Romney Campaign Event- Mooresville, NC
COMPANY NEWS, LIVE EVENTS
We just wrapped up a great event at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC. What we didn t know at the time was that we would get the opportunity to have the full ticket on stage.
Once Ryan was introduced the day of setup, we knew to expect a big crowd. After the fire marshall shut down the main event, we worked to get everyone into an overflow event area outside. The first photo below was the line to get into the overflow, and the following shows the candidates making remarks to the crowd
Stage Set- Andr Ch nier
EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
This is a bit out of the norm for a dB Blog post, but thought it was worth sharing. I don t know many details, but this is a stunning stage set and production on Lake Constance in Austria. Love the creativity and talent shown here. Thanks to Gizmodo (by way of WSJ) for finding the photo.
We have included some additional information from their site: http://www.bregenzerfestspiele.com/en/node/1686
Andr Ch nier
Opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano
Opera in four acts, sung in Italian.
Music by Umberto Giordano. Libretto by Luigi Illica.
Premiere on 20 July 2011 9.15 p.m., Seeb hne
Duration: 2 hours without break
France in the year 1789. The aristocracy revels, the people groan. And between two stools stands the poet Andr Ch nier. Cherished by the rich for his moving verses, in his heart he remains a revolutionary.
Andr Ch nier, the most famous work by the Italian composer Umberto Giordano, is a brilliantly vivid historical drama and a human tragedy of shattering intensity. Set against the background of the French Revolution, the opera has strong appeal both as a passionate love story and as a historical thriller. Andr Ch nier is based on the life of a real historical character, a French poet who got caught up in the turmoil of the French Revolution, frst as an ardent supporter and then as a victim, mercilessly persecuted and ultimately sent to the guillotine.
Giordano s music is charged with a furious enthusiasm and stirring emotions. Historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution can be heard in the opera as well as classic Revolutionera songs including a ira and the Marseillaise.
The composer incorporated historical dances and marches from the time before the French Revolution in the operatic score, along with classic revolutionary songs like a ira and the Marseillaise. Together with rousing arias and thrilling duets they lend a unique flavour to the opera.
It seems as though Andr Ch nier was composed especially for the Bregenz Seeb hne. The opera presents a perfect mix of ingredients for the venue: a thrilling story and four strong characters, caught between the excesses of the Ancien R gime and the terror of the French Revolution. There is Andr Ch nier, an idealistic poet, and his adversary Carlo G rard, once a servant and now a revolutionary ringleader. And there is the young noblewoman Maddalena, who is feeing from the rebels, aided by her maidservant, who sacrifces herself as a prostitute in order to support her mistress fnancially. Giordano s music is verismo of the very highest calibre and drives the highvoltage plot forward with breathtaking speed. Artistic director David Pountney
Further performances
July 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 9.15 P.M.
August 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 9.00 P.M.
The Italian composer Umberto Giordano and his librettist Luigi Illica translated the name of the French revolutionary and eponymous hero of the opera, Andr Marie Ch nier, into Italian. The French male first name Andr became the Italian male first name Andrea which is why the opera is entitled Andrea Ch nier in the original. The Bregenz production uses the historical figure s correct name for the title Andr Ch nier (the second name, Marie, is omitted). The revolutionary and poet was born in 1762 near Constantinople, today Istanbul, and was executed by guillotine in Paris in 1794.
National Small Business Week Conference and Meeting
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Just wrapped up the 2012 National Small Business Week Conference and Meetings in Washington, DC. This year s event featured a number of great sessions at the Mandarin Oriental, along with offsite events at the U.S. Department of State and the White House.
Along with these events, we also rolled out our touchscreen kiosks for the Microsoft Lounge. These were fully wrapped with graphics and networked for both internet as well as printing. Be on the lookout for these at future events, they were a huge hit both with the client as well as the attendees!
As with all of our events, it takes some great partners to produce an event of this caliber. Thanks to the teams at EventEQ, Legacy Scenic, Radium, the staff at the Mandarin, and countless other folks that all came together to build out the event.
National Small Business Week 2011- Registration
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Registration for the 2011 National Small Business Week is up and running. You can register for the event by visiting the NSBW registration page here. More info after the jump.
