Chrysler Booth at NAIAS 2010
ContactsPRG provides multi-discipline services at leading North American Auto Show.
The Challenge: Provide multi-discipline services (lighting, rigging, audio, video, LED), installation and coordination that is integrated into large-scale booth at a major auto show.
The Solution: The annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit is among the most prestigious in the world and one of the largest media events in North America. This year several automobile manufacturers turned to Production Resource Group (PRG) to provide multi-discipline services (lighting, rigging, audio, video, LED), as well as project coordination and installation. PRG’s clients included Hyundai, Subaru, Land Rover/Jaguar, Tesla and the newly redesigned Chrysler Corporation’s booth, which showcased Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, Ferrari and Maserati.
The Chrysler Corporation’s new booth was one of the largest at the show. The booth design was by George P. Johnson (GPJ), with lighting design by Howard Werner of Lightswitch. “This year, the design of the booth was a bold, clean line. Our lighting design needed to support that,” Werner explained. “There were five large arches that served to define the spaces for the different brands. The arches were white so the challenge was having even light distribution and even color temperature over all of the surfaces. Everything in the booth was lit with daylight fixtures to support the desired look.”
Lighting the cars on the exhibit floor presented another unique challenge because the cars are frequently moved during the auto show set-up, requiring constant re-focusing. Werner specified the PRG AutoPar® automated luminaire, a compact, 700-watt arc lamp with a fully DMX-programmable rotating lens assembly, to meet this challenge. “It has the features designers want, but without unnecessary extras that add complexity and cost. We didn’t need it to change color, iris or douse,” explained Werner. “It has excellent color rendering, so it’s a product that’s ideal for the auto show circuit.”
In addition to the lighting system, PRG provided a state-of-the-art audio system powered by Yamaha mixers and utilizing Riedel Communications’ RockNet digital audio network system for complete flexibility. RockNet allows audio mixers to easily route any signal to any individual speaker. The complex audio layout contained more than 70 loudspeakers and 48 audio zones.
“PRG was able to provide a lot of equipment that had to really match. Working with PRG is always great,” said Werner. “We are always happy to be partners with them on the auto show projects. The execution of the gear and the labor is terrific.”