Santa’s not the only one spreading magic this time of year. Through the use of state of the art technology, Audio Visual Specialists of Lynnwood adds its touch of magic to the sights and sounds of the holiday season.
“What our company does is cover three parts of the industry,” owner Bob Sjodin said. First, the company offers equipment rental, delivery and setup for meetings and conventions. “We also rent equipment for parties,” he added, noting that summertime and the holiday season are busy times for walk-in rental business.
“During the summertime, people rent DVD projectors and screens to show movies in their backyards,” he said. Football fans throwing Super Bowl parties follow suit, renting a large screen and video projector to bring the action up close and personal.
“Last year when the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl, we rented a ton of screens,” he said. “It’s one thing to have four people watch something on TV. But when you have 30 to 40 people over, you want to show the action in adequate size.”
Most customers opt for a 6- to 7-foot screen, but bigger is sometimes a lot better. “We have an 8-foot to 14-foot screen if you need it,” Sjodin said.
“For most rentals we ask for one hour’s notice. If we have a day or more, we can have the equipment ready and waiting for you,” he said. The equipment is tested before it goes out the door and the customer is shown how to use it.
Another integral part of Sjodin’s business is the sale of audio-visual equipment. “A lot of times, someone will rent a piece of equipment, then decide to buy,” he said. His sales team works with the customer to provide an equipment solution to match the person’s need and budget. Free equipment demonstrations are available on selected products, easing the decision-making process.
Production is the final component. The conversion of slides, VHS tapes and old films to DVD is a key part of the business. “We do the work ourselves and on site,” he said.
“Last year we transferred 560,648 feet of film to DVD,” Sjodin said. That translates to 106 miles of film processed at his Lynnwood location. “We also copied 18,799 DVDs for people. We’re a small company but we do a fair amount of work,” he said.
Generally speaking, a video transfer can be done in one week. During the holidays, when the gift-giving rush hits, it can stretch to two weeks.
“During Christmas, the convention part of the business is less, so we’re able to stretch our work day from 6 a.m. to midnight doing film transfers,” Sjodin said.
He encourages customers to transfer films before the films break down.
“As the films are getting older, the colors are fading,” he said. “And depending on where the film is stored, it can become moldy or brittle.” Two hours of film, about 34 small reels, will fill one DVD.
The Audio Visual Specialists team is trained to edit the film and put together the DVD, with each reel saved as a separate chapter.
“Recently we prepared a slide show for a family,” Sjodin said. “The grandma went home and wrote a script, then came back to our office and narrated the scenes of the slideshow. We synched it up to the photos, added it to the DVD, and made copies for all her grandkids.”
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