Each industry has been hit hard during the pandemic. There have been chaotic situations in cases where the investors had financed several awards shows that couldnt see the light of the day. While numerous awards were called off in the wake of the pandemic, some were postponed and other turned towards the virtual space.

It has been almost seven months since the outbreak of the virus in India. During this time, the online space has been explored to its optimum utilisation. With Awards ceremonies being around the corner for businesses and the entertainment industry, show organisers have moved from venue based to virtual based event companies like Vconfex.

The virtual space has completely changed the way we looked at events. The transformation might have taken some time, but virtual events have become the new normal. Award shows, that could have never been thought of being held online are more economical and easier to plan. The execution might be different, but gradually we are adapting to the new technologies and advancements.

The International Indian Film Academy Awards that is held annually in different countries against a stunning backdrop can now be recreated on virtual platforms as well. With the help of VFX and AR/VR (augmented reality and virtual reality), it is easy to get digital elements to a live show. It helps in creating a theme of an event, giving the viewers a feel of being at a particular place at a point of time. AR/VR experts create 3D locations like that of an award venue or an outdoor location as the attendees appear to be present in that very location.

Want to make you event interactive and engaging for attendees and viewers, just like physical events? The best way to do it is by inculcating graphics and VFX in your event. It will help you set the aura of an event, making the guests feel present at the online venue.

IIT Bombay successfully set an example by hosting an engaging virtual event during their graduation ceremony this year. They organised the online ceremony in August 2020. Attended by over 2000 students, the convocation that was held online with the help of VR, was one of the most creative ways to keep the audience engaged. The event showcased e-avatars of the students walk up to the dignitaries on the stage to receive their certificates. The event turned out to be engaging and the concept won a thumbs up from everyone.

Heres how you can do it

With the help of the most common and traditional technique of film making, such as the chroma shoot, these shows can put an imaginary backdrop in a screen space. The VFX supervisors then use their expertise to implement the same and show it to the viewers. In case of a pre-recorded video like that of the emcees, the speaker can shoot against a blue or a green backdrop. In the post production compositing phase, the video is rendered with a 3D image or video and the green and blue screen is removed. Chroma shoots have several benefits as it is a cost cutting technique and is the most ideal thing to do in case of background switching.

The HD awards ceremony backgrounds can be grandeur as the VFX staff can showcase any country or indoor stadium/hall of any place around the world, without having anyone physically present there.

Secondly, a virtual award ceremony experience can be enhanced and taken a notch higher with the help of immersive technologies. Although it is similar to VFX in certain ways, but the three dimensional image which surrounds each attendee makes it better than the rest. Therefore, event organisers are mostly inclining towards this one for a better experience.

The emcee of the show can deck up in his/her suit and stand against a green backdrop while talking to the guests. Meanwhile the VFX professionals can recreate the look of a red carpet or a stage to give the virtual event a real world feel. This can help in engaging the audience and offering them an experience like no other.

Ways to maximise your experience on virtual award ceremonies1- Plan before the event: An award ceremony brings a lot of stalwarts from the selected industry on a virtual platform. The attendees or the nominees might need some warming up before actually becoming a part of the show. To do so, the best way is to organise an informal call before the event and shake off the nervousness. This practice can be carried out even after the announcement of the results in celebration.

2- Bring your creativity to work: Since all nominees are announced on either social media platform or intimated via calls, the organisers might ask each one of them to record their award acceptance speeches beforehand. This will give the nominees the time to shoot the video either on their own or along with their colleagues. After the winner of the category is announced, the video can straightaway cut to the winning speech of the person who has stood victorious in that particular category. There might be certain restrictions when it comes to time and language for the acceptance speech of the winners, which should be kept in mind while pre-recording the winning speech.

3- Dress to leave a mark on the viewers: Most anchors and professionals like to stay comfortable in their easy bottoms while recording for a video and during the live broadcasts as well. It is always a good practice to give up on your joggers and pyjamas and suit up to impress the spectators at the virtual award show.

4- Networking opportunities: You might be oblivious of the fact that the virtual events also allow the attendees to build contacts and interact with other attendees during the time of the event. Social media plays an important role in helping you reach out to the masses and talking about the event. Attendees can also personally message each other by clicking on the chat link available in the website.

