A virtual event is not a webinar run from a laptop. When the audience is watching from home or from their desks, production quality is the whole experience, and small problems with sound or video are obvious to everyone on the stream. Virtual event production is the work of making a broadcast that looks and sounds like television, whether the presenters are in a studio, in a boardroom, or spread across the country.
Prime AV produces virtual and hybrid events for clients across Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland. Here is what goes into a virtual event and how to run one that holds an audience.
What goes into a virtual event
- Cameras. One or more cameras on your presenters, switched live so the picture changes with the program.
- Audio from a console. Microphones mixed on a real sound board, not a laptop mic, so voices are clear and level. See sound production.
- A switcher and graphics. Lower thirds, titles, slides, and video roll ins, cut in live so the stream looks produced.
- Lighting. Even light so presenters read well on camera.
- An encoder and the stream. The hardware that sends a clean signal to your platform.
Put together, this is the same toolkit we use for video and broadcast, pointed at an online audience instead of a room.
Virtual, hybrid, or in person
A virtual event has an online only audience. A hybrid event has a room and an online audience at the same time, which means the production has to serve both without shortchanging either. If some of your audience will be in the room, read our guide to hybrid event production, which covers the extra coordination that takes.
Making the stream reliable
The most common virtual event failure is the stream dropping. Reliability comes from planning for the moment the primary path fails:
- Redundant internet. A hardwired primary connection with a bonded cellular or second line as backup.
- Backup encoding. A second encoder ready so a single failure does not end the broadcast.
- A technical rehearsal. A full run before the event to catch problems while there is still time to fix them.
Platforms and delivery
We deliver to the platform that fits your audience, whether that is a webinar platform, a private page, or a public stream. The right choice depends on how many people are watching, whether registration matters, and how much interaction you want, such as Q and A or polls.
The team that runs it
A virtual event runs on a crew: a director calling the show, an audio engineer, a camera operator or two, a graphics operator, and a stream technician watching the signal the whole time. That is the difference between a broadcast and a video call. You can see how we handle live streaming on our live streaming page, and the broader production picture on meetings and conferences.
On a virtual event, the audience only sees the stream. If the stream is clean, the event works. If it stutters, nothing else matters.
Plan your virtual event
Tell us your date, your presenters, and where they will be, and we will design the production and the stream around it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a virtual and a hybrid event?+
A virtual event has an online only audience. A hybrid event serves a room and an online audience at the same time. See hybrid event production.
How do you keep a live stream from dropping?+
Redundant internet, a backup encoder, and a full technical rehearsal before the event. Reliability comes from planning for the moment the primary path fails. See live streaming.
What platforms can you stream to?+
Any platform that fits your audience, whether a webinar tool, a private page, or a public stream. The right choice depends on registration, audience size, and interaction.
Producing a virtual event?
Send us the details and we will build the production and the stream for it.