226 Chapter 17 CORPORATE EVENTS at a corner or two to add to its stability. Furniture stores and hardware stores sell small plastic wedges for tables, and you can double them up if needed. Make sure participants don't decide to sit on your riser; their fidgeting could ruin your shot. And don't ruin your own shot; get yourself a chair or a padded barstool, so you can sit rather than having to stand and shift from leg to leg. Connect the video output from the camera to the video input on the video projector. If your camera and the projector have component or SDI (serial digital interface) connectors, you can project a high-resolution image. Frequently, the event coordina- tor will want to project graphics, or the presenters will want to show PowerPoint slides. That's when you'll need a switcher and a technician to switch between the iMag image and the graphics. Be certain to record the audio and video onto either a camcorder or a hard drive so the event coordinator has a recording of the event. Lighting Considerations While nearly any video camera can shoot in a conference room under fluorescent lights, auditoriums present their own lighting challenges. The auditorium probably has spotlights and a dark background behind the stage. The subject is lit with a bright light, and the dark background can make it difficult to obtain correct exposure. You'll need to set the camera to manual iris control or, if you are using a consumer-grade camcorder, engage the spotlight compensation function. That may be found in the "program AE" feature of the camcorder. With a camcorder set to auto- matic, you'll run the risk of the subject becoming overexposed; faces could look pasty white as the autoexposure system reads the dark background and opens the iris to brighten it. If possible, ask the auditorium technician to install diffusion gels in their spotlights. This is a routine task, since technicians frequently put in color gels to add color to the set. Offer to sup- ply the diffusion gel yourself; they may be purchased at theatri- cal or photo supply stores. Alternately, you can set up one of your portable soft lights, such as one with a built-in diffuser or reflector. While you probably will need to place it on the stage, when you compose your shot, you can get in close enough to avoid showing that light with its stand. The auditorium probably has backlights that can be aimed at the heads of your subjects. A backlight helps separate the