Should Your Next Virtual Event be Pre-Recorded or Live?

If you’re considering if you want your virtual event to be Pre-Recorded or Live, check out the pros and cons for each. Virtual events have become the norm in 2020. They will likely continue to be popular in the coming years as organizations realize their benefits, including reaching a wider audience, increasing accessibility, reducing cost, and preventing COVID spread.

Pre-recorded and live events each have their pros and cons. We can help you decide which model will work better for you, or if you should combine elements of both, and work with you every step of the way to ensure your event exceeds your expectations. Audio-Video Group can even provide staffing, from the creative director to videographer, sound designer, and production coordination.

Live Streaming

Live streaming is appealing for a number of reasons, especially the immediacy of connection. Your audience is with you at the moment, even if they’re on a smartphone or laptop. This can foster a sense of connection to you and your message. It also allows the presenter to answer questions, poll the audience, play games, and more. 

Live streaming can also be low tech and require less production. Organizations that want to stand out can invest in excellent lighting and sound equipment and appealing backdrops. This requires some expertise, and that’s where we come in.

Choosing the live stream model often means less production and editing beforehand, and so they can be quicker to pull off on short notice. We can even create intros and outros to incorporate into your live stream to introduce your event or guests, similar to what you’d see on a live production on television. With a well-planned and staged live stream, the quality will be excellent.

If you choose to live stream your next event, Audio-Video Group can provide the camera and sound crew, the rental equipment, perfect the lighting, and set up the platform and streaming process, so all you have to do is focus on your message.

Pre-Recorded

You might decide that a pre-recorded event is better for you. One obvious upside is the ability for retakes. If the tech fails or the humans mess up, you can do it again, and your audience will be none the wiser. 

Pre-recording gives you many more options for production, including flexibility with how the video is presented–the audience could see the speaker and the slides simultaneously, or you could cut to images or videos with the speaker as a voiceover. You can also do more editing with sound design, music, animation, and more. Of course, this takes a great deal more time upfront.

As with live streaming, Audio-Video Group can help shoot the content, including the video and sound crew, to ensure that your recording is high quality. We can also provide technology like green screens or 3D projection mapping to kick your production up a notch and make sure your message stands out. 

You might decide that the best option is a hybrid of both–you can include pre-recorded content during a live stream or record a live stream and distribute it after the fact to people who weren’t able to attend live. In either case, Audio-Video Group can streamline the process and make sure you have the equipment you need to get it done.

It’s more important than ever to ensure your audience hears your message. We have the tools and expertise to handle the technology portion so you can focus on making your next pre-recorded or live virtual event everything you want it to be.

Return To Blog
MENU