Virtual Show Calling: The New Norm?

Virtual Show Calling: The New Norm? Show calling for events has always been very similar in nature to theater, with an accelerated timeline. Show calling for virtual events is a familiar but different beast in that there is so much more pre production that needs to be talked about and fleshed out ahead of time. We normally need more rehearsal time, more speaker time, more time to internally rehearse and try to break things so that we can fix them before the client ever knew we did anything weird. We have to explain what we do and why it’s important over and over again, because no this isn’t just Zoom and you can’t just do what you want. More importantly, we can’t rely on sound, ambiance, lights, etc to drive out storyline anymore so WHAT is driving it?! Enter broadcast. Enter graphics. Enter music, but used in very different ways because of how the human ear interprets and prioritizes sounds. Where theater etiquette was once king, we have had to adapt to its equally complex cousin of broadcast calling. This has meant a shift not only in how we call, but also how we present show flows to the clients. Reaction shots are not something readily received by event planners who want us to stay only on the person talking. Reaction shots may not always be expected when your speakers decide they didn’t want to wear pants and get up to walk around RIGHT as you take their feed (definitely keeps us on our toes though). Graphics- let them drive your story! Create intros. Create breaks. Create little bugs that you can program- functional (coming up next), trivia (facts/questions), or just for a fun game (little popcorn guy that pops up randomly throughout the show) As the show caller, these instances are less random and more planned because if you don’t know then you don’t have them created and programmed and ready. Me personally, I will include it in my show flow as a reminder to me so I don’t forget between all the other cues to call these little bugs up. With these, you can also include some SFX. With swipes, with bugs, or on their own! Applause is always a good one to have ready,