subject: Trixstar Productions Transforming A Parkade Into A Live Event Venue [print this page] Mike Anderson, the President of Trixstar Productions, is on the phone in his office. He is negotiating with Will.I.Am. of the Black Eyed Peas who is in a jet over Europe. They are discussing the iconic music artists fee for an unusual live event to be staged in an underground parkade. Will.I.Am. likes the concept. The fee is in the ballpark. Now, the issue is timing.
Live event planning requires that you put the emphasis on planning, says Anderson. But sometimes, the decision makers wait too long to decide on who they want. Big stars like Will.I.Am. need to be approached with a lot of lead time --- months in fact. In the case of this gig, I was under 30 days. But failure was not an option. The success of this live event depended on it.
Anderson came though. The next step wasnt easy either --- converting an underground parking lot into a night club. Trixstar Productions turned to its live event production partner, AXE Productions. The theme for the show would reflect the Indy Cart Race Series taking place in the city at the same time.
Heres what the team faced. There was no power access. Unloading major gear was going to be a challenge. There were no rigging points from which to hang anything: trusses, speakers or lights. The entire infrastructure would have to be created from scratch. Thankfully, Trixstar Productions and AXE Productions have faced these challenges before.
Anderson pulls out the parkade floor plan and begins his verbal tour or the live event plan. The first thing we did was to figure out how to bring in power. Luckily, the venue owners were willing to bore a new hole into the parkade ceiling that would connect to the power source. They also agreed to add enough wattage to accommodate our electrical needs. Next, we figured out the optimum position for the stage, a challenge given these large cement columns all over the place. Lastly, we designed a floor mounted infrastructure that could handle the staging, lights and sound system.
It took the team18 hours over two days to execute the conversion. When Will.I.Am. walked into the venue, not only did he like the staging featuring racing theme set pieces, he was also wowed by a highly stylized, private dressing room that had been created for him and his entourage --- an all white, crystal laden structure with white sofas and chairs.
As for the audience --- it was a live event where underground made the headlines above ground. To watch the event set-up, go here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcJmJytD0k
