UK - Live brand experience specialists MMM produced a stylish show for the 2005 Hyundai National Dealers Conference at the Celtic Manor, Newport. The event introduced some corporate restructuring and the new UK manufacturing company, Hyundai Motors UK, which replaces the previous Hyundai importers, RAC PLC. It also showcased the new vehicles for 2006.

MMM's brief was to ensure the day's proceedings were highly motivational for the delegates. The conference was followed by dinner and entertainment led by a male voice choir, and comedian Dominic Holland.

MMM designed the set and supplied the necessary technical infrastructure including staging, sound, lighting and AV. They supplied all personnel and services needed to run the event from delegate registration to logistics and artist booking. MMM compiled the PowerPoint content material, graphics and various video stings and play-ins; the graphic elements of the show were co-ordinated by Andy Darby.

There was an extremely short lead-time of three weeks between Hyundai giving the go-ahead and the actual event. On site, the timeframe was even tighter! The MMM crew gained access to the Caernarfon Suite at 3 a.m. on show day so the operation had to be seamless.

The set was designed to maintain the clean, modern lines of the Hyundai brand and consisted of a 90ft curved cyclorama hung from eight motors, and four tubular steel ellipses filled with white gauze. Bespoke lecterns were designed to match the streamlined look, and the autocues were constructed with white fascias. A 16 x 9 ft rear projection screen was installed for PowerPoint presentations and some VT play-in material.

The four new Hyundai vehicles - Getz, Amica, Tucson and Sonata - were displayed on stage, on plinths rigged at varying heights. These were lit internally with colour changing LED strips and externally with standard Pars and stage lights.

The trussing, and some of the lighting - over 30 moving lights and generic stage lighting, including Source Fours, PARs etc - was supplied by i-Vision. The moving lights included: GLP YPOC 250s / 300s, and some of the new Martin MAC 700s. MMM had custom gobos made for the moving fixtures, which were used to colour and texture the cyc and set. Lighting was run from a WholeHog II console run by LD Laurence Wilson. The stage truss was directly above the cars, and two further trusses were rigged towards the back of the room, containing front and audience lighting fixtures, plus PA speakers.

On the AV front, MMM supplied two Sanyo XF45 10,000 lumen projectors, run double stacked and switched via an analogue way graphic switcher. The sources were PowerPoint, DVD and Beta, and a presentation by one of the Hyundai Motors Europe directors contained information so confidential that it was stored and run from his USB key.

(Chris Henry)


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