NEW YORK — It may have been a once-a-year opportunity to recognize the best decorators and designers in the nation. But like the rainbow-hued cushions bridging ceiling-hung chairs in the form of a rainbow, the 2008 National Design Awards gala staged by David Stark Design & Production, with audio, lighting and video support by Scharff Weisberg had a whimsical touch. The event, which took place in a tent connected to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and included Martha Stewart, Lauren Zalaznick, Dennis Hopper and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg as guests, seemed less interested in projecting a pompous sense of self-importance than in creating a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party feel, with haphazardly-stacked dishes and cups and a stage backdrop that included a wall tiled with seat cushions.
“All of the large centerpieces, hanging elements and sculptures were lit from at least two directions with complementary color tones and breakup gobos to bring out the color in the room, add dimension and bring a good view to every seat in the house,” said lighting designer Todd Gardner.
Scharff Weisberg hung 100 pinspots to accent smaller table decor items and centerpieces along with some of the hanging elements. The crew also hung black drapery along the tent walls to cut down on ambient light and shadows and help Stark’s visual elements pop and add energy to the space.
Vari*Lite VL3500s layered a textured wash of polka dots across the tent and played off scenic elements. The stage was lit with conventional ETC Source 4s for video. The backdrop made from tiled seat cushions were uplit with Color Kinetics Colorblaze 72s, which were programmed and cued to highlight the bright colors of the cushions.
The crew also used Colorblast 12s to wash the walls of the canopied walkway from the museum to the gala tent. The instruments were programmed to slowly undulate spectral colors from one end to the other. An enormous milk-crate sculpture that spelled out N.D.A. was positioned in front of a white backdrop lit in deep blue with Colorblazes and a complementary fuschia from a ground row of Colorblazes in front.
“Scharff Weisberg’s inventory of LED fixtures was perfect for the gala because they offered ultimate flexibility in color choice, effects and low-power consumption which is always important for events in tents,” said Gardner. “They also conveniently fit the ‘green’ sensibility of the event’s sustainable decor by David Stark.”
In designing the layout of the light placement it was important to stay within some major constraints imposed by the tent structure and weight-load limits, Gardner added. “We also had to pay close attention to getting the focus angles of all the scenic elements and the stage through the hanging installations themselves,” he said. “The placement of scenic elements was scrutinized in 3D CAD files to ensure that projectors could hit their screens and lights could focus on all of the elements.”
Scharff Weisberg also furnished six custom 16:9 screens, measuring 5×9 feet, Barco R6 projectors, a pair of Sony DVCAM cameras and video playback from Grass Valley Turbos. A Barco Encore and small controller performed the switching.
Scharff Weisberg’s Tony Rossello and Guy Bostian were the project managers and Terry Jackson was the Lighting Project Manager for the gala and related events leading up to it. Esteban Lima was the grandMA programmer and Gerard McCarthy was production electrician.
“Scharff Weisberg was a delight to work with,” said Jeannie Kim, National Design Awards manager for the Cooper-Hewitt. “Guy Bostian, Tony Rossello and the entire team were universally intuitive, creative and professional in every regard.”
For more information, please visit www.scharffweisberg.com.
