BEST PRACTICES FOR WEBINAR SETS WITH LIVE SPEAKERS ON SCREEN

While our industry is rightly encouraging companies and organizations to postpone and reschedule live meetings and events, some planners may be tasked with converting their spring or summer conference to a virtual format. Regardless of whether the conference is in person or virtual, the challenge remains the same - creating engaging content that will capture attendees’ attention and provide educational outcomes.

Ultimately, you want to make sure that what you are putting out to your audience looks polished, professional, reflects your brand and translates well from set to screen. That means providing a backdrop for live speakers or panelists that is unobtrusive, easy on the eyes and allows the audience to focus on what the presenter(s) are saying.

BACKDROP

The backdrop you place behind your presenter(s) will take up a good portion of what your audience sees on screen, so it pays to be thoughtful about it!

• Use lighter colors of drape such as light beige, white velour, sheer white, pewter, and gold.
• Go with high quality velour drape, as lighter weight poly drape might give off an undesirable shine on screen.
• Up-lighting can add more depth and dimension to a drape backdrop.
• Greenery can help add a little life to your set. Consider some faux greenery for a no muss no fuss solution.
• A nicely painted wall, with artwork and tastefully styled shelves can also help give the background some depth.
• Stay away from recording in rooms that have windows or doors that let sunlight in. Natural light is great for in person meetings, but for webcasting, rely on professional studio lighting.

SEATING

Whether you need to stream a fireside chat, a panel or a single speaker, you’ll want the seating to be the correct scale for on screen presenters and provide the right tone for remote viewers.

• Use neutral or traditional colors for seating such as tan, gray, blue and brown.
• Stay away from black and white furniture – the presenter or panelists’ clothing may blend in too much with black furniture and white seating will look blown out on screen. 
• Consider the material used in the seating, as shiny leather and velvet may not read well on camera. Chairs in a matte fabric or vinyl will keep the focus where it should be – on the people sitting in them!
• Refrain from using glass tops on coffee and end tables as the lighting on set will likely reflect off of them. Instead use tables with a matte finish.
• Make sure the seating is the right size and height for your presenters. For example, for a taller people, choose chairs that sit a bit higher off the ground. For a petite presenter, choose smaller profile seating that won’t swallow them up.

THE TECHNICAL STUFF

Here are some high level tips crowd sourced from my partners in audio-visual and production:

• Ensure that proper static lighting is used to ensure all presenters are properly lit with no dark spots or shadows.
• If using a custom backdrop, beware of vinyl, as it may cause a reflection from the lighting. Keep it simple so as not to overload the viewer.
• Do not rely on the microphone on the camera to capture your audio. Lavalier microphones will provide better quality.
• Be sure to discuss the minimum bandwidth needed for your broadcast to ensure no break-up or latency.
• Think about the level of interactivity you want - platforms such as Facebook Live, YouTube and Zoom, all have varying capabilities.

Have questions? Need help designing an environment for your live or virtual meeting or event? Contact me anytime at [email protected]

Thank you to my friends in the AV and production world, Advanced Staging Productions, Dyventive, Eventions Productions and Synergetic Sound for their input on this piece! Check out their websites for more resources.

https://advancedstaging.com/

https://www.dyventive.com

https://eventionsproductions.com/

https://sslproductions.com/

Here are links to additional content that might be helpful as you plan your virtual meeting!

https://lydiahooper.com/blog/visuals-virtual-meetings

https://blog.gotomeeting.com/6-creative-webinar-formats-to-stand-out/

Kellie Mayrides, CMP is a 16 year veteran of the meetings and event industry, currently working as an Account Executive for CORT Events, the leading provider of furniture and drape rentals in the continental United States. She collaborates with clients to design ideal environments for their events across the nation. Kellie is a self-professed “event nerd”, reading BizBash articles and gawking at the latest event trends on Instagram at every opportunity. She believes in the power of events and meetings to create meaningful experiences and move organizations forward.