Seating the Audience

Most presentations are delivered to audiences seated in rows facing the screen. You know the size of the audience and the room, but where should the seats be placed relative to the screen? How big a screen is necessary for the whole audience to comfortably view your presentation?

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers uses the "2 by 6 rule" as a guideline. This specifies the distance from the screen of the first and last row of seats. They suggest the first row be twice as far as the width of the screen and the last row be six times as far. Because most audience and room sizes are known beforehand, an easy way to find all dimensions is to start with the "Most Distant Viewer".

The "Most Distant Viewer" is the member of the audience who will be farthest away from the screen. Usually this is the person sitting in the back corner of the last row. Determine where this viewer will be seated, then use this table as a guideline for choosing your optimum screen size.

By doubling the width of the screen, you can find the distance to the first row of seats. For example, if you will use a 6' x 8' screen, place the first row of seats 16 feet away. Finally, each row should be centered on the screen, and the width of each row should be no more than the distance from that row to the screen.

For audiences seated in rows, your screen should be about 30"-48" off the ground. Table-top screens are effective for smaller audiences, especially those seated around a conference room table.

Now that you know where to put the chairs and the screen, use the Projection Calculator to determine where you should place the projector.