THE CALL

Oceanx, formerly known as Alucia Productions, is a media company dedicated to documenting and filming new ventures in oceanic exploration. They recently set out on a new journey to rebrand and ran into some rough waters on the way to their launch. BlackHouse answered their SOS.

THE SITUATION

Oceanx was sought out by the prestigious American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to assist in the creation of a new and innovative marine exhibit. This in turn was the perfect opportunity for the Oceanx team to raise their new flag. To do so, they recruited a well-established branding and eventplanning firm along with BlackHouse for top-notch event design and production. In tandem, we created an immersive and experiential premiere of not only Oceanx’s new brand, but the AMNH’s newest exhibit OCEANS.

THE CHALLENGE

The biggest wave to overcome was where the event was to take place. Following a viewing of Oceanx’s custom IMAX film for the (NAME OF EXHIBIT)’s premiere, guests were to be invited to a gala style reception. The Hall of Ocean Life, one of the museum’s largest spaces and exhibitions, would have been the ideal surroundings for the event and brand, but unfortunately it was not available.   With a guest count of 400 people, the only space that could accommodate the event was the Wallach Orientation Center. The cavernous space not only offered minimal lighting, so contrary to the ambient and surreal mood the client wanted, but it had a bigger problem – a to-scale replica of a dinosaur standing in the middle of the room.

THE PLAN

BlackHouse had partnered with Celadon Creative on previous events, so stepping into the tank together was seamless and the work was efficient. Our first step was addressing the more tactile elements of the space. To open the space for design

and décor, we cleared all the existing furniture and functional pieces. Chic lounge vignettes and marine decorative flourishes were installed to give a structural foundation in the space.  The next step was addressing how to create the living light of the ocean in a space that offered so little begin with. To start, we brought in 10-foot truss towers wrapped in abstract images from the client’s brand-book. Each tower was illuminated from within using a moving lighting fixture, which created waves of movement and the ambient lighting began to breathe life into the space. We

further added design flourishes such as branded gobo projections and atmospheric uplighting tocomplete the look. Through this innovative lighting design, we truly brought not only the structural components of the event, but the Oceanx brand to life.

THE END

BlackHouse and its Tribe are never afraid to explore spaces others have not dared. With our partnersat Celadon Creative, we brought new depths to the guest experience and presented the client in the

best light. In the end, the explores at Oceanx felt like heroes and this was and is always our aim.