Scharff Weisberg supported three events for the New York Auto Show, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The events included a two-day event for Volvo, a cocktail reception for General Motors, and a press conference for Mitsubishi.
Volvo
For FBI Productions, Scharff Weisberg provided an extensive inventory of video and audio equipment for a two-day Volvo event at Times Square Studios, home of ABC’s "Good Morning, America" and several ESPN shows. The second annual event celebrated the Volvo For Life Awards given to people who conquer physical disabilities and exemplify the Volvo philosophy.
The first day was marked by a festive musical gathering in the downstairs Subway studio. The band Sahara Hot Nights headlined the Apple iPod themed evening; they, and two other bands, performed on a stage flanked by stacks of three, 30-inch NEC LCD monitors playing loops of Volvo and iPod commercials. An iPod DJ mixed music between the bands.
Scharff Weisberg’s full package of audio gear included Midas Heritage 1000 44+4 and 3000 44+4 mixers; the newest Meyer M2D line array speaker system; Yamaha digital reverb and multi-effects; Klark Teknik stereo EQ; DBX limiter/compressors; TC Electronic digital delay; and SKG, Sennheiser, and Shure mikes.
The next evening the Volvo For Life Awards ceremony, with Jim Belushi hosting and The Black Crows headlining, took place simultaneously upstairs at the Marquee studio and downstairs at the Subway studio. Two Folsom SPR-2000 Hi-Res switchers fed IMAG playback of the event plus pre-recorded video packages on the award winners and logo graphics to hanging and floor-mounted NEC 61" plasma monitors in Marquee and two subcontracted 84" Orion plasma monitors and additional NEC 61" plasma monitors in Subway.
Audio gear supplied included a Midas Venice240 16+4/4 console; four Meyer UPM-1P compact loudspeakers; and Sennheiser, Shure and Countryman mikes. Scharff Weisberg handled a protracted setup in two studios, which were unavailable until 10 a.m. and noon the day of the event.
Scharff Weisberg’s Derek Holbrook served as event manager with Andy Muller onsite event manager and Tomasz Gajewski audio engineer. Marc Buchan was production manager for FBI Productions.
General Motors
Scharff Weisberg provided lighting and video support for General Motors’ cocktail reception and dinner for its dealers attending the Auto Show.
The event, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center, began with cocktails in the atrium where the latest models Cadillac Escalade, Hummer HHR and H3, XLRV, G6 convertible and Lucerne took center stage. Scharff Weisberg provided lighting designer Christian Methot of design one with High End Systems Studio Spot® CMY fixtures, High End Studio Color® fixtures and a MA Lighting grandMA console to illuminate the vehicles and create a special ambiance for the cocktail hour.
For the dinner in the Allen Room, Scharff Weisberg set up two 10.5’x14’ screens that flanked a huge glass window overlooking Columbus Circle. The screens were flown from the catwalk at the corners of the room, leaving the spectacular view open to the attendees. Four Barco R10 projectors displayed GM promotional videos with a Folsom SPR-2000 Hi-Res switcher handling the feed.
Guy Bostian served as Scharff Weisberg’s event manager for the evening.
Mitsubishi
Scharff Weisberg also provided LD Greg Cohen of Unlimited Visibility Lighting Design with an array of lighting equipment for a Mitsubishi press conference at their booth at the Javits Center. The inventory included ETC Source Four® ellipsoidal spots, Martin MAC 2000 Performance moving lights, Morpheus Technologies PanaBeam XR2 wash lights, two Wholehog® controllers and an ETC Sensor® dimmer rack. In addition, Scharff Weisberg provided over 300 linear feet of ColorKinetics iColor® Cove, which they pre-configured in their shop.
Scharff Weisberg is the only lighting company on the East Coast to have the PanaBeam XR2s.