Winter sun with SPAR

SPAR wanted to give their guests an incredible experience at this event in Tenerife. There was also some important business and strategic content that needed to be shared.With that in mind they came to SXS to get a complete suite of international production services.

Weeks before this incredible event SXS sent a huge lorry from their Bristol base, through Europe, on a ferry and on to Tenerife. "We decided to send all our own resources to Tenerife as that way we could 100% certain of the suitability and reliability of the equipment.  As we own it all, this also allowed us to give the client more for their budget. As we have experience of Carnet ATAs the logistics went without a hitch" says Production Manager Alex Thompson.

On the first night of the activity the guests were amazed by an epic Son Et Lumiere produced by the SXS team in the hotel’s swimming pool. This included a powerful sound system, huge light show and custom video content. The highlight was SXS’ own Hudor water screen. "We first developed this incredible spectacle in 2010 for a private client who wanted something truly unique" says Hudor invertor Johnny Palmer "since then we have had the opportunity to deliver Hudor to many clients and constantly refine it to get to what it is today. I love seeing Hudor in action as people’s jaws literally drop in amazement at the ethereal hologram-style effect it creates. Setting it up is also a great excuse to jump into the pool at venues like the Gran Melia!"

The SXS studio provided a complete content solution for the event. This included graphic design, motion graphics, filmography, photography, soundscapes and drone videography. This content was used to create brand and visual consistency across all presentations and shows. Highlights videos and professional photos were also provided daily to ensure that guests had the best possible visual keepsake of the event. SXS Creative Director Dave Gray says it was vital to be multi-platform in content creation whilst maintaining brand continuity. My team and I developed the core elements at the SXS studio which were then adjusted to any last minute changes onsite

Presenter support was also provided with the installation of an on-site content editing studio from SXS.

The main conference had to be a total revolution for the guests. As a forward thinking and inspirational company SPAR was keen to get away from the traditional stage/set/screen/PowerPoint-style conference that is common in the corporate events field. With this in mind the SXS team delivered the unique HOLOX system. This is a holographic effect and content workflow that has been refined over many years by the SXS team to be perfectly suited for corporate events. Content appears to float in mid air, move in a 3d style and interact with the presenters. This was introduced into parts of the show using tried and tested theatre rigging methods – also delivered and install by the SXS team.

When HOLOX came to life the tone in the room shifted to one of attention, excitement, engagement and amazement.

To further support the HOLOX experience the SXS team also wanted to create an immersive video environment. One element to this was giant projection mapped video screens wrapping the audience in a room of hologram and video content. This is a popular method from SXS proprietary Immersitech suite of Immersive Presentation Technologies as it ensures that content and branding is in the audience’s complete field of view. Learn more here >>

If all this wasn’t enough, SXS also wanted to give traditional presentations the best AV support possible.  For this a high-resolution LED video wall was provided. This technology is vastly superior to projection for presentation purposes as presenters can walk in front of the screen without having a projector shining in their eyes.  Also, LED walls are so bright that they are effective in broad daylight which means guests can take notes and be comfortable in the presentation environment. LED screens also allow for a level of contrast (difference between black and white elements) that projection can only offer in venues which are completely blacked out.

With all those amazing concepts it was still vital for SXS to provide a foundation of top-quality AV and production. With this in mind SXS deployed top-end production equipment including Barco projection, Lumio LED video wall, Litec rigging, Prolyte staging, Martin Audio sound systems, Yamaha sound desks, DPA microphones, Apple playback, BMD switch gear, Avolites lighting control and lighting from ETC, Chauvet and Selecon – all from SXS in-house stocks from their UK base.

To top off the week the final day ended with a gala dinner. Using the same core production the SXS did an overnight venue transformation to make the space look completely fresh and unique – all whilst delivering high level production within budget. The conference stage was transformed into a concert stage. The sound system was augmented with more powerful speakers and the lighting system was tripled in size with the latest concert lighting fixtures.  The overall impact was that of a high-end rock concert – all in a space that only hours before was an immersive conference environment.

Legendary function band The Tzars were the highlight of the gala dinner and played a back-to-back set of high-energy, pumping rock tunes. The dancefloor was packed all night with a crowd who were hopping for more.

Throughout the whole week the event ran to schedule, guests had a great time, all content messages were delivered concisely and accurately and there was a fantastic atmosphere between guests, client, venue and suppliers.   

The SXS team are very keen to support more clients like SPAR to revolutionise their corporate events. Please get in touch with the SXS team and you will appointed a Project Director to work with you to make your events program the best it has ever been.