Wella launch puts beauty first

Beautiful hair needs an expert’, says Wella’s slogan, and expert it got for its annual show, held at Pavilhao Atlantico in Lisbon at the end of 2008. Jack Morton Worldwide, the experiential marketing agency, was appointed producer of the Wella Professionals International Trend Vision Award event.

The event launched Wella’s Trend Vision 09 products by keying into emerging style trends from around the globe and putting the latest fashion inspirations on stage.

Attendees not only enjoyed a spectacular show, they also had the chance to explore the trends further in workshops with top stylists and in an immersive lifestyle experience, which showed the trends origins in music and fashion.

The event also included the sixth International Trend Vision Award (ITVA), a professional hair competition celebrating the skills of innovative young talent and showcasing their ability to a global audience. As the only international competition, Wella Professionals ITVA challenges up-and-coming young stylists under the age of 30 to interpret the latest Trend Vision styles.

With thousands of stylists applying worldwide, only 56 young talent teams qualified in their respective countries and had the chance to compete at the international event in Lisbon.

LED and projection

The event was a one-day affair, with the show, workshops and competitions taking place during the day, followed by dinner, awards and evening entertainment, all of which were held in the same space.

‘One of the main issues we faced was turning the auditorium from a full arena layout into a sit-down dinner for 2,000 people in an hour,’ says Chris Richards, technical director, Jack Morton Worldwide.

The show used audio visual on a large scale. The stage measured 260sqm and had an in-built scissor lift and silk trap door. The screen area was 240sqm, made up of a mix of LED screen and projection.

The two projection screens at each side of the stage measured 10 x 6m each and used four HD 18 Barco projectors. There was also a 15 x 8m Martin LED (LC Series) screen area with three hinged entrance doors. During the day the screens were set at 45 degs and were placed flat in the evening using an active bridle mechanism.

‘The screen was used as the main scenic backdrop,’ says Richards. ‘It had three portals inserted in the bottom row to allow artists to enter and leave the stage, and later in the day a drum riser was brought on stage in the same manner.

‘One reason for using the Martin LEDs was the weight of the complete screen, which is five times lighter than other screens. There was a problem in weight loading in the roof at the exact position of the screen. We also needed to add the portals into it. With Martin LED we had an easy fix and it wasn’t a huge engineering project,’ says Richards.

Four x 17 hangs of line array blew the attendees ears away, while 300 moving lights – controlled by a Grand MA console – dazzled their eyes. The show was captured with a five camera system.

The stage area used 1.5km of truss with 189 rigging points, of which 36 were cyberhoists. These were used for the theatrical sections revealing gauzes, chandeliers and mirror balls.

‘Artefacts such as chandeliers, (including a hanging strop for an artist to fly from) mirror balls and gauzes were all flown using cyberhoists,’ says Richards. ‘This allowed us to have maximum control over smooth stop/starts and flexibility on speed.

‘Other lighting effects included 12 Pantographs rigged on the main stage truss to allow the lights to be flown in and out as part of one of the trend scenes. We also used six big lights on truss fingers, which were also flown in and out of the stage.’

Other technology used included a Soundcraft Vi6 Digital desk, with digital multicore system for front-of-house operation, and PA managed using Nexo Geo T4805 Tangent array cabinets.

The show needed 3.5MW of power – all of the venue power, plus six generators for the catering power.