Springtree Media Blog

Hitachi CP-AW250N LCD Projectors Deliver a Striking “Surround Video” Viewing Experience in Hilton Nashville Hotel Installation

CHULA VISTA, California, December 5, 2011 — Six Hitachi CP-AW250N ultra-short throw LCD projectors were recently used at the Hilton Nashville Downtown as part of a one-of-a-kind presentation environment for CJ Advertising of Nashville, Tennessee as part of a client event. The uniquely configured audio/visual system was designed and installed by systems contractor Springtree Media Group of Franklin, Tennessee.

“CJ Advertising hosts an annual presentation for their clients and we’ve worked with them for five years,” said Jacob McDaniel of Springtree Media Group. “In the past, we’ve placed the projectors and the screens on the floor in the corners of the room–a pretty conventional approach. But this year CJ wanted to try something fresh and new that would deliver an unforgettable ‘wow factor’ for their clients.”

“Peter Vaque, the owner of Springtree Media Group, dreamed up a striking new look that involved creating a nearly 360-degree viewing experience by suspending six projection screens in the room,” McDaniel continued. “CJ Advertising loved the concept. But then, we had to figure out how to make it happen!”

Springtree Media Group uses Hitachi ultra-short throw projectors in its rental department because many events–including this one–don’t allow for the extra 16 feet typically needed between the projector and the screen. “Our Hitachi ultra-short throw projectors do an excellent job in restricted-space situations,” McDaniel said. “Also, CJ wanted to use 16:9 widescreen projection, so we looked at a number of Hitachi’s short-throw projectors with widescreen capability. The CP-AW250N looked like the perfect fit.”

From there, Springtree Media Group had to figure out how to mount the projectors and screens. “We settled on hanging a 36-foot truss from the ceiling,” McDaniel noted. “From that truss, we hung six widescreen projection screens, oriented so that all attendees could see a screen from any point in the room.”

McDaniel and his team connected I-Beams that ran perpendicular to the long truss and hung the CP-AW250N projectors from the I-Beams. They also attached LED lighting to the beams, to fill the presenter’s walking area with stage lighting and different colors. The installation was rounded out by four LCD monitors angled on the floor, one in each corner of the presenter’s walking area, so the presenter could always see his slides no matter where he walked.

“This installation required a lot of planning up front,” McDaniel said. “We had to run a few tests to determine which projector would work the best, and how big of a screen we could use with that projector. We wanted to make the screens as big as possible, but we had to make sure there was enough room for the presenter to walk underneath them without hitting his head. In addition, we had to figure out how to hang everything in a safe and effective manner.”

With the help of Hitachi’s CP-AW250N  projectors, the project came together beautifully. “The images were bright, sharp and vivid and the unique setup really kept everyone’s attention.

CJ Advertising and their clients were very happy with the final product,” McDaniel concluded.

For more information on Springtree Media Group please visit www.springtree.net

For more information on Hitachi visit www.hitachi-america.us/digitalmedia

ABOUT HITACHI

Hitachi America, Ltd., headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us.

Hitachi America, Ltd., Digital Media Division, Business Solutions Group markets LCD projectors, interactive panels and whiteboards and security and observation system products through value added resellers, system integrators, distributors and OEMs.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totaled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachi.com

View this whole event album on the Springtree Productions blog, here..

From: Definition Bam

If you are looking for a great way to transform an event and bring an extra amount of detail to the table, an excellent approach would be to use uplighting techniques. Uplighting excels in several areas including truss lighting, architectural lighting, small room lighting, highlighting specific features at an event, and more.  It has become a very popular trend for weddings, DJ’s, parties, and many other events to effectively enhance the mood. Let’s take a look at some examples of these applications and how these simple techniques can transform your event (examples from some of our very own customers as well as Springtree Productions events):

Truss Lighting
Are you using truss at an event? Why not make that boring silver truss a bit brighter and colorful? There are several great new uplighting fixtures small enough to fit inside the truss and powerful enough to produce the light required. Some great options for truss lighting include: Springtree Flat-12 TRI, ADJ Mega Par Profile, Chauvet Slimpar series, Global Truss TW-RGB9, ADJ Micro Wash RGBW

Architectural Lighting
Another uplighting option that is sure to have your guests talking is to light entrances and exits. You can get a memorable effect by lighting columns and other structures as well. An excellent architectural uplight is the new Chauvet WELL (built-in wireless and battery powered). If you don’t want to go the battery route, the Elation OPTI TRI Par and the Chauvet COLORdash Par are great options.

