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Projects / 007 · Public-space event systems

DC Wharf

Screens on the waterfront.

LocationWashington, DC

TimeframeSeasonal programming

RoleVideo Engineer · Technical Lead

Fig 01 · Waterfront playback

00

Overview

A changing set of outdoor public programs supported through video setup, playback, routing, display management, and practical troubleshooting in waterfront conditions.

Challenge

Outdoor stages and public screens have to remain readable across distance, daylight, weather, large crowds, and event formats that can shift from film playback to festivals and live sports programming.

Response

I supported marquee waterfront events including DC JazzFest, Summer Movie Nights, the Holiday Boat Parade, and Army–Navy programming, adapting the system to the audience, schedule, and physical site each time.

Outcome

A single public destination could support multiple visual identities and production models while maintaining dependable playback and clear sightlines for large outdoor audiences.

04program formats

Outdoordisplay systems

Seasonalsite operation

Publicaudience scale

01 · On site

Open-air screens and stages

Playback and display systems are positioned for long viewing distances, changing daylight, and audiences moving through the site.

Outdoor summer stage with display screens facing the waterfront crowd — Summer stage

Stage and screens set against the wharf at dusk — Waterfront stage

Holiday tree and illuminated displays on the waterfront at night — Holiday programming

02 · Documentation

On the waterfront

Additional frames from the recurring Wharf work. Click any frame to view it full size.

DC Wharf — documentation frame 01

DC Wharf — documentation frame 02

Holiday programming on the pier stage — house look running behind the band.

The stage as the audience sees it — backdrop, backline and rig in one frame.

Red wash on the pier stage between sets.

Branded surround on the boardwalk — the tree carries the far end.

Fireworks over the channel — the show the crowd came for.

From the operator's side of the barricade.

Peak of the barge sequence.

Green break — the finale building.

Shot from the deck — the pier's own decoration lines up with the show.

The crowd, from behind the control position.

Panoramic night view of the Wharf waterfront with lit buildings and moored boats — The Wharf after dark — the venue is the whole waterfront.

Night view across the channel toward the Washington Monument, with a water taxi at the pier — Looking upriver — the Monument sits behind the parade route.

The lit waterfront and channel at night, seen from the pier — Parade route, staged and waiting.

Night waterfront with a safety boat on the channel below the lit buildings — Safety boat holding the line before the first pass.

Spectators at the rail with the lit waterfront and channel behind them — The rail fills up an hour before the parade.

Crowd behind barricade at the pier stage, with line array, string lights and the holiday tree — Barricade, line array, tree — the public-space kit in one shot.

Wide view of the pier stage from the control position, with a scissor lift and the crowd — From the control position: lift, stage, crowd, and the deck all of it sits on.

A hand on a Martin lighting console at the outdoor control position, crowd behind — Console on the deck, crowd at arm's length — outdoor front of house.

Hand triggering clips on a laptop running a playback grid, crowd visible beyond — Triggering the grid mid-show.

Haze and red wash — the stage look at full.

A mobile stage on the pier with access stairs, under an overcast sky — September 2024, same pier — mobile stage going up for a watch party.

The stage's LED wall showing a live tennis broadcast, seen from the side — Broadcast on the wall — the whole event is one feed, held steady.

The branded stage front with performers and a seated audience area on the boardwalk — Stage front and audience area on the boardwalk.

The back of the LED wall showing panel frames, power and data cabling — The back of the wall — panel frames, power and data, before the skins go on.

Close view of LED panel rears with locking hardware and cable runs — Locks and cable runs — this is most of the build.

Attendees walking the pier past event tents toward the stage — Doors open — tents, pier, and the screen at the end of it.

The stage with rows of white chairs set out and event banners flanking it — Chairs set, screen live, waiting for a crowd.

Wide view of the pier setup with tents, seating and the stage screen — The whole footprint from the far end of the pier.

The stage set with lounge chairs in front of a large screen showing the broadcast — A lounge set built into the stage — viewing, not performance.

A camera on a tripod facing the stage screen showing the live broadcast — Camera up for capture, broadcast still running behind it.

Wide view of the covered stage structure with the screen centred — Stage roof, screen centred — the fixed point everything else works around.

Sound check under the rig — the emblem lighting live before doors.

The screen doing double duty — show content and the social call-out.

The stage from the crowd's angle — rig and screen in one frame.

The boardwalk after dark — string lights leading toward the stage.

First bursts over the channel.

Low bursts tracking the horizon.

A magenta break over the water.

Green and white together, reflected in the channel.

Finale bursts past the building's own lights.

The crowd's view — rig in the foreground, sky behind it.

Red wash close — the stage under full color.

A tall screen tower seen from below running photo content, cloudy sky behind — Content live on the tower before the crowd arrives.

A tall screen tower seen from below running sports content, cloudy sky behind — Program content cycling on the screen during build.

Performers on the wide stage under a cloudy sky during a level check — A level check, stage still half-dressed.

Rear of an LED panel wall showing the rigging and cable runs — Panel rear — every clamp and cable before it's covered.

Rear of an LED panel wall from a lower angle, showing the rigging frame — Another pass on the panel rig, mid-build.

Pedestrians and tents on the boardwalk with the screen tower visible in the distance — Wharf traffic on a build day — the tower already up.

Wide view of the stage with the screen dark, a technician walking away — The stage at rest between sessions.

Wide view of the finished stage structure against an overcast sky — The finished rig against a grey sky.

The stage screen running live content, two people near the deck — Content live, checked from the deck.

Two people setting up a camera position facing the stage — A camera position set up for the show.

Wide view of the covered stage structure against a cloudy sky

Close view of an LED wall running a pixel-map test pattern with numbered grid references — A pixel-map test pattern, run panel by panel before content goes up.

Close view of a tablet running the show's control interface — The control surface — content queued from a tablet.