Dangerous Stage Collapse Incident Nearly Kills Performers at Freedom 250 Celebration #StageBlunders

In another example of #StageBlunders, a dangerous stage mishap occurred during rehearsals for President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., on July 2, nearly resulted in fatal injuries for performers. A short 14-second video shared by Aaron Parnas shows a large object falling to the stage from above the performers, narrowly missing them as they were practicing their routine. According to reports, a piece of the overhead structure fell and came dangerously close to striking one of the performers.

Following the incident, a Freedom 250 representative released a statement to PEOPLE, confirming that the accident occurred on the Salute to America stage and that no one was injured. 

The statement continued:

“The work underway was taking place on the backside of the stage, separate from the front thrust where performers were rehearsing. Additional safeguards and senior technical oversight are now in place as preparations continue.” 

The incident has fueled additional criticism of the Freedom 250 celebration, which has already faced controversy over logistical problems, allegations of fraud, and other safety hazards.

In his latest video, BREAKING! THEY ALMOST DIED... , YouTuber Willie D discusses the stage mishap, broader controversies, and political division surrounding the event. He describes the celebration as "disastrous" and criticizes the lack of professional oversight pointing to the dangerous near-miss as evidence of inadequate stage safety procedures. His discussion of the stage incident is from (0:30-1:30). 

Luckily, no one was injured despite the apparent lapse in safety protocols and alleged cost-cutting measures by the even organizers. Meanwhile, current extreme heat conditions in Washington, D.C., have resulted in low attendance at the event, and the cancellation of the July 4th parade may keep people safe by keeping them away other potential dangers and future #StageBlunders. 

UPDATE (7:44 PM) via Reddit: National Mall is closed due to coming storm system. People are being told to evacuate and seek shelter immediately

A TikTok Moment Reveals a Major Production Failure #StageBlunders

One of the most important aspects of production is safety. Careless mistakes can get people hurt. 

In my experience, nearly every production team I've worked with over the years has been dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone involved. Much like a doctor’s pledge to "first, do no harm," the event managers, producers, and production teams I know and trust always take their responsibility seriously—not just to put on a great show for the audience, but to make sure the performers on stage and the production crew are protected too.

So, when I saw this Tik Tok video by @lexdawgie in my Instagram feed reposted by @popcravenow on Threads, I had to call out the event producer and stage crew involved in this production failure.

@lexdawgie Even after all these years, Bonnie and Caroline are still saving Elena #tvd #thevampirediaries #ninadobrev #candiceking #katgraham #elanagilbert #carolineforbes #bonniebennett #epiccons ♬ original sound - Lexdawg

While no one was hurt and those on stage laughed it off, the outcome could have been very different. 

As industry professionals, it’s on us to use our experience and common sense to keep things safe and make sure everyone on stage is out of harm’s way.

What are your thoughts?

Read Part Two of my Streamingmedia.com article, "No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events"

Part two of my Streaming Media article, No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events - Streaming Media Magazine, is now in print and online. The second installment looks at different ways to make the overall webcast experience engaging for your online audience using a variety of different video production techniques interactive tools. Live events have changed dramatically over the last few years with the evolution of enterprise video platforms and the rise of virtual events and live webcasting. Today, companies are now incorporating new and innovative ways to engage their growing online audiences.

Webcasting tools have become easier to use, and, with the development of interactive and social media tools, they’ve evolved from one-way broadcasts into two-way conversations. But just because you have myriad bells and whistles at your disposal doesn’t mean you have to use every one for every event. As I said in Part 1 of my article, “the key is to use the right technology to make it easy to reach the live audience and virtual attendees and provide them a quality and worthwhile experience.”

Here's a brief excerpt from part two:

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

We’ve already established that you need the right team with the right tools and the right capabilities at your live event venue. But what are the secret tricks to creating an engaging experience for your audience with streaming video, audio, graphics, and real-time interaction to move them from passive viewers to active participants?

If you only take away only one thing from this article, remember this tip: Don’t let your online audience be an afterthought. You need to cater to their needs by making their experience as engaging as the live audience’s, but in a different way.

Waiting for the big event to begin, in person and online (Photo credit: Harvey Woo)

Look no further than popular culture to see what "American Idol" has done to capture its live audience. The producers were deliberate with their intent, because they knew that the real show was on the screens of millions of TV viewers; it was not for the hundreds of people in the live audience. They didn’t skimp on production value, and, from the start, they introduced an audience response text-to-vote system that gave the audience the power to influence the outcome of the show.

