When the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights hosted the Seattle Kraken at the T-Mobile Arena, the VGK Entertainment, Experience and Production Team wanted to ensure it was a larger-than-life experience. Not only did this event make history as the newest rivalry in the NHL, but the opening night match was also each team’s first televised ESPN event. The goal was to take the teams to new heights by making an international splash on broadcast television.
Andrew Abrams, senior executive producer of Production & Venue Technology at VGK EEP, led a team of ten people to envision the perfect pre-game opener. As the newest and second-newest teams in the NHL, the anticipation of the live event was a key component in their strategy. “We knew we wanted to make the squid in the ice the big ‘wow’ moment,” stated Abrams. “After that, it was all about execution. We had an ambitious timeline, so we were going to need some help.”
Abrams turned to Quince Imaging, an innovative live-experience firm headquartered in the Washington, D.C., metro area that has a twenty-five-year reputation for providing technologically awe-inspiring engagement solutions for live and virtual audiences worldwide.
“We’ve collaborated with many professional sporting leagues, but [this year], we’ve been able to step out from the ‘collaborator’ role and move into an ‘innovator’ role,” said Eric Gazzillo, director of Innovation at Quince Imaging. “We have a [talented crew of artists, producers, animators, and experience event experts] on our team to create the full live event experience.”
Zubair Parkar, art director at Quince Imaging, commended the VGK EEP team for giving creative direction. “I sculpted a 3D model of the Kraken using cinema 4D in collaboration with my team to produce animation capable of displaying a fast-paced visual that created an entire show,” he said. “The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t simply choose to play a video; they also integrated live elements, including choreography and sound cues for an exceptional effect.”
Quince Imaging was able to turn this animation around in just under three weeks. “[They] made it really easy to bring our ideas and timing to life,” stated Abrams. “It’s one of the coolest projects our team has ever gotten to be a part of!”
