AXA Insurance Awards

With prize giving for their best achieving salesperson to their tongue in cheek take on the X-Factor, aptly named The AXA Factor, the AXA Awards was a fun and light hearted review of the year – a chance for the team at AXA to let their hair down and enjoy themselves for the evening.

However, this approach was certainly not taken from our perspective. Providing the full production, from set to sound it was imperative every detail was taken care of for such an esteemed client.

Production:av was pleased to continue our great relationship with marketing communications agency Dair* to achieve this event.

Our high definition projection provided an excellent backdrop for the presentations and our d&b Audiotechnik system with digital control was employed ensuring the audio was discreet, tidy and to the highest standard. The set design was carried out in house. White PVC was chosen in order for pixel lines and moving heads to be used to colour the set, which gave fantastic results.

The Live Events co-ordinator at Dair* commented:

Both the AXA events team and the key event stakeholders mentioned what a great team we had on site, polite, helpful, professional, ready to help being just a few of the words used.

The event was a success from start to finish with everybody being exceptionally pleased with all aspects of the show. We look forward to operating on future events with this client.

Production:av Together again at Butlins

For the second year running Production:av have provided high quality AV services to the Newfrontiers group of churches. The London and Home Counties church groups met again at the Butlins Holiday Park in Bognor Regis over the weekend of 22nd to 24th of January.

Production:av provided experienced crew and technicians to deliver a switching system for the main venue bringing the Camera images, songwords and powerpoint together and feeding them to the house installed screens, and also to other venues across the site.

There were also several youth venues which required additional equipment over the installed house systems that Butlins provided. Production:av provided Video Systems comprising of Seamless Switchers for Kramer, Extron and Barco, sending signals to projection equipment from Christie and Plasma screens from Panasonic and NEC, as well as sound equipment from D&B Audiotechnik and Allen and Heath.

Production:av also provided a site wide radio system to enable the Executive Management Team and youth teams to communicate effectively.

The event was a success, with the technical systems performing as required delivering clean signals across the site. Our thanks go to the Organising team for involving Production:av for the second year of the event, and look forward to being involved next year.

Production:av provide widescreen for Amsterdam 400 Event

2009 sees the 400th anniversary of the Baptist Church, having start from a group of people who fled England and settled in Amsterdam. With this in mind the European Baptist Federation held a celebration in Amsterdam to mark the 400th Anniversary.

Held at the Theatre in heart of the Rai Complex on the edge of Amsterdam, Production;av supplied a camera, switching and projection package to the event, working through the production management company Affinity Events.

The solution was based around a 10′x25′ truss framed rear projection screen flown at the rear of the stage, and filed with a pair of full HD Barco CLM HD8 projectors giving a 16,000 lumen image on the screen. The signal was fed to the projectors as a DVI signal over a Fibre Optic system to ensure that the signal being projected suffered no loss on the journey from the control position at FOH to the projection position at the rear of stage.

Switching was undertaken at Full HD level (1920×1080 pixels) by the Barco Screen Pro II switcher and Screen Pro II controller. The SPII was feed by a range of sources such as Laptops for on-site video edits, Powerpoint, and camera images. Cameras provided a full HD image to the Panasonic AV-HS400 vision mixer, enabling  full HD work flow through out, from lens to lens with no scaling in between.

The event ran for three days with no hitches, and was a success. The client was very happy with the solution provided commenting that it was the best video system and screen look that they have had to date. This was due to both the high quality of equipment we supplied, and the experienced and competent team operating it. Our thanks also go to Tim Perrett for providing fantastic lighting for the event and Mark Heaps and Ben Warlow from Affinity Events for getting us involved in the job.

Keswick Convention 2009

2009 saw the Keswick Convention, running since 1875, held at the heart of the lake district within the convention centre in Keswick Cumbria. Working directly for the convention, Production:av was tasked with lifting the standards of the main screens and switching systems that are utilised for the three duration of the event.

