Big events are a lot of fun for us. Our team thrives on challenges and loves getting stuck into technical requirements so when The University of Western Australia approached us with their concept for a brand new outdoor commencement ceremony event, we jumped at the chance to get involved. The event was to replace several smaller ceremonies where new students were split into faculty groups and officially welcomed to the university, and instead provided a large scale and vibrant launchpad for all of the thousands of students to start the next chapter of their lives. Icon AV was responsible for all production management, as well as provision of audio, lighting, staging and screens.
We were heavily involved from the very start with this project helping the UWA events team to create the ideal concept. The event itself went through several versions, including different venues, capacities, formats and more. Throughout this process we offered our advice and knowledge of what solutions we could provide to ensure the venue was used appropriately. Eventually it was decided to use the spacious Riley Oval, with the stage placed in front of a beautiful backdrop of trees and the Swan River. The expected attendance was approximately 3000 students and family members.
The event kicked off in the afternoon with multiple food truck areas, plenty of bean bags to chill out on and music played by current student DJs. Closer to the formal proceedings the Emily Joy Trio took to the stage and played some amazing pop covers! During this time we made use of the extensive lighting rig and side of stage LED screens to keep things exciting and dynamic with a lighting show using lots of haze, and facilitating live camera to screen with the help of Brightside Live.
Our lighting rig consisted of Martin, Event Lighting and ShowPro lights, controlled from an MA2 Command Wing. On either side of the stage was a 5x3m high definition, high brightness outdoor rated LED screen.
Once everyone was fed, entertained and settled, the formal proceedings began with a wonderful welcome to country which included a smoking ceremony and didgeridoo performance. The students were then officially welcomed to their degree by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Student Guild President, and Chair of Convocation. Our vision technician handled all presentation slides and videos live, assisted by the UWA events team.
All of this was presented using a front of house KV2 VHD sound system and supplementary KV2 ES sound system for a delay stack. Audio was crisp and clear throughout the entire venue.
Additionally, we provided a few other things including over 150m of festoon lighting near the food areas, and coloured LED uplighting for the trees behind the stage and around the rest of the venue.
The event was an amazing accomplishment from all involved, and the students will definitely not forget their experience any time soon.
The following year, the UWA team made the decision to move the event to Whitfeld Court - a pristine lawn in front of Winthrop Hall. With such a different space, we redesigned our solution from the ground up and helped deliver yet another flawless event.