Lighting, Video Wall, and Sound at Marriott Marquis Houston
Corporate Event Production in Houston, Texas
Written by Dash Speer - August 23rd, 2022
Here at Limitless, we are excited to test the boundaries regarding event production and system designs. Our opportunity to produce at the United Plant Services event brought us exactly that - an inspiring and complex system design with a backbone of visual excellency.
UPS, Ignite 2022 was one for the books, pulling out no stops on the production. Limitless executed on all of it’s departments, lighting, video, audio, network, distro, and master show control, it was a great opportunity for our team to continue to grow and push the envelope.
Video Wall Rental in Houston
Most notably on this show, was the scale of the video wall system provided to our client. Universal Plant Services wanted to ensure a custom look, something that would make them stand out from other companies. Their TM came to us with the concept of having a layered video wall system, where the speakers could emerge from between two video walls. They also wanted to create a unique experience with the IMAG walls by framing them vertically. We happily obliged throughout the design process to create a grand impact on the video system.
Initially, our plan was to fly out the upstage video walls altogether, but due to the massive nature of the screens, we ended up overweight on the center upstage panels. It became necessary to ground support the panels, which required a somewhat complex ground support system to fit in the small space backstage. This was built using an XSF truss ground support system that still allowed us to fly the wall using motors at maximum trim height. Furthermore, we had significant weight on the mid-stage wall which required additional outrigging systems. The entire center wall was scaled and mapped using a single VX16s and Resolume in conjunction, with the outer walls being driven by VX6S.
The entire video wall system consisted of:
(378) 0.5m x 0.5m P3.9 Video Wall Panels
(64) 1m x 0.5m P3.9 Video Wall Panels
(1) VX16s & (2) VX6S driven by Resolume on an M1 Macbook Pro
Line Array Sound System Rental in Houston
We were excited to deploy arrays of our dBTechnologies VIO series at this event to provide ample sound coverage for the large ballroom space. Using (4) clusters of arrays spread across the downstage truss, we were able to provide optimum coverage for all but the first rows, which were serviced by more VIO boxes front fills, utilizing a total of (24) tops. The result was crystal clear audio without the slightest feedback, all the way from the first to the last row.
For the audio system we were utilizing the following:
(8) dBtechnologies VIO L210’s & (8) VIO L212’s as mains.
(4) dBtechnologies VIO S218’s as subs
(8) more VIO L210’s as front fills
(8) Shure ULXD Wireless with DPA4088 headset microphones & handhelds.
(1) Midas M32R with Wavesgrid Server
Lighting Design for High-End Conference
We’re always excited to work hard on lighting systems here at Limitless. This show for UPS was a great opportunity for us to flex our versatile inventory and put on a great production. Designer Sean Pauw made use of our available inventory to provide a flexible, professional, and flashy system all in one, without breaking the budget.
The design called for good hair light on the upstage, for which we used a combination of Elation Cuepix Battens and Martin MAC Auras to line the truss above the upstage video wall. For key light, we're utilizing the MAC Viper Performances since their framing shutters allow for a precise key and their CMY engine allows for optimal color tuning for video. For eye candy, we had Robe Pointes on the rig along with some Cuepix WW2’s.
In the backstage area, we made use of the Elation Z60IP’s, which also were programmed as a cue light for when it was time for the speakers to make their entrance.
The lighting system in its entirety was composed of:
(12) Martin MAC Aura Moving Wash
(14) Robe Robin Pointe Moving Hybrid
(6) Martin MAC Viper Performances
(12) Elation CUEPIX Battens
(12) Elation CUEPIX WW2 Blinders
(16) Astera AX5 Wireless Uplights
FOH, Master Show Control, and Show Automation
Our FOH system was nothing to scoff at. Back in 2021, one of our technicians at Limitless, Austin Schneider, spearheaded the design of a show automation and master show control system using QLAB and Companion in conjunction for this client. We re-deployed this system with some minor changes in 2022, to better suit the system but provide a similar client experience to the TD. Broadly speaking, the system was driven by a redundant QLAB system, triggering Companion in the background to send OSC messages to the rest of FOH. This allowed for a centralized control hub, and a control surface using a Streamdeck that could access any device at FOH on the fly. QLAB then acted as a cue list for those commands, allowing us to stack multiple companion commands in a single cue to change system states simultaneously.
