A backdrop used to be just that – a painted curtain that was ‘dropped’ at the back of a stage; it literally ‘set the scene’ in a show. In 2019, the concept is still the same, but backdrops can be printed, rigged, flown, or projected, and can be made of canvas, LED screens, moving objects, holograms or be totally virtual. Whatever your event, there’s a perfect backdrop that will enhance the theme and message you’re trying to convey, whatever your budget. Here’s Encore Event Technologies’ run-down of the tricks in our stage design toolkit…
LED Screens Screens made from LED panels are super-bright and because our range is modular you can scale the screen to perfectly fit your needs or used as separate geometric shaped formation. Whether you’re after standalone backdrop, one that splits to welcome presenters or performers on stage, a continuous floor to wall 3D effect, or a backdrop that wraps around the entire length of the room without losing any clarity – LED screens are your answer. The screens can be used to run presentations, static images, video, or beautifully created animation. If you want dynamic, flexible, and eye-catching solution, LED screens are idea for any type of event. Scenic Panels Scenic Panels are two or three-dimensional modular tiles that lock together to form beautiful backdrops, build structures, act as room dividers, feature areas, or create textural elements for product displays. They’re a perfect medium to project light and video onto, creating beautiful and striking effects. Two and three dimensional panels can be combined in the same structure, and there’s a range of patterned design options to suit any look or theme. Scenic Panels transform any event space by lining stages, creating modular stage structures or be hung from ceiling in a wave formation or even built into a chandelier. Event Backdrop Event Backdrop is our go-to flexible, affordable option for a huge range events. Want something to set off a small display at a trade show, media wall, or communicate a theme on stage? Event Backdrop is an illuminated or backlit frame, featuring photographic quality print on fabric available in three standard sizes. It’s ideal for any event from a meeting, conference, or gala. They can be free-standing frame structures, or rigged and hung. For an extra dimension, you can use two or more and rig one above at an angle to create a 3D effect! Curved screens Want to completely immerse and impress your audience in a big space? Our curved screens can be scaled to breathtaking sizes; we regularly build curved screens more than 25 meters long and almost two storeys tall. Multiple powerful projectors then blend the content together to create a seamless vista across the screen; vast landscapes, city views, animation and custom content created by our in-house team will transport your audience wherever you need them to go. Think ‘Modular’ Modularity is a design concept that can be implemented with a mixture of backdrop media; LED screens, regular screen displays, banners, video walls, set elements, hexagonal panels, and more. A classic example is a video wall made of multiple screens separated physically, but displaying parts of the same image – it’s edgy, geometric and eye catching. Elements can be built into sets, flown behind the stage, and hung from walls, but the key to carrying off the look is to be visually linked while physically separated. Our range of digital banners and widescreens provide you with endless configurations for a creative backdrop. The individual frames allow content to be blended across them as a single imabge, or individually. Custom Sets , Projection Mapping and Holographic Screens
Design a custom set when you want to create something truly unique and have the budget to do so. Our teams have built unique stage sets for galas using their logo as inspiration and have even built replicas of iconic landmarks for a destination incentive. The possibilities are literally limitless and our team can help you visualisation the event with 3D virtual reality render. Another option which is custom in nature, is projection mapping onto a surface – whether it be a wall, a backdrop, or an object. Creating tailored content to project allows you to change the backdrop through the event to match your content or theme. You can even combine your custom built stage set with projection mapping for a totally unique experience. For a real estate conference our team built a stage set to resemble the Melbourne city skyline with spherical objects attached. Throughout the conference we projected different 2D and 3D animations onto the backdrop creating totally new look celebrating the city. Another idea for an impactful stage backdrop is incorporating a holographic mesh screen. The mesh screen creates a ghostly effect with the objects behind still being slightly visible. As you project animated or static content onto the screen it creates a layered effect and can be truly striking when combined with your onstage performers or presenters. Holographic Mesh Screen at Moutai China Gala from Encore Event Technologies on Vimeo.
Lighting It’s not just about making sure you can see who’s on stage, or creating a mood for the walk-in. Lighting can be used architecturally and sculpturally to the extent that it’s really part of the physical backdrop. Old-school lighting techniques include using dozens of crisp, tight beams cutting through haze for a big ‘Wow!’ moment. There’s a raft of products made of LEDs that fit this application; LED strips, LED battens, LED tubes, LED ropes. At the bigger end of the budget, there’s a full-blown Kinetic Light rig – these are a grid of lights suspended on individual wires, run on independent motors, that can be controlled to create three-dimensional moving shapes, waves, and patterns; you would have seen these used at Euro vision or The Oscars. Something a bit different…
Truss Frame Reveal
When is a backdrop not a backdrop? A Truss Frame Reveal is something a little special for when you want to surprise your audience. On walk-in, there’s a screen across the stage, which you can project video or images on. At the right moment, the whole screen flies up and back to turn into a ceiling or backdrop, revealing the speakers, guest stars, or band. You can also do this trick in reverse! Letter Lights Make your theme, logo or hashtag a glowing, physical reality! Letter Lights are large white letters that are internally lit, or can be projected onto. They’re a bold, iconic look that communicates exactly what you’re about, and provides a perfectly Instagrammable backdrop for your guests and ensures your brand is front and centre in any photography. Speak with the event backdrop experts
Whatever your event’s budget, style, or artistic goals, Encore Event Technologies has the in-house creative, design, construction, and production staff to create the right backdrop for your event. We’ll advise you on the techniques, technologies, practicalities, and logistics that will ensure that your backdrop perfectly sets the scene, giving you and your event the platform for success. Before you lock in a venue and start restricting your event design, speak to our expert team so we can devise a solution and venue that’ll best suit your needs. Encore delivers events in over 100 venues and across major cities in the Asia Pacific. Speak to our team today by calling 1800 209 099 or send an online enquiry and we’ll get right back. — … Read More
Designing the stage set for this year's Oscars and more Academy Awards Week event highlights
Mar 3 2019
Hollywood’s night of nights has once again inspired us with beautiful design concepts to carry across our events this year. Seeing the creativity and design thinking poured into each event concept is truly incredible. The monumental creation that was the set for this year’s 91st Academy Awards was designed by veteran production designer, David Korins – the name behind some of the world’s most mind-blowing sets for big names like Kayne West, Lady Gaga and a whole host of musicals.
