project news

Verlinde Equips New Skating Rink in Chartres

Auvisys, integrator of technical audio visual and lighting solutions, chose Verlinde Stagemaker SM5 hoists to equip three circular trusses at the skating rink in the new Odyssée aquatic complex in Chartres, the biggest in France.

The Odyssée, inaugurated just a few months ago, is the biggest aquatic complex in France, with over 3,500m² of water.

It includes several pools (Olympic, hydrotherapy, health recovery, and a 500m² outdoor wave pool, as well as a 20m diving tank. It also includes a fitness center and a 1,300m² ice-skating rink. The company Auvisys was selected to install all the audio, video and lighting equipment in the complex. At the rink, sound and lighting systems are used for special events: foam parties, fog on ice, bubbles a go-go, etc. A 23 metre long screen installed on the back wall is used with seven electronically controlled video projectors operated simultaneously.

Three circular trusses, each eight metres in diameter, are installed above the rink to hold sound and lighting equipment. Each truss is attached to the roofing framework with four 500kg capacity SM5 Stagemaker hoists equipped with Verlinde IPN PAP3 beam clamps.

"We've been working with Verlinde for over 15 years. They really are tops in the entertainment industry. We order all our motors from Verlinde and we have never had a problem. Their hoists are very reliable", says Mr. Greneau, project leader at Auvisys. The hoists are used to raise and lower the circular truss to meet the needs of different events, or for maintenance. Each truss ring is operated individually from a control cabinet set up by Auvisys.

www.verlinde.com

Community Chosen by Interton for Championship Stadium in Hungary

Budapest-based Interton Electroacoustics has recently completed the installation of a Community Professional Loudspeakers PA system at the City Stadium in Nyíregyháza, Hungary.

 

Nyíregyháza is situated near the border with Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania and is the seventh largest city in Hungary. It is also one of the most prosperous, being both an educational centre and a popular tourist destination.

The 6,000 capacity Nyíregyháza City Stadium has been a venue for major international events and is also home to the local soccer team, Nyíregyháza Spartacus, which plays in Hungary's top professional league, the NB1. In a project that commenced in August 2009, the 50-year-old stadium has undergone much reconstruction and a complete refurbishment to bring it up to modern international standards. The works have included the renewal of the grandstands, athletic field and building interiors, all being completed for the 17th European Veteran Athletics Championship (EVAC) which the venue will host in July 2010.

Interton Electroacoustics were appointed to design and install the PA, as Dr. Géza Balogh, Interton's electro-acoustic designer, explained: "The brief was to provide loud and clear PA for the soccer field, the surrounding athletic field and the grandstands. The specification was for the system to provide 103dB +/-4dB SPL throughout these specified areas."

"We chose the Community R2 system. Having the experience of using this high output, all-weather system very successfully in many installations it was an obvious choice for this stadium. They are reliable and robust, with well controlled dispersion and excellent intelligibility; really unequalled for this kind of application. The main system incorporates six R2-94Z, mounted on a lighting pole."

To achieve the specified coverage and SPL from a single location Dr. Géza Balogh meticulously calculated the angles for each individual speaker and Interton's install department also designed custom frames to position the R2's as required. The system power is provided by QSC RMX4050HD amplifiers and DSP is provided by a TOA M-9000.

"A few local people doubted we would meet the required level when they saw the size of the system within the venue," said Interton senior engineer, Zoltán Horváth, "But their look of surprise was very pleasing to see as we comfortably exceeded the specification."

London's Coronet Upgrades with New GLP Impression Zoom

The famous, late Victorian Coronet Theatre in South London may have had something of a chequered history, but under the management of Blackfriars' newly-created Blackfriars Promotions, the 2,500-plus capacity venue has undergone a massive refurbishment to support an aggressive in-house events programme, including a serious production upgrade based around GLP's new Impression 120 RZ zoom.

Ten of the powerful new LED fixtures have been provided as part of a comprehensive lighting refit by Southampton-based GLS Lighting, who have been servicing the Coronet's lighting requirements for a number of years.

With the ownership of The Mermaid Conference and Events Centre, Blackfriars has built a strong reputation, and The Coronet's head booker Mike Weller says, "Since we are now starting to get recognised as one of the major players in the 2K+ club/midsize venue market, we needed to step up our game production wise, and wanted our lighting spec to match the calibre of the nights we are promoting."

He was already aware of the prestigious roster of bands who have been using the Impressions on tour as had his resident LD Paul De Villiers. However, both De Villiers and head of GLS, Ian Turner (himself a touring LD), recommended that the venue wait for the arrival of the new Impression Zoom fixture before jumping in.

The in-house lighting man was already familiar with the power of the original Impression, having seen the fixtures in use with the Simian Mobile Disco at HMV Forum back in October last year. There were 12 on the stage, mounted on scaff bars, and they just spanked everything," he said.

The Coronet has hosted acts such as Groove Armada, The Rifles and Friendly Fires and with DJ's such as Armand van Helden upcoming, the lighting needed to be versatile. "With a back truss, and first and second dancefloor trusses it is now easy to reconfigure the fixtures and create a proper club atmosphere when we need to."

For conventional stage work six are floor-mounted (as required), with a further two on rear poles at the back of the stage and the final four overhead on the front stage truss.

Having decided that the existing heads were ready for decommission Ian Turner proposed a combination of conventional heads and ten GLP Impression Zooms - the latter replacing the old 575W wash lights. "There is really no comparison between the brightness of these wash lights and an RZ 120 Zoom," he says. "In fact the Zoom performs more like a 700W wash light."

