WASHINGTON, DC — WorldStage provided gear and crew from both its East and West Coast offices — a total of 180 people working on 11 installations within seven DC-area venues — in support the “Celebration of Science” initiative sponsored by FasterCures and the Milken Institute. The AV company also supported a related gala event staged at Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.
More details from WorldStage (www.worldstage.com):
The initiative involved more than 1,000 leaders in medical research, bioscience, patient advocacy, industry, philanthropy and public policy who actively participated in the event, which strived to raise awareness about the importance of bioscience to modern society.
“A Celebration of Science was one of the most complex projects, in terms of scope and location, that we’ve ever attempted,” said Richard Bevan, account manager for the event and vice president of production services at WorldStage. “The venues stretched across Washington, but we were confident that we could service every location to our usual high standards. Everything went very well thanks to an outstanding on-site team.”
Larry Lesser, senior vice president of creative services at the Milken Family Foundation, believes that “the Celebration of Science events would never have been successful without the group of professionals from WorldStage, especially when you consider that we put the entire three-day event together in less than 60 days. There were seven locations each with full production capabilities, including audio recording and reinforcement, projection, and HD multi-camera switched video recording.”
WorldStage fielded more than 180 people for A Celebration of Science who displayed the experience, passion and technical acumen the company is known for. These dedicated professionals supplied custom solutions to 11 installations at seven venues in the nation’s capital.
Additionally, WorldStage met the special needs of several especially high-profile events. The gala at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater featured performances by Babyface, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Manchester and five bands and orchestras, including one led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, Francis S. Collins. WorldStage provided a 29×50-foot rear projection screen that acted as a backdrop and a 11 x 20 front projection screen to display the show’s main content, which was fed by a DATATON Watchout system, Playback Pro and graphics computers. The company also supplied 78 tiles of Barco C5 LEDs and seven HD cameras including two robotic camera systems and a jib.
“The event at Kennedy Center alone would have been a major undertaking in anyone’s book: HD cameras, two screens, three top-line musical acts and more,” says Larry Lesser.
WorldStage also delivered three screens for an event at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s Kogod Courtyard where Stevie Nicks and Melissa Manchester performed. And the company sent video and audio feeds from the NIH venue to three off-site laboratories so attendee’s could see live demos and speakers. A total of 28 HD Production Cameras were used at the locations across the city.
“WorldStage really came through on all of this for us,” Lesser reports. “That they are bicoastal was a big advantage for us considering the complexity of the show and the sheer number of people and equipment necessary to make it happen. We would never attempt to produce a show – big or small – without them.”
FasterCures and The Milken Institute called on the services of Vision Matrix to produce the events. Josh Lesser, President of Vision Matrix lead the charge with his team of Producers and Production Coordinators. Larry Lesser was the Executive Producer of the event.
For WorldStage, James Sarro was project manager at the Kennedy Center, Jon Harrington technical director there, Robin Gray lighting, Paul Bevan A1 and Neal Gass EIC. Jack Dussault was project manager at the NIH venue, Guy Bostian project manager at the Mayflower Hotel, Tony Rossello project manager at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium, Shawn Oatey project manager at The Four Seasons Hotel and Dave Morris project manager at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Shawn Oatey, Guy Bostian and Tony Rossello partnered as project managers at George Washington University’s Marvin Center.
WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.