In his first year designing the coveted Oscars, Korins designed an asymmetrical proscenium inside the iconic Dolby Theatre using 115 foam blocks. In a video posted to his Instagram he commented, “For this year’s Oscars I have designed a world based on the ideas of inclusion and community.
“The design uses warm, welcoming shapes that not only reach out and wrap around the audience towards the viewers at home…. “It is warm, welcome, feminine and a picture of what I want the world to be.” View this post on Instagram Thank you to everyone who reached out with such kind & supportive messages about my design for the Academy Awards. I’ve never had a response like that to anything I’ve ever done. The last several days have been beautiful, overwhelming and humbling. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. ♥️ #oscars
A post shared by David Korins (@davidkorins) on Feb 27, 2019 at 1:40pm PST As with every great event, continually designing new experiences is key to keeping audiences engaged – whether they are tangible or not. And the stakes were high with the whole Western world watching and Hollywood’s A-Listers in attendance - a simple curtain change will not suffice.
Over the course of the 4 hour long awards night (give or take), the set morphed into 15 different looks all based around the hero installation of the “asymmetric portal” – from a concept using 40,000 roses in the shapes of ribbons to a look of waterfall-like strands made from 41,000 Swarovski crystals right through to the gold-leaf covered Oscar statues.
The final result was magnificent. In an interview with Architectural Digest in the lead up to the show, Korins explained, “I really wanted to find something that felt organic and natural and iconic and elegant,” Korins says. “[Roses] obviously have an implicit warmth, an elegance. We’ve seen them in red carpets and we’ve seen them in fashion shows and parties, but I had never seen them in award shows, and I felt like they could deliver such a deep and rich texture.” Photo Credit: Valerie Macon via BizBash It took a team of 15 people over 2,100 hours to create the four Swarovski crystal designs. Using lighting of warm colours and other gold, champagne-coloured textural elements allowed a traditionally cold object like crystal to fit naturally into the warm and welcoming concept. View this post on Instagram ✨✨✨
A post shared by David Korins (@davidkorins) on Feb 24, 2019 at 8:02pm PST “The most important thing is to deliver on an aesthetic that helps not only bind the entire ceremony together, but also pushes viewers to think beyond what they’re seeing onscreen.” David Korins, in an interview with Architectural Digest The "Crystal Cloud" Photo Credit: David Korins via Architectural Digest.
Before entering Korins’s magical stage set, presenters, performers and winners were welcomed into an Under The Sea themed green room, sponsored by Rolex for the fourth time. Guests entered the backstage room through a bronze door resembling a boat hatch. Once inside, the interior was lined with vivid underwater scenes backlit to create a dramatic, lifelike feel. The concept was bought to life using an oceanic blue colour palette, round-edged and textured soft furnishings which resembled coral life and waves, with the walls and ceiling featuring laser cut-outs of coral backlit with blues and gold. The space was produced by Event Eleven in collaboration with Warner Bros. Design Studio. Rolex Oscars Green Room, Photo Credit: Bart Michaels via BizBash Following all the action from the main awards ceremony, guests were ushered onto the next glamorous affair, the annual Governors Ball. For 30 consecutive years, Sequoia Productions have been the name behind the prestigious event and this year was no different. Hosted at Hollywood & Highland in the Ray Dolby Ballroom, the 1,500 guests were immersed in another decadent concept paying homage to global cinema showcasing iconic movie moments. This year’s look was based on a colour palette of black, merlot and Oscar inspired gold with styling elements that spoke to the old movie-theatre feel and warm lighting design to give it that air of elegance. Photo Credit: Jerry Hayes Photography via BizBash
Centrepieces were created in collaboration with Mark’s Garden, using 10,000 red tulips, burgundy roses, mauve orchids and dark calla lilies. The 400 floral arrangements were displayed around the ballroom in beautiful ornate gold vases. Photo Credit: Jerry Hayes Photography via BizBash
To read more about the events delivered during the Academy Awards Week head to BizBash.com. Designing your own Oscars-inspired Awards Night Gala
It's easy to understand why an opulent Oscars themed event is popular each year. Encore Event Technologies has delivered incredible gold and red rose laden events inspired by the Academy Awards for a number of local and international corporate events. Layering rich gold textures and soft furnishings with metallic votives and vibrant red flower arrangements is key to achieving the look. Below is an example our Sydney team created for a hotel awards night. Our production team also specialises in creative stage set design and has in-house capabilities to design real-life 3D renders to help you show your our vision rather than tell it. If you're looking for an award-winning event production team that can deliver your event from end to end, get in touch with our team today to start discussing the possibilities. The earlier you bring our team on board in your event planning process, the better. Let our experienced teams help guide all of your production decisions to maximise your ROI and outcomes - call Encore on 1800 209 099 or send an online enquiry. ... Read More