ACTIVE-Vity

We've Finally Hit A Wall

2011-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Elation EVLED 1024SMD is a fantastic LED wall that Active has recently purchased. Ideal for both outdoor and indoor video display, the EVLED 1024 SMD Strip Video Screens are bright, light weight, plug and play modules using TriColor SMD RGB LED's capable of outputting up to 14 Trillion colors. With a 20mm pitch, it is easy to handle and super-thin. This, along with its semi-transparent design makes it great for small or large applications. Integrated rigging fly support hardware and ease of set up make this system ideal for a variety of portable or permanent applications. Active now has the biggest LED wall in Georgia! 160ft worth of 2x2 ft panels. Just think of the possibilities! Keep your eyes open for your invitation to our product demonstration coming soon.

Click here to see EVLED video.

Meet The Family Part III

2011-05-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lighting: Have you ever been to a function, and you couldn’t quite place your finger on it, but the whole presentation seemed to keep your attention the entire time? Yes the presentation was informative, and you could hear the person talking, but something just made everything look really good. That was probably the lighting. As humans we are visual beings. We may not eat something that could be delicious, because it doesn’t look good. We may or may not date a person because they look a certain way. Let’s face it, looks matter. What people don’t realize a lot of the times are that good lighting makes everything look better. Staying with the whole family theme of this article, think of lighting your super cool big brother or sister. There is just something about that person that everyone is drawn to. They are always in the latest fashion and always the life of the party. Lighting is “visual energy” that gives life to events. It makes everything more appealing to the eye which makes your guests want to see more, which in turn makes them pay more attention and remember the message of the meeting. You would be surprised at what color washes or uplights can do for a stage, what a custom made gobo could do for branding, how intelligent lights and special effects can put and air of excitement in the atmosphere. Knowing the theme of the meeting and message to be conveyed gives the AV company you are working with a better understanding of what type of lighting you could use to help that message come across.

There are other things to consider or that you should be familiar with when dealing with AV. Or shall we say you should consider your cousins aunts and uncles, for your event as well. You have logistics, labor, and oh, don’t forget the overtime! Audio, video and lighting are the immediate family, but all the other relatives are just as important. A good AV company will work with you through all the details and make sure you know all the relatives, to ensure a great event.

Meet the Family Part II

2011-04-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

Video: “I want my MTV” This is actually the first “cause” that Generation X rallied together for. An entire nation of late 70’s and early 80’s babies came together to force the world to embrace the video. Now what does this have to do with video in the audio visual world?....Nothing, I just thought it was a good attention getter for this section.

In this day and age video is a staple in most quality meetings and events. It is the dad of the AV family. It re-iterates the audio with a strong image that enforces what is heard. Regardless of the source, as with audio, video content must be easily viewed by every member of the audience. Image magnification of presentations is key to an effective meeting experience. Nothing conveys, “Pay attention to this!” more than having your power point presentation displayed on a 10 ft projection screen. Nothing says corporate branding better than state of the art plasma podiums rolling video of a company’s logo to re-iterate the theme of the meeting. Again, knowing the specs of the room or meeting space and knowing the number of guest will help ensure that your AV provider will be able to suggest appropriate equipment. Remember, image is everything.

Meet The Family!

2011-04-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

There are 3 essential elements which are the foundation of the AV show. In this 3 part series, we will address those must have’s for excellence in every meeting or event. Before calling your production company or supplier, familiarize yourself with the audio visual "family".

PART I

Audio: We‘re going to start with audio because this is the stepchild of AV. The subservient wife, if you will. It’s just given, she’ll be there, she’s supposed to be there, never told she’s beautiful, always taken for granted. She’s important, but unappreciated... till she’s gone.

Audio is more than a mic. Everyone in the room needs to hear the message. This goes without saying. Clarity and quality of the sound is what is often overlooked. Good sound needs to be distributed evenly throughout a space. How evenly that sound will be distributed depends upon the layout of the room or space and type of speakers used. An almost sure way you will always get a quality sound no matter what type of room or space you are working with is the use of line array speakers. These speakers are arranged in a vertical line. The principle behind line arrays is that when you are close to the loudspeaker array, you can only hear one of the outputs of one of the speakers. As you move further away, you hear the combined volume of several of the speakers. Based on this principle, the sound level stays the same no matter where you are in the listening area, providing even coverage for the entire audience.