(Photo Credit to Customer Express Entertainment Productions)

Small Room Lighting
Small rooms can use uplighting effectively by either using targeted beams or a wash over a larger portion of the room. Targeted beams are most commonly used to shoot straight up walls. Diagonal lines can also create an effective look. A great fixture with a targeted beam is the Chauvet COLORdash Par. A great “wash” fixture to light up a larger area is the ADJ Mega Bar Pro. A different uplighting effect can be created by alternating the wash fixtures and the targeted beam fixtures intermittently across a long wall.

Springtree offers several impressive and affordable options for uplighting.  Feel free to call us at 615-599-1505 and speak to our product specialists who will be glad to discuss your specific needs for your event and find the best solution within your budget.

Hurricane Marina Concert on Center Hill Lake

Saturday July 16, 2011

Saturday, Springtree Productions  provided sound and lighting for The Leon Dowling Band right on the Marina. It was an impressive sight seeing 7 large luxury house boats tied together at the marina as the band entertained. Folks walked across from boat to boat, dancing on the decks and sampling all the great food.  The Blue Water Grill restaurant experienced the busiest days of the summer so far and we were happy to hear from many that the sound was the best they had ever had on the marina. 

Springtree Productions looks forward to be out there again next year!

Centerville Marina

Springtree Media Group was happy to be apart of the Nashville Bengali Conference for a second year at Embassy suites Cool Springs.  Springtree Productions was responsible for all production elements of the three day conference, from stage to video projection.

Bengali included all sorts of presenters from speakers, musicians , to dancers. Our stage included a closing curtain and tons of LED lighting. Two rear projection screens displayed power point presentations and live video from our two robotic cameras, enabling everyone to have a great view.

Our QCS K Series system provided clear audio to all audience members of speakers and musical artists.

View from our control center.

Video of the event from BPCast

Visit the Bengali Association of Greater Nashville online.
Visit the 2011 Regional Bengali Conference 2011 website.

Visit the full gallery on the Springtree Productions Blog

Franklin Theatre Grand Opening Speakeasy
Gray’s Drug Storefront – Downtown Franklin, Tn
Friday June 3, 2011

As part of the Grand Opening celebration for the newly restored and renovated Franklin Theatre the vacant Gray’s Drug Store storefront was transformed into a roaring 20s speakeasy to fit the grand opening’s 20s theme. Guests were able to step inside the Speakeasy and step back in time with live jazz, cocktails and card games.

Springtree Productions  lined the walls with pipe and drape to give the space a much more intimate feel. Event partners brought in small tables, a bar, and other décor items. Springtree then used LED lighting to create mood lighting for the room and to highlight the five piece jazz band. Springtree also ensured that the band was heard throughout the venue utilizing lightweight but powerful QSC K12 speakers.

Be sure to visit the Franklin Theatre online, on Facebook, and on Twitter to learn more about their upcoming events.

View the full gallery at Springtree Productions.

 

Westhaven Summer Concert Series Kick-off

Friday, May 6, 2011
Westhaven Community Great Lawn

We provided sound and lights for the Westhaven Summer Concert Series Kickoff featuring Bayou Degradable. What a fun night! We used 8 Chauvet COLORdash Battens on crank up stands to wash the stage with light. We used our QSC K12′s and KSubs for this outdoor concert. They sound amazing and they don’t weigh much! With our new audio/lighting set-up, it only took two of us an hour and a half to tear it all down, have the trailer loaded and be on the road again!

Visit the:
Westhaven Community Webpage
Weshaven Foundation Webpage

View the full photo gallery on our Productions Site.

Springtree Productions transformed Jamison Hall into an ‘Enchanted Forest’ to fit Page High School‘s Prom theme.

Sound We used our QSC K-Series System to DJ this event, and flanked them with live foliage to tie them into the theme.