Just think: What if you put that capability into the hands of your online audience? We’d be able to vote off every boring presenter known to mankind!

Corporate communications departments are seeing the shift as well. Donn Kanagaki, senior manager of IT communications at Kaiser Permanente, oversees the employee outreach events for the CIO and senior IT leadership, which incorporate a combination of a live event, webcast, WebEx, and telephone bridge in order to reach more than 6,000 employees across five time zones. About one-third of the IT employees are able to attend the event live via webcast, but the online numbers are growing. Kanagaki says, “We have to recognize that the majority of our employees that participate are watching online, so we need to look at ways to better engage them.”

While Kaiser Permanente CIO Phil Fasano addresses an in-person audience of several hundred, the live webcast reaches thousands of employees who can watch the event online and submit questions directly to the CIO and senior leaders. 

In the words of Marshall McLuhan, “The medium is the message,” and the message can be delivered more effectively using the latest interactive technologies. You may have to use a hybrid approach with a combination of tools based on the capabilities of your webcast or webconferencing platform. Beyond content design, it really does come down to pushing the limits of any platform and streaming technology to achieve the best two-way experience for your attendees and yourself.

TELL A STORY

The plain and simple fact is that no technology, however great it is, can make a boring presenter better. You have to design your presentation to the right audience using the best set of tools and production value to carry your message. But beyond any technology, presenters need to connect with their audience.

All the great presenters, from Steve Jobs to Gary Vaynerchuk to Isabel Allende, use storytelling to convey their messages. People respond to personal stories because they convey emotion and a universal message.

According to Tim Schmoyer, producer of The Reel Web for Reelseo.com and one of the most diversely skilled and knowledgeable people in the online video space, storytelling is important and the best way to get your message across. “Stories are something that everyone enjoys and appreciates, and there’s an emotional connection to stories,” says Schmoyer. “What we really believe in is that stories are much more compelling, especially if you can tell a story that answers the ‘why?’ question.”


Continue reading the full article at: No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events - Streaming Media Magazine


My thanks again, to the many people who I have worked with over the years to help me learn what works best for live events, and what doesn't work so well. Also, my thanks to the many clients I have worked with who have trusted me to produce their live events. I also want to thank the following people for contributing to this article, including: Nick Balletta, CEO of TalkPoint, Donn Kanagaki, senior manager of IT communications at Kaiser Permanente, Tim Schmoyer, producer of the Reel Web for ReelSEO.com, Casey Wilms, product manager at Zencoder, Mike Folgner, CEO and co-founder of SnappyTV, Harvey Louie, technical director, producer, and consultant of the webcasting company Event Compression Group, my good friend and creative partner Harvey Woo, owner and creative director of Professional Sound Productions, my production manager and traffic controller  Steve Dung, owner of Visions Plus video production services and my IT partner and colleague James Adams, Manager of Virtual Event Delivery at Kaiser Permanente.

My thank you's could go on and on, so I'll cut it short, and finally extend my thanks to my trusted crew and "A" team for your professionalism and support, you know who are... (Sammy, Dwight, Dominic "Baby Dom", Marcia, Brad, Tom, Alfonso, Jason "JJ", Rachel "Ray Ray", Harold "Dirty B", Luke, Ricker, Lorin, Paul and Weyman "The Pro Sound backbone", and the Young Guns, Sam, Matt, Brandon and Josh, and again, Harvey.)

This article appears in the August/September 2013 issue of Streaming Media magazine as:  No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events.

Businesses are increasingly depending on live event streaming. For expert tips on how to pull them off like a pro, read the second part of our series.
by Larry Kless

Read my article on Streamingmedia.com, "No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time"

I just wrote a new article for Streaming Media Magazine titled, "No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time - Streaming Media Magazine", that looks at the five core elements for a successful live event in the enterprise setting. It's a culmination of key learnings from years of producing live events and offers battle-tested advice to ensure live enterprise events come off without a hitch.

A big thanks to the many people who have helped me over the years to learn what works best for live events, and what doesn't work so well, and to the many clients I have worked with who have trusted me to produce their live events. Many thanks to Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen and the people at Streamingmedia.com, for their support over the years and for giving me the opportunity to share my best practices in live event production with this article.