Previous the convention has employed a system that has grown with the convention as AV technology has emerged. This had served it’s purpose well, but it was felt that to keep with the expectations of a modern conference go-ers, improvements could be made.

The key aim was to ensure that the main screens flanking the side of the stage could be seen in all light conditions. The convention utilise their own large marquee that is erected on site every year. Being manufactured from a white material, it lets high levels of ambient light into the venue during the day time sessions.

To combat this Production:av approached the problem from two angles – the projection, secondly the signal aspects.

Firstly high brightness 10,000 lumen projectors were supplied in the form of Barco CLM R10+ projectors, flown from the lighting truss firing onto 8′x6′ front projection screens.

Secondliy a digital signal path was employed from many of the sources through the supplied Barco Screen Pro II switcher and fed via fibre onto the projectors as a DVI signal. This meant that there were no losses within the signal path, and a minimum of processing. A mix of the cameras was provided by Cutting Edge Uk as an SD SDI feed, which was then keyed over with song words from a PC, at the native DVI Resolution. Production:av also supplied a technician to provide support and operation during the event as well as crew to rig and de-rig.

The event was a success, with the only complaints being that the screens were too bright!

Morgan Centenary Gala Dinner

2009 sees the 100th Anniversary of the Morgan Motor company, based in Malvern Link. Having produced classic motorcars for the past 100 years, it was felt that an event should be held to mark the occasion. Over the weekend of the 31st of july to 2nd of August, a series of events were held at Cheltenham racecourse to mark the Centenary.

Production:av was appointed as live video supplier for the Morgan Centenary Gala Dinner at the Centaur, part of the Cheltenham Racecourse complex.  Working on behalf of show producer, Richard Tierney, Production:av specified a full high-definition projection system to showcase video content and live camera feeds.  We installed two 16′x9′ projections screens in a V-formation above the stage to ensure adequate sightlines for the audience.  This was a key requirement, with the main show opener using video content coupled with a Morgan sportscar driving on to the stage amidst flashes of pyrotechnics.

Using our recent investment in additional Barco CLM-HD8 projectors, a pair of projectors for each screen provided HD images showcasing full HD camera work and video content with a bright and vivid 16,000 lumens per screen. Live cameras were directed by Production:av, switched via a Panasonic AV-HS400 mixer and fed to the Barco Screen Pro II switcher where VT playins and on site edits from Final Cut Edit Machines were also switched, before going to the screens as DVI signals over Fibre Optic.

The client was blown away with the results of using an HD video system helping to make this a memorable event for all involved and with an interest in Morgan Sportscars (1909-2009).

Production:av were pleased to work on behalf of Event and Management Services on this event.

Do call us to discuss using high-definition video presentations for your next event – 0845 3700024.

Production:av provide complete solution for Axa Winterthur.

Production:av are proud to provide a full av solution for Axa Winterthur’s recent Manchester conference, and further upcoming events.

The solution centred on a full HD centre screen with 8500 lumens for full impact, driven by Barco switching and a DVI over fibre system to ensure that the quality of the signal from source to screen. This was support by an EAW speaker system and Shure radio microphones to ensure that the audio was crisp, clean and consistent through out the conference.

Lighting took advantage of a mix of generic lanterns and Moving heads to give various looks through out the day and in to the evening awards ceremony.

Production:av also designed and provided the simple widescreen set to the clients requirements. This set has been designed to enable use at multiple venues through out the UK as required.

However equipment on it’s own doesn’t make an event. Production:av supplied experienced and knowledgeable crew to supplement our in house staff on the event to ensure it’s success. Working from start to finish through a single point of contact with our Project Manager ensured that the client had nothing to worry about and a quick response to any issues that might have arisen. Production:av were proud to be working for Dair*, and look forward to working together on further events in the future.

