Anatomy of an Event Part 3: Set Construction
There are many variables to a successful event – we talked about how the event process begins with Production Services and moves on to Design; now, we will take a look at the next phase: Set Construction!
The phone rings. We get the who, what and where of an event, and we are tasked with building it. Our Account and Project Management teams work closely with our clients to fully understand the purpose and creative goals of the project, and then tap into a combination of our own vast experience and our network of industry resources to put together a proposal.
The team then continues to collaborate, with a blend of CAD modeling and brainstorming. As our process continues, our project managers begin their technical design process by asking questions like: what is the rigging load? How will the weather effect load in? What can I do to make this load in more efficient?
These were all very important questions when building The Lab experience at this year’s Panorama Festival, an outdoor event on Randall’s Island, NY.
As questions become answers, technical design models become build drawings and head to the shop floor. Here, our experienced welders and carpenters work hard to fabricate the show elements and pass them off to the paint and graphics departments for finishing. After finishing, our Power Department gets involved with any LED lighting or video integration. In addition, our skilled soft goods team is on hand to create fabric sculptures, custom backdrops and stage skirts to the designer’s spec.
Before leaving the shop, all show elements are brought together in a tech rehearsal to ensure an efficient and safe load in. You can read all about how we built and tech’d this very large Wrestlemania sign here.
Finally, our Logistics team schedules and manages the trucking and delivery of our elements to the show, where they’re met by our Road Team and Project Managers to install the project, and to remove it when the show’s over.
Stay tuned for the next phase of the Anatomy of an Event: Rental!