Quick tip:
Innovative Rental offers complete event technology solutions including both equipment rental and technical staff capable of making your event run flawlessly. Over a period of ten years, the Innovative Rental International Network of event rental suppliers has been chosen as the best suppliers money can buy. If your event requires the use of IMAG for it's general session please call (866) 549-3274 for the Innovative Rental specialist in IMAG use.

IMAG Systems

IMAG, or image magnification, is a commonly used solution in large Ballrooms and Arenas where the majority of the attendees would not be able to clearly see the lip movements and facial expressions of the speaker. Being able to see the speakers lips has a major impact on the comprehension and retention of the information being related by the presenter. Additionally, the audience simply feels better when they can clearly see the presenter. The process of IMAG is simple in theory and complex in application. Normally the IMAG image is intercut with the PowerPoint presentation or other graphics. This requires studio quality cameras and one or two high quality switching systems as well as a fairly well experienced crew.

Experiments have shown that almost everyone reads lips to some degree; additionally, facial expression carries a wealth of nonverbal information which can modify or invert the meaning of any statement. One case study divided a number of people into two groups, the first was able to view a full face video image of the speaker and hear the audio, the second group had the same conditions with the exception that the mouth of the speaker was covered by a black box. Results showed that comprehension and retention went up drastically when the listeners could see the speakers lips.

The detailed technical requirements of the IMAG process are beyond the scope of this article; however the general process is as follows. The process depends on the fact that there is a projection system in use with at least two or more screen. Also, the system required a switching system capable of handling the existing signal inputs plus the two or three studio quality cameras used to image the presenters and other activities on the stage. These requirements are not usually a giant step as there is very likely a projection system being used to provide support for the PowerPoint presentations already. There is need to use the proper type of switching equipment because of the fact that you are now asking the system to switch both data (VGA, XGA, or whatever) and NTSC video. Plus you will need to include the equipment to properly set up and control the cameras, Camera Control Units or CCUs which allow an engineer to control the color balance and iris of each camera as lighting and camera angles change. Intercom between the switcher, engineer, and camera operators and graphics operators allow them to coordinate and set up the shots that will be mixed with the PowerPoint presentations to create a professional look.

Shooting video for IMAG is very similar to hooting for TV with the exception that all of the shots are kept much tighter, since the audience can always see the wide shot from their seats. However, if the presentation is going to be recorded for later remix into video for DVD or the like, an extra camera set up to catch a few wide shots and audience reaction is a very great idea.

about the author:
John Le Duc has worked in the Audio Visual field in Las Vegas since 1970, served as the Event Staging Coordinator at the Desert Inn Resort from 1995 through 2000. He is currently semi-retired and is available on a consultant basis. Questions and inquiries may be directed through the contact page of this website. Or, to e-mail John Le Duc directly, click here.

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