Howard Werner is the Principal of the New York Office of Lightswitch, and an incredible lighting designer with decades of experience in theatre, dance, museums, architecture and, of course, corporate events.

Often, people don’t think terribly hard about lighting when planning their event, but Howard believes that lighting can bring focus, energy, and drama to any live show.

Here are the four top ideas I took away from a recent conversation with Howard:

1. Venues with low ceilings make it challenging for lighting to make the presenters look good on camera. So have those conversations early.
2. If a presenter is uncomfortable because the lights are too bright, the lighting may be able to come down so long as video can accommodate the decreased.
3. Be careful about putting presenters in front of video content that is overly white or black. It can make it very hard to make that look good on camera.
4. Lighting has to work for the camera and the live audience. And in addition to creating energy, lighting can create emotion and put the focus where you want it

Howard is extraordinarily talented, a joy to collaborate with, and filled with insights about how to make corporate events more impactful.

If you want to hear our full conversation, head to the episode page or listen anywhere fine podcasts are found.