Audio Visual Services in Washington, DC, Virginia & Maryland

What audio visual services actually cover

Audio visual services is a broad term, and it means different things to different vendors. For us it covers four technical disciplines that have to work together on the day of the event, plus the people who run them.

Audio. Line arrays and point-source speaker systems, digital consoles, wireless handheld and lavalier microphones, podium and delegate mics, in-ear and floor monitoring, and playback for video content. Room size and ceiling height drive the design, so a 60-person breakout and a 1,200-person general session get different rigs.

Lighting. Stage washes that make presenters and panelists look right on camera, key and back light for anyone being recorded, uplighting and color on the room, gobos and custom logo projection, and moving fixtures for entertainment segments.

Video. LED walls, projection and fast-fold screens, cameras and switchers for image magnification, confidence monitors for the stage, presentation playback and slide management, and recording or streaming when part of the audience is remote.

Staging and scenic. Decking, risers, stairs and rails, pipe and drape, podiums, truss and rigging, plus the power distribution and cable management that keeps all of it safe and out of sight.

Rented, staffed, or fully produced

Most requests we get land in one of three buckets, and it helps to know which one you are in before you ask for pricing.

Equipment rental. You have a capable in-house team or a production partner already, and you need gear delivered on time and in working order. We drop it, you run it. Our AV equipment rental page covers the inventory.

Staffed audio visual services. You want the gear and the technicians who know it. A show lead, an audio engineer, a video operator and stagehands as the scope requires, on site from load-in through strike.

Full production. You hand over the technical side entirely. We design the room, build the show, cue the presenters, run rehearsals and call the day. That is event production, and it is where most conferences, galas and multi-day programs end up.

Where a venue has an exclusive in-house AV provider we can work alongside them, and where the venue allows outside vendors we are usually the more economical option with better gear. Since 2012 we have brought our own equipment and our own crew into hotels, convention centers, theaters and government facilities across Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland. The audio visual services on your invoice are the ones we own and staff, not a chain of subcontractors.

One crew for the whole technical build

Sound, lighting, video and installation rarely live in separate silos on event day, they have to be designed and run together. Because every Prime AV discipline is in-house, your audio, lighting and video teams plan as one, share a single production manager, and take responsibility for the result end to end. That is how we protect events that cannot afford to go wrong. That same in-house model is how we run corporate meeting AV for multi-day conferences and general sessions.

Not sure which services your event needs? Tell us about it and we will scope it with you.