Solana Productions recently partnered with a Fortune 50 company on a very large corporate event video production. They faced a difficult problem — how to get all of their employees (500+) in the same room with the executive team. There wasn’t a space on their campus that would accommodate such a large crowd so they started looking at alternatives. These included moving to off-site locations which would have required the entire workforce to leave, and using a combination indoor/outdoor setup utilizing small tents.
We were providing all the corporate video production elements for the meeting — video, projection, lighting, audio and power. During a conference call with several managers, I listened while they discussed using two 40’x80′ tents side by side, creating an 80’x80′ space. As the conversation progressed, I began thinking about the visual experience for the audience. This space would have poles running down the center where the two tents joined. It would also leak at that joint if it happened to be a rainy day, and this has been a very wet winter in California.
I raised these issues during the call and discovered that with all the focus on the meeting’s content, the aesthetics of the two-tent option had not really been considered. And the vendor providing those tents had not explained what the attendee experience would be like. Once I described that the space they would be creating would have low ceilings and be obstructed with poles, the managers agreed to give me the go-ahead to pursue a better tent option.
Although we’re not tent experts by trade, we are in the business of finding solutions for our clients. And as a San Diego video production company that’s handled dozens of high-profile shoots over the years, we knew there had to be a better alternative that was also cost-effective. So we spent time investigating the options and came up with the idea of erecting one 50′ X 120′ tent that would provide a more pleasing interior look for all 500 employees and executives. The large structure we decided on presented some very difficult lighting and projection challenges but the end result was a much-improved audience experience. The tent created a fun, festive atmosphere, in spite of gusty winds, and nobody had to watch from an overflow room or suffer through obstructed views. Our solution was declared an overall success and truly helped our client drive home the idea of “bringing everyone into the tent.” It’s an option we highly recommend considering for your next large-scale, outdoor corporate event video production.
