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SPECIAL REPORT
Copyright Lighting&Sound
America August 2011
http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html
The 2011 InfoComm/LSA
Staged Events Awards
By: Benjamin Le Hay
Who were this year’s winners?
The 2011 InfoComm/LSA Staged Events Awards ceremony,
hosted by Lighting&Sound America magazine and
InfoComm International, took place June 15 at the 2011
InfoComm Show in Orlando. The awards, honoring outstanding and innovative staged events from 2010, were presented
to the winners by LSA’s editor-in-chief, David Barbour, at the
conclusion of 12th annual Rental & Staging Forum (which
was sponsored by Renkus-Heinz and LSA). The forum featured a panel discussion, moderated by Tom Stimson, president of The Stimson Group. After honorees had collected
their crystals, guests enjoyed a cocktail reception co-sponsored by LSA and InfoComm International.
And the winners are:
Best Overall Staging for a Corporate or
Association Event — Technology Budget
$50,000 — $199,999
AVW-Telav won for its work on the International
Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Cocktail
Gala, at le Palais des congrès de Montréal. Idées au cube
served as the event producer and Opus 3 was the management/planning company. The exclusive VIP cocktail gala
The IOSCO Cocktail Gala.
52 • August 2011 • Lighting&Sound America
brought together top financial heads from around the globe
to mingle and network. IOSCO’s objective was to dazzle the
major players in attendance by creating a unique, immersive
environment as well as a memorable “Canadian” experience. AVW-Telav determined that the theme would be
Canada’s four seasons—winter, summer, fall, and spring—
creating a multisensory experience in which delegates could
visualize, hear, smell, and touch the various elements
(including seasonal attributes like snow, fog, mist/rain, flowers, foliage, wind etc.).
AVW-Telav relied on a Dataton WATCHOUT 4 multimedia
system to control all elements through a 16-channel DMX
control board. AVW-Telav also implemented three Christie
HD10K projectors with 1.4-1.8:1 lens and a Peroni screen.
Audio was achieved with Renkus-Heinz boxes, augmented
by Meyer UPM-1Ps and EAW stage monitors, all controlled
by a DiGiCo D1 56-channel digital audio console. The lighting package included: ETC Source Fours, SGM Palco 3s,
Martin Professional MAC 250 Entours and 700 Profiles,
Philips Color Kinetics ColorBlasts, Philips Vari*Lite VLX
automated LED units, a grandMA lighting console, and a
Jands Vista S3 console. MDG smoke machines and an
MDG Atmosphere fogger delivered special effects.
One judge remarked, “Invoking creative solutions to
engage all the senses within an honest budget, AVW voy-
The 2010 Transitions Optical Convention.
ages through the seasons charting scents, lighting, sounds,
mist, snow, video, and even leaves to capture the distinctly
Canadian weather experience.”
Honorable mention went to Scharff Weisberg for the
Oracle 11g Product Launch at the Guggenheim Museum in
New York City. Producer InVision Communications,
WorldStage, Inc. and Video Applications Inc. (VAI), and
Scharff Weisberg all teamed together to promote Oracle’s
Enterprise Manager 11g IT management program. The centerpiece was the museum’s rotunda, where Scharff Weisberg
created 3D image mapping that the content followed. Four
Christie S+20K projectors delivered quadrant-overlapped
images, each spanning 25' x 34' for a total image size of 46'
x 62'. A coolux Pandora’s Box dual-output image processor/server was chosen as the content delivery and projection-alignment tool. Images portraying Oracle brand-specific
content were displayed on four parapet levels and conformed to the curvature of the parapet walls.
Other equipment utilized on the project included an
assortment of Panasonic monitors, switchers, and
recorders; Barco Folsom Image Pro HD scalers; a AJA
ProRes digital recorder; Sony PVM-9L3 SDI monitor packages; two Gefen DVI 1x2 dual link DA packages; and
Samsung displays. The principal audio gear incorporated a
Yamaha M7CL audio mixer, Meyer loudspeakers, and
Sennheiser and Shure mics. Lighting came from Philips
Color Kinetics ColorBlasts and ETC Source Fours, with control by grandMA full-size consoles.
One judge marveled, “This was an inspiring use of technology and project management finesse in a challenging
environment. The Guggenheim should consider adding permanent projection to the walkways!”
Best Overall Staging for a Corporate or
Association Event — Technology Budget
over $200,000
PSAV took the award in this category for the 2010 Transitions
Optical Convention, produced by the Disney Event Group.
