The commonest event-video accident isn't wrong content. It's wrong specification: the video looks perfect on a computer and, on the LED wall, the sides are cut off, the text is too small to read, or the playback system can't open the file. An LED wall is assembled from modules and can be any ratio, so there is no standard specification. The only reliable approach is to ask the venue or the hardware supplier before production starts.
Eight things to ask before production
- The pixel dimensions. Ask "how many pixels wide and high", not how many metres. A wall might be 3840×1080, or an unusual number. This is the most important item.
- How many screens, and how they are arranged. A main screen with side screens? A floor screen? The pixel dimensions and relative position of each.
- How the signal is fed. Whether the wall is one canvas or the playback system splits one video across screens. This decides whether to deliver one file or several.
- The file format the playback system accepts: codec, container, maximum bitrate. Systems differ, so ask the supplier for a specification sheet.
- Frame rate. Usually 30 or 60. A mismatch can cause stutter or flicker; see what fps means.
- Sound. Whether audio plays from the video file or separately from the sound desk; mono, stereo or another layout.
- The deadline and method for delivering files. Operators usually need them early to load into the system.
- When testing is possible. The rehearsal time, and whether a test file can go in earlier.
Ask for the answers in writing and forward them to us. Specifications passed on by word of mouth go wrong easily.
Framing for ultra-wide and unusual ratios
- Don't stretch a 16:9 video. People widen and logos distort.
- Don't centre it with black either side. That wastes the screen.
- Main picture plus extension. The video sits in the middle, with extended background, moving graphics or brand colour filling the sides. The usual approach for existing footage.
- Redesign for the width. Text and graphics spread across the full span, with animation travelling from one side to the other. Motion-graphics pieces suit this best.
- Key content in the middle. People seated at the side can't see the far end, and the presenter, lectern and flowers block the lower edge. Ask the organiser for a stage plan.
- Seams. Where screens have frames or gaps between them, keep text and faces clear.
Text and picture on a large screen
- Bigger text than seems necessary. The back row is a long way off. Few words, large, heavy weight.
- No hairlines or small type. LED pixels are coarser than a monitor's; thin lines break up or shimmer.
- Care with large areas of white. LED is bright; a white frame in a dark room dazzles and spills onto the stage lighting. Dark backgrounds usually work better.
- Slower movement. Fast sideways motion across a huge screen is uncomfortable.
- Source resolution. With large pixel dimensions, photos and footage need to be large too, or they blur when scaled.
Delivery and testing
- Send a test file first: ten seconds at the same specification, with a border and centre mark, for the operator to confirm size, colour and sound.
- Deliver the real files early, at least a few days ahead and not on rehearsal day.
- Supply a backup in a common format such as MP4, to play if the main file fails.
- Clear file names with order, title and version, such as "01_Opening_v3". Playing the wrong version is the classic on-site error.
- Watch it at rehearsal from the back row and from a side seat.
For the basics of formats, see which delivery format to choose.
What we do and don't cover
Chipscat produces and exports the videos to the specification the venue supplies. Hardware, playback operation and signal are the venue's or supplier's responsibility. We aren't on site, which makes correct specifications and prior testing all the more important; if the specification changes after production, re-export or reframing is needed, so tell us early. For the whole event, see the videos a corporate event needs. An example of LED-screen work is on the LED screen portfolio page.
FAQ
The venue just said "a 16:9 LED". Do we still need the pixel count?
Yes. At 16:9 the real pixels may be 1920×1080, or lower or higher. The exact figure decides text size and the resolution of source material.
Can a finished 16:9 video be turned into an ultra-wide version?
Yes, with a main picture and extended background, or with text relaid. With the original project material there is far more room to adjust.
Is it the same for outdoor LED advertising screens?
The principle is: get the specification from the media owner first. Outdoor screens usually have no sound and a few seconds of attention, so content is shorter still.
