- People and equipment from the east and west coast offices of WorldStage collaborated to provide a full complement of video, audio and lighting services for A Celebration of Science in Washington, D.C., a new initiative spearheaded by FasterCures and the Milken Institute.
More than 1,000 leaders in medical research, bioscience, patient advocacy, industry, philanthropy and public policy actively participated in the event, which reaffirmed the importance of bioscience.
“A Celebration of Science was one of the most complex projects, in terms of scope and location, that we’ve ever attempted,” said Richard Bevan, account manager for the event and vice president of production services, at WorldStage. “The venues stretched across Washington, but we were confident that we could service every location to our usual high standards. Everything went very well thanks to an outstanding on-site team.”
Larry Lesser, senior vice president of creative services at the Milken Family Foundation, believes that “the Celebration of Science events would never have been successful without the group of professionals from WorldStage, especially when you consider that we put the entire three-day event together in less than 60 days. There were seven locations each with full production capabilities, including audio recording and reinforcement, projection, and HD multi-camera switched video recording.”
WorldStage fielded more than 180 people for A Celebration of Science. These dedicated professionals supplied custom solutions to 11 installations at seven venues in the nation’s capital.
Additionally, WorldStage met the special needs of several especially high-profile events. The gala at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater featured performances by Babyface, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Manchester and five bands and orchestras, including one led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, Francis S. Collins. WorldStage provided a 29x50-foot rear projection screen that acted as a backdrop and a 11 x 20 front projection screen to display the show’s main content, which was fed by a DATATON Watchout system, Playback Pro and graphics computers. The company also supplied 78 tiles of Barco C5 LEDs and seven HD cameras, including two robotic camera systems and a jib.
“The event at Kennedy Center alone would have been a major undertaking in anyone’s book: HD cameras, two screens, three top-line musical acts and more,” added Larry Lesser.
WorldStage also delivered three screens for an event at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s Kogod Courtyard where Stevie Nicks and Melissa Manchester performed. And the company sent video and audio feeds from the NIH venue to three off-site laboratories so attendee’s could see live demos and speakers. A total of 28 HD Production Cameras were used at the locations across the city.
“WorldStage really came through on all of this for us,” Lesser said. “That they are bicoastal was a big advantage for us considering the complexity of the show and the sheer number of people and equipment necessary to make it happen. We would never attempt to produce a show—big or small—without them.”
FasterCures and The Milken Institute called on the services of Vision Matrix to produce the events. Josh Lesser, president of Vision Matrix lead the charge with his team of Producers and Production Coordinators. Larry Lesser was the executive producer of the event.
