Andy Cohen hosted the awards program, which honored Ricky Martin, Russell Simmons, Tina Fey and others for their efforts to promote broader understanding and acceptance of gay and lesbian lifestyles.
“It was a combined effort between our East and West Coast teams,” said Michael T. May, senior account executive at VAI’s Nashville office. “We provided support in the main Broadway Ballroom as well as some ancillary rooms including the reception, after party and step-and-repeat area. It wouldn’t have been possible without good teamwork.”
“We love partnering with Scharff Weisberg and VAI,” said Valentina Fanfani, the event producer with Tencue Productions. “The event worked out well for everyone.”
The production overcame space constraints within the main ballroom which sat 1,370 people. As Fanfani noted, the design “incorporated the atmosphere of the ballroom using two screens that matched the angles of the proscenium. The screens were almost like a book standing up on a table – they formed an extreme angle that everyone was worried about. But Scharff Weisberg and VAI really rose to the challenge and made those angles work.”
“We supplied two 15×20-foot Stumpfl rear projection screens, a Barco Encore screen controller, a pair of Encore 3ME VP switching modules and four Christie S+16K DLP projectors,” said Andy Muller, senior project manager at Scharff Weisberg. “We also furnished a Sony DXC-D50 three-camera system, Sony DVCAM player/recorders, AJA KiPro digital recorders, an SDI Panasonic 400 1ME switcher and support for the client’s Mac presentation computer.” The companies also provided a Barco R6 prompter screen in the back of the room and four 50-inch plasma monitors for the guests.
Scharff Weisberg and VAI augmented the existing house lighting and audio systems in the Broadway Ballroom with Vari*Lite VL3500 spots and VL2500 spots and washes, Color Kinetics ColorBlaze 72-inch LEDs, ARRI 1K fresnels, a Yamaha PM5D digital audio console and Meyer Sound speakers and subwoofers.
As May noted, the companies also supplied gear for many other areas at the venue, including NEC plasma monitors for the green room and after party in the Westside Ballroom; audio and DJ equipment for the reception and after party; and an array of lighting fixtures for the celebrity area, donor sponsor area, red carpet/step and repeat, press photo area, silent auction, VIP bar/reception area and after party.
They also furnished audio equipment, NEC 50-inch plasmas and a complement of lighting fixtures for the youth party in the Astor Ballroom.
“The client loved the design of the main ballroom, and the show was perfection,” concluded Fanfani. “Scharff Weisberg and VAI provided one of the best crews I’ve ever worked with. They were great at organizing everyone and getting everything done – and their bicoastal operation made it handy for working with my company and the client in California and the venue, whose space they knew well, in New York.”
Augmenting the house systems paid off, Fanfani said. “It made the install easier,” and “because Scharff Weisberg knew the gear at the hotel, it went flawlessly. They made the whole process simple.”
For more information, please visit www.scharffweisberg.com and www.videoapps.com.
