The Toyota Prius has always been iconographic, representing the green initiative and unprecedented engineering of the world’s largest automaker. UVLD was thrilled to collaborate with O2 Creative Solutions and the George P Johnson company to handle the press reveal of the newest model, the plug-in Hybrid titled the Prius Prime.

Taking place as part of the New York International Autoshow, Toyota once again took over the River Pavilion, the top floor of the convention center, giving the automaker control over the environment and ambient light levels.

Set Designer Peter Crawford, O2 principal Brian Hords and creative director Alex Alexanian took an unprecedented approach: rather than blacking out the windows of the room, they let the light in: daylight streamed in during the show, highlighting the car, the room, and the set. The sunlight added an airy, almost lofty quality to the space and the ever-green Prius seemed at home in natural light.

Adding to the magic of the room were the magicians from Kinetic Lights who hung 72 automated LED balls from the center of the room. Prior to the Prius reveal, they were relatively static, doing simple color chases. But for the reveal of the hero car, they sprung — or rather winched — into action, lowering to windshield level. As the car approached, they flew out only to come back in to put the car in a bubble of moving light. It was magical. Here’s a video, shot from front of house.

We also revealed a Toyota 86, a natural extension of the sun-setted Scion brand, as well as a new Highlander.

Cohen was helped by the calming influence and outstanding programming abilities of Kevin Lawson, as well as the steady hand of anti-Vegan production electrician Jeff Quinn. The show was produced for GPJ by Rick Voigt with Jon Harrington as technical director. The gear and rigging magic was provided by TLS.

New York marks the end of the auto show season. And while we certainly won’t miss the smell of propane from the forklifts or the nightly Silkwood showers, we are thrilled with the year we’ve had. Of course we are happy with the shows and how they looked, and we are grateful to the clients who bring us to the table, but we are most proud of the relationships we’ve built. We are truly privileged to have such a great team of vendors, electricians, programmers, riggers, and technical directors supporting us. We look forward to the fall when we hope to do it all over again.