For the event, the PSAV/DEG team conceptualized filling a
84,000-sq.-ft. ballroom at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Resort in
Orlando, Florida with a “blank canvas” or immersive video
screen that supported the meeting message, “Never Lose
Sight of the Possibilities.” The collaborative effort resulted in
the production of a wide-area video, or WAV, which was
longer than a football field, and what was billed as the world’s
largest single blended video display system.
The project was met with numerous challenges, most
notably adapting the space to the AV, costs, a 24-hour
setup time frame (for an estimated 40 hours of setup work),
and lastly, turning the 84,000-sq.-ft. ballroom into four
breakout rooms (each with 70' x 17' screens), with a 315'
screen spanning the venue. In the end, DEG produced a
nine-minute, full animation story and highly immersive theatrical experience, leaving delegates the sensation that they
were swimming under the sea, traveling over the landscape,
and soaring above the clouds. Barco gear composed most
of the AV equipment. A Yamaha M7CL mixer, a full EAW
package, Shure microphones, and a 24-channel Midas
mixer rounded out the audio list. Lighting gear mostly came
from Martin Professional (MAC 2000s and Mac 550s).
“PSAV’s design and execution of this event was aweinspiring and nearly flawless,” commented a judge.
“Creatively, the design, content, and overall feeling of being
wrapped in the message were amazing. However, the most
impressive aspect to this event was the 24-hour time frame
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SPECIAL REPORT
Another view of the Transitions Optical Convention.
for set-up. The PSAV team did an amazing job in a short
amount of time. This brings ‘hotel AV’ to a whole new level!”
Alford Media was awarded an honorable mention for the
Boy Scouts of America 100th-anniversary National Scout
Jamboree, which it carried out for Corporate Magic, Inc.
Staged in an empty field at the Fort AP Hill army base, in
Virginia, miles away from accommodations, the event was a
massive undertaking that needed to make a bold statement
about the organization’s achievements, ideologies, and
progress into the future. Challenges consisted of strict
guidelines from military security, dealing with oppressive
heat and rain, and having to work with inexperienced scouts
on difficult installations.
Six HD cameras were used to capture activity on the
stage and throughout the audience, which was simulcast to
hundreds of Boy Scout facilities nationwide and via the
internet. Video gear included Grass Valley LDK 8000 cameras. Two hundred and four lighting units and 54 LED strip
lights provided illumination. Seven towers stretched for 395'
across the stage, and the various structures were composed of 17,296 parts. Twenty miles of cable tied everything
together. The arena spread out over 13 acres.
One judge said, “With exceptional volunteer management
and political aptitude, Alford Media overcame prodigious
obstacles and orchestrated an AV masterpiece honoring the
Boy Scouts’ colossal 100 year anniversary.”
54 • August 2011 • Lighting&Sound America
Best Overall Staging for a Corporate
Industrial Entertainment Event
Scharff Weisberg won for the Robin Hood Foundation Gala,
which took place in New York City. The event raised nearly
$88 million towards programming for underprivileged New
Yorkers. For the 2010 gala, Robin Hood charged Scharff
Weisberg with designing and implementing projection elements for the cocktail area in a way that “brought home the
foundation’s impact on real neighborhoods.” Scharff
Weisberg teamed with Peter Crawford, of
Crawford/Sherman Design, and lighting and video designer
Doug Brant to deliver the organization’s messaging in “a
unique and entertaining way.”
Six generic building façades, representing foundation-supported programs (measuring as large as 42' x 22'), featured
three-dimensional reliefs that followed the building architecture. Scharff Weisberg projected realistic video textures, such
as bricks and limestone, onto the façades, and displayed
video clips of the people and projects affected by the foundation’s donations. To showcase Robin Hood “shelters,” Scharff
Weisberg mapped textures onto a five-story apartment
house—designed by Crawford and fabricated by Atomic
Scenic—and added projections showing the inside of an
array of apartments as well as Google Street View images.
All of the neighborhoods were set against a night sky backdrop with a silhouette cityscape, also designed by Crawford.
The Robin Hood Foundation Gala
For the six buildings Scharff Weisberg provided ten
Christie LX+20 projectors: Four pairs were used to created
edge-blended images on the four widest buildings; the other
two buildings each required one projector. Each projector
was driven by a channel from a coolux Pandoras Box media
server and transmitted over fiber. The content was then
warped to precisely match the visual elements to the architectural elements. Other technology used on the project
came from Barco, NEC, Lightware, Kramer, Gefen, Frezzi,
Sony, Furman, and Motion Labs.