Turner also notes the importance of the fixture's rapid response from the Avolites Pearl Expert desk in a multi-function venue which hosts both club nights and live concerts. "The fast multi-colour strobing has opened up a new world for them," he states.

Paul DeVilliers was particularly enthusiastic about the CTO balancing. "The colour mixing is unbelievable and they don't look grainy and lo-res like the usual LEDs. The versatility it gives us is amazing - you can go quickly from a conventional beam to a fairly wide traditional wash - and how GLP do that I have no idea."

For Ian Turner, the GLP Impression has also become his de facto LED moving head in his rental fleet. 

"We made the decision after looking at all the competitors in some detail and checking on reliability issues. I saw the Impression Zoom at last year's PLASA Show and it is an enormous differentiator. We do a lot of corporate work and the ability to zoom so wide enables us to light cycs, create washes and the next moment fire fast moving beams into the audience."

GLS presently have other Impressions out with Mumford & Sons and there are plans to use them at a private party in Monaco featuring Flaming Lips. "Since the venue has little in the way of power feeds and loading capacity, a fixture weighing just 8kg and drawing virtually no power provides the obvious solution."

Odeon Metrocentre is the North's Brightest Star

UK manufacturer of the DIVA Range of LED Lighting, Fibre Optic Systems Ltd (FOS), have recently completed the stylish illumination of the Odeon cinemas' northern flagship venue at Odeon Metrocentre, Gateshead. FOS worked in alliance with Leeds-based contractor, Morfitts, and all products were supplied via the city's Litetask Ltd, to a very tight schedule.

Morfitts won the contract based on the success of a previous Odeon project and competitive pricing. Morfitts' project manager, Tony Horsman, explains: "We contacted Fibre Optic Systems because we've worked with them before and we know we get a good service from them and reliable back up whenever we need it. It was a very tight schedule, so we had to pull all the stops out with everybody to deliver - that is why we used suppliers and manufacturers we could trust implicitly."

The newly-built cinema features a unique LED-illuminated, glass staircase which dominates the foyer area. FOS supplied lengths of DIVA Flex ULTRA to light up each stair edge with colour-changing effect according to the prevailing colour theme.

The FOS-supplied Mode Evolution lighting control system, from Mode Lighting, was utilised for the Mezz bar areas and enables the lighting theme to change at various points during the day and evening and can be tailored for special events - a particular requirement of the client. The Evolution was chosen for its quality and ease of use for the cinema staff.

DIVA Flex ULTRA was also used in the bar area, named Ambar, and the Gallery Bar VIP Suite. Used to create colour washed highlights along the edges of features, DIVA Flex ULTRA has been positioned on the ceiling coffers, chair backs and around the lip of the bar area. To punctuate the DIVA Flex, Robe Anolis spot LEDs have been positioned between and have also been used for ceiling down-lighting.

A four by three metre DIVA Twinkle - a colour-changing, custom twinkle ceiling - creates an unusual lighting feature in the VIP area.

Gordon Addison, FOS technical director, adds: "The versatility of the DIVA range has been used to maximum effect in the ODEON Metrocentre, which showcases its wide variety of effects and uses for us.

"It's always a joy to work with the professionalism of Morfitts, even under the extreme pressure of close deadlines! The installation went very smoothly, however. We pride ourselves on a reliable product and full customer support."

Two Major London Venues Choose City Theatrical's SHoW DMX

Two mainstays of the London performing arts scene have upgraded to SHoW DMX. The Royal National Theatre and the English National Opera have both added extensive new SHoW DMX wireless DMX systems to their permanent lighting inventories.

The English National opera had an inventory of City Theatrical WDS Wireless Data System transmitters, receivers, personal dimmers and 15A single channel dimmers. The personal dimmers are used in smaller pieces where a full sized receiver and dimmer wouldn't fit. The equipment is moved from show to show in the rep season at the ENO. In their upgrade, the ENO purchased a new SHoW DMX transmitter and receiver and also upgraded their existing receivers and personal dimmers to SHoW DMX. "It was a very cost effective way for us to upgrade our current system to the latest in wireless dimming technology," says the ENO's senior lighting technician Gary James.

The National Theatre had a much larger WDS inventory and an additional challenge to face with their upgrade. Their existing inventory of WDS was causing interference with a newly installed WiFi/VoIP telephone system. A series of tests were performed and SHoW DMX was able to provide negligible interference even in its most most powerful settings. The National Theatre replaced all four of its transmitters, seven of its receivers and upgraded all 14 of their personal dimmers to SHoW DMX. The lighting staff now has the added ability of using RDM to monitor the signal strength of the receivers remotely via the built in web server in the transmitter. "Implementing SHoW DMX across all three theatres has allowed us to co-exist with the new building wide Wi-Fi and telephone system. Additionally it has given us a phenomenal increase in flexibility over the old WDS system, in terms of our ability to better manage the limited radio spectrum available at the NT, with the added functionality of a fully RDM compliant system," notes John McGarrigle of the Royal National Theatre.

CTI's patented SHoW DMX system synchronises the hopping pattern of the radio with the incoming DMX packet to attain levels of data fidelity previously unreachable with wireless DMX. Additionally, SHoW DMX has a range of features including adjustable output power, limited bandwidth mode, and limited burst mode that allow it to peacefully coexist with other radio signals in the busy 2.4GHz band. CTI is the only manufacturer of wireless DMX to have proven its claims with scientific data, as published in a report from an independent testing lab published on the CTI website.

SHoW DMX also is fully RDM compliant so users can change radio settings and monitor receiver strength from their laptop during the performance, as well as monitor other manufacturers' RDM gear on their production. SHoW DMX is also fully compatible with Art-Net.

