M&C Saatchi – Future Classic Party – The Great Hall Sydney University
M&C Saatchi Future Classic Party
The Great Hall Sydney University
We were thrilled to be asked back to contribute to the legendary advertising industry’s party of the year! With a big international contingent present from a recent conference from all the M&C Saatchi offices around the world, the pressure was on to see if the Australian event could provide the best party to date.
The amazing and historic Great Hall at Sydney University was chosen for stunning architecture and sheer scale (over 1000+ attendees were expected). The event was to be split into two sections. To start the evening, the courtyard would be the first accessible area. The stunning views of the open-air lawn were to be lit up with festoon lighting to create a warm mood on the sandstone walls. With roaming performers in theme costume, roaming canapés and cocktails were on offer along with a tasty DJ set by Mr Dynamite. At the critical moment, the Great Hall was revealed where the main dance party commenced. This was initiated by the organist playing ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen.
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The main hall build required much thought and design to accommodate all event requirements. Power loads were evaluated and external generators were needed and power runs established. The 1.5 meter high stage was custom built to suit entertainment briefs along with a safety rails due to the height factor. The acoustics of the room was super critical to get right due to the 20 meter-high ceilings and vast size of the room that basically acts like a reverb chamber. We did some acoustic analysis and decided the best plan of attack was to have one main line array PA with all the subs right on the stage, the rest of the room would contain 6 surround boxes arranged in pairs along side walls, all with digital delays depending how far away they were from the stage (recall from your science class that sound travels 330 m/s). The end result was a clear and even distribution of sound in the whole hall, a terrific result and it really made the party take off.
In the centre of the room we built a custom truss structure, 6 meters long by 3 meters wide and 3 meters high! This was needed to mount a fluro tube array and the moving Martin programmed lights for the dance floor. This truss design activated the dance floor and gave the room a main feature. All vision and lighting desks were hidden from sight within the structure. Throughout the room 36 Battery LED wireless DMX lights were programmed to really transform the venue into a club for the occasion, programmed by a dedicated technician. Four Panasonic 15k Projectors were mounted that were used to 3D map the massive organ and bring it to life in true Vivid style. We also projected a galaxy of stars on the ceiling. The portrait painting’s of the Deans were brought to life with cheeky artistic animations.
The audio and visual technical production really allowed the nights performers to take the party to a big crescendo. From DJ sets with vocalist Muma Meg, Sax player Mark Matthews and electronic duo Binary, Future Classic was big hit!
A ‘Project X’ Special Event
Audio Visual Production and Cube Truss Design: Quality Control Entertainment
Visual Mapping: Joe Crossley
Photos: Gazzarazzi
Project X had 15 events this week for the Worldwide board meeting culminating in the gala event at Sydney University for 650 people. Having such a workload and with so many elements needing to come together – having the best team of professions that I trust was imperative. QCE never let me down and always deliver. I strongly suggest booking them!
