The Cloud

Only 4 months before the opening of New Zealand’s largest ever sporting event - the Rugby World Cup 2011 - the Gibson Group was approached to deliver a NZ showcase in a purpose built venue in downtown Auckland.

The goal was to deliver a message to the world that New Zealand was much more than a pretty place to visit and had a business environment that embraced ingenuity, innovation and creativity.

The space dubbed The Cloud due to its unique architectural design was huge – 185 metres long and 26 metres wide. Gibson Group’s multidisciplinary skills came to the fore as we were tasked with creating a high-end inspirational film, a short version of which you can view here, a physical showcase highlighting over 30 NZ companies, producing video content for another 40+ businesses on-screen and other media for many of the bespoke events held in the venue.

Adding to the challenge was the installation of two extremely large 6mm LED screens measuring 17.5 metres x 4.2 metres each. They required Gibson Group’s software developers to create unique play out systems that could handle the unusual aspect ratio and real time changing of media content.

Finally the whole space had to be flexible and be reconfigured into a live event venue for functions and for audiences of up to 5,000 during the 6 weeks of the Rugby World Cup.

Working with multiple stakeholders, designers and installation specialists the project was delivered on time and has been hailed as a game changer in telling the world that New Zealand is open for business.