Stage Electrics Updates Glyndebourne Dimmer and Control Systems

In an extensive upgrade programme at Glyndebourne Opera House in East Sussex, Stage Electrics has equipped the world renowned Opera House with an ETC dimmer and control installation, and Avolites dimmers for the company's annual touring programme.

The existing dimmer, lighting control and highly customised working lights installation, commissioned in 1994, was approaching the end of its reliable life and a radical change was required. The move also saw the first UK installation of ETC's new lower amperage Sensor dimmer modules with a 10A MCB, allowing the original low-diameter wiring installation to be reused.

Glyndebourne's technical team, with head of lighting Keith Benson, recognised that with spares and support likely to become unavailable, and the system generally ageing, it was time for a complete upgrade. Stage Electrics' technical project manager Nick Broad says: "We proposed a replacement system that incorporated the original wiring and offered greater flexibility for both the installed and touring dimmer systems."

The new Sensor dimmer modules, designed by ETC in response to customer demand plus changes to UK electrical requirements, are fitted with 6 and 10 Amp MCBs (miniature circuit breakers) which allows Sensor dimming to be installed in many venues which could not previously accommodate higher rated Sensor standard modules, and will limit loads to 1.3kW and 2.3kW respectively.

Eleven Strand EC90 dimmers were replaced with 10 ESR36N ETC Sensor enclosures, fitted with a mixture of 3kW, 5kW, Contactor, Emergency and the new 10A version of ETC's popular dimmer module. With the increasing use of moving lights and LED fixtures, the total number of dimmers used in a production has decreased; however, the need for flexibility needed to be maintained. Therefore all of the existing dimmer wiring was terminated into the new racks, but dimmer types can be moved to where they are needed on a show by show basis.

Control has likewise been brought in to the 21st century with the provision of two ETC EOS lighting consoles, one as the main in-house desk, and the other for use at the production desk for plotting - which can then be used for touring, complete with EOS RPU back up. An ETC Net 3 network was also installed.

120 ways of Avolites Art 2000 Series portable dimmers spread over three dimmer racks will serve Glyndebourne On Tour's requirements as well parts of the theatre that require extra dimming provision, particularly the fly tower grid.

Meanwhile, house lights and working light controls were replaced by an ETC Unison Paradigm controlled system, with an additional ETC ESR36N Enclosure to house ETC ER10AF 2.3K dual relay modules. This system can also be controlled by two bespoke ETC panels complete with LCD touch screen and push buttons, as well as from existing push button panels in the dimmer room and SM desk, and from existing local switches around the venue - all using the existing cabling infrastructure.

The latter follows IT industry practice and the lighting network, which utilises a new data network cable system, allows control systems to interface with each other as well as with the dimmers. The network allows large amounts of control data to be transmitted, a key requirement as more intelligent lighting equipment comes into use at Glyndebourne, while the production lighting control desk is able to control every circuit in the installation - including the working light control system.

To complete the package, Stage Electrics provided full testing, commissioning and user training.

Adrian Searle, head of technical and hire at Stage Electrics, comments: "It was a privilege to work with Keith and especially Stuart Pratley, our main contact for this project, who went out of his way to ensure that it was a success, bringing this wonderful opera house up to a fully modern lighting specification."

www.stage-electrics.co.uk

CRMS Reference at Hub of Norway's Film Industry

The Norsk Film Institute (NFI) in Oslo is literally the axle upon which the Norwegian film industry revolves. And with over 2000 screenings a year in its Oslo premises, roughly half of which are previews of major international releases for press and cinema owners, having the best vision and sound facilities are a fundamental requirement. It is with this in mind that the NFI has recently installed the first of Alcons' brand new Cinema Ribbon Monitor Systems (CRMS).

The NFI's Lillebil Room (named after the famous Norwegian actress Lillebil Ibsen) is a 68 capacity screening facility, where a constant series of daytime previews and evening showings keeps its equipment and staff very busy.

"The sound has to be fantastic because of the status of the NFI," says the facility's Jan Olsen. "I had been aware of the Alcons pro-ribbon technology for some time and was eager to try something unconventional in the Lillebil Room.

"We always want to improve our equipment, and I was looking for a system that could easily handle current and future challenges of film sound, such as uncompressed sound from digital cinema packages."

After feedback from consultant Torkell Saetervadet, Jan chose a CRMS configuration of three front channels and 12 surround cabinets, powered and controlled by Alcons ALC power amps, with Sony DFP3000 for analog sound and SDDS playback, a Dolby DA20 processor for SRDigital and a Yamaha DME64 as central digital processor.

Each CRMS system comprises a mid-high section ("CRMStop"), featuring one RBN401 pro-ribbon high frequency driver with non-vented 8-in. mid driver and a separate low frequency 15-in. section ("CRMSsub").

The mid-high unit is specifically designed to act both as the mid-high section for the main/front system and as a full-range surround system. This unique design results in a very uniform sound stage throughout the entire listening area.

"I especially like the system's clarity, it's a very open sound. Speech intelligibility is extremely good and the bass response from the front channels is so much tighter that our previous system," says Jan Olsen.

"Since we are using the CRMS mid-high systems on the surround channels, the smoothness between the front channels and surround is fantastic. I actually forget how good it sounds between seeing films in there. It's always a pleasure to watch them in that auditorium."

With one of the Lillebil Room's main functions being to show previews of films from some of the world's biggest makers to Norwegian journalists and cinema owners, their verdict on the sound quality of the CRMS is extremely important.

