Monday, December 10, 2012

The Jeff Show: Thanks for Not Flying

December has rolled around, and you probably want another travel tip. This month is easy. Under no circumstances do you want to get on an airplane towards the end of December. These weeks are for amateurs, folks. Unlike Thanksgiving, everyone is flying with about 4 boxes that are the size of a small bus. And God forbid there's a snow storm. Good times.

Actually, I really want to take a minute to say thanks to a few people.

I’d like to thank all our clients who send us through all those far flung cities to work for them. We appreciate your faith and trust in us, and without you we would be homeless. 

A special thanks to my wife, Nancy, who keeps me straight...that's not an easy job.

And another special thanks to Margaret who really runs the company and keeps us all in line at the office...that's also not an easy job. 

I also appreciate all our Project Managers and Technicians who work for us. Without all of them I would not be as grey or as old. Just kidding, they all do a great job keeping our clients happy.

So from me, my wife Nancy, my son Greg, and our puppy Hailey, we wish you a joyful holiday filled with love and peace...

...well maybe not Hailey, she is pretty busy trying to pull down the Christmas tree; but she should have it done by Christmas.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Company owner Jeff Warner has been involved in the industry of as long as he can remember as his dad, Harry, started WAV. He joined the company full-time in 1979, and travels the world to help big clients like Bankers Life and Casualty, McDonald's and Microsoft plan AV displays for meetings and events. Please e-mail Jeff you own travel tips to jwarner@warnerav.com, and your tip might be featured in our blog.

It's Magic! Remote Control of Consoles and Networking Applications


How would you like to roam around your event space and stand or sit anywhere you’d like and still be able to control the audio output? Does that sound like magic? Well, it’s not really; it’s just the application of wireless networking applications with digital audio consoles.

Today, we take remote control of consoles and speaker management devices for granted.

Twenty years ago, this wasn't available, and it certainly would have seemed like magic to any sound engineer. With our recent expansion of digital consoles from Soundcraft (both the Si and Vi series) it’s now possible to control the console via a wireless router and Apple device.

Available from Apple’s App Store, a virtual Soundcraft application will let you control input and output fader levels, turn input and outputs on and off, control groups and VCA’s and control EQ’s.

Although it’s possible that more features will be added in future releases, there are still plenty of control surface features that aren't reachable with the Soundcraft app. However, having the ability to move from behind the console and hear how the sound is projecting is a vast improvement.

Since this works with both Si compact and Vi series consoles even smaller shows can take advantage of this technology during system set up and live shows. Fold back which allows a single engineer to control levels from the stage lets you hear exactly what your performer is hearing.

The application also allows distribution of voice and audio to remote rooms. Imagine being able to go outside of the main room to the foyer or lobby and adjust the music and announcements with your own ears instead of relying on someone else’s judgment. Like many modern tools, these applications would have seemed magical to sound engineers 15 or even 20 years ago. Today, it’s just one more tool to help you make your event the best event your guests have ever attended in today’s modern age.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Craig Vlasic | Technical Director/Audio

Joining WAV in 1982, Craig was the first full-time employee. In 30+ years, Craig has engineered over 700 meetings with audiences ranging from 20 to 35,000 people. While current in the latest audio techniques and theories, he brings knowledge in fundamental audio logic to every production from corporate talking heads to rock-n-roll bands.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Celebrating 100th Anniversaries with BIG Events

Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
As 2012 comes to an end, we took a minute to reflect on all the amazing events that happened around the world.

Many companies and brands celebrated their 100th anniversary this year, and BizBash covered the top six centennial celebrations this year. While we weren't didn't provide AV services for any of them, we thought they were pretty great.

The most creative is L.L. Bean's event. At the beginning of the year, the company debuted out a 13 foot sized version of it's acclaimed "duck boot" in Maine. Throughout 2012, the boot toured in other major U.S cities. What a sight!

View other cool events, openings and the best event ideas of 2012 on BizBash.