Steve Burkland
Adler Planetarium
Chicago, Illinois
Managing Events in a planetarium means balancing creative possibilities with clear processes, intentional planning, and well-defined expectations. In Part One of this series (found in the Winter 2025 newsletter), we established the foundations: what qualifies as an Event, who your Clients are, and why lead times and default Event packages matter.
Part Two builds on that groundwork by focusing on the digital and content-driven side of Event planning—slide decks, media formats, control panel workflows, Tech Runthroughs, and the often-misunderstood world of hybrid meetings. These are the systems that shape how Events actually look and feel in the dome, and they’re essential to keeping both you and your clients successful.
For readers following the full series, Part Three appears in the Winter 2025 newsletter and explores the technical environment of Event Day itself, including sound, lighting, power, vendor coordination, and code compliance.
Slide Decks
Most clients think your venue functions like a hotel conference room. They expect to plug their laptop into “the projector” and display their slide deck fulldome, or hand you a USB drive at the door and have everything just work. If your system actually supports that, you’re ahead of some of us. For some domes, it’s more complicated.
Here are common options we’ve tried and where we landed:
Client-Side Software (like PowerPoint on your console computer)
Running PowerPoint can create performance issues when combined with planetarium software, and it’s expensive to maintain when used infrequently. Clients also tend to want last-minute changes, often directly on your console machine because “it’s right there,” which can block you from continuing Event setup.
Our approach: We don’t use this option.
PowerPoint Reader
PowerPoint Reader is lightweight and free, but it doesn’t handle animations, transitions, video, or audio reliably. Using it requires effort to help clients understand these limits and to design decks without those features. We found that many clients ignored the constraints, arrived with videos embedded, and became understandably frustrated when they didn’t play. In a world where basic AV expectations are high, these limitations feel out of step.
Our approach: We no longer use this option.
Cloud-Based Options (Google Slides, iCloud Keynote, etc.)
Cloud-slide tools (through a browser) create two major benefits:
- The client sees essentially what they built.
- They can make changes up to showtime without disrupting your Event setup or requiring a new link.
These tools are susceptible to network lag and buffering, but in our experience that’s manageable—especially if we cache the presentation by clicking through it once in advance.
Our approach: This is the only option we offer clients.
Cloud PowerPoint
We separate this from the other cloud tools because:
- It isn’t free.
- We noticed non-trivial buffering and performance issues.
- Clients continued to send standalone PowerPoint files, which we then had to upload ourselves and test in Cloud PowerPoint.
- Last-minute changes still required reinstalling and retesting the file.
Combined, these made it less reliable than Google Slides.
Our approach: We no longer use this option.
Regardless of the option you choose to offer, testing before Event Day is essential. Even with Google Slides, we request the shared link at least 2 weeks before the Event. Several times during that window, we run the current version of the Google Slide deck on the host computer to identify problems early. Early detection gives both you and the client time to adjust.
Key takeaways
- Many clients assume your dome works like a hotel or conference projector. Clarify those differences early.
- Cloud-based tools (like Google Slides) are the most consistent and lightweight approach for slide decks.
- Always test slide decks before Event Day—ideally two weeks or more in advance—so clients have time to make changes.
Digital Assets
Sometimes your Event contact isn’t very tech-savvy. Even when you provide clear formatting requirements for digital assets, they may not fully understand the differences, forget to pass the constraints along, or simply hope you’ll “handle it” to save time or money. Define your accepted formats and stick to them. For us, that’s JPG, PNG, GIF, and MP4.
Clients will send animated GIFs, QuickTime videos, .ai files, and full PowerPoint decks. You can convert these, but you don’t always have the bandwidth—and you don’t always want to assume the risk of interpreting their intention.
Our approach is that if an asset arrives in the wrong format, we reply immediately and ask them to resubmit it correctly. If an asset is the wrong orientation, has a problematic background, or is poorly optimized, we describe the issue and ask them to adjust it. It’s tempting to “fix” assets yourself, but that can backfire when a client dislikes a change you made without explicit approval.
Key takeaways
- Flag incorrect formats or design issues and ask clients to resolve them.
- Avoid quietly fixing assets yourself; keep clients in the loop so they own the final result.
Well-Planned Control Panels
Whether you have a team or you run the dome alone, well-designed control panels can make Events smoother and more resilient. Here, “Control Panels” refers to whatever interface your planetarium software offers for custom live show production.
Invest time in writing clear instruction text, making buttons that change state as the Event progresses, and building functions that quickly reset key sections if something goes wrong. For Events with a Run of Show, these tools keep you focused on what matters in the moment and help your team stay aligned.
Beyond smoother execution, good control panels allow other team members to run the Event if you’re unavailable. They also provide a clear visual indicator of progress for clients (and can help them understand why last-minute changes are complex).
Key takeaways
- Well-designed control panels make it easier for your team to cover Events when plans change.
- They provide a visual roadmap for both you and your client.
- They keep complicated Events organized so you know where to focus your attention.
Tech Runthroughs
Whenever an Event has a Run of Show, we strongly recommend (and price for) a Tech Runthrough earlier on Event Day or in the days/weeks in advance. Set clear expectations for what a Tech Runthrough is. It’s a time to adjust timing, order, and pacing of content. It is not the time to introduce new content—for that, you can refer to your lead time and late-content policies.
Sometimes clients will still insist on new content during a Tech Runthrough. If you have the bandwidth and the contract includes late-content pricing, you can choose to accommodate that. If not, you have a framework for saying “no” while remaining professional.
Because domes are not typical venues, clients often arrive with assumptions that don’t match reality. Any chance you have to sit them in the space and show their content on the dome before Event Day helps align expectations.
Key takeaways
- Tech Runthroughs help you and the client align on what the Event will and will not look like.
- Use them to refine structure and timing, not to introduce brand-new content.
Hybrid Meetings
This section isn’t about how to technically set up hybrid meetings. It’s about how differently clients interpret what “hybrid” means. Do they want the remote audience to participate or just observe? What should the camera framing or vantage point be? Will there be a slide deck component? Does the on-site audience need to see the remote audience?
Each answer changes the technical requirements and how your sound and video systems need to integrate. Every client seems to have a different definition of “hybrid,” and very few understand how challenging it can be in a dome environment.
At our organization, we don’t host hybrid meetings in the dome. If a client needs a hybrid experience, we encourage them to hire a vendor who specializes in that kind of setup. We may handle certain portions of the process, but only when we have very clear expectations in writing.
Key takeaways
- Hybrid setups in domes are complex, and each client imagines something different.
- Clarify expectations early, and lean on external vendors when the technical needs exceed your standard Event package.
Final Thought
Managing content in a dome requires a different mindset than traditional event venues. By being clear about slide deck workflows, format requirements, digital asset constraints, control panel design, and the purpose of tech runthroughs, you help clients visualize what’s possible—and avoid misunderstandings that can derail an otherwise well-planned event. Consistency in these areas empowers your team, protects your time, and sets your Events up for smoother outcomes.
In Part Three, appearing in the Winter 2025 newsletter, we’ll bring everything together and explore the technical environment itself—sound, lighting, power, vendor coordination, and the safety considerations that keep your dome functioning as both a performance space and a mission-driven environment.
If you haven’t yet read Part One, you’ll also find it in the Winter 2025 newsletter.
This article received assistance from ChatGPT 5.1 for editing and phrasing. All content was reviewed and approved by the author.
GLPA members can join the discussion on this article by visiting the Planetarium Pointers forum.