"The feedback from audiences has been very good," says Jan. "We now run every feature film on 0.0 (SDDS) or 7.0 (Dolby), and no one thinks it is too loud any more. On our previous system, we often had to reduce the volume by between - 2db and - 6db, because it was unpleasant and distorted. But however loud the soundtrack is with the CRMS, it never sounds stressed."

www.alconsaudio.com

Martin Visual Solutions Enhance Cruise Experience on World's Largest Luxury Liner

With more than 15 years of experience in partnering with the world's largest cruise lines, Martin Professional has become the preferred visual solutions supplier to the cruise ship industry. That fact is clearly evident on the world's largest cruise liner, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, which recently set sail with a multitude of Martin Professional dynamic lighting and smoke solutions.

Oasis of the Seas, built at the STX shipyard in Finland, is a world-class mixed-use entertainment cruise liner that surpasses anything that has come before it. Sailing from its homeport of Port Everglades, Florida Oasis is 360 meters long with room for 5,400 passengers and a crew of 3,000. Its final cost is put at $1.4 billion.

Because of the harsh environment and demanding constraints of the ocean environment - constant motion, exposure to salt water, humidity, high temperatures, etc, high technology products like advanced visual systems must be extremely reliable, as well as compact and easy to service. Specification, supply and installation of the Martin systems were completed to a highly professional and technical standard by entertainment systems integration firm FUNA.

Responsible for the specification and system design of all venues and spaces carrying entertainment systems onboard Oasis is Christopher Vlassopulos, head of entertainment technology for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. In addition, Vlassopulos served as technical director for the Opal Theater's "Hairspray" show.

Michael Riotto Design was show lighting consultant for several areas of the ship, using Martin lighting in Jazz on 4, Blaze, Boleros, Dazzle, and Viking Crown lounges. In addition, MRD was responsible for the programming of all entertainment lighting for public spaces as well as commissioning the architectural lighting and dimming systems throughout the ship.

Principal Michael Riotto comments: "We use lighting to support the environments of which we collaboratively create with the architects and the Royal Caribbean entertainment team. We aim to offer solutions which are unique, clever, and creative given the parameters and challenges that we consistently face. With Oasis, we were tasked at creating simple yet effective spaces with maximum bang for the buck while being reasonable and maintenance-conscious."

Addressing important criteria to consider with regard to lighting gear on a ship, Riotto states: "It is imperative to specify equipment which can withstand the harsh electrical environments found onboard marine vessels. Equipment must be simple to operate and maintain while not compromising the quality or ambiance of a space. We have specified Martin equipment on several marine projects and we find the equipment to hold up well while being an affordable solution for the client. In addition, our client, Christopher Vlassopulos of Royal Caribbean, has always had a great relationship with Martin and choosing Martin was a collective win-win for everyone involved."

Oasis of the Seas features a new neighborhood concept of seven distinct themed areas with Martin visual solutions to be experienced across the ship.

Royal Promenade: Twice as wide as the promenades on its other ships, Oasis' Royal Promenade is the ship's central meeting place where shopping and eating combine with entertainment and fun. Along the football pitch length of the Promenade, Martin visuals blend atmospheric and show lighting throughout the day and night.

Opal Theater: One of the ship's many diverse entertainment offerings is the Tony award-winning Broadway musical "Hairspray," one of two productions that take place in the ship's grand Opal Theater beneath a large rig of Martin gear.

AquaTheater: A truly one-of-a-kind venue is the outdoor 700-seat AquaTheater with large pool that stretches across the stern of the ship. It features several shows that include divers, swimmers and acrobats performing to a spectacle of music and Martin lights, as well as choreographed fountain shows programmed to music and lighting effects.

Studio B: The multi-configurable Studio B and ice rink, which can be transformed into a television studio or used for exhibits, fashion shows and concerts, features a professional ice show 'Frozen in Time,' featuring the writings of Hans Christian Anderson. The Studio B rig consists of Martin MAC moving heads, LED battens and Jem smoke effects.

A host of additional clubs, lounges and bars for adults including Blaze nightclub, the Latin-themed Boleros nightclub, the On-Air Karaoke Bar, and the adults-only Solarium, feature Martin visual solutions, as do social spots for teens and kids.

Martin is also supplying an identical equipment package to the Oasis' upcoming sister ship, Allure of the Seas, deploying from the STX shipyard in November 2010. Martin has supplied all Royal Caribbean ships fleet-wide including Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.

 

JBL Delivers Classic Club Couture

When Walsall club owner Graham Pinches purchased the former Zanzibar in Stafford in June last year, he knew he would be inheriting a formidable building with a rich nightclub heritage.

Formerly owned by Springwood Leisure (and later Nexum) the newly-named Club Couture can trace its roots back to the nascent era of disco as Cinderellas Rockerfellas, and also Northern Soul haunt, Top of the World. Along the way it has also been a Coliseum and Fatty Arbuckles - further names redolent of the golden age of disco - until it finally closed its doors in October 2008.

Couture Leisure's general manager, Scott Miles was determined to reintroduce classic club sound and lighting (and a twin-scene concept). Craving a sound that resembled the Ministry of Sound, he couldn't believe his luck when it was the legendary London venue's former head of technology Dave Bradshaw - now part of Sound Technology's project support team - who advised on a matched system, based on JBL components, that would deliver the dance sound he was looking for in the main ‘Couture' room.

"What we have tried to do is recreate a bygone generation of what nightclubs used to be about - with separate light jockey and a sound system that would make people go ‘wow' when they walked down that ramp into the club without the sound shaking the place to death," says Miles. "The public now has such a high standard of home entertainment that we needed to be way above anyone's expectations."

