At this point, Dell Computer hardly needs an introduction. As it is the industry's largest manufacturer of personal computers, chances are very good that either you, or someone you know, already own one. In 1985, while still in college, Michael Dell began by building custom systems in his parents' garage. Dell has since grown to become a premier provider of personal computers, servers, data storage and related accessories throughout North America and the World.

Their famed business model of passing on savings from a just-in-time (JIT) process (building systems from components as they arrive) has propelled them to industry dominance. It's no wonder, then, that Dell puts on an event called the Annual Supplier Conference for Worldwide Procurement. The purpose of the daylong meeting is two-fold: primarily, it is an opportunity to formally recognize the contributions of Dell's suppliers (over 400 supplier representatives were in attendance) to the success of the company; and to provide them with updates on Dell initiatives and direction.

Held inside the Darrel Royal Ballroom at the Barton Creek Resort and Club in Austin, Texas, the confines of the room was an immediate challenge. The ceilings were only 11ft and there was no rigging except for a single air wall track midway in the room. As a result, we designed a stage built around ground-supported truss and free-hung graphic panels (each 4'x8') using high-resolution photos printed on sentra material (hard vinyl material used for signage).



Staging
All the lighting for the truss was done with LED Color Blast units, affording us a wide variety of color mixing; we also utilized a framed fabric archway that extended over the stage to provide another color pallet for lighting with MAC2K intelligent instruments. Projection was done from the rear using DLP projectors that were set on vertical truss platform stands, making the projection stand as part of the set. Black drape was hung across the back and sides of the staging area, exposing the entire truss and leaving the projection area open.

Technical
We used a custom designed audio system with EAW equipment; the video set up incorporated switched I-MAG, computer graphics, and a full video bay with two (2) cameras; dual screen projection using DLP projectors on 7.5x10 front screens; full lighting complement with conventional lighting, MAC 2K lights, Color Blast LED truss lights and more.



In addition to having to work around low ceilings, moving in equipment was more laborious than usual because the room was located on the second floor. To top our list of challenges, there was no backstage area. To work around this, we took a hallway outside the ballroom and draped it off to create a makeshift backstage area. There we setup our full video control area and graphics area. We had one day to install, test, program and rehearse the program, which began the following morning.
Somehow we more than managed. "Please tell all your folks that it was wonderful working together! You are a great team, truly professional," said Holly Seeler, of Mercury Rules, the show's producer. "I will now consider you my main men!"

Now that computes!