In early November 2015, Eventions Productions was involved in an amazing event for the Philadelphia Zoo, The Fourth Annual Global Conservation Gala. This year’s Gala was a celebration of Zoo 360, the new network of animal trails that suspend above most of the zoo. The yearly gala honors pioneers in the world of conservation, furthers the Zoo’s mission, and recognizes the support of volunteer leadership, with this year’s honoree being Jay H Calvert, Jr. from Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius.

Zoo 360 is a groundbreaking way for animals to thrive in a zoo setting, the first of its kind in the world. The system allows guests to see the animals in a 360 degree prospective that has created new ways for visitors to engage with wildlife and their plight, by providing new opportunities for animals to roam far beyond their traditional Zoo habitats.

We were inspired by the Zoo 360 system and designed a room environment that replicated the celebrated system. We installed a 360 degree video projection screen system on the ballroom balcony that allowed the guests to see the screen from all areas of the room. We then directed a film crew to capture the essence of the zoo from the animals prospective in the system and re-projected it onto the screen, making the ballroom a recreation of the Zoo itself.

From the time the guests entered the room, they were immersed in 360 degree high definition video that was beyond spectacular. A dramatic lighting installation highlighted the décor as well as the beautiful architecture of the Bellevue Hotel, and an immersive sound system fed background noises recorded in the zoo as well as provided support for the speeches and presentation.

Decorators extraordinaire Penncora also ran with the Zoo 360 look and recreated the trail system over the table tops as part of their décor. A fifteen foot diameter reproduction of the planet earth stole the show on the stage.

Photo credits: John Armich