Fox Point-based Logan Productions Inc. has been staging and filming in-person corporate events for 35 years. It provides the lighting, grips, riggers, multiple cameras, switchboards and other tools used to present, record and broadcast a presentation to a live audience.
But the economic downturn and higher costs of travel have resulted in less business travel and more web-based meetings.
Logan adapted to the trend and in 2007 began web broadcasting its high-definition video productions to corporate audiences across the world, a service it calls Global LiveCast. The company has experienced a 30 percent increase in sales in its Global LiveCast division over the past three years, said Jim Logan, president and co-owner.
Global LiveCast works similarly to a television production over the web. It has been used for corporate meetings, employee communications, sales presentations, trade show exhibits, fashion shows, product launches and financial reports.
“We looked at what was out there in the way of HD streaming services and talked to our clients about what they liked and didn’t like, and we thought there was an opportunity for a higher-end product,” Logan said. “All the (other) companies out there that do this stuff, it’s a template.”
The lean 10-person team at Logan offers video, 3D projection mapping, animation and interactive expertise for all of its services. Global LiveCast presentations can be customized with a company’s logo, graphics, video roll-ins and other features.
“We’re constantly trying to update it and upgrade it and add new bells and whistles for our clients,” said Beth Logan, chief executive officer and co-owner.
What sets it apart from webcasting services like Skype and WebEx is that Global LiveCast offers live translation during the presentation in countless languages, Jim said. The company contracts with an interpreter service to have translators on hand at its offices or at the event site to relay the message in the necessary languages. The translation delay is only about 20 seconds.
“A lot of interpretation is body language and nuance, and also it’s more practical to have the same interpreters here time after time,” Jim said.
Logan also focuses on delivering the highest quality and most reliable video possible. It sends a test link to attendees ahead of time to assure they have the Adobe Flash or Silverlight browser plugins needed to run Global LiveCast, and uses tiered access to assure viewers are directed to the video stream most appropriate for their operating systems. The company can run up to 36 streams of a presentation simultaneously.
A typical webcast has a 65 percent connectivity rate, but Global LiveCast’s pre-testing and live technical troubleshooting help clients reach 99 to 100 percent connectivity rates on presentations.
“The quality that they receive can be projected onto a large screen,” Beth said.
Logan has recently created a 3D animation for the presentation of a new GE Healthcare product and hosted and created a video of a ball for the Milwaukee Urban League at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. It also hosted a web broadcast of a new product rollout and workforce training at Penzoil, without ever meeting the client in person.
“An event is an event is an event, and the elements remain the same,” Jim said.
When the company is live at events, it uses a bonded cellular signal for a higher quality broadcast at quick speeds. Logan uses redundant systems to assure it doesn’t lose signal, no matter what happens, Beth said.
“Everything for us is about making sure our customer’s message gets through,” Jim said. “We make promises and we deliver on them.”
One client had the Global LiveCast crew and interpreters travel to Portugal to stage and broadcast a presentation.
And presenters can be located anywhere on the globe, too. An executive that gets stuck in an airport on a business trip can simply use FaceTime to stream in from an iPad.
Global LiveCast’s software allows presenters to receive viewer questions and stage and prepare for them behind the scenes before putting them into the broadcast.
After the presentation is complete, Global LiveCast archives it for viewing, either on the client’s server or on a secure site.
Logan Productions started as a film production company in 1978 and has adapted to industry changes like the shift to web-based meetings to keep itself healthy through the years.
“When one area’s down, another one’s up and makes money,” Jim said.
It purchased the third available HD camera in the U.S. and the first Red brand 4K digital cinema camera in Wisconsin.
“We’ve always tried to stay ahead of technology,” Jim said. “This is still something that is, on the high end, challenging for companies to do and it’s a good niche for us and we’re staying ahead of the curve.”
