After experiencing its busiest summer on record since it began 10 years ago, live event production company, White Tie Productions, took to heart its most frequent client request. “Everyone wants to highlight their offerings in a way that makes them stand out,” says White Tie President Ross Snyder. “It’s our job to showcase each client in a way that’s unique.” White Tie specializes in creating experiential productions for non-profit associations and corporate clients nationwide. They’re a full-service audio/visual production house with an in-house creative team. Live events are created from start to finish, including overall design, creative content production, A/V equipment, and technical operators.
“To heighten the dynamic nature of our productions, we’ve added LED screens more and more to our stage designs,” he adds. “In fact, we rented more video walls this summer than we ever have.” In the past five years, Snyder believes they’ve rented almost every major LED display on the market. But they’d never owned any.
Seeing is Believing
That changed during this year’s NAB show in April. After he saw the video wall from Spanish LED display manufacturer Alfalite in FOR-A’s NAB booth, Snyder knew he’d take the leap and buy the screens. FOR-A is a strategic partner of Alfalite.
“When you see an Alfalite wall in person, it’s unique,” said Snyder. “You can talk about LED all day long but until you see a camera pointed at it, you can’t fully understand how well constructed it is. These panels have an almost 180°, crystal-clear viewing angle, which is unlike any other LED product on the market.”
White Tie purchased 120 Alfalite Litepix Series panels, making it the first live event company in the U.S. with Alfalite LED panels. It marks the second sale in the U.S. for the new FOR-A/Alfalite alliance. Headquartered in Phoenix with a second office in Orlando, White Tie will have 60 panels based in each location with more on the way later this year. The screens will be used on live productions throughout the U.S. The walls will be showcased in White Tie’s Phoenix studio and Orlando showroom when they are not out on live productions.
First in U.S.
“We’re excited to be the first in the country to bring such a highly regarded product in Europe to the U.S.,” says Snyder. “The Spanish national news networks use Alfalite panels. They’re very popular all over the European live rental market.”
When not being used for customer events across the country, White Tie will house 60 1.9mm pixel pitch Litepix ORIM screens at its Phoenix location, and 60 2.6mm pixel pitch screens Litepix ORIM screens at its Orlando office. The Phoenix office has a 2,500 square foot streaming studio, where the White Tie team will utilize the 1.9mm video wall on set for virtual programming as well as live event rentals.
“It used to be that you didn’t go below 2mm on a portable wall for fear of damage,” says Snyder. “But with the ORIM on the 1.9’s, you get a really sharp on-camera image in a very well protected panel. Having fine pixel pitch displays on a live event is a game changer for the high-end shows we do. What we can do now in a live, studio setting is light years ahead of what was possible before.”
Patented ORIM Technology
Snyder attributes Alfalite’s patented ORIM (Optical Resin Injection Module) technology with changing the way he’ll be able to produce A/V for live events. ORIM offers viewers a 175° viewing angle with perfect precision and no color degradation. ORIM technology also contributes to the durability of the panels. They can withstand water and physical constraints that would scratch (or worse) inferior screens.
“The diodes in panels are notorious for getting beaten up, particularly around the corners,” says Snyder. “ORIM is the most unique protection method I’ve seen. The FOR-A and Alfalite team at NAB were hitting the panels, running a ring across them, and nothing happened. Any other LED would have broken pixels immediately.”
With its Stack System (no tools required) design and front or rear panel access, the screens are a snap to install and maintain. They can be built into any size of LED wall or volume, creating virtual production and augmented reality spaces ideal for broadcast, corporate, and educational applications.
Built to Last
“They’ve thought of everything,” comments Snyder. “From the overall structure of the panel to the stacking and rigging hardware, the quality of the power supply, down to the data cable being permanently attached, it’s designed for use in live events. They looked at everything we need, all the pain points for live shows and integrated it into their walls.”
Not having to worry about power supplies going down is a big relief in live production. “We were constantly replacing power supplies on other walls,” explains Snyder. “And you don’t have much time for set up when you’re live.”
“As a company, White Tie pushes the boundaries, always searching for the best systems for their clients,” says Satoshi Kanemura, President, FOR-A Americas. “Ross and his team have been incredibly busy this past year and were looking for something that would make their live events stand out. That’s exactly what the quality and durability of Alfalite panels provide.”
“We believe in FOR-A, and we believe in this product,” concludes Snyder. He appreciated the sales style of both companies as well as the quality of the Alfalite displays. “The executives from FOR-A and Alfalite talked to us about what we’re looking for and never applied any high-pressure sales tactics. Just very genuine people who are proud of what they’ve created and how it can help their customers. It was clear to me that we’re not just a number to them. They want to partner with us.”
The LED displays were delivered to both White Tie locations in September. Since delivery, they’ve been put to work on several live shows and studio broadcasts. The 1.9mm ORIM product debuted at the 2023 Visit Phoenix Annual Meeting in Downtown Phoenix, where Arizona hospitality professionals were able to witness the clarity of ORIM.
For a full range of HD and 4K production and processing solutions, as well as IP-based products, visit the FOR-A web site at www.for-a.com. Find further information from Alfalite on its Litepix LED Video Panel product at https://alfalite.com/litepix/
FOR-A Corporation of America, 11155 Knott Ave., Suite G&H, Cypress, CA 90630 Phone: 714-894-3311, Fax 714-894-5399; Website: www.for-a.com