The original JBL recommendation, however, had come from Batmink's sales executive, Shaun Robertshaw, who had dealt with Graham Pinches in the past. As a result, the Batmink man supplied four JBL AM6340/95s to be flown over each corner of the dancefloor, with four ASB6128s, coupled in pairs, in front of the DJ podium at floor level. Further JBL SRX712Ms and an SRX718S sub were provided for high-class DJ reference sound, and at the far end a pair of JBL AC2212/95s are recessed into the newly-extended stage apron.

Finally 12 JBL Control 25s provide infill around the main club periphery and in the Games Arcade.

The installation and commissioning of the system Robertshaw placed in the capable hands of Loughborough-based installer Gary McDougall of Audiolite, working in conjunction with interior designer Nick Muir of Stockport-based Core Design.

Some £2m was committed to completely refitting the 1700-capacity club, enabling it to open by the end of the year - and this included £190,000 on the sound, light and video technology in the main room.

Flanked by a games arcade, Couture is complemented at ground floor level by two smaller rooms - named ‘Blanc' and Noir'.

Dave Bradshaw made several site visits and was able to establish a routing matrix economically by using the processing in the Crown XTi series amplifiers to optimise the system, restricting the external processing and routing to a single Soundweb London BLU-160, configured 8-in/8-out, and a BLU-10 local remote in the DJ booth. Five XTi 6000, two XTi 2000 a, five XTi 1000 and two XLS-802s drive the system throughout the club and the sound is also pumped down to reception so that arriving guests are exposed to the impact of the club on entry.

Said Dave Bradshaw: "By adopting this approach we have given the club a very cost-effective processing solution. If the system is properly maintained this sound system should last them forever."

Scott Miles is delighted with the sound. "It achieves exactly what we set out to," says Scott Miles, adding that Graham Pinches (with two other clubs already under his belt) will now be looking to extend the Couture/Noir/Blanc concept further along the M6 corridor.

Clay Paky Alpha Washes and Alpha Profiles at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has some new players on its stage this year: Clay Paky Alpha Washes and Alpha Profiles!

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna was designed in the 17th century by Antonio Galli da Bibbiena, and was the first opera house to be built with public funds and hired out by the city council. Its bell-shaped auditorium consists of four tiers of boxes with a royal box and gallery. During its history, it has put on works by practically all the major composers, including Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Donizetti.

Around the end of 2009, the lighting department managers, and lighting designers Daniele Naldi and Andrea Oliva, felt the need for a larger number of lights. Once they received the go-ahead and fixed budget from the Bologna city council, they turned to the major motorised spotlight manufacturers.

The Clay Paky sales manager for Italy Renato Ferrari and the Clay Paky lighting designer Marco Zucchinali went to Bologna straight away and held a demo for the opera house technical staff: "We were very keen to get the whole lighting staff involved," said Naldi and Oliva, "not just us, but everyone, including the lighting desk operator Lorenzo Gaudenzi, and all the stagehands. We wanted them all to give us their opinions according to their specific roles so that everyone would agree on the final choice."

Daniele Naldi told us that in an historic opera house where the most prestigious international orchestras perform every day and is built to optimise the acoustics at every point in the auditorium, silent operation is by far the most important feature for a light. "We cannot run the risk of purchasing lights and then hearing the conductor say in a huff: "I can't work with all this row!'"

The opera house technical team therefore carried out meticulous noise level tests on all the spotlights under examination and found the Clay Paky Alphas to be the most silent in all working conditions.

After this they assessed various other basic parameters: luminous efficiency and light quality, flexibility of use and - last but not least - compliance with the available budget. The Clay Paky Alphas turned out to be the best even from this point of view, as Andrea Oliva explained: "The ideal stage for today's theatre is one which is both technological and flexible at the same time. With technology, you can create light settings unimaginable with conventional theatre spotlights. With flexibility, you can combine all the functions you had before using several different kinds of light into a single unit. That means less room taken up and less equipment than before."

Daniele Naldi went into further detail: "Our first work with Alphas was 'Salome', directed by Gabriele Lavia. The Alpha Washes were perfect from all points of view. I had absolutely no problems. I particularly appreciated the amount of light delivered and the very linear colour change. You do not notice the changeover from one shade to another. The Alpha Profiles were used to shape beams with precision, and in some scenes they were absolutely irreplaceable. An excellent example is when I followed the great axe with a shaped beam as it came down from the sky to the ground, ending up with complete beam closure. I could never have achieved a similar effect with any other light on the market!"

The lighting desk operator Lorenzo Gaudenzi also said that he was completely satisfied with the choice: "The Clay Paky Alphas have proved to be extremely easy to use and program. They interface perfectly with the remote control desk, and even the odd bit of maintenance they need is easily and effectively manageable."

And, last but not least, the budget requirements: "Bologna city council provided enough funds to purchase eight professional washlights," concluded Daniele Naldi and Andrea Oliva, "but thanks to Clay Paky we were able to buy twelve. In practice, the Alpha Profiles are a welcome addition to our expectations. Now we can't do without them!"

Photos: Lorenzo Gaudenzi

www.claypaky.it  

Midas PRO6 Adds a Little X-Tra to Swiss Club

A Midas PRO6 has been installed into the X-Tra Club in Zurich by Swiss distributor Audiotech. The club, which hosts a variety of club nights and concerts, has a capacity of around 2,000.

The PRO6 is being operated by the club's four house technicians, bringing Midas sound quality to a diverse selection of artists who appear at the club, which has included Joss Stone, Nitzer Ebb, Doom, Method Man, De La Soul, Candy Dulfer and Jethro Tull.

