Here at Meet Cambridge, we have a team of experts on hand to help you find your perfect venue and when you need to call on suppliers to assist with your event, we’re pleased to say that we also have an extensive network of specialists that we can introduce you to…

We are often approached by organisers who need assistance with event production and filming for a live event.

We met up with Andy Rice, from Giggabox- one of our event production and film suppliers, to find out more about event production, stage sets and audio-visual technology - and to get some tips for working with an event production company.

 

How long have you been in the industry?

 

Giggabox began a decade ago as a specialist video production company. Paul Musselle, the founder, is a former Television and Event Presenter. From his position in front of the camera and on the stage, Paul was often asked if he could produce this film or that film and he quickly realised that there was a real business opportunity to be grabbed. After producing films for a number of major motorsport brands such as Ducati, Kawasaki and Metzler, Vauxhall became our first major event production client in 2010. Working with one of Britain’s most iconic brands has taught us a lot and we have been delighted with how the relationship has grown. We now produce all dealer and customer car and van launch events as well as providing a number of internal communications events. The client base has grown steadily since then as we pride ourselves on producing West End quality at East Midlands prices.

 

Can you suggest some creative ways to use your service on a budget?

Yes, it all starts with a conversation!

We can generate a wow factor on any budget, but the fundamentals of bomb-proof AV should never be compromised.

You can produce amazing effects with well placed, creative lighting. You do not have to break the budget in order to create a sense of theatre- you just need to make sure that the sound is professionally produced and managed. There is nothing worse than a dropped mic link or feedback making your guest speaker wince. If there is one area where you must not compromise, it’s having professionals deliver the key AV and an Event partner you can trust.

 

What should organisers think about when writing a brief for you?

Here are some of the things you should think about before inviting your potential event production partner in for a chat:

  • Who are your delegates? The more we know about them the better we will be able to meet their needs; how many of them will there be?
  • What is the overall purpose of the event?
  • When is it, and how long for?
  • What is the size of your budget? How did you arrive at that number?
  • What are the 3 key messages you want the event to deliver?
  • Do you have a theme in mind?
  • How many speakers will you be having?
  • How do you want the audience to feel when they arrive at the venue?
  • How do you want the audience to feel when they leave the event?
  • What’s the single most important element of the event? Why?
  • What sort of on-site branding do you want?
  • What are your AV requirements?
  • Do you need any live streaming to other locations?
  • Do you want to capture the event in 2-minute film to share post event?
  • What thoughts do you have for stage set and design?
  • What sort of lighting would you like?
  • Do you need film or graphics for your event presentation?
  • What’s the most important quality you want to see in your Event Production partner?

 

What are the golden rules event organisers need to follow in order to get the most out of your service?

  1. Talk to us
  2. Lean on us. The more that organisers share their areas of concern, the more we can help
  3. Get us involved as early in the process as you can
  4. Always ask- with a ‘can do’ attitude, there’s always a way
  5. Be honest about the limitations of your budget- we’ll work with what you have got.

 

What are the benefits of outsourcing event production?

It takes the stress out of the event for the organiser.  Event organisers have lots to worry about: senior management; stakeholders; publicity; liaising with the venue; catering etc…leave the event production in a safe pair of hands.

By using an event production company, you tap into years’ worth of creative experience- we will do far more than provide kit, we will add value to the whole process and ensure that you are not working in isolation- we provide a team of support to ensure that you are never with a problem to solve on your own.

We’ll be the ones asking, ‘have you thought of this or that?’ and, if the answer is ‘no’, we’ll be the ones saying ‘can we help you with that?’

 

What are your thoughts on the future of event production and how is technology changing the event experience?

As a matter of course, we attend all the latest industry shows nationally and internationally. This enables us to keep up to date with emerging technologies and creative opportunities. Often though, it’s about how that new technology can best be used for a particular event. There are some amazing new lighting effects emerging but if they don’t suit your theme or event, why pay a premium for them? Likewise, for certain clients, having AV tech that is at the cutting edge is a key requirement.

We’re seeing some exciting new technologies in the area of Augmented Reality and this is the area we’re expecting to see change the delegate experience in a big way. And it’s an area we’re already active within for both events, exhibitions and conferences.

 

Have you got a favourite or unusual event that you worked on?

We took a call at 17:40 on a Monday from a client who said they needed our services for a large event that following Thursday.  They couldn’t tell us where the event was, how many people would attend or what the content would be. They said the event would require our whole event team, but that we couldn’t tell anyone!

To cut a long story short, we spent the night - and into the early hours, working on 4 different possible scenarios - for each we were feeling “it can’t happen in this short amount of time” but “we’ll make it happen, we always do.”

By Tuesday afternoon we knew we were delivering an event for over 2000 people including the UK’s national press at a manufacturing plant. We had to install staging, lighting, a huge screen and a PA that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Glastonbury... oh, and all draped too- and a live feed to their other plants and administrative offices across the UK!

At 09:30am on the Thursday, having been only allowed access to the venue at 8pm the night before, the event took place in front of an audience of just over 2,000 people and was a resounding success.

For more information, or to have a chat about your ideas for event production, visit www.giggabox.co.uk

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