A Decade of Collaboration: Celebrating 10 Years of TEDxSydney and Innovative Production Services
This year marks the 10th anniversary of one of our most cherished partnerships: TEDxSydney and TEDxSydney Youth.
In 2014, we connected with TEDxSydney founder and CEO, Remo Giuffre, who envisioned creating the biggest TEDx event in the world, both literally and figuratively. It didn’t take long for his team to turn this vision into reality!
It was an honour for our company to come on board and work with such an iconic brand. We couldn’t have been prouder to be entrusted with the task of managing the vision component of the event at the Sydney Opera House as the technical partner.
After some amazing shows at the Sydney Opera House, the popularity and demand for tickets led to the flagship event moving to the shiny new ICC Sydney in 2017.
This event saw Remo achieve his goal, hosting up to 5,000 attendees who witnessed 20 speakers and 10 performances that captured the hearts and imaginations of the audience. In such an expansive theatre room, we were able to maintain the intimate and personable feeling of the speakers by using a circular stage surrounded by seating and three faceted 32m wide x 6m high borderless screens. Every seat in the house had a perfect view of the speakers’ presentations and the raw emotions on their faces.
As the event rapidly expanded in popularity over the years, so did our involvement. We became the key technical partner, delivering end-to-end technical production, from pre-production to executing complex lighting, audio, video systems, and seating floorplans.
TEDxSydney is regarded as the 'gold standard’ for the largest independently organized TED event in the world. We were entrusted to push the technical creative boundaries even further. In 2018, we developed a revolutionary screen system that allowed us to build a five-faceted seamless and borderless screen that wrapped around the stage, spanning a whopping 48m and 6m high. NEP delivered a 14-camera live broadcast, which was live-streamed globally, and each talk and performance was post-produced for the TED platform.
Fast forward a couple of years and COVID-19 threw the event into jeopardy for the first time. However like many, we had to pivot to keep the show alive and within a couple of weeks we had built a TV studio called The Hub at Pix on Location to deliver the first ever remote broadcast of a TEDx event! This time we also brought all of the live production services in house and produced a 8 camera live broadcast, with the majority of speakers and performers seamlessly integrated from all corners of Australia.
Thankfully, the world returned to normal operations, and in 2022 the event was hosted at another iconic venue, Sydney Town Hall, and in 2023 at The Hordern Pavilion. Again, we managed the end-to-end delivery of the event. However, this time we brought along our shiny new toy - our award-winning hybrid OB Truck, 4K ONE. This addition is a game-changer for the operations and production of such a high-calibre event.
Not only is the truck fitted with the highest quality equipment, but it also allows us to adapt to any environment to deliver and produce high-quality content for both the live event and live broadcast from one central location. The benefits are numerous, including decreased operating costs and floor space required for operations, increased seating capacity, and higher quality production by seamlessly integrating the in-venue and broadcast teams, ultimately increasing revenue and profits. The evolution of our technical production over the years reflects broader trends in the industry. These advancements have allowed for more dynamic and immersive experiences, enhancing the overall impact of the events.
Our favourite speaker of all time??? It’s hard to go past ’The Happiest man on Earth’ - 99 year old Holocaust survivor, Eddie Jaku at TEDxSydney 2019. If you haven’t had the chance to listen to his amazing story then please ensure you do. It will change your view on life forever.
Megan Washington is another stand out talk and performance of the last decade. One of Australia's premier singer/songwriters Megan reveals her secret problem. Since childhood, Megan has been afflicted with a stutter which has hampered her ability to communicate. Except when she sings.
The Thing Is, I Stutter: Megan Washington at TEDxSydney 2014 (youtube.com)
It has been a privilege to go on this journey and grow alongside TEDxSydney, continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in live event production.
Here’s to another 10 years TEDxSydney!
Remo Giuffre, Susan McMahon, TEDx Sydney, TEDx Youth, Sydney Opera House, ICC Sydney, Sydney Town Hall, Hordern Pavillion, NEP, The Hub, Pix on Location, 4K ONE, Eddie Jaku, Megan Washington
