Delegates and guests at the Service Desk Institute (SDI) awards event, part of the SDI Conference 2012 at Staverton Park, Daventry (19-20 June 2012), were treated to an Anglo-Grecian extravaganza by the creative bods at Aztec Event Services. The intimate venue, fresh event brand and Greek theme presented a tempting challenge for Gavin Haughey, senior account manager for Aztec. Gavin conceived a versatile stage set that combined the brand and theme with elegant simplicity, incorporating contemporary Greek columns to chime with the evening’s entertainment, the inimitable Stavros Flatley.

A cosy venue provided technical challenges – because space was at a premium, the design needed to minimize the technical footprint. The solution was to use rear projection, with a twin projector blended image providing a 20ft x 8ft screen within the set. In pre-production, the Aztec team developed animated SDI-branded graphics to provide a subtly-moving backdrop for the screen, while applying the semi-translucent speaker support material over the top with a chroma-key technique, creating a distinctive and stunning effect. For the awards dinner, Aztec brought a dramatic transformation to the room with a change of on-screen animated graphics and lighting. This created a really memorable event with a touch of glamour and distinction.

Ashley Attwood, Aztec’s technical manager, pre-programmed all of the video, graphics, audio and lighting in Aztec’s studio with the production manager Tom Walsh overseeing and managing the entire installation and running the two day event. Walsh said: “This type of event is a big team project and there are many people involved behind the scenes that often don’t get recognized for their contribution. Well done to Peter and Duncan (our onsite senior sound and lighting technicians) and our graphics and warehouse departments for their great work in the pre-production.”

Sue Hayward, head of standards, qualifications and curriculum at Service Desk Institute, said: “The support we got from the team from Aztec was great – they were all very helpful, and went above and beyond their brief. The room used for the awards wasn’t an easy one to work with, but the Aztec team was very proactive and came up with good ideas of how to get around the challenges. They were very professional at all times, but they were also easy to work with, and everything was done with a smile, making the whole process fun as well as productive and creative.”