Here's a brief excerpt from the article:

The success of any live event is dependent on five core elements: the people, the plan, the technology, the venue, and the audience; they all intersect to either make or break an event. The added layer of virtual attendees creates an even greater challenge, because you have to produce the event for people both inside and outside the room. The key is to use the right technology to make it easy to reach the live audience and virtual attendees and provide them a quality and worthwhile experience. 

 And I can tell you from experience that it better be good!

 Over the last 20 years of producing live events, I’ve learned a lot about how things can go right and wrong, and from good to bad, and from bad to worse. Most problems stem from the things that fall through the cracks: forgotten tasks that didn’t make your checklist or that were not delegated. They can either creep up on you or blow up in your face, and we all know what’s at stake. As they say in the live event biz, “You’re only as good as your last show.”

 You can avoid most problems with proper planning and clear communication. The best shows are the ones where everyone knows what to do, so the show comes off without a hitch. Whether you are in the studio or on location, the same rules apply if you want to be successful. The key to succeeding is that you go in with a plan and strongly dissuade clients from disruptive last-minute changes. They may think it’s not a big deal, but you know better...

Continue reading the full article at: No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time - Streaming Media Magazine.

This view is of a video village with HD engineering, monitoring, switching, and recording. (This was set up inside a closet! Really, and it actually fit!)

I'll be following up with part two, that looks specifically at how to deliver an effective webcast, including interactive and social media elements, to the audience off-site.

This article appears in the June/July 2013 issue of Streaming Media magazine as "No Second Chances: Best Practices for Live Events in the Enterprise, Part 1."

Learn the five core elements for a live event, then follow this battle-tested advice to ensure live enterprise events come off without a hitch.

by Larry Kless

10 Tips for Producing Live Events

Over the last twenty years of producing live events I've learned a lot about how things can go right and wrong, and from good to bad, and from bad to worse. Most problems stem from the things that have fallen through the cracks. Forgotten tasks that didn't make it to a list or get delegated, and either creep up on you or blow up in your face. But you can avoid most problems with proper planning and clear communication. The best shows are the ones where everyone knows what to do and the show comes off without a hitch. Whether you are in studio or on location, the same rules apply if you want to be successful. I've worked on this post on and off over the past years adding a bits and pieces of what I've learned that's helped make my shows successful, and now present it as my ten tips for producing live events.

1) Know your client(s) - if you are the event producer you need to communicate directly with the main client. Most executives and professional speakers have handlers, communications staff who write their material maintain their messages, admin staff who directly support them and maintain their schedules and a variety of reporting staff, directors, managers, leads, you get the point. There are layers between you and the main client, who in the end, is whom you are working for. Whether you are planning the event logistics, identifying the technical requirements, working on content or estimating the budget - all things flow from the wants and needs of the main client. You can save your self a lot of work if you can get a meeting with the main client in advance and discuss staging, presentation style in advance. With all the handlers, you get a lot of filtered information and waste a lot of time getting through the layers.

2) Conduct a site survey - knowing your location is your best defense against failure. Not only are you able to assess the space for room dimensions, ceiling height, power needs, lighting, noise, Internet connections, access to loading dock, etc...  you also get to meet the people who manage the venue – and who will ultimately be the ones that support you and your production. Some venues will let you bring in all your own gear, without any buy-out fee – but some venues have exclusives on lighting and audio, and can even be within the jurisdiction of a local I.A.T.S.E. union, like Local 16 in San Francisco, and you'll be required to hire union labor. If you're a producer, it's best to work with a meeting planner who can deal with the hotel contract so you can focus on the AV and event production. But be sure to make friends with the venue, both the in-house AV and banquets staff. Don't forget that you're in their house and they are key partners in your success. The two most important aspects of your site survey are to gain intelligence and build relationships.

3) Have a plan - with every live event there are various templates that can be applied to the production. While each set up is distinct there are standards to follow when the space allows. Most live events takes place in an auditorium, conference room, convention center or ballroom. Video village, as it's called, or video control is back stage and is where the director, technical director, producer, engineer, graphics, projectionist and webcast or videoconference producer and that's the central nervous system of your equipment set up, signal flow and distribution, connectivity, interactive tools and lots and lots of cabling. Go into each set up with a game plan on how you will set up video village, where each station will be and what needs to connect to what.