Club owner Markus ‘Mäke' Kappeler decided to buy the PRO6 in line with the club's tradition of installing high end equipment throughout. "I was only interested in buying a Midas, since these consoles suit every engineer's needs and puts a smile on their faces," he says. "A big plus of installing the PRO6 in our club was its compact size compared to the prevous desk, which has resulted in extra tickets for audiences and for corporate events."

Adds Edi Mösch, chief technician at the X-Tra, "I'm more than happy with the PRO6, and was able to learn all the important functions and configuration details to provide support for the FOH technicians after just a few conversations with Audio Tech. The positive feedback I get every show is stunning!"

X-Tra also purchased a Klark Teknik DN9331 Rapide graphic controller to handle system EQ, plus monitor EQ for smaller shows where monitors are controlled from FOH rather than the Midas XL250 on stage. This allows technicians to stand in front of the stage wedges to plot the desired EQ curve on the Rapide, which is connected via a cat5 link to the PRO6.

 In picture: Björn Leemann and Martina Saalfrank, house technicians at the X-Tra Club, with the Midas PRO6.

 

 

 

 

www.midasconsoles.com

Arts Team to Rejuvenate the Watford Colosseum

Arts Team's proposals to transform the 70-year-old Watford Colosseum received planning approval and listed building consent at the end of last month, and work on the £4.3m scheme is to start on site in May.

The Colosseum, built in 1938, is very much a performance building of its time. Despite having a concert hall with a well regarded acoustic, the building lacks the facilities demanded by contemporary audiences, performers and management.

Arts Team's design focuses on two key components: restoration and upgrading of the hall and the provision of an extended and enhanced public foyer and support accommodation. The latter is achieved by the addition of a foyer extension, which allows the building to become more physically and conceptually open.

Arts Team director Julian Middleton said "Whilst an evening at the Colosseum should always focus on the performance itself, for us as designers what makes a good night out is the complete experience. Our client, HQ Theatres, understands this implicitly, balancing a wide range of performances and events with a desire to offer state-of-the-art front of house facilities. Our design responds to their vision and balances a respect for the historic building with the imperative of rejuvenating the venue for a new generation of audiences - creating a bold, vibrant and exciting place to be - and be seen."

Arts Team's cubic design creates a visual connection to the Colosseum form, and the use of a silver-grey brick and coloured glass create a visual contrast. Coloured glass windows of the new foyer will provide dramatically different environments at differing times of day.

During the day, the silver-grey brick and plastered wall linings will be lit by shards of coloured light. As the sun moves around, these coloured elements will animate the interior and create a changing tableau. In the evening the coloured glazing will be lit up from within, revealing the activity inside the building.

The evening will also make the interior décor more dramatic. The muted coloured palette will be intensified by vibrant flashes of colour in the bar and the carpet designs- alongside theatrical lighting effects. The original art deco interior style is reinforced within both the refurbished hall and the new building.

The Town Hall and the Assembly Hall (as the Colosseum was then known), were designed by architect C.C.F. Voysey. The Assembly Hall acoustics were designed by Hope Bagenall. The neo classical building has neo classical interior elements combined with late art deco detailing.

In picture: a new look for the Watford Colosseum - each block of seating in the Main Hall auditorium will have a different base colour of autumnal tones, becoming slightly darker toward the back of the Hall. A random array of seats will then be highlighted in the brighter accent colours of orange. The art deco theme is carried through in the new foyer with use of features such as the coved ceiling lighting and the random layout of the square down lighters. The bold colour palette and flamboyant carpet also run through. The new foyer will provide dramatically different environments at differing times of day. The long corridors that flank either side of the Main Hall are transition spaces between public foyer and performance space. Rich wall colours and the vibrant carpet design will combine to add the sense of theatrically and expectation.

Turku City Theatre Installs TiMax Tracker and TiMax2 SoundHub

Finland's Turku City Theatre has installed a TiMax2 SoundHub audio showcontrol matrix and TiMax Tracker performer-tracking system, following demonstrations on-site last year by TiMax distributor Hedcom and Out Board director Dave Haydon. The installation marks the first of several similar TiMax procurements by prestigious Scandinavian theatres all undergoing major sound system upgrades during the spring and summer of 2010.

Turku City Theatre's refurbishment is timed in anticipation of Turku's 2011 status as European Capital of Culture. The theatre is Finland's oldest municipal theatre, founded in 1946 although re-built in 1962, and Turku itself is Finland's oldest town and a former capital.

At the core of Turku's audio refurbishment is a 48-in/48-out TiMax2 SoundHub-R48 delay-matrix processor equipped with a bespoke selection of audio interfacing options. An onboard Ethersound module provides networked audio to the main Nexo GeoS LCR proscenium and balcony delay systems via their Ethersound-compatible NX242 system processors. The same network also delivers analogue audio via distributed Netcira interfaces for six Alcons SR9 front fill cabinets, four on-stage VR8 vocal reference speakers and eight VR8 side-surrounds. TiMax analogue outputs feed groups of twenty-seven Alcons TS3 balcony delays and rear surround effects speakers split across nine amplifier channels.

Multiple outputs from the Digidesign console connect to the TiMax via digital AES3 inputs, with an additional 48 tracks of random-access audio playback sources also available from the TiMax internal hard-drives. Turku's engineers specified optional dual-redundant mirrored 250Gb drives and dual power supplies in the TiMax for added security.

