After hosting this year's Academy Awards, Seth MacFarlane hosted an after-party at the Lot in West Hollywood, produced by Night Vision Entertainment. The centerpiece of the event was a 30-foot chandelier and 72-piece orchestra, which played on stage under a dome meant to evoke the Hollywood Bowl.
ESPN's morning presentation on May 14 took over the Best Buy Theater to reveal a new studio for SportsCenter and other network announcements. Produced by Broadstreet, the event even addressed what ESPN president called "the elephant in the room"—the forthcoming introduction of new rival Fox Sports 1—by having the University of Alabama mascot Al the Elephant join him on stage.
Last year marked E!'s first time hosting an upfront in New York, and on April 22 the network returned to the city to build on the format and tone set in 2012. For the events team and producer Maggie Swisher of Los Angeles-based Swisher Productions, that meant using the same black-and-white color palette and creating a sophisticated club look inside the Grand ballroom of Manhattan Center Studios.
Event Creative did the decor for Chicago's Steppenwolf Gala in early May, bringing what designer Jeffrey Foster called a "dark and sexy" decor scheme to a raw event space. Arty light fixtures featured lightbulbs in wire spheres, and strands of lights hung from the ceiling.
The Museum of Modern Art’s annual Party in the Garden took place on May 21. Overhead, dense arrangements of tropical plants were suspended between white pillars, creating a jungle-like canopy effect.
Microsoft executives presented content and announcements, while developers from Microsoft Studios, EA, Capcom, Respawn Entertainment, and other studios got a first look at demos, videos, and new developments in gaming that will be available on Xbox One and Xbox 360 for the first time. Highlights included announcing the new Xbox 360 console and a major reveal of the rare McLaren P1 emerging from the stage for the Forza 5 demo and reveal of its cover car.
The E313 Best of Xbox Showcase transformed Vibiana, the former cathedral downtown, for a night of hands-on gameplay, demos, and sneak peeks of new and upcoming games for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The event drew gamers and media to the venue, which was bathed in green light, for a first opportunity to play games on the new Xbox One console, as well as try new titles for the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and Surface. Zed Ink handled production.
Guests could explore a museum-like passage, showcasing the first Alienware major milestone beginning in 1996 and leading all the way to present day.
At Disney’s booth on the show floor, attendees had the opportunity to create custom T-shirts with artwork from the game and also go home with interactive figures from the game from a vending machine activation three months before the pieces hit stores. Guests could also experience Disney Infinity at a variety of demo stations throughout the booth.
Sony's Playstation 4 got top buzz at E3, and its exhibit included round-edged shelters piped in colorful light.
For the dinner portion, Wells's team used muted grays and silver tones. Silver sequin linens topped mirrored tables in various shapes and sizes, and each table featured different chair styles.
