Top AV Tips for Unconventional Venues: How to Master Production, Internet, and Content Capture Anywhere
Today’s most memorable events are breaking free from traditional ballrooms and moving into unconventional venues like art galleries, rooftops, historic theaters, warehouses, vineyards, and industrial spaces. These creative venues offer stunning backdrops and unforgettable experiences but often come with a unique set of production challenges, especially when it comes to AV.
If you’re considering hosting an event in an unconventional space, here are the top AV tips for unconventional venues, to ensure your production is seamless, impactful, and stress-free.
Assess Power Early (and Often)
Unconventional venues often lack the robust power infrastructure needed for event AV. From LED walls to lighting grids to audio equipment, everything runs on power. Always schedule a site visit to:
- Assess existing power availability.
- Identify where supplemental power (generators or distro) is needed.
- Confirm load capacities to avoid outages mid-event.
Pro Tip: Bring in your AV partner early to do a full power assessment and plan for safe distribution.
Master the Acoustics Challenge
Warehouses echo. Rooftops fight against wind noise. Historic theaters may have beautiful but unpredictable acoustics. Every venue comes with audio quirks.
Key Solutions:
- Use directional speakers to control sound bleed.
- Add sound dampening where needed (drapery, soft decor, baffling).
- Consider wireless mics to reduce cable runs in tight or irregular spaces.
Reliable Internet Is Non-Negotiable
Event internet isn’t a luxury, it’s mission-critical. Whether your event relies on livestreaming, hybrid components, presenter tools, event apps, or on-demand media playback, unconventional venues often don’t have the bandwidth to support it.
- Check venue internet speeds during your site visit.
- Plan for temporary event internet solutions—like bonded cellular, satellite, or dedicated bandwidth—to handle streaming, registration, presenter tools, and audience connectivity.
- Factor in coverage zones. Outdoor spaces, warehouses, and rooftops can have massive Wi-Fi dead zones without strategic placement of hardware.
Pro Tip: Don’t assume. Test everything in advance. Internet is often the hidden failure point when not properly planned.
Embrace Creative Display Solutions
Blank walls become digital canvases when you use the right tools. In unconventional venues, LED walls and projection mapping are your best friends.
- LED Walls: Perfect for bright environments like rooftops or rooms with lots of natural light.
- Projection Mapping: Transforms architecture into dynamic storytelling surfaces—ideal for historic buildings, industrial walls, or outdoor facades.
This isn’t just about screens, it’s about transforming the space.
Plan for Rigging (or Lack Thereof)
Unlike ballrooms, many creative spaces lack built-in rigging points.
- Bring in ground-supported truss structures for lighting, screens, or scenic elements.
- Verify ceiling load capacity if any overhead rigging is possible.
- Factor in rigging restrictions when designing the event layout.
Lighting Is Everything
Good lighting elevates any space, but it’s crucial in unconventional venues. Whether you’re enhancing the existing architecture or creating atmosphere from scratch:
- Use uplighting to highlight textures (brick, beams, stone).
- Add functional lighting for presenters and performers.
- Consider battery-powered fixtures for spaces with limited power or load-in constraints.
Bonus: Dynamic lighting helps shift the mood throughout the event, day to night, keynote to party.
Don’t Skimp on Site Surveys
No two unconventional venues are the same. A detailed site survey with your AV team is non-negotiable.
- Check load-in logistics: Is there freight access? Are there stairs? Narrow doors?
- Map out cable runs to avoid trip hazards.
- Verify Wi-Fi and cellular service—event internet might need augmentation.
Always Have a Contingency Plan
Creative spaces = creative problems. Weather, power, sound restrictions, or neighborhood ordinances can all impact your event.
Build redundancy into:
- Power (backup generators)
- Audio systems
- Internet solutions
Plan for Content Capture That Matches the Space
Unique venues deserve more than grainy footage from a phone. Your media production should match the energy and creativity of the space.
- Multi-camera capture: Essential for documenting keynotes, performances, or panel discussions in spaces with challenging sightlines.
- Livestream-ready setups: Combine with event internet to broadcast your event to virtual audiences without disruption.
- Post-event content: Turn your event into an evergreen marketing engine with sizzle reels, recap videos, and social media snippets.
Whether it’s BTS footage of a rooftop event buildout or cinematic shots of projection mapping on a historic building, great content extends the life of your event far beyond the day itself.
The Bottom Line
The right venue creates the wow. The right AV partner makes it work.
Unconventional venues unlock incredible experiences, but only if production is handled with intention, foresight, and technical excellence. When you pair a creative space with strategic AV solutions; from LED walls to projection mapping, bulletproof internet to cinematic content capture, you unlock the full potential of your event.
Unconventional venues unlock creativity, but only with the right production partner.
Whether you’re transforming a rooftop, gallery, theater, or warehouse, AVFX brings the expertise, technology, and creativity to make it seamless. From flawless AV to event internet and cinematic content capture, we help your event shine, onsite and online.