Media Services

Requesting Technical Support for events

In addition to classroom support, Media Services serves an essential role in providing audio visual technical support for campus sponsored events, whether in person or virtual. 

Traditionally, in person events have been fairly easy to plan. In recent years, with the increased need for online/virtual access by participants, event planning has become a bit more complex. Videoconferencing tools, such as Zoom, have made it possible for us to host hybrid events with some participants physically present while others are accessing from remote locations. The phrase “live stream” has become very popular and is often used to refer to a range of virtual experiences. As you plan an event, it is important to know exactly what your needs are so we can assist in matching the event with the most effective and cost efficient approach. 

BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR REQUEST, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER WHAT TYPE OF EVENT YOU NEED:

What is live streaming and when might I need it? 

• Live streaming is generally a professional quality video production to be broadcast in real-time to an online destination like Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Live stream is usually reserved for very high-profile college events. You can go live for a small, private group, or a large public audience. The stream is typically organized by one person who serves as the host or director: inviting guests to participate, screen sharing, or playing prepared video. Live streaming involves data compression and encoding that allows for playback that can be adjusted to ones’ internet bandwidth. This approach can get complicated and expensive when your event needs a multiple camera shoot or other additional equipment. The college is not currently staffed to accommodate live streaming, so this type of request requires extra lead time (a minimum of 2 weeks in advance) to hire a vendor, coordinate and plan, and determine how the service is funded. 

Do I need a Zoom meeting, a Zoom large meeting, or a Zoom webinar?

• Zoom Meeting allows you to host interactive sessions where you might want to have lots of audience participation or break your session into smaller groups using breakout rooms. Participants are typically allowed to mute/unmute their own audio/video and are also allowed to share their screen. This is the standard Zoom setup that most of us are quite familiar with and is best used for situations where you want a high level of interaction with participants, situations where you might need to incorporate remote teaching/learning, for example.
• Zoom Large Meeting license allows the number of participants to be increased to 1000. Other than that, all the regular Zoom Meeting features apply. We have one Large Meeting license which can be requested as needed through Media Services. 
• Zoom Webinar allows you to broadcast an event/meeting to 1000 attendees. As the host or panelist, you can share your screen, video, and audio in a webinar, while attendees can use the chat or question and answer options to interact with the host and panelists. Webinars can require pre-registration, with the option for the host to add custom registration questions, or registration can be turned off for attendees to join by simply clicking a link at the time of the webinar. Typically, webinar attendees do not interact with one another. This is designed for large events, such as community events and public-facing lectures. We have 2 Zoom Webinar licenses which can be requested as needed.

Look here for a comprehensive comparison between Zoom Meetings and Webinars

Now that I know what I need for my event, how do I submit a request?

Your request should be submitted to Media Services through EMS. You may have already reserved your space through EMS. If this is the case, then you need to add Media Services to that request. We ask that one single point of contact be responsible for submitting the Media Services request to avoid duplication of effort. When preparing to submit a request, be prepared to include the following information:

• Date and Time
• Type of Meeting - Is it in person, online through Zoom? If so, is it a regular meeting, large meeting or webinar?
• Who is the point of contact? If it is to be a webinar, who is the designated host fo the event?
• What additional technology needs do you have?

Use the button below to access EMS. If it’s your first time or you need assistance completing the form, you can email mediaservices@skidmore.edu and one of our staff will contact you for a consultation to determine what technical approach is appropriate for your event. 

 PLEASE REQUEST AV ASSISTANCE THROUGH EMS 

Here are some instructions on submitting an EMS request that you may find helpful:

Add Media Services support to an event already in EMS

How to add an event or request to EMS

If the event is to be recorded, you may want to view the event recording consent form.