If you are in DC the week of May 16-20, this is a great opportunity to network with other small businesses, learn about SBA programs from the source and hear from some fantastic speakers. Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has proclaimed National Small Business Week to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the economic well-being of America. As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognizes this special impact made by outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners. In 2011, National Small Business Week will honor the estimated 27.2 million small businesses in America. Small businesses are major contributors to the strength of the American economy. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business. They also create 60-80 percent of new jobs in the country. Small businesses drive innovation, create 21st century jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness.
PR Week Award
COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Congrats to the team at Ketchum DC and their client DoubleTree by Hilton on the Product Brand Development of the Year award! We loved being a part of the tour and the award couldn t have gone to a better team! For their PR Week submission, Ketchum included a great writeup of the tour itself. You can see it on the PR Week Award Site, or read on below.
Since 1986, DoubleTree by Hilton has been giving a warm chocolate chip cookie to every guest upon check-in as a symbol of the brand s enhanced care culture. Just in time to celebrate the sweet treat s 25th anniversary, Ketchum was tasked with raising DoubleTree by Hilton s brand awareness. The agency recognized that the cookie was central to the brand s story and organized a summer campaign in which the Cookie CAREavan, a branded food truck (a first among hotel chains), traveled more than 15,000 miles coast to coast through 50 cities distributing and donating a total of 250,000 chocolate chip cookies. Ketchum leveraged existing events, including ComicCon in San Diego and pride festivals in Chicago and Key West, FL. The firm also reached out to mayors and government officials, securing July as the DoubleTree by Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie Month in Texas and Tennessee. Cities including San Francisco, Atlanta, and Detroit named the CAREavan s arrival as DoubleTree by Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. A Facebook tab displayed the route, relevant tweets, and sweepstakes for free hotel stays, which resulted in nearly 29,000 new likes and more than 10,000 sweepstake entries. In addition, Foursquare check-ins at CAREavan stops awarded Hilton HHonors points. The business with the most #SweetBreaks tweets won 250 cookies hand delivered to the office. Results directly attributed to the campaign include a 200{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} jump in unaided brand awareness, a 15{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} revenue boost, and a 125{04d9822e7d95da125d508d8e1efbcf2edc79acd8aec1f0bbdcbd6a6f684f9bb3} increase in HHonors enrollment, all over 2010. The campaign was recognized in 1,833 media outlets including Today, Good Morning America, and USAToday.com. Mashable declared the CAREavan No. 1 Food Truck for Social Media Marketing. One judge praised the campaign as brilliant and bigtime. Another judge agreed, saying, The effort put a fresh new twist on the food truck concept and blended in a terrific cause element.
Dialogue On Diversity In The PR Industry
LIVE EVENTS
We just wrapped up production on Part 1 of the Dialogue on Diversity at Fleishman-Hillard in DC. The event and the discussions were a success!
We loaded in this morning at 6:30 am, the event was from 3:00 5:00 and we were out on the dock again by 7pm. Quite a whirlwind, and we are looking forward to the next part in the series!
Decibel Red Carpet Premiere Event
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS
Fleishman-Hillard DC and their ONDCP team tasked Decibel to create a red carpet entrance for a press event. This was for the winner of the MTV Unwasted Weekend Challenge. Decibel traveled to Essex Junction High School in Vermont to turn an Auditorium into a traditional red carpet event. It was a privilege for the team at Decibel to be part of this amazing evening dedicated to the members of the Essex CHiPS program for high school students that stay above the influence of drugs and alcohol. The evening started with the students, parents and speakers having pictures taken on the red carpet. The evening also included speakers from the Essex CHiPS program, the director of the Above The Influence Campaign and the students that created the winning video. Take a look at the video they produced.
Facade Projection and Mapping
LIVE EVENTS
This year we have seen fa ade projection and fa ade mapping really take off.
From the Ralph Lauren show, to the F te des Lumi res in Lyon. Our friends at Scharff Weisberg have done a great job detailing the differences between projection, 2D and 3D mapping and what goes into the process. We have included the detail below!
Josh Weisberg, President, WorldStage:
To The Wall
As the amount of building fa ade projection work we re seeing continues to increase, so it seems does the amount of confusion related to what is fa ade projection and what is actual 3D mapping. The difference is important because
one objective requires a totally different set of design and implementation parameters than the other.
