Chauvet lights SNHU Arena for Connection
- Details
On Wednesday 5 February, the spacious arena assumed a somewhat different appearance. Instead of swelling with crowds of 10,000 or more as it does for political rallies and concerts, it welcomed a more intimate gathering for a sales event for IT services provider Connection. Once inside the arena, the conference’s thousand or so guests were immersed in a welcoming environment that featured an Events United lighting, video, audio, and scenic design anchored by over 70 fixtures and 56 LED panels from Chauvet Professional.
“We worked with the venue staff to transform the SNHU Arena into a blank canvas by draping off 90% the side seating,” said Tim Messina, Events United owner. “This gave us the ability to work with a 90ft vertical trim height, but still have people feel that they were in a smaller space.
“Our goal was to make this event all-encompassing for the guests in attendance, as well as for those watching the live stream that was sent to Connection’s remote sites. Our team did this through the use of lighting, video, and scenic elements, from the lit banners on the sides that transitioned to the video wall on the stage, to the overhead moving fixtures and aerial effects.”
Key to creating this transformative environment were the F2 Video panels in the event rig, which displayed custom content created by Connection’s creative team. Suspended from an automated rigging system, supplied by United Staging and Rigging, the video wall changed positions during the Sales Kick Off to coordinate with the flow of events on stage.
“Our F2 panels matched well with our 40,000-lumen laser projector, in terms of both colour and resolution,” said Messina. “Video content was also spread across the 24-foot projection screen on to the video wall to make a seamless presentation. We had to track the video wall as it changed positions, so the content moved in physical space as well.”
Complementing the dynamic video display was a flexible lighting rig that featured 24 Maverick MK2 Spot, eight Maverick MK2 Washand 12 Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures, as well as 12 Nexus 4x4 Panels to light the audience, and 16 COLORado Solo Battens for the banners. Doing double duty, the event’s lighting delivered bold, colourful looks that underscored peak moments and worked in tandem with the video content, while also providing reliable stage illumination that translated well on video.
(Jim Evans)
