Every presentation loaded centrally in advance
We prefer to request the presentations a day in advance and load them onto one central computer, with a back-up system beside it. Before the congress starts we open every presentation and work through it: are the fonts right, does the aspect ratio match the screen in the room, do the videos play and produce sound, and do the links and animations behave as the speaker intended? Presentations made on a Mac and played back on Windows produce the most surprises, so those we check with extra care. Whatever is wrong we repair, or discuss with the speaker. And speakers who only arrive on the day with a USB stick or a final version in their inbox are no problem: we take it at the control desk and process it up to just before the start.
The speaker on stage
A speaker who has to turn around to see their own slides loses the audience. So we place a confidence monitor at the foot of the stage showing exactly what the room sees or, if preferred, the presenter view with notes and a preview of the next slide. Beside it stands a countdown clock, so the speaker can see how much time is left and the chair does not have to intervene. Speakers advance their slides with a wireless presenter, leaving them free to move around the stage rather than being tied to a laptop. For those who would like it, we run through it beforehand, so nobody discovers how the buttons work for the first time on stage.
Control: switching between slides, video and camera
During the programme our technician sits at the control position and decides what appears on screen. From the slides to a video, from the video to the camera image of the speaker and back again, with no black screen or visible desktop in between. Title banners with the speaker's name and role are brought in from the same position, as are the logo and the leader between programme items. If the event is also streamed, the online viewer follows that same feed and sees the slides as sharply as the room does. Everything we show is prepared in advance and rehearsed with the speakers.
Parallel sessions and multiple rooms
At a congress with parallel sessions the programme runs in several rooms at once, with speakers moving from one room to another and presentations that have to be ready in the right one. We track which session runs when in which room and load the presentations onto that room's system in advance, so a speaker arriving ten minutes before the start can begin straight away. Each room has its own technician; a project manager keeps an overview and is your point of contact. If the programme shifts during the day, a speaker drops out, a session moves, we move with it. If the sessions are also recorded, we capture them per room, so participants can watch back the session they missed.