A venue background image, while not required, is a very useful addition to seating maps. A good representation of the venue allows your ticket sellers to give accurate details to your customers as to a seat’s location and its surroundings. By displaying the location of aisles, entrances, stage, playing surface and other venue features, the background image provides context to your seating. In addition, as you configure the venue, the background image can help you place seats within the venue.
When creating a background image, it is important to keep the file size to a minimum so that it will display faster for your users. The images should be in the .JPG and .PNG or .GIF formats. AudienceView enables you to assign overview and detailed images:
| Background Image |
Description |
| Overview |
The Overview Image is the image that displays when the user first comes to the AudienceView Desktop Customer Services application Seats|Map page or the mapSelect.asp page in AudienceView Online. It is a bird’s eye view of the entire venue. You cannot select seats from this view.
The Overview Image also displays in:
- seatSelect.asp in AudienceView Online
- showSeats.asp in AudienceView Online
- Kiosk
- Venue Configuration application Venue|Screens page
- Venue Configuration application Performances|Ticket Usage page. The file should be no larger than 50 KB. The maximum pixel size of the image cannot exceed 2880 x 2880.
If you have a large image, you can create multiple screens to represent your seats. For more information, refer to Creating a Screen.
|
| Detailed |
The Detailed Image is the one that displays on the Customer Services application Seats|Map page or the mapSelect.asp page in AudienceView Online after the user has clicked on the Overview Image. When the user selects seats, this is the image that is in the background.
This image has more details than the Overview Image and it is the one upon which seats are defined in Venue Configuration application Venue|Seats page and templates are defined in Venue Configuration application Venue|Templates page.
The file should be no larger than 50 KB. Images larger than 600 x 600 pixels may force customers to scroll to view the entire image. The maximum pixel size of the image cannot exceed 2880 x 2880. Refer to the additional information about creating this image in the following paragraphs. |
Once you have created your overview and detailed background images, place the files into the UI\seatMapImages folder of your AudienceView installation root directory.
When creating your background image, start out with a large image. Image quality is not significantly affected when an image is resized smaller (that is for the small image that displays the entire venue), but increasing one in size (that is for individual screens) leads to poor image quality.
When creating the detailed image, ensure that it comes from the same source file as the overview image (e.g. the same Adobe Illustrator file) and that both images have the same ratio. This is especially important when using the “select your own seat” functionality in online sales. When used, the application will resize your overview background image to 600 x 600 pixels and display seats assuming that the overview and detailed images have the same proportions (if not the same absolute size).
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Information
For Online websales, the image is rendered into a Flash object so that the customer can pick a seat. If the detailed venue image is above the dimensions 2880 x 2880 then the image will not appear; therefore, detailed venue images must not exceed 2880 x 2880 if you are planning to use Pick-a-Seat online. |
It is also recommended to add a transparent box around the outside of your background image, with a little free space between it and the image. This helps if you need to make changes to the image. Any changes that are made within the box will not affect the overall size of the image and you will not need to move any seats already created within the venue.
The following table lists some additional suggestions when creating your background images. All of the items below are optional and if added, should be tested to ensure the image remains readable and usable:
| Topic |
Suggestion |
| Use of Colours |
Create your image in shades of gray or light colours and avoid using colours similar to those of your price zones. If you use a coloured image and the applicable price zone is a similar colour, your ticket sellers and users will not be able to distinguish where the seats are situated within the image. When creating your colour scheme for your price zones, consider the venue’s background image so that zones can be seen clearly. |
| Assigned Seating Areas |
If possible, try to label your sections in your background image with a name (e.g. Main Floor, Orchestra, Balcony) or number (e.g. A1, B1) and label your rows (e.g. A, B, C).
Although adding this information may be beneficial for your users, if the image is scaled, the information may be difficult to read. |
| Exits and Entrances |
Label and indicate clearly where your customers can gain access to their seats easily.
Although adding this information may be beneficial for your users, if the image is scaled, the information may be difficult to read. |
| Standing/Parking Areas |
Label and indicate clearly where your customers can find these areas.
Although adding this information may be beneficial for your users, if the overview image is scaled, the information may be difficult to read. |
| Wheel Chair Accessible Areas |
To show wheelchair designated areas, include a wheelchair icon on your image where these areas reside. You can also use colour codes to identify these areas as well.
Although adding this information may be beneficial for your users, if the image is scaled, the information may be difficult to read. |
| Seating Keys |
You can create seating keys using light colours to identify a various number of areas. For example:
- Obstructed view area
- Railing
- VIP box
- Floor seating
- standing areas
- tiered areas
- wheelchair accessible areas
Although adding this information may be beneficial for your users, if the image is scaled, the information may be difficult to read.
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| Framing Your Image |
It is important to frame your image once you have finished creating it. This will help you to identify the on-screen working area when using the image to create your venue. |