Illumination and Tradition

On the night before Spring Commencement at The Ohio State University, the traditional candlelight ceremony was held in front of the Thompson Library. This is a very special evening established years ago for students to celebrate and reflect on their accomplishments at OSU. The class of 2013 was the second-largest graduating class in Ohio State history with 10,143 Buckeyes.

Bartha teamed with the University to bathe the east façade of the Library in bright scarlet hues. This striking visual effect provided the perfect backdrop for a final and emotional farewell. Bartha is proud to have been a part of this special event. We understand how lighting of this magnitude creates a special mood and makes a lasting impression. Congratulations to the class of 2013! 

Ace-high in Kansas City

Recently, Bartha worked in the cavernous Hall E of the Kansas City Convention Center for Team National’s ‘Thrive with Heart’ Convention. This is the fourth National Convention that Team National has partnered with Bartha to produce. Two tractor trailers, loaded with Bartha gear left our docks on a Tuesday, and by Thursday our team was ready for rehearsals and shows for 2,500 attendees. Key elements of this show included:

• Three 12’ x 21.5’ screens, HD cameras, projection, and recording
• Production of a custom graphics template as well as on-site production
• A western-themed stage set designed specifically for the Boots and BBQ evening festivities
• Comprehensive show production; graphics, video, audio, lighting and staff

We are thrilled to start planning for Team National’s Summer event in Orlando; be sure to check out our Facebook page to see pictures and updates!

Tight Timeline -- Not for Bartha!

Nationwide Retirement Solutions is relocating to downtown Columbus from the Dublin area, so they chose to bring their 2013 National Sales Meeting to the newest venue, the Hilton Downtown Columbus, just next door to the new headquarters. As an introduction to their new home, 1,200 field and home office staff gathered for an “all company meeting” featuring an upbeat, synchronized, three-screen video to kick off the event. Working with Nationwide’s Meeting & Event Management Group, Bartha’s team was able to load in at 8am and be ready for executive rehearsals by 3pm. This included a custom stage set, all sound, lighting and projection, loading and prepping 67 individual video files for playback, programming the screen sequences, and double checking graphic content.

Doing What Is Right

For the 15th year in a row, Bartha produced The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Breakfast Celebration, held each year in Columbus, OH. This celebration is the largest event of its kind in the United States. This year’s theme was “The time is always right to do what is right”. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr. delivered a heartfelt keynote. Bartha was asked to be a part of this year’s celebration again and provided audio, video, lighting and a vibrant backdrop for the event. A larger than life image of Dr. King Jr. was projected above the center stage to enhance the sense of celebration, reflection, and communion.

Creativity and Collaboration

In early 2011, Bartha began a collaborative partnership with The Ohio State University producing a number of spectacular events in support of the University and various scholarship funds; each has created unique, powerful experiences.

The first was the Jessie Owens Tribute. Bartha designed a main stage with a 15’ by 85’ widescreen serving as a dynamic backdrop for the evening. Bartha’s design team created custom graphics to support each segment of the program including an animation of Jesse Owens running across the full width of the screen.

In 2012, Bartha built on the success of the Owens Tribute by producing the Celebrating John Glenn event. Wide-screen, high-definition video production took the audience back to 1962 for the launch and historic flight of John Glenn’s Friendship 7.  At the beginning of fall semester, 2012, Bartha’s creative team helped welcome 7,000 incoming freshman to OSU. This high-energy event at Nationwide Arena utilized massive video screens along with interactive projection on the Arena floor to illustrate the best that Columbus has to offer.

The final event of 2012 was the public launch of the But for Ohio State campaign, staged in the Archie Griffin Ballroom of The Ohio Union. This unique event demanded innovative imagery and staging supported with emotional storytelling. Bartha delivered with unique 360 degree projection. Fourteen high definition projectors were utilized to surround the audience with powerful images, transporting them to the center of the Oval at dawn, to mountain glaciers, to the fifty yard line of Ohio Stadium on game day.

Bartha’s production team delivered with over a dozen inspirational ‘But for Ohio State’ videos; stories of University benefactors, academic achievement, cutting-edge research and global impact. Each video story, from the dynamic wide-screen opening to the tale of disappearing glaciers, was told with original scripting, archival images and high definition footage that took our staff to Arizona, Florida and Chicago.

