A number of events surrounding the annual New York International Auto Show called upon Scharff Weisberg to fill their AV and lighting needs. The company supported the presentations of Saturn, Volvo and Cadillac.
Saturn
Saturns press event, previewing new model cars to be unveiled at the Auto Show, was held at the Milk Gallery on West 15th Street. Produced by Aquila Productions, New York, the evening featured a three-screen video presentation supported by Scharff Weisberg.
Designed for Dataton WATCHOUT playback, the presentation included custom material encoded by Scharff Weisbergs Media Resource Center. To display the content Scharff Weisberg hung plasma screens from trusses, which were dressed with white fabric covers to help the structures blend in with the photography studios primarily white interior. A small mixer and 4 channels of wireless mics supplemented Milk Gallerys own sound system; power distribution for video and lighting was also supplied.
Scharff Weisberg Lighting provided a large lighting complement for the evening. Giant photo murals showing details of the Saturn vehicles, hung around the perimeter of the space, were lit with Altman Mini 10s. Closed at the start of the event, a scrim bisecting the Gallery was illuminated with Color Kinetics Color Blast 12s for color-changing effects prior to the vehicles reveal. ETC Source Four 36-degree ellipsoidals streaked break up gobos on the fabric.
After the scrim was pulled back to unveil the cars the new Saturns were showcased with ARRI 650 fresnels; ARRI 300 fresnel specials were poised by each wheel to light the hubcaps. The stage where VIP speakers addressed the press was lit by additional Source 4 ellipsoidals. All of the fixtures were controlled by an ETC 48 sensor pack and an ETC Express 250 console.
Walter Elzey was Scharff Weisbergs senior account executive for the evening with Randy Briggs manning WATCHOUT. Dennis Minard was event manager for Scharff Weisberg Lighting; Betsy Adams of Blue Hill Design, Inc. in New York was the lighting designer and Edmond Deraedt was production electrician.
A second Saturn event, this one open to the public, took place later that same evening at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square where two new cars, one at street level and one perched atop the Hard Rock marquee, were introduced.
Scharff Weisberg furnished a Sony DXC-D50 wireless camera package, with 33:1 lens, which was positioned on Military Island between Broadway and 7th Avenue. A scissor lift raised the videographer above the crowd to capture live shots fed to two LED walls, one at street level and one inside the Cafe where the signals were also distributed to plasma monitors around the eatery.
For the video playback Scharff Weisberg provided a Barco Folsom Screen Pro II scaling switcher, Barco Encore controller, Beta SP playback and record, GV Turbo for content playback, and additional playback monitors. A Folsom Image Pro HD scaler fed 16:9 SDI signals to the LED walls; composite video signals were distributed to the Cafes plasma monitors.
The chief challenge for the event involved setting up the control gear behind the Hard Rock Cafes marquee which required climbing a spiral staircase. No easy cart roll ins there! Walter Elzey was senior account executive for the event.
Volvo
The fourth annual Volvo for Life Awards, held in Rockefeller Centers famed Rainbow Room, also featured equipment from Scharff Weisberg. Produced by FB Productions, the ceremony recognized and rewarded three everyday hero finalists and named Ethiopian-born heart surgeon Dr. Inginda Asfaw as Americas Greatest Hometown Hero. Benjamin Bratt served as emcee for the evening, which had Avril Lavigne, the Harlem Gospel Choir and Johanna Gard headlining.
Scharff Weisberg provided four Barco R12 projectors, double converged; four 50-inch and four 42-inch NEC plasma screens; a Barco Folsom Screen Pro II switching system; and a GV Kayak switcher for displaying speaker IMAG, a graphics tape loop and video clips. HD content was played back from DoReMi HDDRs. Two Sony DXC-D50 WSL 16:9 cameras from Scharff Weisberg captured the IMAG footage.
Audio gear included a Yamaha PM5D mixer for front of house, a Yamaha M7CL monitor mix, Meyer M1D speakers with Meyer 700HP subwoofers, and a dozen channels of Sennheiser wireless mics.
Cadillac
Scharff Weisberg worked directly with General Motors to support the Cadillac Northeast Regional Dealers Dinner at the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center with a complement of display and video playback equipment, including two 10.5’x14’ screens; four Barco R10 projectors, double converged; a Folsom Screen Pro II switcher; and a DVD player.
Guy Bostian was Scharff Weisbergs event manager for both the Volvo for Life Awards ceremony and the Cadillac dealers dinner.