Sharing "IDEA"s in Boston

That’s a wrap on our third consecutive IDEA (Information Display and Entertainment Association) Conference, this time from Bean Town! Our crew traveled north to produce AV for the General Session and six breakouts for this annual event, which attracted more than 900 game presentation professionals across NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and collegiate/alternative sports.

This year the event was held at Westin Boston Seaport District with a busy agenda of three show days following a full load-in day. Our GS set was the biggest we’ve done on this show with three rear projection screens for video display. Each had their own dress kits and additional panels of run off drape, but they were sectioned off individually as opposed to a full drape wall-to-wall drape line to give a bit of a different look.

The breakouts were split between the different sports and focused on sharing ideas for in-game activations, discussions around new technology, and networking. For these workshops, we provided one front projection screen and a small PA system in each room.

The off-site events for this conference were a huge draw for the attendees as they got personalized tours of TD Garden, Fenway Park and Harvard. For the first time, we also built a second set specifically for the Awards Gala on the final night. This was done at SoWa Power Station which is essentially an empty warehouse space, so we had to bring in all of the video, lighting, audio and scenic support to fill the venue.

Thank you to Liz Burke Brown for her continued trust in us on this show and for the growing partnership – already looking forward to next year!