Katie Haddock, Director of Events and Co-Founder of Berry Productions, shares how you can better use AV technology to enhance events and create experiences.
Picture this… the stage is set, the audience is seated, the speakers are ready, and it’s time to go live. But if your production partner lets you down, it’s the thing that’s remembered when everyone leaves. Poor visuals, bad audio, and lack of impact can make a perfectly executed event turn into a nightmare. AV should enhance an event; you shouldn’t think about it, it should just immerse you into it.
Driven by a shared vision to elevate industry standards, Katie Haddock joined forces with Technical Director Jack Berry, and together they founded Berry Productions: an AV-focused event company where creativity meets cutting-edge technology. Katie knows the challenges event managers face first-hand as she has walked in those shoes. The team doesn’t just deliver events – it crafts unforgettable experiences, partnering closely with clients from concept to creation to ensure every detail resonates.
It’s that close relationship that ensures the AV creation fits the tone of the event. At a Birmingham Children’s Hospital charity event, the spotlight was on the people who make a difference behind the scenes. Berry Production’s team helped shape an evening that felt as incredible as the people being celebrated. From first impressions – where lights and visuals were used for impact – to quiet speeches, followed by live music and Gok Wan on the DJ decks, the evening had it all. But it was the AV that quietly held everything together, adapting to the mood, creating a smooth flow through the evening, and filling three spaces with three different energies.
Katie believes in weaving AV into a vision, using it for impact, and employing it to help achieve the event’s aims and objectives: “At Berry Productions, everything starts with your vision – the look, the feel, and the outcome you want to create. From there, we dive into planning: crafting visuals, building proposals, and hosting collaborative sessions where we break things down as much or as little as you need. You don’t need to know what every piece of kit does – that’s our job. But every step of the way, you’ll understand the why behind every decision.”
Once the team is on-site, that’s where the rest of the magic unfolds. Whether it’s a large-scale production or an intimate gathering, the same precision applies, from seamless cable runs to meticulous alignments. Because at Berry Productions, the small details aren’t just extras – they’re everything.
So now, picture this again: the stage is set, the audience is seated, the speakers are ready – and this time, everything works in harmony. The visuals captivate, the sound resonates, and the atmosphere is electric. And just like that, it all goes live – Berry Production’s favourite part.
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Thinking about how to bring AV into your event planning? Katie offers some practical tips…
- Start with your story: What do you want people to feel? AV should support that feeling, not distract from it.
- Design with purpose: Use lighting, sound, and visuals to guide people through the event. From the entrance to the final moment, everything should have a reason for being there.
- Know when to dial it up (and down): Not every moment needs a big effect. Use AV to highlight key transitions and let quieter moments land naturally.
- Keep it on-brand: Colours, sounds, and visuals should reflect your identity and theme.
- Get your AV team involved early: The sooner the collaboration begins, the better everything can work together.