SSP

27th – 29th November 2007

Princess Sofia, Barcelona

reason / objective

SSP required an inspiring 2 day European conference event for their international management community which would reveal findings of a massive, year long project. Specific requirements were to engage, educate and excite the delegates, culminating in a clear common path for all delegates.
The event would take place in the Princess Sofia Hotel in Barcelona and SSP were looking for a production partner to assist with the design and building of content, the set design & two celebratory evening events.

concept / solution

Two separate conference sets were required, the first to be used on day one of the conference for a short 2 hour introductory piece reviewing the previous year. SSP wanted this to be a very simple set – the intention being to enable the delegates to juxtaposition this against the set from the second day which would unveil the findings from the year long project, including ground breaking facts for their industry.

The first set was constructed from white millar wall flats with SSP logos flanking a 4m x 2m projection screen. To ensure clear content, repeater plasmas were placed through the room.

The second set was intended to reflect the importance of the messaging and provide a substantial platform for its delivery. SSP requested that an iPod style finish was included in the design of this set.
In order to achieve this iPod look, Smyle created a fully encompassing environment, constructed through the installation of 6m high white canvas screens which surrounded the audience into a circular space. This enveloped the audience and gave the capability to immerse the delegates in the content – which was projected in HD across 5 screens.

The remaining white canvas was then beautifully washed by LED baton lights giving the capability for the whole room to change colour into a different state, ensuring focus on the content when required and studio style transitions between speakers. Strict time schedules dictated that all the above was to be installed and constructed in 14 hour window allowing for a 6 hour rehearsal. 

Smyle’s media team of 5 was dedicated to the design and collation of all of the conference content. This ensured that the pre-production of all presentations could be converted from powerpoint into the conference template built in the Apple based system Keynote. This ensured slick graphics with smooth transitions and builds with stylish icons reflecting the ‘iPod’ style. Once on site, the media team managed all of the changes in dialogue content, presentations & rehearsals and worked alongside Smyle’s film and live teams to produce the final Conference show.

In addition to the two day conference, two celebratory evening events were set-up simultaneously. This gave a challenging logistical movement of kit and crew to ensure that the conference and parties were produced successfully.  The first evening event was held at the Cordoniu Cava Cellars which combined a presentation set, including lighting & sound, with a 3 course dinner for 200 guests. The second evening event was a gala dinner held in the penthouse facility of the Princess Sofia. The room required some soft draping to achieve the right appearance and the installation of a contemporary bar. A stage set was built which was utilised for an informal awards show which included lighting and sound for an unplugged set & DJ performance.