4) Have an A-Team - it goes without saying that there's no "I" in team, and the best way to achieve your results is to be surrounded by people you trust, people who are professionals and experts in the field, and people you can rely onto do their jobs. With so many moving parts of your live event, you can't micro-manage, or keep track of every detail within each department. So that's where your team comes in to help you be those extra eyes and ears to catch any issues and ultimately get the job done right.

5) Stick to budget and deadlines - It's easy to go over budget when you start adding extra wireless microphones, Internet and power drops, cameras, and probably one of the biggest cost over-runs is not correctly estimating the amount of time it actually takes to produce your event. In most cases, labor can be your biggest cost, and if you don't account for overtime, and even double time, you run the risk of being way over budget. Having the proper staffing ratio is crucial to staying on time and budget. You need to have the right amont of labor to get the job done, and not either under or over staff. If you're producing a video webcast with a live audience, you'll have core costs that will cover equipment and labor.

6) Stick to the plan - Go into each show with a scripted game plan. Even a simple a simple agenda can be something that your crew follows, but a detailed run of show document that maps out the show flow is the best document to use. Your plan should also include set-up diagrams that shows signal flow; floor plans that shows they room layout and location of AV, cameras, lighting, catering; and, any other documents like webcast information, call sheets, production schedules and checklists for both the crew and clients to follow.

7) Plan a rehearsal - The more you know, the better the you do... and the best way to know is to practice. Aside from presenters being able practice clicking through their slides and getting comfortable with the environment, you need to know their transitions, cues for videos, music, camera angles and blocking, along with how the show will open and close. Will your presenters have walk-on music, on screen graphics, or need Internet access? Is there an announcer or VOG? How will Q&A be handled? It's best to have that all figured out in advance and rehearse with your presenters and crew. If time permits, try to gather the crew together for a show flow meeting, then go through a tech rehearsal with the crew, followed by rehearsals with each presenter. Beginnings, middle and ends, along with transitions, video rolls, lighting changes, and every audio and video cue should be rehearsed.

8) Avoid last minute changes - Last minute changes can be either highly disruptive or no harm at all. Fixing a typo on a slide or slight change to an element on stage usually won't upset the apple cart. But adding new content at the last minute, like a brand new slide show or video, should be avoided. Especially, if you don't get time to test or practice, that last minute change could blow up in your face, and make your presenters and clients look foolish. But be prepared for last minute changes and if there’s time  – update your script, rehearse if possible, but say, “No, we’re out of time” when you have to. Really, there’s nothing worse than a major on-air blunder.

9) Be prepared, and always have back up - As the Boy Scouts' motto says, "Be prepared." Not only for emergencies, but, "for any old thing." Live events are just that... they're live. Anything can happen. The presenter's wireless microphone could go out. You could lose power which could effect audio, lighting and the live feed. Make sure you have back up microphones and a reliable power source. If you have a lot of lighting, make sure you have a head electrician who can manage the power needs for all the lights so you don't trip a breaker or blow a circuit. For graphics, it's common to have a primary and back up computer to run your slides, and always wire the stage. You never know when a presenter will come with their own laptop and have videos they want to run, so having the cabling already set will save your


10) Roll with it - the old show business phrase, "the show must go on" applies here. Regardless of what happens, there is an audience out there waiting to be educated, informed or entertained, so you have to deliver. The that the fact that a live event is "live" makes it both easier and more difficult at the same time. There are no second takes. When something goes out live that shouldn't have, there are no take backs. So, when you're live you have to roll with it. That means when presenters are late or go off script, or when there's equipment failure, or a crew member calls in sick, or any unplanned situation you have to roll with it. When you're video recording, you can always "fix it in post." But the key is to keep a cool head, don't let them see you sweat and be a leader.

1st draft - 6/22/08
Final draft - 5/27/2012


Update 6/9/12: I forgot to mention how important it is to feed your crew. Bring snacks and plenty of water to keep their energy up, and be sure to budget crew meals on those long production days. That's the best way to keep them happy and on their toes.

Streaming Media West Red 2009 Carpet Interview - Linda Crowe, Sun Microsystems Inc.

In this Streaming Media West 2009 Red Carpet interview, Peter Cervieri talks with Linda Crowe of Sun Microsystems Inc. Linda manages Digital Multimedia Communications at Sun Microsystems Inc., and leads her team in managing Channel Sun, a leading-edge web platform for multimedia, video, and audio. In her role as Group Manager, she is also responsible for all aspects of multimedia strategy and digital multimedia production. Linda spoke at the Online Video Platform Summit on the Best Practices Round Table - Online Video Publishing Strategies and Tools.

