Boardrooms, Training Facilities and Presentation Centers - Brief Article

Chief Executive, The, March, 2000 by David English

When videoconferencing is involved, Maione will work up a list of AV preferences for the room, such as light-colored fabric, carpet that isn't too ornate, a plain ceiling, or additional lighting. Without that information, our designers might meet with the client and come up with something entirely different, says Chin. The client may want to see dark traditional wood, ornate Oriental carpets on the floor, and chandeliers. We take what the client wants and what the AV guy requires and come to some sort of happy medium.

Lighting is especially important for videoconferencing. There can be so many lights, it looks like a studio, says Chin. You may need literally dozens of lights in the ceiling just to light the space for broadcasting. The higher-than-normal light levels can, in turn, affect the choice of decor. For example, the material on the walls should be reflective, but not so reflective that it casts shadows.

The use of videoconference cameras can affect other design decisions. Video images can make everything appear to be two-dimensional, creating some unusual optical effects, if not handled properly. The portraits of past CEOs could be confused with the living-and-breathing participants at the table, and vertical or horizontal lines on the wall could appear to pass through the heads of the board members.

Videoconferencing also requires that companies alter the way they hold their boardroom meetings. You can't just have a wild meeting where everybody is talking back and forth, because the equipment is geared to jump to whoever is talking, says Dennis Paoletti of San Francisco's Paoletti Associates, Inc. With auto caption goes caption microphone mixers, the system picks up whoever's sound is closest to the microphone. If I start talking, my microphone is on, and everybody else's is off. If other people jump in and start talking at the same time, you get these random bursts of energy over the system. There needs to be a protocol for running the meeting.

The technology is there to support the meeting

... not the other way around, says Randy Triz, a senior associate with Shen Milsom & Wilke. Fortunately, with today's highly automated systems, the boardroom participants don't have to be ruled by the AV equipment. Many boardrooms are outfitted with touch-panel screens with common-sense labels, such as PowerPoint Presentation or Videoconference. By pressing a single button, you can trigger a sequence of actions, including closing the curtains, adjusting the lighting, switching on various cameras and microphones, and routing connections to specific video monitors and sound systems. We've gotten to the point where if the person at the third chair from the end of the table is speaking, the system knows where that person is, turns his microphone on, and shuts the other microphones off until someone else speaks, says Triz. It also trains a camera in his direction automatically.

High-Tech, High-Security

They sound like props from a James Bond movie (anti-eavesdropping devices, bullet-proof doors, and hidden passageways). In fact, they're an integral part of many corporate boardrooms. These high-tech devices are designed to maintain the confidentiality of the participants conversation and protect the participants from malicious harm.