Bartha’s partnership with The Ohio State University continues in 2013 with the recently completed Anne & Woody Hayes Tribute Event. Bartha’s design team re-created the Ohio Stadium façade on the practice field within the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex. Five projection screens incorporated in this massive backdrop carried archival images to support each segment of the program. Bartha’s production team created a number of HD videos to tell the story of Anne and Woody Hayes’ legacy.

Another link about the OSU Freshman Event

The Columbus Dispatch published another story about the OSU Freshman Welcome to Columbus Event on Monday.  This article gets into a little more detail about the content of the event.

"With one of the country’s largest classes of freshmen starting school this week, Ohio State University and Columbus civic leaders came up with a win-win plan to give incoming students a taste of Downtown.

As part of an hours-long immersion in all things Buckeye, on Monday, OSU’s 7,000 newly minted freshmen were bused to Nationwide Arena for an introduction to the heart of the city by Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams founder Jeni Britton Bauer and others. Though they were coming from campus just 3 miles away, many of these students might not have made it to Downtown for months on their own, since OSU’s sprawling campus can serve as a self-contained city.

Everyone’s the richer for trying to get students involved with the city, and vice versa, from the outset. The more students see of Columbus’ diverse neighborhoods and their cultural and entertainment options, the more likely they are to get the most out of their college years.

From the city’s perspective, this could mean slowing the “brain drain” leaders long have fretted about. Studies in recent years have shown that young people decide where to bring their skills and knowledge after graduation based as much or more on where they’d like to live as on where they can readily get a job. Columbus has been no match for cities like Chicago, Seattle and Boston in its cool factor with young people.

Some of that may be based on a simple lack of knowledge about all that this city has to offer. So civic groups, including the Columbus Chamber, the Columbus Partnership and the Experience Columbus visitors bureau, helped organize an introduction to Columbus sports, attractions and businesses that was both entertaining and informative.

“We’re cool, we’re fun. We’re exciting,” Coleman told the young attendees. “And we want you to stay here.”

The initiative grew out of Easy Columbus, a Web-based effort started three years ago to try to connect students from a number of central Ohio colleges with the city. Monday’s event demonstrates that even though today’s students live very much in the digital world, often texting and tweeting more than they actually talk to each other, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned pep rally to reach students and grab their interest.

This was proved by some of the tweets that students sent out during the event.

“Today made me so excited to be living in Columbus,” tweeted Jesse Crow.

“Going to live in Columbus some day for sure,” said Erin Mundorf.

Welcome to Columbus, students. The city is happy to have you here, and hopes you decide to stay."

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/08/24/red-carpet-treatment.html

Ohio State Freshman Welcome

The Ohio State University Freshman Welcome to Columbus Event

It has been a busy summer here at Bartha… producing events in Maui, Orlando, L.A., Pittsburgh and points in between.  Most recently we produced an event for 7,000 Ohio State University freshman to welcome the new students to Columbus. The event took place August 20th at Nationwide Arena and introduced students to key places to go, things to do, and ways to get around in Columbus.

Up to five discreet HD motion video sources and three HD graphic sources with content produced by Bartha were routed to the projection surfaces to support every segment of the program.  The floor projection came to life with animated video maps highlighting COTA bus routes, Columbus neighborhoods and destinations through the utilization of Google Earth.  OSU students added a live performance element as they interacted with the animated maps and points of interest. 

To welcome students to Columbus, the opening video module included well known OSU Alumni including members of the band O.A.R., Jeni Britton Bauer, Eddie George, Chris Speilman, Tami and Claire Longaberger, Stephanie Hightower and Clark Kellogg. Each introduced themselves as 'once OSU freshman' and added a personal message.

To whet the appetite of students and motivate them to explore the city through their taste buds, Bartha shot and edited a delicious video on Columbus' food scene.  This included interviews from Liz Lessner, President of the Columbus Food League and owner Betty's Fine Food and Spirits and Surly Girl Saloon, Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, and Cameron Mitchell of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. Current Ohio State students weighed in on their favorite places to dine in Columbus and described the delectable offerings from local restaurants.

The closing of the program included crowd interaction with representatives from local businesses, Columbus sports team mascots, The Ohio State marching band and OSU cheerleaders. It ended with an upbeat C-BUS cheer and a surprising pyrotechnics display.

Click here to read the Columbus Dispatch's coverage on the event.