“Transporting their guests to a land of wonder, Scharff
Weisberg captured the magic of childhood, creatively emancipating the mind with fantastic visuals and architectural
transcendence,” observed a judge. “I really liked the way
they [used] 3D mapping and projection [on] architecture
from the street to [create] an indoor immersive experience,”
commented another.
Best Use of A/V Technology for a Trade
Show Booth for a Corporate Client
Riverview Systems Group received the 2011 award for its
work on the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons 2010 Show
in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Collaborating with Zimmer, Inc. and Catalyst Exhibits,
Riverview developed a refreshed exhibit layout that would
be more vibrant and eye catching than in previous years.
Restricted to a 20,000 sq. ft., the team used an X-shaped
Moss centerpiece structure weighing over 8,000lbs, and lit it
with one hundred twenty-two 72" Philips Color Kinetics
ColorBlaze units, and almost 300 ColorBlasts. The central
two-story control room and sales meeting structure was
then wrapped with 275 WinVision tiles for maximum impact,
in addition to a 50-tile Barco NX-4 wall, which provided the
high-resolution presentation palette. A large assortment of
Philips Vari-Lite and ETC fixtures was deployed for the
booth, all controlled by two grandMA full-size consoles and
a grandMA lite. The audio package included a Midas Venice
240 mixer, a Meyer Galileo loudspeaker management system, eight Meyer M’elodie loudspeakers, two Apogee AESB subs, two Crown MacroTec 2400 amps, and six channels of Shure UHF-R wireless mics.
One judge remarked: “Impact design and solid engineering; Riverview set themselves apart with stunning visuals
and structural prowess.” Another judge added, “The lighting
rig was massive, but barely visible—achieving the open
effect that the designers intended. In addition, the video displays complemented the exhibit without dominating the
execution or look of the event.”
The Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Show.
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SPECIAL REPORT
Most Innovative Use of A/V Technology
for an Outdoor Event
Visualfarm won the AV award for the “World’s Biggest Hug”
project in Rio de Janeiro, executed in collaboration with
Conselho Nacional do SESI, the nation’s top regulatory
body. The iconic 124'-tall Christ statue served as the canvas
for Visualfarm’s ambitious mapping project. The goal of the
undertaking was to bring attention through the Internet and
mass media to the sexual harassment of children, a serious
issue in Brazil.
The project was paid by the Conselho Nacional do SESI,
and the Casa Nova/Monumenta Agency, which challenged
Visualfarm to bring the remotely located statue to life with
movement using projections. In two weeks, while overcoming dreary weather and several frustrating failed attempts,
Visualfarm was able to successfully execute its mission the
night before the unveiling.
Carrying eight Sanyo PLC XF-47 projectors, cabling, generators, and a house mixer up to the hilltop site, Visualfarm
placed box truss in front of the statue, 13' under its 26'-tall
feet, and placed 16 PAR lights facing the VIP and media
area. The lights were timed to increase in power, causing
attendees’ pupils to close, preventing them from seeing that
The “World’s Biggest Hug” in Rio de Janeiro.
56 • August 2011 • Lighting&Sound America
the arms of the statue were no longer illuminated by the
projection. In three-and-a-half hours, the crew stacked four
pairs of projectors and executed the image-warping and
blending on the 3D surface of the statue. To realize this,
Visualfarm relied on a coolux Pandoras Box media player;
creating high-definition video of the city of Rio shot from the
top of the mountain, and 3D animations modeled from the
statue that was projected to create the illusion of Christ’s
embrace. The reaction was significant, and the campaign
garnered major international media and viral attention.
One judge exclaimed, “A challenging effect, a complicated execution, and an elegant message. The best art inspires
and the best execution is invisible. Well done!” Another
judge said, “Unpredictable weather, frank solutions, cultural
significance: Visualfarm engaged the sacred, prepared for
the unexpected, and impacted the world.”
The InfoComm/LSA Staged Events Awards judges were
David Barbour, editor-in-chief of Lighting&Sound America
magazine; Jack Kelly, owner and designer of Eye Dialogue;
Janne Mummert, director of business development,
VER/Video Equipment Rentals; Tobin Neis, director of marketing, Barbizon Lighting Company; and Tom Stimson,
MBA, CTS, president of The Stimson Group.