LED for Creative Capital

Production:av are proud to have been involved with the University of Wales’ Creative Capital Event held at the East Winter Gardens in Canary Wharf London. The event brought together a diverse mix of people from across the UK and Europe to showcase the talent and creativity that the University has within it’s Newport campus. The centre peice of the event were three LED screens – one at the rear of the stage 2.5m high by 14m wide and then a screen on either side of stage at 2.5m by 5m.

Production:av were brought in by Tarren Production to manage and provide the interface between the various content providers and the display in the form of an ultra wide LED screen at the rear of the stage and a smaller screen on each side of the stage.

Content was provided from the University and external sources, as well as a Catalyst Media Server System supplied by Production:av for the three day event. The sources were fed into a Barco Screen Pro II system to enable the multiple layers and looks that the event required to be programmed quickly and recalled on the fly as the show evolved. Cameras were operated by students from the University, which were fed into the vision mixer, whilst feeds from the stage for Powerpoint and computer sources were also ingested and processed as required.

The Screen Pro II control system fed the screens with a DVI signal via a Fibre Optic to enable the control to be positioned at the front of house position. It also meant that a one to one pixel map was possible on the Hibino 6mm LED screens- several ‘Sandpit’ sessions required high resolution text which looked absolutely fantastic, whilst a series of fashion shows pushed the creative abilities of the system.

Production:av Ltd would like to thank Tarren Production and Pugh Associates for involving us in the event.

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2009

A day at the races – Production:av have been providing the video control at the Cheltenham Festival which includes the world-renowned Gold Cup chase.  We were asked to provide our services within the Centaur auditorium building at Prestbury Park. Mixing feeds from the outside broadcast vehicles, alongside internal venue television feeds, punters were able to watch the racing and current betting using our feed to the in-house projection system.

Production:av is pleased to continue its association with Cheltenham Racecourse and is looking forward to the upcoming race events during 2009.

Production:av @ Revolution 24

We were pleased to be appointed to provide AV support for the final event of the Revolution track cycling series held at the Manchester Velodrome in February.  The final Revolution event was a high profile event for the velodrome, with some popular names from the Beijing 2008 Olympics riding including Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy.  Working on behalf of Dair Ltd, Production:av provided relay plasma screens within the track centre corporate hospitality area,  mixing a live camera feed with presentations highlighting sponsors and supporters of the event.  The event was a great success with a 3500 capacity crowd in attendance and we look forward to working on some future projects during 2009.

Our thanks to the retiring Manchester Velodrome Event Director, Gordon Harling for his advice and support on the installation for this event.

Production:av = Change

I=Change is an ongoing project to see people lives changed. Production:av were part of that on Saturday the 7th of February, providing video support for the i=Change Live event, featuring live music from Jake Isaac and band supported by other artists such as Muyiwa, Guvna B, Michaela ‘BIRTHOFAPOET’, Ryan Carty and Roger Samuel.

The event was a Live Recording, with the evenings proceedings being recorded for a live a album and DVD. Production:av were asked to provide the video recording and live screen IMag (Image Magnification) to the event held in the Salvation Army’s Regents Hall off Oxford street in central London.

Production:av provided 4 High Def camera (two fixed, one moving to cover the stage as well as High Def ‘pole cam’ for aerial shots) production to cover the event for the DVD recording and IMag, with the images beeing mixed, before being fed into the Barco ScreenPROII HD/SDI to enable clean and seamless switching between Keynote Slides from an Apple iMac, cameras and when required the song words Luma Keyed over the camera images. The images were then fed to the Barco CLM HD8 via a DVI over fibre optic system, projecting from the rear of the room enabled by our extensive lens range. Production:av provided a crew of camera men, assistants, vision mixer, and graphics operator, all highly experienced meant that the images fed to the screens looked gorgeous from start to finish.

The event ran smoothly despite the challenges of working in a central London (yeap- the traffic wardens struck despite the parking having been covered by the production manager). We look forward to seeing the results of the evenings work. Keep an eye out for the I=Change tour coming later this year, and we’ll try and get a link to the edited footage when we can.

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