Natural phenomena are classified into five elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. According to ancient beliefs, this system of the elements is used to describe interactions and relationships between these extraordinary phenomena. RE/MAX, Canada's top real estate organization, is successful mostly, and simply, because of its uniquely authentic and natural relationships with its customers, so it seemed only fitting that RE/MAX gave tribute to the natural elements of the planet at its 16th Annual Awards Gala Dinner at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

With Elements of success as the theme, AVW-TELAV helped RE/MAX bring to fruition nature-focused staging for its 1,600 guests in attendance. Close to 700 of the 1,600 guests in attendance were presented with awards at this event. To reward its top employees for consistently providing superior customer service and top notch sales, RE/MAX was determined to avoid coordinating a "traditional" type of corporate meeting. In fact, "corporate meeting" or "standard awards ceremony" are hardly the phrases one would use to classify an employee-inspiring event such as this.

Professional dancers entertained a crowd of high achievers by performing traditional movements and dances in conjunction with an authentic crew of African drummers. As the night progressed, different entertainers took centre stage to musically and physically emulate the five elements through interpretive dance.



As this was a grand occasion for RE/MAX, AVW-TELAV outfitted the set with three 9'x16' screens and wall projection, consisting of a centre screen, two flanking screens, and the two outer-walls of the Metropolitan Ballroom at the Harbour Castle as side screens to enhance a 3D environment. Throughout the night, these screens were utilized to display the award nominations and other environmentally-theme-based visuals to the crowd.




This year AVW-TELAV also added a Watchout System that allowed us to organize and manipulate the representations of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth rhythmically by displaying and layering visuals of environmental scenery and transitioning them in a visually-pleasing flow.

Wall Projection of the elements also brought the entire room alive with imagery and worked to bring the five-element theme to attendees when they first entered the room. For the dining portion, dinner tables were set around the central stage-in-the-round, which also doubled as the dance floor.

As well as being a four-camera shoot, the event also required two MAC computers, which allowed for more advanced slide. All switching was controlled by a Folsom Encore System which allowed us to take video, in HD format, and display it on any screen at any time during the evening.

Lighting, which was another crucial element for this event, incorporated over 40 moving lights and 100 static fixtures to create décor lighting and a light show on the dance floor.

Recently, AVW-TELAV invested in a new digital sound system specifically intended for elaborate entertainment events such as the likes of RE/MAX. This fully-digital audio system incorporated a Meyers Line Array sound system and audio board.

For the awards component of the evening, over 700 individuals were personally handed awards by RE/MAX executives, and they received a few moments of fame and recognition in front of their peers and family members. To facilitate the flow of the attendees receiving awards and to give them the recognition they deserved, a custom in-the-round stage was built by AVW-TELAV's Set Shop. This set-up gave the entire audience the feeling that they were very close to the action and gave the winners the exposure they deserved. AVW-TELAV's Set Shop also provided two custom glass podiums from which the presenter announced the evening's winners.

AVW-TELAV has worked diligently to produce this annual event with Marianne Thompson, Director of Special Events and Meetings, RE/MAX (Ontario-Atlantic Canada), every year for the past 16 years. Although, admittedly, it's been a challenge to top the creative and buzzed-about ceremonies from prior years, including a crowd-pleasing Baroque theme and a 007-inspired Casino Royale theme, the feedback from guests this year's guests was unexpectedly astounding, which leaves our two organizations FIRED-up (pun intended) to top the success of this awards and dinner gala in 2009!

Exclaimed Thompson: "With AVW-TELAV as our AV partner, the next year's gala will be classified as an element all its own."