First Online AGM in Company History

UK Virtual Events and AV company, The Production People facilitated the first online AGM in the 51-year history of a renowned finance company in London.

Traditionally, the firm’s AGM is a large affair. Since the company became a PLC in 1970, it has hosted shareholders from around the world at various central London venues. With such a large audience, the annual event has always received a high production level. Professional AV installation and stage design have always been a must have on each occasion. However, this year, the company were forced to reinvent their traditional AGM due to Covid-19 lockdown measures and travel restrictions. 

Early in the year, it was evident that the AGM would fall in the midst of Covid-19 restrictions. So, it was decided the company would host its first ever virtual AGM, broadcasting the event to its shareholders live online.

Office Turn Venue For Online AGM

The venue for the online AGM was the company’s central London office. A conference room within the building was cleared to make way for a bespoke set, lighting and rigging equipment, video production and camera crew. 

Even though the selected venue offered enough floor space for the event, the ceiling height, u-shape seating arrangement and access posed some significant issues. The rigging and AV installation had to be designed to fit within the room, while providing suitable lighting for the broadcast. 

Planning The Filming and Lighting Rig 

There were 11 key presenters involved in the online AGM. Normally, these individuals would appear on a large stage, with enough space to capture the speakers in all their glory. The venue too, would offer the ceiling height for a lighting rig or anchor points for the hanging lights.  

The main problem stemmed from the camera angles that needed to be achieved to give the virtual audience an uncompromised view. The seating layout of the participants meant they were too far spread to allow for a whole room view. Equally, the low ceiling height meant we had to install a lighting rig that wouldn’t be out of sight. 

During the planning stages the video production and AV crew put a plan in place. Together, we designed a low-level lighting rig using nine Manfrotto stands and 21m of truss. The camera crew used a multiple camera set-up to achieve a range of angles. Once we were onsite, we were able to adjust and rehearse to ensure the view of the presenters remained uncompromised. 

Lighting For Broadcast of Online AGM 

Lighting presenters for an online AGM is very different to a face-to-face event. At a face-to-face event the skin tones, colours of clothing and the set are seen in true form by the naked eye. Yet, on a virtual event, the lighting is processed through video production. By way of an example, a white t-shirt to the naked eye is transformed into yellow-t-shirt when filmed. Therefore, the lighting for broadcast must be appropriately specified to ensure colours are rendered accurately during filming. When we talk about lighting colour, this includes skin tones (which can alter between face, neck and shoulders) clothing and the background set. 

Selecting a range of lighting that will accurately flatter a person on screen is essential to their confidence and general look of your virtual event. The wrong lighting can not only look unprofessional to the online viewer but can distract away from the main content. 

For the online AGM, we specified a range of broadcast LED lighting with dual tungsten and daylight capabilities, as well as set LED lighting. The combination meant that we could light the set separately, while lighting each individual to accurately manage the colour of skin tones during the online AGM.

Lighting Equipment Used for Online AGM 

The lighting we specified for the online AGM production included:

• 14 x De Sisti LED Fresnels
• 5 x LitePanels Astra Bi-Color LED Panels
• 4 x Martin ELP CL Profiles

We used an Avolites Tiger Touch Lighting Desk to programme the lights for the event and ensure each presenter was lit accurately.

The Avolites Tiger Touch console enables us to create the desired look for each keynote speaker.

Going Live

Having spent the time preparing and planning the lighting and camera angles for the online AGM, the filming went without a hitch. The virtual event was successfully streamed via the company’s online conferencing platform to its shareholders.

As the AV company for the production, we were delighted to have been part of this significant milestone in the company’s long history. 

Client Feedback

We love to receive to client feedback and this client did not disappoint. In fact they were so impressed that we received an email enroute back to our Hampshire warehouse. It said:

“Just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for all your support and assistance in respect of the preparations and successful delivery our first ever virtual AGM.

It’s been a long preparation process with a few wee bumps along the journey but it’s always a comfort and immense peace of mind knowing you guys are there with me every step of the way providing your expert technical guidance and assistance. 

I therefore just wanted to personally thank you for your invaluable help as well as on behalf of the Group Board and Group Executives. Your support and professionalism is genuinely very much appreciated. Many thanks.” Head of Conferences and Events.

To discover more about our virtual event packages in London, please contact the TPP team.