According to Linda, Sun uses video for a variety of different applications but mainly for internal communications which ranges from executive communications and announcements from top leaders, state of the unions to staff, town halls and all hands meetings. She noted that one of the good things about working for a big technology company like Sun, is that they have a lot of bandwidth provisioned for a variety of video deployments. Her group helps conserve network resources by producing high quality HD video and then reducing the bit rate while maintaining high a resolution. Sun has been using Ustream for a lot of their live video and have been very happy with the service which is free too. Not all webcasts are available on demand but some are and they've also deployed Edge technology which allows employees outside the firewall to authenticate and get access to videos behind the firewall.

Sun uses Brightcove to power their Channel Sun video presentation platform for external communications. They syndicate content across the web including YouTube to reach their audience. It all feeds out from Brightcove which provides a central platform for metrics. Linda says that overall engagement with the content and CTA (call-to-action) conversions are the meaningful metrics.

She pointed out that,

"What we realized early on is that it's not just about clicks but it's about how far through that video people have seen. What kind of action did they take as a result of viewing that video and was that the action we had hoped they would take."

He group found that while the video views paled in comparison to text only web pages, the videos did have a much higher conversion rate and in some cases as high as 30%. For videos that were in a sales funnel it really proved the ROI on those videos through the higher CTA conversions.

Looking ahead in 2010, Linda is excited about the capabilities within Channel Sun that allow for employee generated video. Sun has already had "upload and share video" capabilities for over a year, but now users have a much richer experience to manage their own content.

Linda also taked with Beet.TV earlier this year, and you can see her video here.

Voice of the Customer: When To Listen and When To Lead

This post is a commentary on customer service and in some cases disservice. Having been in the AV and live event business for over 20 years, I've worked with thousands of people from corporate executives, government officials, doctors, lawyers, middle managers, front line staff, motivation speakers, techies, artists, musicians and the like. Through all these interactions, I've come to learn that the most important piece of the puzzle is direct communication with the presenter.

In many cases, professional presenters have many layers between them and an event producer or meeting planner. Key information tends to get lost when tech requirements and special requests go through multiple parties rather than directly from presenter to meeting planner to AV service provider. Even more challenging is when no rehearsal takes place and a quick response to last minute changes leads to added cost and potential risk. There's a lot of room for error when you don't rehearse and it usually shows on stage and is amplified on the live video feed. Tech rehearsals and talent dress rehearsals are key to a successful live event.

Live events are just that, they're live! There's no do-overs!

You don't have the opportunity for retakes unless you're doing a series of multiple shows which you record and edit after the fact. "Fix it in post" is a common term among the AV profession since you can edit out any mistakes or goofs that occur in the live event like they never happened.

But when it's live there's no way to take it back or erase a major blunder from people's memory. Falling off the stage, the clicker not working, problems with videos and dead links are common occurrences that can be avoided.

So that's why it's so important to rehearse. Just like the real estate mantra says, "Location, location, location" I follow the AV mantra, "Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal."

Here's a few case examples around stage set up that may sound familiar.

1. The busy CEO comes into the room with minutes to spare before going live and says, "Where's my podium?" or, "Where's my Teleprompter?" when you've been told repeatedly that he won't be using a podium or there's been no mention of a Teleprompter.
2. Or you been told that the company President will have a more formal stage set-up with a podium for his notes, a chair for his jacket and he'll walk the stage and click his own slides. He walks and says no podium, he wants to sit at a table and have it informal. He then asks why didn't anyone talk with him about how he wanted it set up.

Of course, both cases could have been prevented if the CEO or President had a walk through scheduled for them. It may not sound like a big deal in either case, but last minute change has some affect -- lighting and camera positions which needs to be adjusted, stage elements that may or may not be accessible, view of stage monitors, extra stage hands available to help, and how that change affects the rest of show -- you see that it can become a big deal and would have been better to have a conversation with the executive in advance.

So, my advise is get to know your executives and presenters and find out what they want to do. In most cases they'll know exactly what they want but in some cases, the may be looking to you for answers. Know when to listen and when to lead. Every presenter has both common yet specific needs and each presentation space has different requirements. Get to know your AV team as well. Whether it be hotel or convention center staff, local union crews, freelancers, whoever it may be -- they are part of your team and contribute to your success -- and it's everyone's job to make the people on stage feel like rock stars.