This past January, Chicago Scenic Studios completed its sixth press event with Gail & Rice for Ford Motor Company at the North American International Auto Show.
Chicago Scenic had just one-and-a-half days to get the stage loaded in and built in to the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
“We had a very small window to complete the build in order for the other elements of the stage to go up—lighting, projector screen, seating—and still give time for tech rehearsals.” said Stefan Koniarz, project manager for Chicago Scenic.
Despite the small build window, a crew of 40 worked tirelessly to build the LED surround 90-foot wide x 46-foot tall, masking flats 24-foot wide x 46-foot tall, and a deck in plan 68-foot wide x 32-foot deep. There were also two ramps that ramped from 24-inches to 0-inches to allow access for the vehicles.
The stage in total weighed in at over 10,000 Ibs., 4,500 lbs. of which was the backdrop. The crew later discovered that the weight of the backdrop also matched the weight of the projection screen used for the show.
After six days of labor intense work to complete the rest of the staging elements, and a full day of press events and presentations, the crew worked overnight to tear down the stage in order to make room for another event happening the next day.
In addition to the Press Reveal, Ford held presentations on the stage throughout the day including TED Talk: The Future of Mobility, The New York Times: City of Tomorrow—The Mayor’s Perspective, and VICE Media: Living and Working in the City of Tomorrow.
