Experiential

New York Times columnist David Brooks (pictured, left) interviewed Andrew McAfee, co-author of The Second Machine Age, at the New York Ideas conference.

Creating an inspiring environment is one of the four pillars of the conference, and each year has a different look and feel. "We want to be a bit edgy, a bit shocking even," said Richard St-Pierre, C2MTL president and partner.

The conference had custom furniture designed to give people a place to perch but also facilitate conversations. Overall, there were fewer chairs than people, so "they're connecting whether they like it or not," joked St-Pierre.

Attendees could peer through a periscope that rotated 360-degrees for different views of the conference.

For attendees who wanted to skip the main stage talks—or couldn't find a seat—there was the Garage, a more casual venue with a vintage design aesthetic. The space showed live feeds of what was happening on the main stage but also offered its own programming, such as smaller presentations, business pitches, musical acts, and a bar and grill.

The bars at the conference each had a different design. In the Garage space, retro cassette tapes covered the bar front.

Attendees could eat their words, literally, at an installation from Glasgow Studio that turned their tweets into dried pasta. A wheel of alphabet pasta would spell out the words of tweets from attendees who used the hashtag #EatThat. Clear bags holding the pasta also had stickers printed with the original tweet.

This year, C2MTL highlighted the efforts of the Montreal-based nonprofit One Drop, which works to provide clean water across the world. At drinking water stations throughout the floor, disposable cups were printed with messages that encouraged attendees to purchase reusable water bottles, with the proceeds supporting the charity.

Montreal-based caterer Agnus Dei created a popular interactive sorbet station. Rings of raspberry, mango, and coconut sorbet spun around a wheel, while guests simply had to hold a scoop up to the device to build their own cone.

Massivart organized a collection of interactive art installations including a giant Lite Brite created by local design studio La Camaraderie.

Artist Miss Yad sketched live scenes from the conference that represented "moments of inspiration, moments of connection, moments of experimentation, and moments of celebration." Each day saw new sketches posted to a board near the entrance to the main stage that was marked with the hashtag #Momentum.

In the food area, colorful vegetables and herbs in tin cans provided a rustic contrast to the high-tech spaces inside.

Fast Company, the conference's media partner, sponsored a Reading Lounge in the middle of an outdoor plaza.

The Fast Company tent, with dramatic lighting and colorful seating, was a focal point to the plaza, which was designed with a more festive, casual feel than the indoor conference.

Several outdoor sponsor lounges were located in shipping containers. Although they held different companies, the lounges had a consistent design. About half of attendees are women, and the event design is purposefully "slightly feminine," said Will Travis of Sid Lee, which produced the conference.

Between speakers in the main Forum Microsoft space, author and strategist Justin Kingsley presented lighthearted segments called C2 Minutes. Designed to introduce the audience to Montreal culture, they often included interactive elements, such as inviting attendees to try the traditional greeting of kissing each other on the cheeks, while on stage, a "volunteer" couple started kissing on the mouth.

For the main stage, organizers chose speakers that represented diverse sectors such as fashion, telecommunications, spirits, and fine art. "The main focus for this year is about transformation and helping people get into the mindset that they're comfortable changing their agenda," Travis said. "How are they going to transform their businesses, themselves, their lives?"

This year, C2MTL moved to a cashless food program to speed up service. Mobile boxed-lunch stations were stationed throughout the conference grounds and accepted credit cards as well as prepaid cards. Attendees could email themselves a receipt.

On the opening night of the conference, Cirque du Soleil performed a show called "The Creative Spark."

Picnic tables in a covered dining area on the plaza encouraged attendees to interact. "Every area in the space is designed with a purpose," said Travis.

A marketplace stocked by the city's official design bureau sold Montreal-theme merchandise. The wares were also promoted as stylish gifts for meetings and events held in the city.

Travaasa Luxury Resort's recently launched So Fresh and So Green food truck serves up dishes made with ingredients from the resort's brand-new on-site farm. The breakfast and lunch menus feature items such as huevos rancheros, a Brussels sprout scramble, and antelope tacos.

Sum Booth, a green screen photo booth service, will debut a virtual guest book dubbed Sum Scribe this fall. Using a stylus, guests can draw on their photo or short digital video in a variety of colors. The finished product is then displayed as a slideshow image on a large monitor. The guest book “pages” can feature event or sponsor logos.

The Seedling Truck from Royal Fig Catering will be offering seasonal dishes such as roasted carrot and pine nut salad with sherry vinaigrette (pictured), mussels with apples and bacon, and roasted porchetta-style pork loin. The farm-to-table truck is available for weddings, fund-raisers, and other private events.

Green-screen catwalks, the latest invention from the Bosco, debuted at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in partnership with H&M. Event guests were styled in H&M gear; then, they chose a motion-graphic backdrop from a selection of some 25 styles and walked or danced in place on a moving treadmill. Using green-screen-compositing technology, the Bosco staffers created videos of users walking virtual runways, and the festivalgoers were able to instantly share their six-second videos across all social media platforms. Pricing on rentals varies per activation, and the booths can be set up at events throughout the United States and Canada.

Super Frog Saves Tokyo, billed as “storytelling plus social theory,” provides video booths for private events, with a twist: the event narratives are filmed in slow motion. The video setup comprises a RED Epic Camera, four LED lights, and a backdrop operated by two or three staffers. The resulting videos require an estimated 25 hours of production. The company has a baseline fee of $6,000 for event rentals, and the final cost can be impacted by date, location, and other details.

The Self Enhancing Live Feed Image Engine, or “S.E.L.F.I.E.” mirror, was created by New York-based digital agency iStrategy Labs. A Web camera and facial-recognition software are hidden behind the two-way mirror, along with LED lights that provide a countdown and simulate a flash, and are triggered when guests stand in front of the mirror and smile. The photo is then instantly posted to Twitter with a watermark or logo.  Though it is not available for rental, the invention can be custom-built for companies to own, and pricing ranges from $35,000 to $50,000.

Foxtales invites event guests to step into a so-called “storybooth” that creates branded photos and HD videos. In addition to a customizable touch-screen interface, the booths have built-in D.S.L.R. cameras and proprietary photo-processing techniques. The pictures and videos populate a mobile-ready storyboard and can be instantly uploaded using Wi-Fi, 4G Internet, or a hard-line connection. Pricing is from $1,500 and includes five hours of run time, the customized storyboard gallery, on-site reps, and post-event analytics.

Doodlebooth is a Chicago-based company that puts a hand-drawn spin on traditional photo booths. Illustrator Jana Kinsman, who has designed custom illustrations for clients such as CB2, sits with guests and quickly sketches their portraits as take-home keepsakes; the images can also be scanned into online albums that guests can digitally share. Pricing is $650 for three hours, and there’s no extra cost for transportation to events in Chicago and nearby Evanston and Oak Park. Kinsman will travel to events throughout the country for an additional fee.

Northern California’s event attraction the Booth Bus offers a new way to inject some fun and long-lasting memories into events. The automobile features a glowing "photos" marquee sign above it, and a mini booth inside produces keepsake Polaroids to take home. The Booth Bus can park at almost event from work gatherings to weddings.

Giffy, event photo company Foto Novelty's new offering, takes a short video of guests and sends it via SMS text message to their phones. Guests can then share their animated GIFs, which can be customized to include an event logo, on their social media accounts.

Marquee lighting marked a photo booth sponsored by Acura.

The evening ended with a toast with sparklers.