Integrated with the TiMax2 SoundHub matrix is a TiMax Tracker performer tracking system, which automates the delay-based localisation of performers' radio mics to ensure their audio signature always follows their on-stage position. A network of five TiMax Tracker TT Sensors continuously monitors the stage so that miniature TT Tags worn by the actors can be tracked in real-time using radar-frequency pulses transmitted by the Tags. The actors' positions on stage are continuously relayed via MIDI to the TiMax matrix where special DSP algorithms transparently cross-fade delay-matrix values between the actors' mics and the vocal system to apply the corresponding audio localisations.

Only two TT Sensors need to "see" an actor to achieve precision 3D tracking down to an accuracy of 15cm, including vertical positioning so they can be followed up and down ramps or stairs. Turku has two TT Sensors on auditorium lighting bars pointing down and across the stage to catch two forestage wing locations apparently favoured by many directors. Two more Sensors look across the stage from high up behind the proscenium arch while a fifth Sensor points forward from the rear of the stage, adding further redundancy to mitigate against blocking by scenery or thespian lifeforms.

On-site commissioning was carried out by Hedcom project engineers, Kurt Nyback and Ari Manninen, assisted by Out Board's Robin Whittaker, who also trained senior engineers, Jari Tengstrom and Mika Hiltunen, in the programming of TiMax delay localisations and TiMax Tracker's automatic calibration procedures.

Turku's Jari Tengstrom declared himself to be "highly satisfied and enthusiastic" about how well TiMax Tracker and TiMax2 SoundHub have integrated with and performed in the theatre for signal distribution, EQ, delay-localisation and automation. The system is currently busy in rehearsals for a lavish production of Laulavat Sadepisarat (Singing in The Rain) which re-opens in April 2010 following a successful run last autumn.

Tannoy Takes High Quality Audio to New Heights

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai's landmark Downtown development has already become a global icon, officially the world's tallest building following the inauguration ceremony on January 4, and a symbol of Dubai's ever growing international status and determination to set new benchmarks in architecture and engineering. With such a landmark construction project, comes a need to consider every detail carefully and so every component of the development has been specified with the highest quality in mind. This premium specification extends to the installed sound system, and so it's not surprising to find Tannoy's industry renowned range of in-ceiling and in-wall loudspeakers integrated throughout the vast structure, on almost every single one of its 160 habitable floors in fact.

Over 5,000 of the Scottish-based speaker manufacturer's CMS Series in-ceiling loudspeakers have been installed, along with over 1,000 IW Series in-wall speakers, providing an unrivalled standard of audio coverage throughout the many internal spaces of this vertical city including the lobbies, corridors, terraces and reception areas of all publically accessible floors. The majority of the in-ceiling loudspeakers installed were CMS 501PI, which benefit from being supplied with a separate pre-install back can. These zinc plated, fully wired back cans are designed to be pre-installed into newly constructed, non-suspended ceilings leaving the product to be inserted at the final system commissioning stage of the install. This makes them particularly suited to large scale, potentially complicated new-build developments such as the Burj Khalifa, where the contractor needs to get in and complete installation and commissioning in very strict time frames.

Also among the substantial CMS specification were over 50 CMS 801DC, Tannoy's larger format high power in-ceiling system built around a 200mm (8") Dual Concentric driver. Designed specifically to deliver full bandwidth audio coverage at higher SPLs, the CMS 801DCs were a perfect solution for more demanding applications such as in the ballroom.

Internationally renowned acoustic and ELV consultants PMK International, who have a regional office in Dubai, were commissioned by Emaar Properties, the developer of the Burj Khalifa, to design and specify the installed sound requirements for the project. The AV installation itself was carried out by experienced technology integrator Bond Communications, who also have a local office, with key involvement in the nearby Dubai Mall and The Address Downtown hotel (opposite the Burj Khalifa).

www.tannoy.com

Martin Hits the Peak!

Following La Norma ski resort in the French Alps, the ski resort of Tignes has also entrusted Martin Professional with its lighting needs. Located at an altitude of over 2000m, Vignes, together with nearby Val d'Isère, is internationally renowned for its magnificent slopes.

Initially, the town of Tignes sought to freshen up its image in order to better match its reputation as a young, dynamic resort. Lighting designer Jean-Philippe Corrigou therefore turned to Martin Professional visual solutions to bring about this dynamism through lighting.

The first project, the Maison de Tignes, is a large reception center located just below the ski slopes. It enables guests to orient themselves, obtain information and have fun, all while getting warm.

The architecture of the building, which is made completely out of wood, is simple and chalet-like and, due to its dimensions, has an imposing framework which can be seen from outside. It is upon this first element that Jean-Philippe Corrigou based the lighting. Four Martin Exterior 600TM color changers show off the framework as well as the internal roof structure.

In order to avoid the sensation of the building "floating" above its location by only lighting the roof, the second part of the Maison de Tignes lighting highlights its long, low façade. Thanks to fourteen 1200 mm Extube IP65-rated LED luminaires, the external wall directly facing the slopes is dynamically illuminated at nightfall. The light marks the vertical limits of the building by highlighting the snow that surrounds it and the small cap that crowns it.

The second project concerns the lighting of a square which will be the focus of the entire Alps skiing community for one weekend. From 10-12 March, Tignes will move to the beat of the X Games - the first in Europe! Following the same structure as the American X Games, the finals will take place at night before a backdrop of snow.

For the event, the Place du Curling on the Tignes Val-Claret side will be brought to life by the joint effects of an Exterior 1200 Wash and an Exterior 1200 Image Projector. The Wash will provide a background of colour on which the Image Projector will create animation effects, project the X Games logo, accentuate certain colours, etc. The two projectors will be fitted at a height of 20 meters on the roofs of surrounding buildings and will make it possible to project directly onto the ground, thereby enveloping passers-by in colour.

