IMAG & LIVE CAMERA PRODUCTION IN ATLANTA

Atlanta Music Pros provides IMAG — image magnification — for corporate events throughout Metro Atlanta. IMAG means live cameras capture the presenter and their image is projected onto large screens or an LED wall so attendees seated far from the stage can still see faces and expression. It applies to general sessions, conferences, annual meetings, awards ceremonies, galas and large corporate meetings, and the same camera feed can be switched with presentation slides, recorded, and sent to a live stream.

Past about the tenth row, a presenter stops being a person and becomes a shape in a suit. Everything that makes a speaker persuasive — eye contact, timing, the small expression before a punchline — is lost to distance. IMAG puts that back.

It is also the cheapest way to make a large room feel produced. One operated camera, one screen and a switcher change the experience of the back half of the audience more than any other single addition to a general session.

What IMAG means
Image magnification: live camera images of the presenter shown on large screens or LED inside the room.
When it matters
Commonly from about 200 guests upward, or any room where the back rows are far from the stage.
What we provide
Cameras and operators, live switching against slides, graphics, screen or LED feed, recording and stream output.
Where
Atlanta ballrooms, convention facilities, theatres and large corporate venues.
Definitions

IMAG, EXPLAINED PROPERLY

IMAG gets used loosely in AV quotes. Here is what the terms actually mean, so you can tell what you are being quoted.

IMAG
Image magnification. Live camera images of what is happening on stage, displayed on screens or LED in the same room so the audience can see it at a usable size. The audience is watching the stage and the screen at once.
IMAG vs. STREAMING
IMAG is for the people in the room. Streaming is for people who are not. They often share the same camera and switcher, which is why doing both at once costs much less than doing them separately.
PRESENTATION SWITCHING
Cutting the screen between the camera image and the presenter’s slides. Without it, IMAG competes with the deck for the same screen, which is the most common IMAG design mistake.
DUAL SCREEN
Two screens so the camera image and the slides can be shown simultaneously side by side. Common in wide ballrooms and the usual answer when slides are content-heavy.
PROGRAM FEED
The finished switched output. In an IMAG setup the same program feed can drive the room screens, the recording and the stream at the same time.
CONFIDENCE MONITOR
A screen facing the stage so the presenter can see their slides without turning around. Not part of IMAG, but almost always installed alongside it.
How It Is Built

WHAT AN IMAG SETUP INVOLVES

CAMERAS

Framed for a screen, not for a wide record.

  • Operated presenter camera framed tight enough to read expression
  • Wide master as a safe shot for walk-ons and applause
  • Additional angles for panels, awards and Q&A
  • Camera positions agreed against audience sightlines
  • Riser height so the shot is not looking up at a lectern

SWITCHING

Deciding what the room sees, live.

  • Cutting between camera and slide sources
  • Full-frame slides when content is text-heavy
  • Side-by-side layouts on a single screen where useful
  • Holding slates and segment cards between sessions
  • Program feed shared with recording and stream

DISPLAY

Where the magnified image lands.

  • Large-format projection with fast-fold screens
  • LED video wall where ambient light makes projection weak
  • Dual screens for camera plus slides in wide rooms
  • Screen height set above seated head height
  • Content and camera aspect ratios matched to the surface

GRAPHICS

Context on screen.

  • Lower-third name and title cards
  • Award nominee and recipient cards
  • Session titles between segments
  • Sponsor or brand frames where required
  • Driven from a cue list on scripted shows

LIGHTING

The part that decides how IMAG looks.

  • Front key light so faces read on camera
  • Even stage wash with no dark spots to walk into
  • Podium light bright enough for notes
  • Levels set for camera, not only for the audience
  • Avoiding harsh overhead-only lighting

CREW

People operating it.

  • Camera operators on angles that follow movement
  • Technical director on the switcher
  • Graphics operator on scripted programs
  • Intercom connecting the whole video team
  • Rehearsal against the run of show
Design Decisions

THREE THINGS THAT DECIDE WHETHER IMAG WORKS

IMAG is straightforward to specify and easy to get wrong. Nearly all of the failure comes down to these three choices.

1. Slides and camera should not fight over one screen

If a session is slide-heavy and there is only one screen, IMAG becomes an interruption: every cut to the presenter takes the content away. The answers are a second screen, a side-by-side layout, or deciding in advance that this particular session is a slide session with camera used sparingly. Any of those is fine. Not deciding is not.

2. Light the presenter from the front

Cameras need more light than audiences do, and from the front rather than overhead. A presenter lit only from above reads as shadowed eye sockets on a twelve-foot screen, which is worse than not magnifying them at all. Front key light is usually the cheapest meaningful upgrade to an IMAG setup — see corporate stage lighting.

3. Screen height against seated heads

If the bottom of the screen sits at seated head height, the back of the room loses the lower portion of everything. Screen height, stage height and the seating plan get decided together — which is why staging and projection are part of the same conversation rather than separate line items.

When To Add It

DOES YOUR EVENT NEED IMAG?

