Foreo: The Craziest CES Booth Ever? Part Four

One might ask what a Swedish beauty care company is doing at CES—Consumer Electronics Show—where one expects the gadgets of the future, but boy did Foreo raise eyebrows with the theatricality of their show, from the sound of chainsaws to gas fumes, and vials of pink liquid offered by scientists in white lab coats for visitors brave enough to imbibe. The booth caused quite the uproar with long lines to be part of The Foreo Experience in Las Vegas, January 7-12, 2018.

Designed by a team of theatrical designers, with scenery by John Iacovelli, lighting by Brian Gale, and sound by Cricket Myers, the booth was built by Sin City Scenic. Intended to be a research facility, with armed guards at the perimeter, guests were blindfolded, while some were wrapped in yellow sheets and plastic wrap. Quite a production to sell a 20-minute “smart” facial mask at a show that features next-generation innovations for consumers, from laptops to televisions: But there is no doubt that Foreo made their mark!

Live Design reached out to the creators and builders of the Foreo booth, to get their take on the project. Hear from Sin City Scenicscenic designer John Iacovelli, and lighting designer Brian Gale.

Sound Designer Cricket Myers

As the sound designer of the show, I had a unique challenge in that I had to keep all the sound contained to our 20'x30' booth and still have enough volume inside to overcome the noise of the show floor, while keeping the show volume exciting. The show floor rules state that I could not have sound above 85db beyond the limits of our booth. So I focused on keeping my speakers low on the truss with a tight downward focus. That way, I could contain the spill, and keep the energy from the speakers pointed at the audience.

I also had no dedicated operator for the show, due to the confines of the tiny room in which we were performing. So all of my effects were triggered in Figure 53 QLab off of the light board, and then QLab was sending triggers to the Yamaha QL1 to control the microphones on the cast. I had to keep everything as simple as possible, so that the show could run every 30 minutes with as little maintenance as possible.

Selected audio gear from Launch, Los Angeles, CA

Audio Consoles

  • Yamaha TIO-1608D
  • 1 IEC Whip (accessory)
  • 1 Yamaha QL1

Speakers

  • Meyer Sound UPA-1P
  • 6 Meyer UP Junior
  • 2 QSC HPR 181i
  • RF Audio
  • MOTU 828 MK3
  • Shure UR1-H4
  • 2 Shure UR2-H4
  • 2 Shure RPW112-SM58 (accessory)
  • 1 Shure UR4D+ H4
  •        2 BNC Pass Thru (accessory)
  •        1 IEC Pass Thru (accessory)
  •        1 IEC Whip (accessory)
  • 2 Shure UA870 Paddle Antenna
  •        2 25' BNC Cable 50 Ohm (accessory)