Wedding Soiree Exclusive - Active Production & Design

2011-04-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

We partnered with Wedding Soiree on their book launch event held at Ventanas. Check out the feature they did on us in their blog!

1. In addition to lighting at weddings/parties, what arethe other services that you provide that people may not know about? Anything unusual?

Active Production and Design is actually a full service production company. Not only do we create beautiful lighting designs for weddings and special events, we also provide full scale audio visual services for corporate and associatio meetings, conferences, conventions. Our services include; staging, audio systems, video, special effects, lighting and creative services. We are partnered with Atlanta’s premiere venues like the Georgia Aquarium,Ventanas and 200 Peachtree, where we are the exclusive production providers.

Read more....

Flipper would have been proud...

2011-03-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

The world’s largest aquarium aka our house, has once again awed and amazed in the name of Atlanta attractions and entertainment. Last night, Active Production and Design had the honor of being a part of another chapter in Georgia Aquarium history, by designing the gorgeous lighting display in the Atrium and the Oceans Ballroom for the AT&T Dolphin Tale Opening Reception. Privileged guests were treated to delectable desserts and wine after experiencing the show before the rest of the public. Using various intelligent and conventional lighting effects, Active was able to accentuate the “bubbly” theme Your Event Solutions provided through their creative décor.

For more information on the AT&T Dolphin Tale show please click here.

Spring Is In The Air!

2011-03-24T14:18:00.001-07:00

The art of lighting design can truly add magic to an event. When it comes to your wedding, magic is already in the air, so why not ensure it permeates throughout the entire event. This spring coral is the color trend. You can wash your entire reception in this color engulfing everyone in your day or just add a few up lights around the perimeter of the room to create a simple yet elegant ambiance.

Contact Jason Shadix about how to make your spring wedding illuminate!

Introducing…..VENTANAS!

2011-03-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Active recently created this great new video for one of Atlanta’s premiere event venues. Ventanas sits atop the Hilton Garden Inn in the swanky Luckie-Marrietta District of Atlanta. Following in the footsteps of its Georgia Aquarium neighbor, when this event venue opened its doors, it selected Active Production and Design to partner with it as its exclusive lighting and AV provider. Now with the Active creative services department in full motion, Ventanas has once again collaborated with Active to produce its promotional video to garner attention and cliental to its space.

Check out the video here.

For more information on Active’s Creative Services feel free to contact us!

How Cool Is This?

2011-03-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

This year Active Production and Design had the pleasure of being nominated for the 2011 Spotlight Award for Technical Support Company of the Year. This award is sponsored by Event Solutions Magazine and held at the Catersource/Idea Factory Conference and Tradeshow. While attending this amazing conference we were able to attend many demonstrations and seminars. One very cool seminar demonstrated Projection Mapping. If you have not had the opportunity to see projection mapping up close and personal, click here.

"While most projectors in various types of settings use a screen to optimize the image quality, projection in itself doesn't need a screen. Projection mapping turns this challenge into a new art form. A façade's relief creates interesting opportunities for video artists to showcase their talents, but they can also offer opportunities for story telling. The façade can even be transformed in a way that the building looks like a completely different structure." -Barco

A huge advantage of projection mapping is that it doesn't require permanent modification of buildings. Projection mapping can be done anywhere as long as you have a solid surface. It is also thought that projection mapping service will be minimal as opposed to standard “billboard” advertising because of its temporary nature.

2011-03-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Active Fall Newsletter

2010-10-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

The leaves are starting to change colors, the temperatures are cooling and the kids are back in school so you know what that means.....Time to plan those fall and winter events! Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, it's planning season! The time of year when those of us in the events industry are "crazy" with excitement due to all the conferences, meetings and special events we are working on. It is indeed a special time of year that those who live and breathe events, like we do, can truly appreciate. We're ready, are you?

Matt
President

BREAKING NEWS!

Active Production and Design is now the exclusive production partner for the all new, ultra exclusive event space, 200 Peachtree. If the name sounds familiar to you, it may be because it is the address of the "Old Macy's Building", one of Atlanta's historic landmarks.
"Conveniently located just a stroll away from all the downtown hotels, the conference center occupies the street-level and mezzanine floors of the former Macy's Department store on Peachtree Street. In Atlanta's heart, where conventions and tourism are such an important part of the economy, 200 Peachtree's new conference center offers a compact version of the stand-alone centers that serve the metro region's outlying markets such as Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and south Fulton. The center at 200 Peachtree will feature on-site AV technicians, five conference rooms, flexible air walls and a large, covered loading dock. Meeting spaces for up to 1,000 people can be customized for group or breakout sessions amid the renewed splendor of downtown Atlanta's historic architectural landmark, originally designed by renowned architect Philip Shutze and built in 1927."