Room depth matters more than headcount. A long, narrow 150-person room can need IMAG more than a wide 250-person one.
Room / audienceIMAG valueUsual approach
Under about 100, shallow roomLow — everyone can already see the presenterScreen for slides only
100–200, standard ballroomSituational — worth it if the room is long or the stage is lowSingle screen with switching between camera and slides
200–500 ballroomHigh — the back half of the room is too far to read a faceOne or two cameras, dual screens or side-by-side layout
500+, convention hallEssentialMulti-camera, large projection or LED, graphics and a technical director
Awards or gala programsHigh at any sizeCamera on the recipient as well as the presenter, plus nominee graphics
Example

AN IMAG CONFIGURATION

Example configuration — illustrative, not a past project

Single-camera IMAG for a 300-person general session

An illustrative configuration for the most common IMAG request we get. An example rather than a past project or a price.

Camera
One operated camera on the presenter, framed for a readable close-up on screen
Switching
Live switching between the camera and the presentation source
Display
Large-format projection screen sized to the room, or LED where ambient light makes projection weak
Slides
Presentation taken as a clean digital source at full resolution, shown full-frame when content is text-heavy
Graphics
Lower-third name and title cards for each presenter
Lighting
Front key light on the presenter area plus stage wash, set at camera-ready levels
Program out
One switched feed driving the room screen, a local recording, and a stream if required
Crew
Camera operator and a video operator on the switcher
Rehearsal
Framing checked from the back row of the audience, slide format verified, presenter walk-through

Worth knowing

Adding a second camera for panels and audience reaction, and a third for awards moments, is the usual next step — see multi-camera live production.

Honest Scope

HOW WE SPECIFY IMAG

Against your room, not from a catalog

We do not publish camera models, screen inventories or LED specifications. The IMAG design is worked out from your room dimensions, seating plan, guest count, ambient light and run of show, then written into the scope before you commit.

Atlanta Music Pros provides some of this work directly and coordinates the rest through production partners we have vetted. Which parts fall where depends on the scale of the room, the date and what the venue allows, so the honest answer is that we build or coordinate a package around your venue, guest count and production requirements rather than publishing a fixed equipment list.

Service Area

WHERE WE WORK

Atlanta Music Pros is an Atlanta-based company covering Metro Atlanta and North Georgia. We travel to the venue rather than operating suburban offices.

Atlanta Downtown Atlanta Midtown Buckhead Sandy Springs Dunwoody Perimeter Center Brookhaven Marietta Cumberland Vinings Smyrna College Park East Point Duluth Gwinnett County Johns Creek Alpharetta Roswell Suwanee Lawrenceville Buford Peachtree Corners
Questions We Actually Get

CORPORATE AV FAQS

What is IMAG?

IMAG stands for image magnification. Live cameras capture the presenter on stage and the image is displayed on large screens or an LED wall inside the same room, so attendees seated far back can see faces, expression and detail. It is what makes a large general session feel like a show rather than a distant announcement. The same camera feed can be switched with slides, recorded, and sent to a live stream at the same time.

Can you send the live camera feed to screens inside the room?

Yes, that is exactly what IMAG is. An operated camera on the presenter feeds a switcher, and the switched output goes to the projection screens or LED in the room alongside the presentation source. Because it is one program feed, it can simultaneously drive the room screens, a local recording and a live stream, which is usually far more economical than commissioning those as separate jobs.

At what audience size does IMAG become worth it?

Commonly around 200 guests, but room depth matters more than headcount. A long narrow room of 150 can need IMAG more than a wide room of 250, because the last rows are simply too far from the stage to read a face. Stage height is a factor too: a low stage in a flat room means anyone behind row eight is looking at the back of other people’s heads.

What is the difference between IMAG and livestreaming?

IMAG serves the people in the room; streaming serves people who are not there. They usually share the same cameras and the same switcher, so if you are already doing one, adding the other is a marginal cost rather than a second production. The difference in design is mostly framing and audio routing: a stream needs its own encoding, monitoring and program audio path.

Do slides and IMAG have to share the same screen?

They do not, and if the session is slide-heavy they probably should not. With one screen, every cut to the presenter takes content away from the audience. The common solutions are a second screen, a side-by-side layout with the presenter beside the slide, or deciding in advance that this session is slide-led with camera used only at key moments. Any of those works; the failure is leaving it undecided.

Why does IMAG need extra lighting?

Because a camera needs more light than an audience does, and from a different direction. Overhead-only lighting puts the presenter’s eyes in shadow, which is barely noticeable in person and looks unmistakably bad magnified onto a large screen. Adding front key light on the presenter area is usually the single cheapest way to improve how IMAG looks, and it improves the recording and any stream at the same time.

Can you provide IMAG for an awards ceremony?

Yes, and awards benefit from it disproportionately because the moments that matter are close-up: the recipient’s face, the handshake, the reaction at the table. That typically means a camera on the presenter at the podium, a second finding recipients as they come up, and nominee and recipient graphics driven from a cue list. Our awards gala production page covers how that fits into the whole evening.

How much does IMAG cost for an Atlanta event?

The variables are camera count, whether cameras are operated, whether the display is projection or LED, how many screens, whether graphics are scripted, crew, and load-in and rehearsal hours. Single-camera IMAG onto an existing session screen is a modest addition; multi-camera IMAG with LED, graphics and a rehearsal day is a production. The corporate AV pricing page explains each factor.

REQUEST A CORPORATE AV QUOTE

Tell us the room dimensions, the guest count and whether the session is slide-led or speaker-led. Those three answers decide screen count, camera count and whether you need side-by-side layouts.

Add production details (optional)
What do you need?

We reply to corporate enquiries with questions first, then a written scope and quote. Prefer to talk it through? Call (404) 919-0970.