Eidos Stands Out at E3

When called upon to design a tradeshow booth, lighting designer John Featherstone knew he had to up the ante in creativity because this was for Eidos — a major entertainment software developer and publisher — for the 2004 E3 Show at the LA Convention Center, the definitive trade show for electronic gaming industry professionals.

Eidos' exhibition booths are always a lively riot of color and excitement. The primary aesthetic objective is to make the booths “speak” to the dynamic pace of the games being showcased, ensuring they stand out from the crowd. Eidos used a series of vignettes designed by 3D Exhibits to anchor the central theme of each game and provide a visual tableau to present the software. Eidos has always used lighting to help support this technique and add layers of texture, color, and movement to their displays.

Working with lighting director Dennis Connors and production electrician Chip Foody, Featherstone used 24 Robe ColorSpot 1200s, programmed and run from a High End Systems Wholehog® II console and supplied by Fourth Phase, scattered around the booth to help light the different areas and bring the all-important elements of color, texturing, and movement into the visual equation. It was the first time he's used the fixtures, and he was extremely happy with the results, commenting that the ColorSpot's “great speed, optics, and prisms” were impressive.