For the past 8 years, BVC has been the production partner for the Richmond Forum in Richmond, VA. From the Forum’s webpage: “The biggest and most influential names in the world have taken the stage at The Richmond Forum, creating lifetime memories for our subscribers: past U.S. presidents, sitting heads of state, leaders from the sciences, arts, business, and more.”  The Forum produces five programs each year. For more detailed information, check out their website at https://richmondforum.org/.

Because of the prestige and importance of the Forum presenters, a very high level of performance and technical skill is required. We use our best equipment for this production, including a 13’ x 23’ HD screen built with our BVC Revolution 3.9 LED panels, three Panasonic HPX-500 cameras, two Analog Way Ascender 16s, and many other pieces required to make the production possible. We also provide video feeds for two separate overflow rooms, all made possible by the robust Ascender switcher (including 8 possible simultaneous outputs)

For the third Richmond Forum of the 2017-2018 season, the special guest was Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation. His presentation focused on the future of technology, and its implications on society. He covered a wide range of new technology including solar energy, hyperloop travel, automated cars, and machine learning. To illustrate his topics, he relied heavily on PowerPoint; using interesting slides and charts to better illustrate the discussion. The Forum typically has a live camera shot on the main screen.  The addition of the PowerPoint required a live picture-in-picture (PiP) with PowerPoint to the right and a small camera shot to the left. We executed this look seamlessly with our two Ascender 16s.  The Ascenders LiveCore™ platform makes cutting between the full screen PowerPoint and the PiP a breeze.

The main talk is followed by a moderated Q&A segment.  This segment requires three different camera shots (one of the speaker, one on the moderator, and one on both). The Forum always has a sold out crowd.  The packed house does not allow for any additional floor based cameras so we use two robotically controlled cameras hung from the first balcony. They are both controlled backstage by one operator, allowing for a reduction in manpower and additional room for seating in the theater.

Overall the show ran flawlessly and we look forward to the next Forum on March 24th featuring Samantha Powers, the former United States Ambassador to the UN.