Solve Set-Design and Logistical Challenges
The Event: AFP’s 2011 International Conference on Fundraising in Chicago
Background: In late 2010, Leading Authorities presented an epic idea for the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 48th International Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
“We proposed the theme ‘Fundraisers are Storytellers,” says Kim Adomanis-Chomicz, Leading Authorities’ vice president of production and the on-site executive producer for the event. “Based on this idea, we created a storybook stage set concept, which we initially intended to build in 3-D.”
Keynote speakers for the conference’s three general sessions included: Former United States President Bill Clinton, musician and actress Queen Latifah, and entrepreneur and philanthropist Blake Mycoskie, founder of Tom’s Shoes and the related nonprofit Friends of Tom’s.
The Challenge: Just a few months before the event was to begin, however, it was clear that the physical spaces in which the conference’s 120 breakout sessions, three general sessions, and awards program were to be held presented major logistical challenges for executing the storybook set concept. The set had to be installed, utilized, struck, moved, and set up a second time in two radically different spaces between day two and day three of the conference.
For the first two days, the set was located on an impromptu stage in a convention hall with 35-foot-high ceilings, which had been separated from exhibit spaces. This created the make-shift room for two of the three general sessions. For the final day of the conference, the set was moved to a formal theater.
Additionally, the fact that President Clinton was one of the speakers meant that everything had to be set up in advance to allow time for the secret service to walk through and inspect the space. “We realized we needed a set that we could easily strike, move, and reinstall in a short period of time,” Adomanis-Chomicz said.
The Solution: In order to solve these problems, Leading Authorities opted to use an illuminated, two-dimensional backdrop instead of the original, physical set. Creative and careful lighting forced the perspective, so it still appeared three-dimensional. Using a backdrop also proved to be more cost effective for AFP than constructing the book as a hard set piece.
“We cut the doorway out of the center of the book, blew that section’s graphics up, and then set that piece four feet behind where the opening had been made,” Adomanis-Chomicz explains. The speakers stepped into the opening when the lights were down. When the lights came back up, they appeared to have walked right out of the book and on to the stage.
If you would like more information about Leading Authorities’ production capabilities or how to select your talent strategically, call 1-800- SPEAKER or fill out our online information request form.
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