@ NIDA
Wired for Wonder was a two-day experience designed to open doors of understanding in the areas of business, technology, life, awe, science and the arts. The event was the brainchild of CBA’s CIO – Michael Harte:
“There is no doubt in my mind that there are links between creativity, success and happiness. And we understand that real innovation often occurs at the nexus of science and art — where practice and process meets inspiration. While there will always be hard work, rigour and application required – it is in inspiration; it is in the ability to look at an old problem differently, to see things in a different way – where real leaps forward can be made. That’s why we have created Wired for Wonder. We have an amazing range of speakers with an immensely broad range of experiences all designed to challenge your thinking. To meld and mesh disparate worlds of art, science, design thinking and creativity together. Through Wired for Wonder, we want to inspire you to work better, live better, be better!”
The two-day, 700pax event was held at NIDA and was jam packed with over 40 of the world’s most amazing speakers including: Dr Brene Brown, Shawn Achor, Dandapani, Ping Fu, Jaron Lanier, and some local talents including Andrew Upton and John Kaldor. The talks covered many facets of business, technology, science, and the arts with an underlying focus on how they link with creativity and success and how this can be used to help make your life and the world a better place. With an event brief such as this, it was imperative that the delivery of the conference would be as awe-inspiring as the talks themselves. Innovative’s director, Brendan Sadgrove, worked closely with the wonder-full creative director, Toni Powell, to create a dynamic and inspiring stage design that could be ‘customised’ for each speaker. Brendan says,
“I designed multiple options with 3D renders to allow Toni and the organising committee to visualise what the room would look like. What we ended up with was nothing short of incredible. The main focus was around the 18m wide x 10m high rear project backdrop which we projected custom visuals for each specific presenters talk”.
It was a fantastic way to engage the audience and reinforce the tone and message of the presenter.
AND NOW, FOR A BRIEF TECHNICAL INTERLUDE…
Utilising the real-time video manipulation technology of our Coolux Pandoras Box show-control-system, our resident video guru – Ben Shannon – programmed an incredible show that enabled the presentations to run flawlessly and seamlessly. The digital canvas allowed any combination of content to be displayed on the screen in any size or position. This included the fantastic backdrop graphics, camera IMAG, presentations, logos, lower thirds, and information like twitter feeds. Many typical problems with a static conference set-up were overcome with this engaging backdrop design. We flew the presentation screen in and out depending on if the speaker required visual aids for their talk. This added to the theatrics of the event and looked great as each individual walked on stage. It also allowed the backdrop visuals and IMAG to take full effect if the speaker didn’t have visual aids. Every detail of the conference was considered which added to the overwhelming success of the event. The screen backdrop used two of our new Barco HDX 18k full HD projectors – which create an intensely bright and dynamic image – and the flyable screen used two of our Barco W8 projectors (also running full HD). Just about every technical aspect of this design had a back-up including all the projectors, show laptops (mac and PC), video playback machines, vision switching, microphones, and cabling. This ensured that if something failed for whatever reason, the show would go on without a hitch. Innovative designed, supplied, and operated all aspects of the technical production which ensured that it all worked together seamlessly.
An enormous thank you goes out to the fantastic operators that executed the show perfectly. All the best gear in the world is pointless unless you have the experience and knowledge of talented and professional people like these: Operators Technical Director :Brendan Sadgrove Audio Engineer : Nathan Jones Coolux/Visuals Operator : Ben Shannon Lighting Operator : Greg Kershaw Content and Show Caller : Phil Davis Vision/Camera Director : Rodney Apps Speaker Prep : Henry Zaranko Camera Operator 1 : Daniel Shaw Camera Operator 2 : Phillip Wilson CAD Drafting and Logistics : Hayden Schraishuhn.
A huge heart-felt thank you also goes out to the event producer, Vanessa Beggs and her team, project manager, Mandi Ford and her team, and stage manager, Joy Pierera. All involved certainly accomplished an amazing feat to get this event off the ground and execute it so successfully.