The result is a seamless cue-to-cue experience for run-of-show, with a simplified show flow for whoever calls the show. Instead of having to call cues for multiple departments on the AVL team who each might need to make multiple switches in tandem, we could simply change the entire state of the system with a single cue.
This was an important piece to the puzzle due to the flexibility needs of the client. We needed to be able to, at the drop of a hat, switch between complex screen states (e.g. IMAG on side screens, PPT on center screen, MEDIA on back screen), or have our media server audio open automatically to a certain db level while simultaneously triggering multiple video clips across layers in Resolume. All around the system worked flawlessly, and we had an A+ run-of-show across 21 ports of control.
The FOH System consisted of:
Netgear 28 port POE Managed Switch & Router.
(2) Mac Pro Companion / QLab computers, with one as a tracking backup.
(2) Macbook Pro M1 Max Resolume computers, with one as a tracking backup.
(1) Chamsys MQ500 with Redundant Tracking Backup MagicQ PC Rig.
(1) Midas M32R w/ Waves Server
(1) Blackmagic Design Smart VideoHub 12x12
(1) Blackmagic Design Teranex AV
(1) Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini SDI Pro ISO
(2) Presentation Laptops with NDI Adapters
(1) Blackmagic Design ATEM Constellation HD 2M/E
IMAG and Camera Rentals in Houston
Limitless Lights and Sound provided also some firepower when it came to making sure things were seen clearly at the live event and recorded in high definition. For this we love Canon products and were happy to make use of Canon rigs in conjunction with some nice accessories by Sachtler and SmallHD.
The camera system includes:
(3) Canon C200 Bodies
(2) Canon CN-E 70-200mm T4.4 Compact-Servo Cine Zoom Lens
(1) Canon 24-70L F2.8 Lens
(2) Sachtler Video 20 S1 Tripod
(1) Sachtler FSB8 Tripod
(2) SmallHD Cine-7 Monitors
(1) SmallHD 502
AV Crew in Houston
The value of our team members on this show is completely immeasurable, considering our primary production manager fell sick with COVID just a couple of days before the event. We quickly contained it to ensure nobody else was sick through rigid testing, and everybody pulled together in his absence and executed an excellent production thanks to tons of planning that had happened months ahead of time. We are extremely grateful for the team we have in place that help to make this company high-functioning.
Sean Pauw - Production Manager and Designer | Dash Speer - Production Manager and Designer
Teagan Shunkwiler - Master Show Control | James Shiplette - IMAG & Video Systems Technician
Roland Casiquin - Audio Mixing / Engineering | Oscar Ruiz - Lighting Operator and Technician
Bryce Saucier - Director of Photography and Camera Operator | Eric Ochoa - Camera Operator | Pablo Meija - Camera Operator
Wade Ratliff - Ground Support System | Edward Luna - Video Wall Technician & Ground Support | Anthony Tocci - Labor Coordinator
Hudson Davis - Master Electrician | Justin Estes - Lighting Technician | Pablo Luna - Audio System Technician
Jay Herrold, Andrew Torres, Paul Conway, Cuttler Brown - Production Assistants
Special thanks to our partners at AudioTek, OneDMX, and Austin Event Lighting for their support on this production.
Corporate Event Production in Houston
All around, UPS 2022 was a fun and challenging production experience that required a ton of planning, and for us to fire off on all cylinders to make it happen. We enjoy serving our clients on productions like these, and always look forward to the next one.