ATOMIC

Amidst a colorful presidential election cycle, the Turner Networks leveraged their place as a leader in political reporting to create an election-themed, data-driven and ultimately incredibly entertaining Upfront Presentation. Team ATOMIC was there from inception through execution providing Production Services, Design and Set Construction for the 2016-2017 Turner Upfront at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

In 2016, Turner launched a new corporate identity – which included an updated logo and added striking linear elements. This bold and eye-catching change inspired much of the design aesthetic from the theater stage through to the smallest of details at the pre-event reception.

In the theater, Team ATOMIC designed a dynamic set with a hero screen flanked on either side by 12 high resolution video towers – that topped out at almost 14’ tall – and provided a wide canvas for vibrant video content. On top of that, these towers were automated to move – providing surprising entry points for celebrities involved in the show.  These behemoth structures were engineered and built by ATOMIC, automated by TAIT and were comprised with over 600 video tiles provided by World Stage.

This same vivid look and feel extended to the various pre and post show events – where guests enjoyed refreshments and mingled with celebrities in environments designed by David Stark with an epic floor to ceiling backdrop that peeled away to reveal lush florals, a dimensional Turner logo and even a virtual aquarium.

For the show itself, Wolf Blitzer kicked things off with the help of a brand new drone camera from CNN and then tossed to his cohort Anderson Cooper who moderated a hilarious Turner-centric Town Hall discussion between Conan O’Brien and Charles Barkley. As the show continued, Billy Eichner, Samantha Bee and a whole host of other celebrities helped keep the energy up and the audience entertained and engaged. Given the depth of Turner’s talented bench, it’s no surprise that AdWeek deemed the Turner Upfront the funniest of the 2016 season. 

We are incredibly thankful to our amazing clients at Turner (and all of the networks they represent) for a successful 14^th Upfront Cycle! We are also grateful to our partners and vendors including, 4U2C, A. Form, Arthur Lewis, Avalon, Beame, Brehm Lab, Cassidy Rigging, David Stark Design & Production, Eidetic Productions, Firehouse Productions, Holly Cislo, J&M Special Effects, Jeff Pearl, Kevin Lawson, Kirk Miller, Luminous FX, Madison Square Garden, My Kitchen Witch, Now & Zen Productions, NSR, PreLite Studios, Promptin’ Circumstance, Ron Reaves, Round Angle Design, Sabrina Rufo Mishler, Scott Peterman, Select Event Group, Stefani Cohen, TAIT, Theatrical Resources, Verona Productions, Winick Productions and WorldStage.