NEW YORK –- The future was on full display in Manhattan early this May during Digital Content NewFronts, a week-long showcase for media buyers of the latest digital and video creations from the leading names in entertainment, news and information technology. A must-see venue for the executives who descended on New York for the event was Pier 26, where Oath, a division of Verizon that reaches over one billion people worldwide through its digital media brands, introduced an exciting array of new content.
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Hosted by Jamie Foxx, Oath Digital Content NewFronts offered guests a smorgasbord of live entertainment options to go along with the chance to preview upcoming productions from brands like Yahoo and Huffington Post. Taking place on two main stages, along with a half dozen smaller satellite units, the evening event featured performances by stars like DJ Irie, Broadway dancers, bucket drummers and other artists. Adding to the magical atmosphere on the pier was a lively and colorful lighting design created by Barrett Hall that featured CHAUVET Professional Maverick and Nexus fixtures, supplied by WorldStage.
“This project came about for me through First, a global creative agency that produced the event,” said Hall, owner of Magic Hour East. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with First in the past, so I was excited about this opportunity to help create a large-scale immersive and illuminated environment. Having everything from musical acts to theatrical style performances filling an entire pier over the Hudson made it quite unique!”
At the heart of Hall’s lighting design was the Maverick MK Pyxis, which features a 60W RGBW center beam, surrounded by a ring of nine 15W RGBW LEDs. Hall outlined the base of the event’s two-story DJ booth with 25 of the moving beam/wash fixtures.
“We used the outer ring of pixels to get a lot of visible color shifts and movement around the entire DJ booth,” said Hall. “This turned the booth itself into an energized scenic element.
Having chase sequences on the outer ring of the fixtures created a nice visual around the booth and conveyed a sense of excitement. Then having the punch of the center beams gave us great options for ballyhoo moments. It was like having two fixtures in one.”
Setting a glittering tone throughout the venue and underscoring the significance of the event were the 32 Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures that were positioned on the truss towers that lined both sides of the 1,000’ long pier. Drawing on the wide 7° to 49° zoom range of this RGBW LED moving wash, Hall used it for a variety of functions, from truss toning to stage washing.
“There were 14 large truss towers in all, and rather than try to mask them, we decided to tone them,” said Hall. “We selected the Mavericks, because we wanted something that would be bright, but would also give us the option to pan and tilt away from the truss and allow us to wash saturated colors across the pier.”
Hall also used 30 Nexus 4×4 LED panels to create a dynamic backdrop on one of the performance stages. Hanging the panels in a checkerboard pattern, he had them do double duty as static scenic elements and blinders.
Atmospherics for the event rig were provided by 10 Vesuvio II RGBA+UV foggers. Hall used fog from these units to accent key moments during DJ and theatrical performances. Although 10 foggers might seem a bit on the high side, having this many units was necessary, given the winds in New York harbor.
“We were battling the elements, specifically the wind, so we needed something with a ton of output, and also something that could fire all night long without us having to refill, the way we would if we had traditional ‘cryo’ units,” explained Hall. “Being outside on a Manhattan pier over the Hudson River is always a bit challenging, as you never know what kind of weather you’ll encounter.”
In the end, though, the weather didn’t present any challenges that couldn’t be handled by Hall and the rest of the production team, including Project Manager J. Wiese, Lighting Programmer Eric Christian, and disguise Programmer Marcus Garfunkle. Working together, they created an environment that was forward looking and exhilarating — much like this event itself.