To learn more about this beautiful venue please contact Lea Brueckner, Director of Sales and Marketing at 404-285-2923 or go to www.200peachtree.com for more details.

Active at the Aquarium

I Do Under The Blue

We were very proud to be a part of Q100's Wedding Giveaway. The Aquarium partnered with the radio station to give one lucky couple the wedding of their dreams......click here to find out more!

Active Associations

On Your Mark...

Active was proud to be a sponsor for the ever popular ISES FUNdraising event, Race for Taste. This year's race pit teams of caterers and planners against eachother in a competition that got everyone's mouth watering!

Click here to see who won and learn about this great event.

Active Productions

Spectacular Special Events

Jason Shadix set the the Murphy Ballroom on fire when he lit the event with deep reds and sexy gobo patterns. The Georgia World Congress Center was the venue of choice for this sizzling event.

España Descrube la Pasion

Active "Discovered the Passion of Spain" at this high profile annual Latin event held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Atlanta,GA. With warm, sexy lighting and professional AV services like image maginification and full audio engineering, Active proved once again that we are "muy bueno" in what we do.

Pictures courtesy of Patrick Williams Photography and Scott Reeves Photography.

Active Creative Services

Cowabunga Dude!

Active was getting all the action at the 2010 Surf Expo in Orlando Florida. Check out the videos Active produced for the event. They are totally gnarly!
"Surf Expo is the largest and longest-running trade show for the surf industry. The convention features resort fashion and swimwear runway shows, skate and wakeboard demonstrations, and gives exhibitors the opportunity to display their latest wares for merchandise buyers."-Orlando Sentinel

Join us Thursday, October 28th, as Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce present the Sixth Annual Business Growth Expo! As a friend of Active Production and Design you are entitled to a 50% discount off regular-priced tickets to this exciting event. The day begins with Keynote Speaker, Arthur Blank and is followed up by the acclaimed Disney Institute's Approach to People Management and Quality Service presented by Active Production and Design. You'll also get a sneak peek of the 2011 Economic Forecast from a distinguished panel that includes Dr. Rajeev Dhawan. This is a wonderful opportunity to interact with local business leaders like you who are interested in growing their businesses. For more details on the Expo, visit www.BusinessGrowthExpo.com

To take advantage of the discount, simply contact Michael FitzGerald at 404.249.1065 or mfitzgerald@bizjournals.com

Please be sure to visit us at Booth #119-121. I promise this will be a great event and well worth your time. We look forward to seeing you there.

Active Launches Video Production Services Department!

2010-06-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

As long as I can remember (or at least in the 5 years that I have been here) Active has been the go-to one-stop-shop resource for event professionals. With this fact, it was only a matter of time before Active would officially launch its Video Production Services Department. I say officially cause Active has really been providing this service for our clients all along if they requested it. We just never really marketed our services in that way. Well it's 2010 and we our letting the world know, THE AUDIO VISUAL COMPANY YOU KNOW AND TRUST CAN ALSO PRODUCE YOUR CORPORATE ANS ASSCOCIATION VIDEOS, PRODUCT LAUNCH VIDEOS, PROMOS, COMMERCIALS, SPECIAL EVENTS AND WEDDING VIDEOS!!! So be sure to to give us a call to set up an appointment, 404-633-3527 or email Matt at matt@activeproductionanddesign.com.

In the mean time check out the recent video we did for our client.

Life Learner

2010-06-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have come to realize that having a college degree is not enough. Far from it. I have been blessed with the opportunity to attend EventWorld 2010 in Baltimore and I'm very excited about all the educational opportunities I will have. Being on the vendor side of the events industry sometimes you get so caught up in the sale you forget to how important it is to educate yourself about the ever changing industry in which we work. It so important to be able to see the big picture in order to give your clients the absolute best in what you have to offer. The only way to do that is by being intelligent in your own discipline as well as your customers. With this being said, I plan to soak up as much education as possible at Eventworld this year. After being in the industry for 5 years now, this is actually only the second conference that I've had a chance to take advantage of the educational opportunities. (and I attend A LOT) I'm usually trying to drive prospects to out booth at the conferences! This time, with the help of my ISES chapter family who thought enough of me to nominate me for the Eventworld scholarship, I will be soaking up the knowledge like a sponge. I will be better for it and so will my clients. Be sure to check back here for the update on how my trip went!

