SkillsUSA Connect to my Future 2022
Client: SkillsUSA
Date: October 2022
Services:
Complete Event Production,
Creative Media Design,
Event Logistics Management
SkillsUSA’s 2022 Connect to my Future Conference was held virtually, live-streamed from White Tie Studios at The Station in Phoenix. White Tie was responsible for production elements from inception through execution including scripting, stage direction, content creation and the live production execution. The conference had three different tracks each with a unique audience. Each track had distinctive branding and different facilitators. Our goal was to make the show feel cohesive and engaging while ensuring a smooth transition between the tracks.
Complete Event Production
Taking advantage of White Tie Studios’ open floor plan, we constructed a 23’ x 10’ curved LED wall to use as our background for the programming. Custom graphics and live look-in Zoom overlays were shown on the wall to compliment the presenter’s content.
A three-camera stream was sent out to the virtual audience. We incorporated two static cameras, as well as one steadicam, all wired to our control room. Our production team was responsible for controlling the multi-cam feed, graphics deployment, audio mixing, music cues, chat monitoring and teleprompter control. Additionally, our floor director communicated with facilitators using in-ear-monitors to maintain smooth facilitation and switching between each session.
Due to the strict scheduling requirements of the client’s audience, along with the availability of the on-air talent, this show involved livestreaming two sessions simultaneously. This required a strict schedule that alternated between a live studio broadcast for one session while the other session was in virtual breakout rooms. Our schedule involved 8 distinct transitions requiring a great deal of coordination both with our floor director’s scheduling and our production team’s ability to seamlessly switch shows.
Creative Media Design
Our creative team designed two custom motion graphics packages based on each session’s brand guides. The biggest challenge was to make each session feel unique while maintaining the cohesive brand standards of the organization.
White Tie Studios Infrastructure
White Tie Studios robust infrastructure allowed us to run a multi-cam show through our central control room and output to a Zoom live stream. Our control room is built on a Blackmagic ATEM backbone controlled from six modular KVM stations. We also house two dedicated graphics playback servers operating Resolume Arena and a secondary livestream monitoring station via OBS.
The White Tie Studios audio package includes a separate, isolated control room containing our Allen & Heath Avantis mixing console with dedicated monitors for our mixing engineer. We also integrated IEMs for on-screen talent, wireless microphones and secondary studio boom microphones for ambient fill.
The camera setup for this production included a variety of stationary cutaways plus a wireless steadicam operator. The primary steadicam angle allowed our talent to interact with the graphics on the LED wall and communicate with the audience in an engaging way.
Additionally, our client and facilitators were provided a private conference room to rehearse as well as greenroom amenities.
Event Logistics Management
At White Tie, we believe in a holistic approach to event management. Thinking through each event from beginning to end ensures nothing is missed. On Connect to My Future this involved working backwards from our end product of a multi-session live stream and tailoring our script to fit those needs.
A large challenge was factoring the national audience participating across multiple time zones into our script. Each session had a specified start and end time that was provided to the audience, which meant we had to maintain pacing throughout the sessions to ensure we did not run late. Not only did we prepare facilitators to be flexible with timing depending on the sessions, but our floor director was in constant contact with them via IEMs to relay production changes. This level of pre-planning and in-show communication allowed us to execute the production seamlessly.
Get in Touch
Address
Phoenix HQ and Studio
430 S 2nd Ave, Suite 2
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Orlando Office
6250 Edgewater Dr, Unit 600
Orlando, Florida 32810
Mailing
PO Box 63303
Phoenix, AZ 85082
Phone
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