, you'll generally have more freedom to get creative with your visual elements. If the tone is more refined and elegant, however, you don't want visuals that are too overpowering or completely out of place. A perfect canvas to these visuals should be presented on Absen X5 LED screens. Absen X5 LED Screens are also appealing because there are one of few screens that can be safely used for outdoor corporate events and ideal for indoor settings. The amazing clarity, contrast, and brightness of this high resolution display gives the presentation the perfect platform for an impactful display. The flexibility of its size and multiple set-up options allow for broader presentation solutions as well as increased viewing angles.

Expert Corporate Event Staging Assistance

Sure, some events can be do-it-yourself jobs with the right rental equipment. But there are times when you’ll want to consider a company that offers full production services that include equipment, set-up, and operational support. Plus, there's something to be said for working with a team that knows the ins and outs of recommending AV solutions for corporate events and getting everything set up quickly and correctly. Hiring experienced technicians to do the work also means:

More time to focus on the smaller details of your event that can be equally important
Instant access to technical and creative advice on sound, lighting, and visuals
An extensive inventory of equipment and accessories from trusted manufacturers that includes some of the newest technology

Get that "wow" factor you want from a reliable, full-service event AV solutions and event production company like Onstage Systems. Contact us today to learn more about our conference equipment hire services and solutions.

L’Acoustics Syva

March 2, 2018

Our new L-Acoustics Syva is a colinear system perfectly suited for medium throw stealth applications for professional and high-end corporate sound reinforcement applications requiring high fidelity and SPL.

The L-Acoustics Syva is a 140 degree horizontal by 26 degree vertical coverage enclosure coupled with the Syva Low capable of producing the L-Acoustics sonic signature from 40Hz – 20KHz with a 9db contour at 40Hz. Optimized for medium throw up to 115 ft, this enclosure has no equal!

L-Acoustics Syva is a new breed of sound system we have for rent, combining the benefits of line source technology with a plug-and-play approach. Syva’s sleek design is tailor-made for shows where elegance and discretion are paramount.

This versatile, stylish, and impactful enclosure is ready to be deployed right out of the case in any location. Contact us for all your sound system rental needs and corporate event production services!