It is said that necessity is the mother of invention and that adversity introduces a person to themselves. In the face of a global pandemic and all the challenges that it brings, Sam White, President and CEO of MSI Production Services, has stepped up. In our new normal, he has committed himself to finding new ways to keep his business thriving and to help his clients when his skills are needed most.
“Our specialty has always been technical and creative support, and that hasn’t changed,” says Sam.
Social distancing has rewritten the rules of society at lightning speed, and nowhere is that more evident than in the ways we communicate with one another. Business meetings, conferences, and fundraisers have moved online into a two-dimensional world where thoughts and ideas are filtered through a smartphone or webcam so they can fit into the corner of someone else’s screen.
Sam has met these challenges head-on. As he explains, “We’ve taken this very seriously and began adapting as far back as early March. We were one of the first in Kentucky to do virtual events, and have a special studio just for that purpose.” MSI’s newest venture makes it possible for businesses and individuals to be seen and heard in the world we now live in.
They carved out a space in their Fortune Drive headquarters and equipped it with lighting, high definition cameras, and first-rate audio gear. The result is video quality that far surpasses the grainy conference calls made on various online platforms. The new studio is completely equipped for safe social distancing, too. Clients can enter through an exterior door and all the equipment can be controlled from a separate control room. Now, anyone in Lexington has access to the kind of support and expertise that major corporations and institutions have long relied on in a facility that MSI has made convenient and affordable.
“What we offer is threefold,” says Sam, “We can broadcast internally for companies, charities, and churches, as well as externally across all social media simultaneously. We can also see people watching and put them on the screen right in the studio from across the world.”
Pioneering these new techniques, MSI can even broadcast live segments on location from places like restaurants, beaming content back to the studio, where a host presides over the event to entertain and engage with attendees from the comfort and safety of their own homes. These new “hybrid” events deliver much of the impact of a live meeting, without the technical glitches, delay, and mediocre quality that plague so many conventional conference calls.
The team at MSI has made a special effort to make the studio user-friendly, and a wide variety of clients have taken advantage of the new service. Some are elected officials and experts who use the studio’s broadcast technology to appear live on network news programs. Some are business professionals who want their meetings and presentations to look their best. And some are just regular people, reaching out to family or friends with a video message on a special occasion.
“Don’t cancel your event, change it.”
Organizations, colleges, corporations and more are trying to navigate the uncharted territory we’re all facing. Whether you serve an organization trying to bridge their fundraising gap without a gala or you work with a professional association trying to collaborate with members across the country — Sam says, “Don’t cancel your event, change it.”
MSI Production Services is a full-service audio/visual rental, staging, and event production company, delivering signature events for both corporate and private clients in Central Kentucky. From the most intimate event to a general session for thousands, MSI provides clients with state-of-the-art technology, top rate personnel, and a knowledge base second to none. After years in the business, Sam started MSI in 1998 and has become the first choice in the region for event staging and execution for many corporations, companies, churches, and other entities. If you have attended an event in Lexington in the last 22 years, you have been in their company.
To learn more, visit msiproductions.com.
The Kentucky Events Industry creates $9.5 Billion in direct spending for Kentucky.
Every dollar spent from Corporate Meetings returns $1.60 to the economy.*
The Kentucky Events Industry creates $5.5 Billion in economic activity from Arts & Cultural events.
Over 2.5 million people receive direct or indirect employment because of the event industry each year. When induced jobs are included in this figure, the total reaches almost 6 million positions.
*Economic Significance of Meetings to the US Economy Report© 2018 Events Industry Council
