The power and community of the Internet played a big part in Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency, so it’s no wonder that the pre-inaugural bash held by the influential Internet news source, The Huffington Post, was a hot ticket. Scharff Weisberg, Inc. (SWI) provided video presentation services to one of the most talked-about parties in town at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum.

Event designer David Stark paid homage to The Huffington Post’s home platform by creating a pair of large video sculptures of laptops for the main floor of the Newseum. Opened to a working position, the laptops had fabric keyboards with typing hands projected on them. Their screens featured projected media sourced from the huffingtonpost.com site. Guests were able to post information on the website blog and upload live video; information was channeled via an operator to the screen.

“One of the event’s biggest challenges turned out to be a triumph in the end,� notes SWI project manager Tony Rossello. “All of the projectors used were off-axis to the screens, with a few way off to the side. Keystone correction for the keyboard hands was provided by Dataton WATCHOUT through Barco SLM R-12 video projectors while correction for the laptop screens was facilitated through Christie Warp software in the S+16 video projectors.�

To ensure that SWI was completely prepared for the night of the party, the crew conducted a full mockup of the installation in the Scharff Weisberg shop prior to the event, he points out. “The simulated set up gave us a lot of confidence going in,� reports technical supervisor Lars Pedersen.

In addition to the two laptop sculptures, SWI provided a two-camera IMAG package for performances by will.i.am, Sheryl Crow, and Sting. Four Barco RLM-6 displayed IMAG of the artists on two 7.5 x 10-foot screens flanking the stage.

The laptop sculpture fabrication was created by David Stark design. The content was created by Kiera Alexandra.

“We could have never pulled off an interactive feat like this without our partners at Scharff Weisberg. When we are ‘inventing from scratch,’ I know that Scharff and team have the smarts and passion to be trusted innovators,” comments David Stark

At SWI Mike Alboher was video engineer, Armando Acevedo video projectionist and Tim Clark WATCHOUT programmer.

Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications, firms with extensive histories in the presentation and staging markets, recently announced a co-ownership agreement. While continuing to operate independently the two companies work together strategically to provide clients with state-of-the-art audio, video and lighting equipment and services. With a strong presence on both coasts Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications are able to deliver a large array of cost-effective services on a national level. For more information, call 212-582-2345 or visit our website at www.scharffweisberg.com. For more information on VIdeo Applications, visit www.videoapps.com.