|
2006 Rental & Staging Systems Award THREEPEAT! We are very excited to announce that we have won our fourth Rental & Staging Systems Award in three years. This year at InfoComm we were honored with the trophy for the Best Overall Staging for a Corporate or Association Event Large Venue, Large Budget for the Jaguar Car Reveal we did down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for Corporate Magic. “You care as much about our company as you care about your own. We ask for a lot and you guys always come through.” Read the press release at the InfoComm web site. The Story of the Show When you think about Cabo San Lucas, Mexico you probably imagine sunny beaches, beautiful ocean views, outstanding food, and some deserved rest and relaxation. If you ask the Alford crew that staged the 2005 Jaguar show there, they’ll probably be more apt to talk about long hours, 100˚ plus temperatures, oppressive humidity, hard work, and definitely NO rest and relaxation. They’ll also attest to being part of perhaps the most challenging, personally satisfying and successful corporate events in their combined careers. Jim Kirk and the team at Corporate Magic had been planning this big car reveal down in Cabo with us for several months before the event date. The show was being put on by Jaguar to unveil two new car models to select dealers before they were to be announced to the public. Jim is a creative force and the ideas he came up with to show off these cars required everything Alford could muster to get it done and do it right.
For a gig like this one, the entire office was involved in the logistics of planning and staging the show. Of course, the concept changed many times before the actual event, and that kept Alford on their toes. Everyone chipped in, and when the time came to head for Mexico, they were ready. Equipment was pulled and inventoried, a carnet was prepared, trucks rolled, crews flew, necessary equipment was cross rented, and local labor was hired.
The indoor main event featured a 15’ x 85’ screen running a seamless Watchout presentation for the business meeting and the initial car reveal. The outside entertainment consisted of singers, dancers, music, lighting, projection and much more.
The Alford crew had four days to load in, build, create and rehearse for both of the major shows. This turned out to be one of those unique experiences where each and every person that worked on the job has their own amazing story to tell. This entry can’t begin to tell all of the stories.
You would think that not having enough air conditioning in Mexico would be a big problem for your sensitive AV equipment, but that ended up being a secondary concern next to power. Without power who could worry about air conditioning? Alford had ordered two big diesel generators, but the ones that were delivered from the U.S. had some problems and the crew spent some serious quality time trying to get them running. In the end, they had to jump through some hoops locally to get the power that was needed to run both the indoor and outdoor events. Once the power was up and running, the air conditioning issue reared its ugly head again. The temporary room where most of the equipment was set up started to get so hot that pieces of sensitive gear started to shut down. Tom Alford went out and found a couple of window units and installed them directly into the walls and that provided enough cool air to keep all of the hot circuitry humming along.
One really neat effect that was pulled off involved the singer at the outdoor evening gala. She was literally pulled into position on a ledge that is normally a waterfall by a newly built trolley/pulley system. At a certain point in the song, a huge piece of silk was manually yanked from a hidden box near her feet. It fell from the top of the waterfall exactly into place and created a huge extension of her dress that was then used as a screen for graphics and video projection. After testing the effect over and over again, Alford’s Project Manager, Eric Hagstrom, got blisters from the fishing line that was used to pull out the silk. Just to make sure that all went as planned during the show; two local crewmembers were asked to lay (hey, you can’t make stuff like this up) in the shallow water of the waterfall pool and catch the silk dress extension if it didn’t unfurl properly. We can only guess how they described their day’s work to their families and friends.
Inside the hotel they didn’t have anyone hiding out in a waterfall, but Alford did have a huge screen set up from wall-to-wall and from floor-to-ceiling. The elite audience was treated to quite a show that highlighted the marketing campaign that would launch the new car models.
At just the right moment, the cars were driven on stage and the reveal was punctuated with pyro effects and theatrical lighting. It was an intimate room and the attendees were literally part of the show. It was an immersive experience to say the least. A standing ovation greeted the cars when the smoke cleared. It was a fantastic and dramatic reveal. We only wish we could share more images but the vehicles are still top secret and are even now under wraps.
At some point, everyone fell prey to heat exhaustion and fatigue while they were there, and most of the crew is still recovering in one way or another. However, it was all worth it since the show was a stunning success both inside and outside, and the clients were thrilled with the results. This may have been one of the most challenging and unique shows Alford Media has ever done but they will tell you that it is also one of the most rewarding they have ever been involved with. Crew List: Tom Alford – Client Relations/Labor Let us know if you would like us to enter your next show in future contests. We appreciate the award winning work that we do together! |
|
See our June Email Postcard "THREEPEAT!" announcing our 2006 Award Read about the previous three Rental & Staging Systems Awards we won in 2004 & 2005 |
The show was held at the Marquis Hotel. Yes, a French hotel in the heart of the Mexican Riviera. The venue proved to be a beautiful, albeit challenging place to work. Alford was responsible for two main shows as well as a few smaller events. A daytime meeting and car reveal were held inside while a big, entertainment gala was put on outside in the evening following the main meeting. 
