PA Raspberry Pi Awards 2024 Event Production

Event production

This year the competition was held at an exceptionally prestigious venue in Kings Cross, London. We worked closely with the in-house AV and events team over multiple pre-event site visits to ensure cohesive workflows and processes were agreed upon and adhered to during the event lifecycle.

On the day of the event, we started with a comprehensive set of event briefings and technical rehearsals. We ran through the whole event with the hosts to rigorously test the tech and autocue. Additionally, we walked through the whole show twice to ensure the stings were triggered at the right point of the script of the show and ran through any adjustments made to the show flow or autocue.

The event was held throughout several spaces, including a main stage area for the welcome speech and awards, and a foyer area where each of the 16 school teams had their own space to work on their inventions, be interviewed by the judges, and chat with Fran Scott, the host of the event. There was also a judge’s briefing area for which we ran the AV.

For the successful production of the PAPi Raspberry Pi Awards, we had a team of 12, working closely with the in-house AV team. This included a Project Manager, Sound Technician, Showcaller, Graphics Playback Operator, Switching Technician, Autocue Operator, three Camera Operators, Video Editor and Video Producer.

Event Branding

In the foyer areas, we created an animated agenda and welcome content to welcome the guests. We had a media board printed in Rafa canvas, a more sustainable backdrop option, with a recycled wooden frame for the interview backdrop. In the main stage area, the venue had a 12-metre LED screen built into the room, which we utilised as branding for the room, using five different backdrops that we animated throughout the show. All award stings and lower thirds were animated and incorporated into the event build.

AV Support

Our Sound Technician operated the in-house audio system, while lighting and the PA system were taken care of by the in-house team. We supplied an Autocue Operator and Autocue system for the speakers, as well as a comfort monitor. For the 16 school teams, we supplied screens, keyboards and a mouse for them to plug in their Raspberry Pi microcomputer.

Event Filming

We had two event videography deliverables for PA: a 1-minute highlight reel for social media (in 9:16 and 16:9), to be delivered within 12 hours, and an 8-10 minute re-cap video for delivery within 48 hours for YouTube. In addition to this, we edited the long-form competitor videos to create a short highlight video to be played on the main stage ahead of the winner announcements.

For the highlight reel and recap video, our Video Producer mapped out storyboards, which were reviewed with the client. To capture the required content, we had three Camera Operators split between the main stage, the interview area and a roaming Gimbal Operator. With the tight turnaround time, we had an on-site Video Editor, editing footage as it came in, meaning we were able to provide our client with a first draft highlights reel by the end of the event, well ahead of the agreed timeframe.