When It s Mapped & When It s Not
In broad terms, mapping a fa ade entails creating media that specifically accounts for the architectural elements of a building fa ade. In addition, if any of those architectural elements create a new plane, by extending inward or outward
in respect to the majority of the fa ade surface area, then we can extend the definition and say the surface is 3D-mapped . To illustrate, let s look at three examples.
The first is a flat fa ade projection where the media only takes into account height and width of the fa ade there are no architectural details that link the media to the fa ade. All the building detail is contained within the media, which very effectively creates the illusion of building wall transparency, allowing the viewers to see inside and witness the activities of the fictitious occupants.
The second example, which was created using scale models of real buildings set inside a convention center, illustrates 2D mapping of media to specific architectural elements. This means that the content was created using a two-
dimensional map and the projectors were aligned and geometrically corrected so that the windows, doors, cornices, etc, were coincident with the projected media.
Finally, the third example illustrates fa ade projection with extensive 3D mapping. In this example, you can see where the content and the projector configuration use the depth of the architectural elements, along with their height and width. Since some of these elements contain more than eight feet of depth, the mapping is somewhat involved.
What This Means to Content Development
Flat fa ade projections, or fa ade projection that ignore architectural elements, need not require special attention since the display environment can be considered a standard flat projection screen. We still advise that content developers pay attention to light levels within the image to ensure that the visual energy is high enough to standout against ambient light levels or a fa ade that sucks up projected light such as dark brick.
Compared to a flat fa ade application, a mapped fa ade requires that content be developed very precisely, but still only in two physical, versus virtual, dimensions. The required precision can be attained by using a detailed map that shows the exact size and location of the fa ade elements. In these circumstances we create a pixel map that shows where the elements are within the projected image and the precise size of those elements.
For true 3D-mapped applications, an accurate 3D model is the starting point for content design, manufacture and implementation. Hopefully, the accurate 3D model already exists and can be utilized. If not, it may be worthwhile to hire a 3D architectural mapping company to create a 3D model using laser scanning tools.
Alternately, it may be possible to create a 3D map by extruding fa ade elements from a 2D elevation although that can be risky and the resulting map should be checked against the physical site.
Why the Content Matters More
Having been involved with a number of fa ade projection projects and having looked at many others examples, one of the aspects we ve noticed is that content projected on building facades carries an additional burden, compared to standard video presentations. Because this video content is situational and exists in tandem with the architecture, it must support the context effectively.
Just like a 3D movie, fa ade projections must show the justification for the special effect, otherwise it s just a movie displayed on the wall of a building. On the other hand, a fa ade projection that relies solely on gimmicky effects and lacks a healthy dose of wit, humor or drama can be lifeless. However, content that effectively integrates visuals with building architecture or environment in a compelling and interesting way can really make an event a memorable experience.
More Facade Projection and Mapping
BACKSTAGE, COMPANY NEWS, EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS, TIPS & TRICKS
Another Lyon Festival of Lights (F te des lumi res) has concluded. I am a big fan of the festival as well as the fa ade projection and fa ade mapping that has become ubiquitous with the celebration. Each December, I look forward to seeing the displays and designs that are produced for the 4 day event.
This year, it was an experience, rather than breakthrough content that we were most excited about. The installation and design was from a French company called CT Light Concept. In the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon a square called Place des C lestins is home to the theater in the video below. (Quick aside, the square is located on lands once owned by the Knights Templar). Instead of simply having festivalgoers watch a presentation, CT Light Concept took fa ade projection and fa ade mapping to an interactive level, a pinball game that users can control. The only piece that would have been great to see added was a high-score list on the fa ade, but I am sure that folks had a blast nonetheless.
I thought this was a very unique and interesting installation. You can view the video by following the link here.
Flash Mob
EVENT INDUSTRY, LIVE EVENTS, TIPS & TRICKS
I love to highlight events that just work. A simple, yet focused idea that is met with seamless execution can have great results. These don t have to be expensive, or overly planned. I also like to give recognition to my hometown when I can.
The Winston-Salem Symphony pulled off a great promotional event a few days ago by performing a piece in the Belk s Department store. While this was not your traditional flash mob, it still holds as a great example. I am sure they worked with the mall and Belk s prior to the flash-mobbing as it would be quite hard to sneak in a piano AND a timpani. Even though they tipped their hand to the location, it was on message for their group (to promote their upcoming performance of Handel s Messiah) and brought attention into the store itself. This is a great example of using a flash-mob event to reinforce your brands message.
