19 June, 2017

Staging Connections powers inspiring NZ event

Staging Connections powered an inspiring day at Barfoot & Thompson’s Annual Convention, with 2,400 staff attending the world class event themed Opportunity Knocks on 12 May 2017, at the Vodafone Event Centre, Manukau in New Zealand.

Achieving great success in the delivery of technical production for Barfoot & Thompson’s Annual Convention every year since 2012, Staging Connections was entrusted to deliver audio-visual requirements for the 2017 event – the biggest to date and held in a new venue this year for Barfoot & Thompson.

The event was a vibrant, colourful, energetic celebration from start to finish. The theme was designed to inspire the team to look for, and take advantage of, the opportunities that come their way.

Wendy Alexander, CEO of Barfoot & Thompson kicked off proceedings, entering through the stage door to perform a rendition of Adele’s “Hello” to tumultuous applause.

Inspiring speakers rounded out the theme, with one of the motivational speakers being Cam Calkoen, who shared his story of living with cerebral palsy, and how he has overcome his challenges.

The day included an awards ceremony to celebrate the company’s high achievers and culminated in an opportunity for colleagues to mix and mingle over drinks and a live band.

Central to the proceedings was the main stage where an impressive 12 m x 4.2 m LED screen was hung via a truss, above four ground stacked 1.2 m x 2.4 m LED panels on each side of the stage that at times projected doors to cleverly incorporate the ‘Opportunity Knocks’ event theme.

One of the ground stacked LED panels was an actual door that opened, enabling each guest speaker to appear on stage in dramatic fashion. This made an enormous impact on the audience, who were entertained by the theatrics.

A state-of-the-art audio system was installed on-site to deliver crisp, whole-hearted audio and the important desired impact of the opening video audio.

Clever theatrical lighting using beams, 700’s for stage lighting effects and wash lighting tied the entire space together.

Anil Anna, IT Manager of Barfoot & Thompson, was highly impressed with the Staging Connections teams’ commitment, professionalism and know-how. He expressed admiration of their ability to problem solve and develop ideas on the fly.

“Staging Connections have been the ultimate professionals, ensuring the delivery of a wonderful conference this year. Nothing was too hard for the team and we greatly admire the entire crew’s dedication and ability to deliver,” said Anna.

Creative agency, Bunker, produced the opening video and graphics. Luke Sharpe, Director at Bunker commended Staging Connections’ work on the event.

“Collaborating with the Staging Connections team ensured the rations and dimensions of the content we developed was correct for the LED screens and therefore we could produce a seamless display of all visual elements.

“Our content looked fantastic on the immersive LED screen set up, and we have received numerous compliments on the event from the client, our staff, and event attendees,” said Sharpe.

Staging Connections delivered all audio-visual requirements for the 2017 Barfoot & Thompson Annual Convention, including lighting, audio, and vision for the main arena, as well as two breakout sessions and after-5pm drinks and entertainment.

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