Video We had two projectors with bounce mirrors projecting on to the curtain and used live foliage to hide them.On this screen we projected video of Redwoods, lakes, streams, and forests to fit the them. The projector on the right provided live video feeds and more accent video. We used two robotic cameras to capture live video of the dance floor that we then projected onto the large screen to the right. This is a temporary screen we hung to project our two live video feeds of the dance floor. We also had two projectors aimed at the brick wall behind the tables, these projectors looped animated video backgrounds fitting to the ‘Enchanted Forest’ theme. The effect of video on the brick really carries the theme.

Lighting Dramatic lighting transforms the room. Two moving heads sitting on the stage put dancers in the spotlight. We accent lighting for the live trees and bushes we brought in, along with ivy weaving across the stage. The ivy is faux and available for rental. Columns are wrapped in multicolored LED string lights, wrapped in chiffon fabric, then up-lit in with green, creating a magical tree bark effect.

Here’s a great shot really showcasing the different layers of lighting we used for this event. Truss above the dance floor for music reactive lighting. Green up lighting on the columns which also accent the unique ceiling architecture. And the last layer is the video projection on the exposed brick wall.

View our full gallery of photos on Springtree Productions.

Fiddler on the Roof – Christ Presbyterian Academy – Nashville, Tn

Springtree Productions helped bring Fiddler on the Roof to life with a dramatic flying effect  for Tevye’s Dream sequence where Fruma-Sarah rises from her grave. The same effect was also used in the deceased Lazar scene. Springtree Productions expertise and rigging brought the story to life for this production.

Video of a Rehearsal run of the rig:

Teaser reel for the production:

Fiddler on the Roof Video Teaser from CPA Communications on Vimeo.

I Am Second Nashville
April 12,  2011 Michael W. Smith’s event barn  in Franklin, Tn

We arrived at Michael W. Smith’s barn Tuesday afternoon with a plan in mind to set up our 10’H x 18’W screen as the backdrop for the I AM Second – Nashville event. When we walked in the barn, much to our surprise, the layout was totally different than what we were expecting. The stage was set up on the side wall instead of the far end and they already had a cool backdrop set up with “I Am Second” printed all over it. So we had to rethink our plan. We decided to hang our screen OVER their backdrop. The work began. We put 2 sticks of 9’ truss together on both sides of the stage. We didn’t have ladders so we put our gorilla shoes on and started climbing up the truss with the screen hand.
We stretched the fabric between the two trusses and it looked amazing. We hung the projector in the balcony and it filled the screen perfectly. It all came together just like we had planned it that way from the start.
It was a great night of music and ministry.  Michael W. Smith, Matthew West, Gordon Kennedy, and many others were all part of this wonderful event. We were glad to be a part of it.

Brian ‘Head’ Welch (Lead  Guitarist from Korn) came out for the event in Nashville, his new home city to help get it started here.

Rolando Diaz painted throughout the night.

Visit I Am Second on the web, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
View our full gallery of event photos at Springtree Productions.

Centennial High School Prom “Beneath the City Lights”
Saturday April 16, 2011
Liberty Hall – The Factory at Franklin

Working to transform Liberty hall into a bustling city using audio, video, lighting, and DJ services for Centennial High School’s prom was a lot of fun for Springtree Productions.

Lighting wise we washed the dance floor LED effect lighting, and had two moving head fixtures on the truss at the front of the dance floor. Suspended over the dance floor were hundreds of LED icicle lights. Globe lighting created a great accent to the stage for Senior Walk along with a spot light.  Prom committee created a cardboard skyline which looked great lit from behind on the mezzanine level. Columns were also up-lit.

Audio wise Springtree’s DJ kept guests informed via the main projector what song was coming up next, and Springtree’s house audio kept the party going.

During Senior Walk a live video feed provided a great view to students and parents on projector screens.

The real transformation of Liberty Hall happened with the the use of 6 video projectors featuring time lapse video of the Hudson River, Times Square, and other NYC destinations.

On the far exposed brick wall looping video of New York City from across the Hudson gave a great video of city lights.

Want to know how exactly we created a certain effect? Send us an email at Sales@Springtree.net

View our full gallery of photos from Centennial’s Prom on Springtree Productions.