September Issue - PLSN.com

By BryanReesman
Photos By AlicynLeigh
Michael Rhoads
Soren West
Putting the best light on
Turner’s Fall Season
Tricia Fackler
Lenny Kravitz
Two-thousand attendees. Dozens of
high-powered executives. A cavalcade
of actors and one rock star, Lenny
Kravitz, topping off the night. Putting on the
annual Turner Upfront event, where TBS and
TNT sell their upcoming season and programs
to advertisers of Turner Broadcasting,
is no small feat. This year set designers
Atomic Design not only transformed the
Theatre at Madison Square Garden into a
flashy corporate showcase, they also reinvented
the lobby as a glitzy faux nightclub
for the after-party.
While Atomic is known for their touring
designs—they recently worked with Martina
McBride and Julio Iglesias, among others—
they have also taken on corporate events as
well as television specials (Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall
of Fame), award shows (Japanese VMAs), and
special events (Thalia Fashion Show). They
have even spun off a rental business with
products that they have built for shows. For
years now they have worked with Turner on
their annual advertiser showcase, and the
2006 spectacle featured a stage loaded with
LED grids and a giant video screen.
The teams behind Turner Upfront know
each other well as they collaborate annually
on the event. The main parties include Atomic
Design (producer and stage designer) and
David Stark Design and Production (party
production and decor), along with a team of
vendors including Scharff Weisberg (video),
Firehouse Productions (audio) and Production
Solutions, Inc. (lighting vendor).
Executive producer Soren West observes
that the pressure for this event comes not
during planning, but during the execution of
the event itself, from the parade of talent and
their handlers to the complex series of cues
and stage changes. But he also remarks that
egos are not a problem and that everyone
involved is there to have a good time. Associate
producer Tricia Fackler adds that logistics
are key to this event, from the PR requirements
to getting
people onto the
stage.
“Corporate budgets
are a little different,” observes
West. “They’re beefier in
some areas and tighter in other areas.
Generally they’re willing to spend
money to get their message across. They
have a much more concise objective than,
say, a rock concert, where the objective is to
make money every night. The objective here
is to communicate a brand, and if they can
effectively communicate brand by spending
a little extra, they will do that. From that
point of view, these guys are great to work
with. They’re not afraid to do it right. They
have a great eye for detail, and they love the
collaborative process.”
Branding was a key factor in the 2006
Turner event. This year David Stark designed
a logo that merged the circle logo of TBS
and the half-moon of TNT. The new logo appeared
in the walls of the lounge space as
well as on the LED grids and the two large
light boxes flanking the stage.
Atomic Design founder and primary
designer Tom McPhillips started work on
the show, and handed it off to associate
designer Michael Rhoads to finish. Rhoads
observes that working on a corporate event
can be tougher than television. “The finish
has to be much more perfect, especially if it’s
a high-end client,” he states. “They can see
it up close and personal. They can touch it,
they can look at the finish, they can see if you
sewed it well. On TV, you’re removed 20 feet
from the camera, and then you’re watching it
on a small screen. A lot of details will get lost.
Although we can’t really say that too much
anymore, because with high-definition TV
coming in, every little flaw will show up.”
The most striking aspect of the lounge
was a backlit Plexiglas® wall sporting a
continuous pattern of Stark’s hybrid Turner
logo. It was a polycarbonate wall made up
of two layers: a solid frosted pane in front of
another layer printed in white with the logo
pattern, giving it a soft focus look, especially
when backlit with Color Kinetics Color Blasts
and Color Blazes from the floor. Additionally,
Stark requested 130,000 beads for the columns
in the room. Aside from the wall, columns,
moving lights and catering, the two
side hallways leading to the venue had long
tables for group dining.
Naturally the main event, the corporate
presentation and the rock concert afterward,
took place in the Theatre proper.
Atomic created a stage with a large center
screen flanked by grids of LEDs and two side
screens. The idea was to create a dynamic
environment for speakers, but also allow for
the show’s main host, CNN anchor Anderson
Cooper, to bring stars of all the shows
to stage right and interview them in front of
the audience.
26 PLSN SEPTEMBER 2006
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