Clydette

Old MacDonald Isn't The Only One to E.I.E.I.O.

2010-05-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Found this very useful from SPINPLANNERS.COM:

05/13/20100 Comment(s) It might be the long week, the constant Minnesota rainfall, or the lack of sleep talking, but I came up with an interesting acronym tonight. It's E.I.E.I.O., and it's something to remember when you set up your social media campaigns for events - something we've been covering in our Think Tanks all over the U.S. this quarter.

Whether you use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media to promote your meetings, consider the following to enhance your efforts:

E = ENGAGE. We live in a Web 2.0 world now, which means the static web site ain't cuttin' it anymore. Audiences want interaction, and that's how we engage them. Why let a random committee determine your meeting content these days, when you can use crowdsourcing (asking your audience what they want) on your Facebook page, in your Twitter feed, or in your LinkedIn group? Engage the audience, make them feel a part of the process, and you will develop a loyal attendee who in turn will spread the word via their own social media channels.

I = INFORM. Of course, every meeting has logistics, agendas, dress codes and all sorts of information pertinent to attendees. Use your social media platform to broadcast meeting details, and reward your followers with some occasional inside information. Maybe your Twitter followers get to learn who the keynote speaker is before it's officially announced on the web site. That could start a viral promotion of its own that reaches beyond your immediate circle of followers.

E = EXCITE. Use your Tweets, your Facebook posts and your LinkedIn group board to generate excitement. Ask your followers which band they want to have at the closing gala (again, crowdsourcing!), and see the excited back-and-forth that might generate, the friendly rivalries, the different generations weighing in. Share details via social media that attendees otherwise wouldn't get until later, or even on-site. Give them clues for a prize drawing, or let them weigh in on what to serve at the opening dinner. Engagement builds excitement and a sense of community before they even walk into the meeting room.

I = INVITE. Of course you should invite them to the meeting. There's more to this, though. Invite your social media followers to share their opinions, weigh in on the options for the host city, give their input on the local charity that benefits from your silent auction, nominate award winners...anything to keep them involved in the process. We don't have to plan meetings alone anymore - the entire audience can help us succeed by delivering exactly what they want and need.

O = OFFER. For those who follow you on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, offer them special opportunities such as registering early, getting a special discount (this will definitely create some viral promotion), to bring a friend for half price, to sit at special front-row seats in the general session, whatever you have to reward them for their participation in the process. You can grow your followers by offering something to those who refer a friend to your Facebook page, those who retweet your registration details, those who invite others to join your LinkedIn group. Offer something by setting up an automatic reply on Twitter or LinkedIn for new followers as well.

For those of you who are already social media veterans, and those of you who are social media-challenged, I invite you to share your experiences in the discussion area of the private Planner Forum so we can all benefit from your gained wisdom!

Ethics in the world of Events

2010-05-06T13:09:00.001-07:00

We were recently posed with the scenario of ethics in the event business and was asked what we would do if a planner "stole" an idea from us and hired another company to execute. Here is our answer...what would you do?

"Most of the planners we work with are complete professionals and wouldn’t compromise their professional integrity by doing such a thing, Unfortunately from a production side, this type of thing happens fairly often. Yes it is completely unethical. We have been in situations where we did see our ideas displayed on an event that we were not producing. I wouldn’t go so far and say you would “confront” the planner, but if you have a relationship with that planner you can discuss the issue that you have with the way business was conducted. As a company we have learned to “protect” ourselves by including a contractual clause regarding intellectual property, but there are still challenges in ensuring this won’t happen. I don’t believe blackballing anyone is good business, but we proceed with caution when considering working with a planner who has burned us in the past. Those planners will probably not get the value added perks we offer our clients that have a trusting relationship with us. The best advice we could give is practice what you preach. Practicing professional ethics will result in great business relationships that will generate great shows and cost savings in the long run."

It's Allie Time!

2010-03-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Allies are a real exciting time for the Atlanta events industry. This year will be especially special because 2009 was so tough for everyone. We need to take this time to be greatful that we made it to 2010 (not everyone did). Budgets were being cut left and right and our indutry was hit hard. Allies night shows us that we are resilient. We still produced high end events deserving of recognition. We are a mighty industry and on April 11th 2010 it is time to celebrate 20 years of receognizing event execellence...through all odds!

www.allieawards.com