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Kyle It has been emphasized time and again – the main stage of your event requires careful attention to ensure a seamless virtual experience. While most hybrid events focus on enhancing the main stage for virtual attendees, it’s crucial to recognize the importance of breakout rooms.
Take a moment to close your eyes and envision a breakout room session. What comes to mind? Unlike the grandness of the main stage, breakout rooms are often smaller, with a more understated setting. While they may lack visual appeal, these rooms play a vital role in providing niche content tailored to specific interests, encouraging conversation, and fostering learning.
Translating the essence of a breakout room into the virtual realm presents a unique challenge. The content is paramount, but relying solely on a slide deck might miss the essence of the conversation. To address this challenge, hybrid event planners need to devise strategies for enhancing the virtual breakout room experience.
Consider implementing a simple yet effective solution – a switched feed. Unlike the main stage, breakout rooms typically don’t require multiple cameras. However, it remains crucial to showcase both speakers and presentation materials. A valuable tool for achieving this is a switcher, such as the Blackmagic ATEM Mini. This device allows seamless switching between HDMI inputs from both the camera and laptop, presenting a merged video feed that displays both the speaker and the presentation in full resolution.
While investing in production tools like the Blackmagic ATEM Mini incurs costs, the enhanced production value it brings to virtual breakout rooms is worth the expenditure. By acknowledging that BREAKOUT ROOMS MATTER and providing a platform that emphasizes both content and conversation, event organizers can ensure a more engaging and enriching experience for attendees.
Have you experienced any amazing virtual breakout rooms? Let me know, connect with me on LinkedIn, and tell me about an amazing experience you had!
