Wyeth is a global leader in prescription pharmaceuticals, non-prescription consumer health care products, and animal health care products. With research and development programs focused on small molecules, vaccines, and biotechnology, Wyeth is exploring more than 60 new therapies for medical conditions such as diabetes, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia.
The Situation
The Research and Development division of Wyeth needed a vehicle in which to assemble and inform its employees in Collegeville and around the world on company news and corporate decisions as well as update them on the direction of the R&D department.
Client Needs
Meetings were to be held in a multi-leveled seating area for the Research and Development cafeteria
Hundreds of other employees would need to be able to hear the speakers and view the presentations from multiple locations around the globe as well as other areas of the Collegeville campus.
These events, given the important legal nature of the information, would also need to be audio and video recorded for archival purposes.
The IMS Solution
Through detailed coordination between the client, project managers and technicians, IMS Audio Visual was able to provide a highly customized solution in which all of Wyeth’s goals and critical business communication could be achieved.
Staging and Set design
32-foot wide, 2 foot high stage, covered with gray carpet with step units on both sides and a matching gray carpeted podium was placed center stage.
A backdrop of deep blue cloth was suspended from 40 feet of medium duty lighting truss and raised into place by a pair of Genie towers. From the ends of the stage out to the corners of the room, IMS placed an additional 110 feet of black pipe and drape curtains.
Video
Two 10.5 by 14 foot Da-Lite Truss screens were utilized for the extreme left and right sides of the cafeteria.
Another 10.5 by 14 foot screen was placed at the center of the room and raised to a position over the heads of the presenters on stage.
Each screen was paired with a 5200 Lumen Sanyo LCD projector and controlled by a Folsom 1603 video switcher.
For presenter confidence, IMS used two 27 inch video monitors to give the speakers full view of his or her slides from every position across the stage.
Image magnification of the presenters could be projected on the 2 outer screens, giving everyone in attendance clear views of the data and of the presenters.
Video and audio recording was achieved with a dual set of Sony DVC-Pro decks.
Audio
An eight speaker Clair Brothers sound system was used in the front stage area as well as in the upper balconies.
For complete wireless flexibility, IMS utilized 8 Shure UHF microphones: lavaliere styles for the presenters and handheld styles for audience question and answer sessions.
Audio mixing was achieved with a Soundcraft 32-channel console.
Lighting
A sharp, focused camera image of the presenters was accomplished with the help of 12 Source 4 conventional Leko light fixtures located on 3 individual trees on the upper balcony of the cafeteria.
Additional backlighting from 2 Source 4 Par units helped separate the presenter from the blue set background.
To give a sleek, stylized look to the stage design, IMS brought in 6 ColorBlast LED units to use as uplighting. These lightweight, low-energy, low-heat light fixtures can create thousands of colors each. This gave Wyeth complete flexibility and control over the look and feel of their customized set.
Remote Broadcasting
Because of the flexibility and connectivity of their design, IMS was able to create a separate and unique broadcast of the entire event, complete with PowerPoint slides, video rolls and camera images to be fed into Wyeth' internal videoconferencing network. This simulcast allowed all of Wyeth' global locations to dial in to see and hear the important information being discussed, as well as other locations around the Collegeville campus.
Always concerned with having a back-up plan, IMS also sent out an audio-only version of the event, available to all locations over standard phone line.
Results
Through collaboration and teamwork, Wyeth and IMS together were able to establish a new standard in staging sleek and stylish large-venue events in addition to the availability of worldwide broadcasting. Wyeth' Research and Development All-Hands Meetings have played a large part in creating the culture and direction of a very successful health care operation. Having fully-customizable elements and flexible design options, IMS Audio Visual has given Wyeth the ability to fully realize their business communication goals as well as the room to modify and transform as their technology needs evolve.
