Brandt Krueger and Will Curran sit down with Veselin (Vesko) Milev and Dessislava (Dessy) Marinova from Eventex to explore the world of event awards and event technology. As Eventex celebrates its 15th anniversary, Vesko and Dessy share insights into the global reach of the Eventex Awards, the evolution of their fully online format, and the impact of the Evalato awards management software. The team also dives into how creativity and innovation are recognized on a global scale and the fascinating trends emerging in event management.

Discussions Include:

• The growth and global reach of the Eventex Awards
• How Evalato simplifies the awards judging process and ensures fairness
• The shift to fully online awards and its sustainability benefits
• Trends in event design and technology across the world
• Using Eventex winners as creative inspiration for future event planning
• The importance of transparency in award scoring and feedback
• Predictions on how AI and sustainability will shape the future of event awards

Quotable Quotes:

• “Eventex is not just about competition; it's a learning experience.” – Vesko Milev
• "It’s not about the size of your event; it’s about the creativity and achieving your goals." – Brandt Krueger
• “Sustainability and AI will continue to drive the future of event management.” – Dessy Marinova
• “The software takes into account how you score in the morning versus the evening—personal bias gets neutralized.” – Vesko Milev

Brandt Krueger and Will Curran dive deep into the distinctions between consumer, prosumer, and professional audio-visual gear. Using personal experiences and industry examples, they explore the evolution of tech and how it affects everything from home setups to event production. From audio chain optimization and home theater upgrades to the balance between cost and quality, the conversation touches on the nuances of choosing the right gear for the right application. Whether you're looking to refine your home theater or optimize your event tech, this episode is packed with insights into making informed tech decisions.

Discussions Include:

• Differences between consumer, prosumer, and professional-grade equipment
• Audio chain optimization for home studios and theaters
• Will’s home theater journey: From Sonos to high-end in-wall speakers
• Exploring the balance between quality and budget with tech purchases
• Using Dante for digital audio networking and audio routing
• Buying used gear: When to take the leap and the risks involved
• The ubiquity of networking gear and its impact on event tech setups
• Analog vs. digital: Pros and cons of keeping audio fidelity high

Quotable Quotes:

• "Buy once, cry once." – Alex Lindsay and the Office Hours panel
• "As you move from consumer to prosumer to professional, the improvements start to become incremental, but the costs don’t." – Brandt Krueger
• "You can start low and work your way up, but the key is understanding where the trade-offs are." – Brandt Krueger
• "Sometimes the satisfaction from gear isn’t linear to the price—you can obsess over small improvements." – Will Curran

In this episode, Brandt and Will experiment "live" with the latest in voice cloning from ElevenLabs, and discuss the implications for the events industry. They explore how tools like ElevenLabs' voice cloning and AI-generated sound effects could revolutionize event production and multilingual accessibility. From instant voice cloning that mimics the hosts' voices to generating custom sound effects on the fly, the discussion highlights the incredible potential - and some concerns - surrounding these new technologies. They also touch on the importance of security measures, like establishing a family codeword, to protect against potential misuse of AI-generated voices.

Discussions Include:

• The power and accuracy of AI voice cloning with tools like ElevenLabs.
• Practical applications for event tech, including creating multilingual event content and custom sound effects.
• The potential impact of AI on jobs in the voiceover and sound design industries.
• Security concerns and the importance of family codewords to guard against AI voice spoofing.

Quotable Quotes:

• "This was terrible a year ago... now it's really pretty good because the only thing they're focusing on is the text-to-speech stuff." — Brandt Krueger
• "Imagine the future though, that I could put a voice filter over myself and completely change my voice too." — Will Curran
• "Professional voiceover actors should be a little nervous about this and you should start looking into your contracts." — Brandt Krueger
• "We could just change [our voices] over to Morgan Freeman it'll be awesome." — Will Curran