Pharma Conference London

The TPP crew delivered yet another successful conference production for our pharmaceutical client.

Having travelled the world with this particular client for several conference productions, on this occasion we were on home turf in London – at The Castle Hotel Windsor to be precise.

When producing a local event in the UK, we have the advantage of implementing our own kit and crew, which isn’t always possible for events outside the EU, due to union and travel restrictions.

We always prefer to use our own kit and crew, as we can guarantee the very best technical production. That’s because we maintain and test our kit to the highest standards. While our crew are among the most creative and technically skilled in the industry.

The Brief

Our brief for the conference production London was to deliver the lighting, AV, set and stage, plus video production.

This included:

• Set and stage design and installation
• Speaker aids – comfort monitors, digital lectern, 6 speaker PA.
• Lighting and rigging
• LED screens and stands
• PA system
• Video production

The Venue

The venue for the one day conference was The Castle Hotel in Windsor, London, which provides a variety of banqueting spaces, that are ideal for a conference.

For this event, we occupied the Windsor Suite and a small breakout room.

While this was a great choice of venue in terms of its central location, during the site visit, it became apparent that there were several access issues that we had to overcome. Plus, the Windsor Suite offered limited space for the expected 80 delegates, once a full set and stage were installed. However, working with the venue and our client, we able to overcame these problems and provide a comprehensive conference set design and technical event production package.

Access, Build & Derig

We had one day to build the conference set and stage, as well as install and programme the associated lighting, AV, and video production equipment. The derig for the event was to begin promptly as soon as the conference ended at 4pm.

The site visit proved instrumental to the smooth coordination of this event, as it enabled us to prepare and plan in advance for the various access and build restriction within the venue. These included:

• External loading access – for the amount of kit required for this size conference, we would usually provide a single 18-tonne truck, but due to the limited outside loading area, we had to use a single 12-tonne truck and two SWB vans.
• Internal loading access– the event rooms were located on the second floor and there were not any suitable lifts for transferring the kit from the ground floor, up. To overcome the internal access issue, we contracted four crew to assist our technicians during the load-in and load-out.
• Limited space within the conference suite – for 80 delegate and all the associated set, stage and technical equipment, the space in the event suite was tight. Initially, the plan was to provide an LED video wall for the set, as it would take up less space than a projector and screen. Unfortunately, the venue was unable to provide the relevant safe working loads (SWL) documentation for a video wall installation. So instead we opted for a rear projection screen.

Set and Stage

As previously mentioned, the original plan was to install an LED video wall as the set, but due the missing SWB documents, we were unable to fulfil this part of the original design.

Instead we installed a combination of large set panels for the set, with a central screen for projection. Behind the stage, we created a smaller than usual space for our back-of-house technicians.

The stage was finished with seating for the panel and a digital lectern for the main speaker.

Conference Lighting Design

To give this conference production in Windsor its unique look and professional edge, we created a lighting design to illuminate the stage and the uplift the room’s elegant interior.

A range of LED up-lighters, battens and profile stage lighting were rigged and programmed to produce a pallet of purple and pink hues. As a result, the event lighting design transformed the room to create an impactful and immersive conference.

Practical Needs Cover with Conference AV

With the aesthetics of the conference covered by the lighting and set design, we move your attention to the practical solutions that our conference AV specification offered to the speakers and their audience.

The practical needs of our client were covered with the following conference AV solutions:

• Comfort monitors are traditionally positioned by the stage to show the speaker the presentation that appears on the screen behind them, encouraging them to remain facing the audience at all times. These monitors also provide a countdown, ensuring the speaker stays on-point and on-track throughout their time slot.
• Spot on annotation is a software that allows the presenter to draw on, or highlight, parts of the presentation live on screen without making any permanent markings. It works just like a laser pen, but offers better accuracy. It’s proven to be an essential piece of kit for our conference clients during their Q&A sessions.
• We used a highly efficient 6 speaker PA system, coupled with lapel mics for the panel and a hand held mic for taking questions from the audience.
• 65-inch LED monitors were positioned at midway points along the side of the room to give the audience at the back a clear view of the presentation.
• In the breakout room, due to the small space, we installed two 85-inch monitors and a small PA system, rather than the usual screen and projector set-up.

Video Production

Video is an increasingly fundamental element of conference production, as it enables connectivity with presenters, expert panel and audiences that could not attend in person. Video can also be stored as a reference for the presentation content and as a training tool, allowing presenters to review their own performance.

For this London conference there was one remote presenter, who addressed the audience in the room via Zoom. To allow them a live view of the audience – as if they were there in the room – we mounted a PTZ camera to the set panel on the stage left.

We also rigged additional cameras at fixed points throughout the room to record various views of the presentation and audience, which could be edited during and after the event.

If you would like more information about our filming services, please visit our conference video production page.

Final Thoughts

We were delighted to deliver this immersive conference production in London for our long standing client. Due to our early engagement in the project we were able to overcome the issues that we faced with access and space within the venue by planning effectively for a fast installation and derig. As a result, the installation and delivery ran smoothly, as you would expect from TPP.

Planning a Conference London?

If you are planning a conference in London and need a reliable, strategic and creative AV partner, be sure to contact TPP.