These photos were taken during the Christian Showcase weekend in October 2008. This was the second showcase that I produced while I was at Belmont University. As you can see in several of the pictures this set was really tall. My original idea was to not have any video elements at all and simply go with a very old-school rock ‘n’ roll lighting rig. After sitting down with my associate producer and Luke McElroy (the creative genius behind Orange Thread Media) we decided to do something completely crazy with video.
At this point, triple-wide media wasn’t all that popular, but it was being done. We wanted to take that concept and literally turn it on its side. So we stacked three 9×12 video screens on top of each other. The combination of staging and scaffolding that was built backstage to support the three projectors isn’t allowed to be shown because it would still probably get us all in trouble with OSHA.
On the sides we hung several layers of standard truss with par bars hanging off the bottoms. We used very few intelligent (moving) fixtures on this and instead focused on being able to blast as much light and color on the stage as possible so that the video rig wasn’t quite so overwhelming.
Of all the showcases I was involved with, this was probably one of the most challenging, yet simple, sets we ever pulled off. And it was definitely the first showcase to feature triple-high screens.
I was also able to work out a partnership with Soles4Souls to collect shoes at the door to donate to them. Leading up to the showcase, I met with Soles4Souls founder Wayne Elsey a couple of times. I was blown away by what Soles4Souls is achieving around the world. Definitely take some time to check out Sole4Souls. We were also able to book Todd Agnew to perform at the showcase while he was in town for another event.
