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Hawthorn Amp it Up with Arena Projection at CEF LIVE 2017

UK – CEF [City Electrical Factors], the expert supplier of electrical products and services for professional buyers and installers hosted their second CEF LIVE event at the NEC, Birmingham on the 8^th – 10^th June 2017. Hawthorn was appointed by A&I Events to deliver full technical production for the occasion, including the design and delivery of an innovative floor projection surface which captivated delegates during conference sessions.

The three-day LIVE Event is now a key fixture in the industry calendar, attracting almost 3,000 customer attendees and over 1,200 CEF colleagues. Led by Hawthorn’s group director of projects, Simon Wood, the team provided lighting, sound, video and rigging for both the large exhibition space, the conference space and gala dinner at the neighboring Metropole Hotel.

Featuring over 55 supplier stands from leading electrical brands, the CEF LIVE exhibition space was a hive of activity, seeing over 1,200 transactions take place over the two days, together with knowledge seminars from the NICEIC and IET. To showcase supplier offers and exhibition information, Hawthorn crafted the perfect display solution; a specially constructed circular LED screen. Measuring ten meters in diameter, the screen was constructed using the company’s 10mm GLUX LED panels and created an eye-catching focal point in the centre of the space.

The third day of the program saw Hall 9 of the NEC host CEF’s internal company conference. Featuring a host of inspiring talks, presentations and awards for colleagues, including a guest appearance from The Apprentice’s Nick Hewer, Hawthorn ensured the occasion was like nothing they’d seen before, adding in a floor based 20m square projection surface. To create the unique projected floor on to the conference stage, the team used a three by two projector blend using Christie 14k projectors. This enabled them to create content reinforcing imagery, enhance presenter walk-ons and transform those on stage into a variety of different environments including the centre of a football pitch.

A series of Christie 14K projectors were also used to play out wide screen content around the stage, with films and PowerPoints created by Richer View Media Production and SomeBrightSpark.

Creating an equally stunning lighting design, Hawthorn used a mixture of Martin MAC Viper Profile and Claypaky sharpy Wash fixtures along with PATT 2013s and Claypaky B-EYE K10s to provide eye candy to surround the stage. Sharpy Washes provided most of the lighting for presenters, chosen due to their ability to narrow down onto a presenter whilst keeping light spill onto the floor projection to a minimum. MAC Vipers added the final touch, providing strong beams and gobo breakups.

Simon Wood said: “CEF LIVE is a much-anticipated event within the electrical industry calendar and there are high expectations across the board. This was our second time working with CEF and we wanted to deliver the wow factor for our client and create something that their delegates had never been seen before. CEF and the team at A&I Events were really open to new ideas and gave us lots of room for creativity. The projected floor element on Day 3 gave an unusual twist to the conference delivery and was an excellent example of how we can use technology to transform the environment of an event. It’s great to work together with clients who want to push the boundaries, we’ve already started talking about the next one.”

Chris Ashworth, CEF general manager said: “Hawthorn raised the bar at our conference and LIVE Event this time around and feedback from customers, suppliers and CEF colleagues has been amazing – we are already wondering how we are going to go one better for the next one.”

www.hawthorn.biz

30th June 2017

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