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Vanguardia Consulting Keeps Noise Firmly in Control for Major UK Events
Vanguardia Consulting, the Surrey-based acousticians, sound system designers and noise control specialists, have been working hard this summer with the country's leading promoters to simplify their compliance with event licence requirements for environmental noise.
Using the latest purpose-designed wireless monitoring systems, Vanguardia's teams have been monitoring sound levels at multiple points of events accurately and cost-effectively, from the iconic Nelson Mandela show in Hyde Park for Live Nation to the UK's newest concert venue, Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, Surrey, for Marshall Arts.
Vanguardia, whose teams, headed by John Staunton and Jim Griffiths, act as the liaison between promoters and local authorities over the control of environmental noise, as John Staunton says: "Both Jim Griffiths and myself founded Vanguardia to bring to promoters and venues a ‘can do' attitude - we look at a situation and we'll leave no stone unturned to try and secure a licence for a venue. If it really can't work we're very straight with the promoter or venue because there's no use in us trying to just get a concert through the system, but then having a bad name with the council afterwards. This year, we've had a lot of new venues that we've had to work quite hard at, and they've turned out to be very successful."
The company deploys its own in-house-designed software and hardware package, AudioView, providing a robust, cost effective wireless multi-point remote noise level monitoring system. "It's designed specifically for this industry using a combination of fairly standard hardware plus our own software," says Staunton, who was most recently to be found liaising between Marshall Arts and the local authority responsible for Mercedes Benz World, for two Elton John nights and a McFly / Sugarbabes show in mid July.
"Being based on standard components and Vanguardia's own software, the monitoring package is inexpensive enough to be deployable at multiple locations without cost becoming prohibitive," adds Staunton, "which means that for festivals we can deploy it across all the stages or wherever you need to monitor external levels, for example in residential areas." Being wireless based, cabling hassles are also a thing of the past.
Vanguardia's laptop display gives the system tech or FOH engineer a large, clear readout of four vital pieces of information: real time sound level, the current changing LEQ, the last minute's LEQ and the last 15 minutes' LEQ.
"But," adds Staunton, "it's just a tool and we treat it as such, which means we're still responsible for interacting with the engineer and we decide if any action needs to be taken - very much relying on the personal contact that we've built up over the past 25 years.
"The technology allows us to just flick a switch and monitor the levels at each monitoring point, and at any sound control points that the local authority has set, so we can help the engineer and the promoter achieve the maximum sound levels yet still stay within the set limits."
For Elton John's shows Audio Rent / Clair Brothers Europe used a Clair Brothers i4 line array system with S4 subwoofers and P2 fills, configured using a Lake controller system and mixed on a Yamaha PM5000. The concert arena was setup in the middle of what remains of Brooklands' historic racing track, overlooked by the impressive modern building that houses Mercedes-Benz World, a combination of super car showroom and high-tech visitor attraction with a collection of priceless vintage cars. Surrounded by upmarket residential properties and never previously used for concerts, close noise control was essential to ensure good relations with neighbours were maintained.
"The site falls between two stools," says Staunton, "being neither a greenfield site nor an urban stadium as defined by the Code of Practice. The local authority accepted our view that it should fall broadly between the two, and as the limit for an urban stadium is 75dB and for a rural venue with just three concerts a year it's 65, we felt that it should be reasonably be 70dB at residential housing here."
Mike Stewart, production director at Marshall Arts, commented: "The practicalities of setting up a stage and full production amidst a fully functioning racetrack and everything else has been quite interesting. But the general layout works very well, the audience are delighted with it; I've been walking around and listening to their comments and they're loving it. The hard work that people have put in has made this site work well as a new venue."
In picture: Vanguardia Consulting's wireless noise monitoring system in action at Mercedes-Benz world.
6th August 2008
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