Although there are several virtual spaces that have come into being during the times of the pandemic, one can only sustain if it has a plethora of features to offer to the clients. It takes effort of an entire team to deliver a seamless and watchable award ceremony with the online tools available.

The award ceremony organisers should create a real feel of the on-ground ceremony like those that have been held in the past. Talking about the entertainment award shows like IIFA, Filmfare, etc., the ceremony starts off with emcees introducing the awards and the sponsors. This is followed by the grandeur opening performance by the stars which can either be a dance performance or a singer enthralling the crowds. Next comes the announcement of a category nominations and finally the revelation of the winner.

Similar procedure must be followed in the case of virtual ceremonies as well. However, the virtual space draws advantage of playing pre-recorded clips in certain cases, like in the case of any performance. The performers can rehearse for it in advance and record it at their convenience.

The event page should be linked to various social media platforms where the link and live updates of the award ceremony can be shared simultaneously. As social media has become the lifeline of any event, its integration in all websites has become the most important aspect in todays time.

Apart from the entertainment awards, business awards have also been witnessing a paradigm shift from venue-based award ceremonies to virtual events. They have utilised the virtual space for delivering one-day events from the beginning to the end. The four basic elements to consider for such events include the following:

- Presentations- Judging- Ceremony- Winners speech

Roles and responsibilities of hosting virtual award ceremoniesOrganising a virtual award show can be quite taxing as the organisers might have to spend a lot of time in its planning stage. Here are some important planning tips for the event organisers:

1- Invitations and submissions: Create online formal invitations for the guests and start sending them out much in advance from the date of the show. This sends out information to a large group of people who can RSVP by submitting their response through the same medium. It is always safe to know the number of people interested in your event. You dont want to run it for so long for a handful of attendees.

2- Ceremony agenda: Things do not have to be taken lightly even in the case of virtual awards ceremonies. The organisers have to be clear about the schedule of the show, so that it is seamlessly delivered from the very beginning to the end.

3- Bandwidth requirement: To live stream an entire event to a lot of attendees, the organisers should be equipped with a higher bandwidth and server apparatus.

4- Judges: A panel of judges is required to decide upon the winners. This is essential in the case of both real-time and recorded award events.

5- Attendees and jury: The link should be sent to the jury and the attendees of the event beforehand, so that they can test remotely and see if it is working fine for them. Any errors or glitches can be treated during this time.

6- IT personnel: They play an important role in virtual events as all issues are held and resolved by them. Without the technical know-how of how a virtual award ceremony runs on a virtual platform, one cannot think of organising it.

Examples of online award ceremonies that have been held till now:1- MCA Awards2- SPOTT Awards hosted by BrandEquity and Economic Times3- Kaleido Awards hosted by BrandEquity and Economic Times4- BAFTA Games Awards5- IEEE Awards6- Women in Financial Advice Awards7- VR Awards8- Global Digital Excellence Awards9- CIPD People Management Awards10- Telecoms World Awards11- UK Business Awards

Benefits of organising virtual award shows1- There are times when invitees cant make it to an award show because of the distance and time constraint. No such problem persists in the case of virtual events as the attendees just have to log into their systems remotely and click on the event link shared by the organisers.

2- It gives a networking platform to the attendees who can get in touch with others present at the event, just like in the case of venue-based award ceremony.

3- The entire ceremony can be recorded by anyone on their system and saved for future references.

4- Virtual shows give winners the liberty to prepare their winning speech in advance if he/she is camera shy or has stage fright.

5- Virtual platform help winners earn recognition in front of all the attendees, which might not be possible in case of office awards that are otherwise given privately inside a cabin.

You can conclude the award ceremony with a gala by including the jury, attendees, winners and nominees for a virtual celebration. A standing ovation to the winners or some behind the scene videos will thrill the audience and keep them glued to their screens post the event as well. The audience should be left in awe of the event created by you at the end. This will help you get better feedback and a more promising audience at your next event.-Brand Content Initiative

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How AR, VR and GFX have completely transformed award ceremonies on virtual platforms - ETBrandEquity.com