Datacentric: The Stats Of CES 2018 Keynote Presentation

The CES 2018 opening night keynote presentation was all about data, from its importance in our lives to its power to transform the world. Held at the Park Theatre at Monte Carlo in Las Vegas on January 8, the keynote immersed attendees in the future of data-driven technology, with help from live event experts, including executive technical producer John Halloran of John Halloran and Associates, executive producer and creative director Bill Welter of Clarity Creative, production designer Todd Ivins, and executive art director Gregg Stokes of Clarity Creative.

Read about the presentation's amazing stuntsset designvisual content, and lighting design.

THE STATS

The creative team began designing the keynote back in February 2017. After two weeks of rehearsals in mid-December at Cow Palace in California, the team loaded 46 53' semi-trailers of equipment into Park Theatre on starting on January 1 with an 80% already cued show. “We ran 12 hour shifts 24 hours a day until we finished the keynote January 8, at 8pm,” says Halloran. “It was a very aggressive schedule.”

The production used 6 miles of copper wire, 15,000' of power and control cables, nearly 400 axes of motion, 97 loudspeakers, and countless other astounding stats. Tait deployed 88 Nav Hoists—their largest deployment ever done. The total load rigged to Park Theatre grid weighed 160,000 pounds.

The complex, dynamic presentation, featuring a helicopter and a Guinness World Record display of drones, has certainly set the tone for corporate presentations to come. “This is the kind of keynote that everybody will be doing two years from now,” says Welter.

LASERS

  • 10 - 20" Diameter Laser Target Spheres with Internal RGB LED Illumination
  • 4 - 20" Diameter Laser Scanning Spheres with Internal 15-watt RGB Entertainment Laser Projectors
  • 2 - 3D Space Tracking Servers / Laser Control Interfaces
  • 28 - Infrared (IR) Tracking Beacons
  • 20 - IR Tracking Cameras
  • 16 - High Power Entertainment Laser Projection Systems
  • 300+ watts of Full Color Laser Power
  • 16 - million+ potential laser colors

Credits

  • Executive Technical Producer: John Halloran (John Halloran and Associates)
  • Executive Art Director: Gregg Stokes (Clarity Creative)
  • Executive Producer / Creative Director: Bill Welter (Clarity Creative)
  • Production Designer: Todd Ivins (Ivinsart Design, Inc.)
  • Technical Media Advisor: Gary Jaeger (Core Studio Creative Director)
  • Lighting Designer: Jim Tetlow (Nautilus Entertainment Design)
  • Lighting Director / Programmer: Kurt Doemelt (Nautilus Entertainment Design)
  • Audio Designer, FOH Engineer: Rich Halvorson
  • Laser Design and Integration: Kelly Sticksel (Fireplay Executive Director R&D)

Worldstage: Video Equipment and Systems

  • Senior Project Manager: James Sarro
  • Integration Project Manager: TJ Donoghue
  • Project Manager: Dennis Menard
  • Project Manager: John Denion
  • Senior disguise Media Server Programmer: Alex Bright
  • Video Director: Ken Stanford

Kish Rigging: Production Rigging

  • Production Rigger: Mike Cassidy

Mystic Scenic Studios: Scenery

  • Project Manager: Mark Marenghi

TAIT Towers: Staging and Automation

  • Project Managers: Ben Gasper and Brian Levine

4Wall: Lighting Equipment

  • Account Executive: Craig Teague

OSA Integrated Solutions: Audio Equipment

  • Account Executive: Paul Driggs
  • Project Manager: Peter Wiejaczka