Soundfield SPS200 Goes Native in Surround Thanks to SEA

SoundField SPS200 software controlled microphone, supplied by German SoundField distributor SEA, has been used to capture audio for a unique sound installation at a Zurich cultural museum. NONAM, Switzerland's North American Native Museum, is constructing a permanent exhibition representing five of the main geographical regions of North American Native culture. The new audio installation evokes the culture of the northwest coast of the continent, playing quadraphonic sounds and audio textures captured on the west coast of British Columbia on a permanent loop inside an acoustically treated chamber.

The engineer responsible for capturing the sounds was Hein Schoer, a German PhD researcher working at the Fontys School of Arts in the Netherlands, and accredited by the University of Maastricht. Schoer recorded the sounds and textures during a three-week trip to Canada's west coast last autumn, in collaboration with the U'Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, British Columbia. "The idea was to create an evocation in sound of life in each of these cultural regions, by presenting the sounds of the local weather, animals, and the activities of the indigenous people of the region," he explained. "We had previously put together an audio montage from DAT recordings to represent life in Nunavut for an earlier exhibition, and as a

recording engineer, I wanted to see whether I could improve the quality of the recordings from the northwest region."

The Sound Chamber at NONAM is an acoustically treated four-meter square cube designed to contain up to seven people at a time. Inside, light is excluded by black drapes and sound-absorbent foam removes most of the acoustic reflectivity of the chamber, rendering it almost anechoic and allowing the quadraphonic speaker array to immerse the occupant in the sounds of North America's northwest. Schoer wanted to make true quadraphonic recordings for use in the chamber but without resorting to a cumbersome multi-microphone array, and would have had no way of transporting such a complex rig in rural Canada anyway. "My original idea was to use a couple of stereo mics to make simultaneous recordings on separate stereo recorders and sync them in post-production to create quad soundscapes. However, this idea fell through. I contacted SEA and they suggested that I think about taking the SoundField SPS200 instead. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Synchronizing two stereo recordings made on separate recorders could have been very hit and miss and time-consuming, but the SPS200 allowed me to capture the audio independently of the output format with one microphone."

The audio captured by the SPS200 can be decoded later in post-production using the SPS200 Surround Zone plug-in, which is supplied free of charge with the microphone. As with SoundField's other multi-capsule microphones, the output from the SPS200 may be converted to a variety of output formats including phase-coherent mono, stereo, quad, or 5.1 surround, without any phase artifacts. "The sound installation for NONAM is in quadraphonic, but this is also my PhD project, and I intend to make radio presentations in stereo from the recordings," explains Schoer. "So the ability of the SPS200 to output audio in different formats is very useful to me. All I have to do is change some settings in the SoundField decoding software on my laptop."

Schoer made over seventeen hours of recordings with the SPS200 in its custom-made Zephyx windshield kit, including the sounds of the wildlife, birds and lakes of the region, wind passing through the trees over a nature reserve, everyday life, Native artists at work, classes at the local school, and a number of musical performances by the Native American people of the region. He supplemented the recordings made with the SPS200 and his eight-channel digital Sound Devices 788T recorder with mono and stereo recordings made to a Tascam DR100 with a Beyerdynamic shotgun mic and a stereo pair of Oktava microphones respectively. The completed twenty-minute quadraphonic composition is being installed at NONAM in Zurich this spring, following selection and decoding of the recordings by Hein Schoer, quadraphonic pre-mixing sessions in the surround studios at the School of Audio Engineering in Frankfurt, and Schoer's final mixdown inside NONAM's sound chamber itself. The plan is to create similar 'immersive' audio installations for all five regions represented at NONAM, and thereby develop guidelines for the future creation and presentation of such cultural soundscapes in years to come.

In picture: Hein Schoer recording in British Columbia, Canada, with the SPS200 in Zephyx Kit.

Dynacord Makes Waves on board Stena Cruise Cinema

Saville Audio Visual recently installed a state of the art Dynacord surround-sound system in to a custom-built, 100-seat cinema on board a Stena Cruise Ferry. Savilles, one of the UK's leading AV integrators, in conjunction with Polar Audio specified five Dynacord D-Lite D8 speakers, a Dynacord active D-Lite PowerSub 312, a Biamp MCA8150 multi-channel amplifier and a Violet Audio ADP61 processor for this unusual installation on board the Stena ship.

The brief was to supply a system that would provide high quality sound for up to 100 passengers. The system needed to be loud whilst retaining clarity, a quality that is an attribute of all Dynacord's speakers. Utilising the unique voicing of the D8 D-Lite Speakers, Savilles were able to install a high quality audio system within the constraints of the customer's budget.

The Violet Audio ADP61 Studio AV Preamp Decoder was installed to process the surround-sound before being fed to the Biamp MCA8150 8 channel amplifier. The MCA8150 delivers 150Watt per channel into 4 ohms, which powered the 250Watt, two-way D-Lite D8's. The D8's were complemented by the PowerSub 312 active 12" subwoofer, equipped with an integrated three channel power amplifier with a total output of 1300Watts. The unusual decision to install an active sub was taken as the PowerSub 312 offered the best size, weight and audio performance and allowed the subwoofer to be sited anywhere in the room.

Martin Professional at Mumja Club in Tirana

Mumja Club in Tirana, Albania is not only the newest club in the city it is also the best and busiest. That success is due in large part to a recent refurbishment that included a new Martin lighting package of MAC 250 Beam and smartMAC moving heads.

Reopened in December of 2009, Mumja is a 600 capacity club that features DJs from all over the world and also hosts live music. The new Martin gear was supplied by Martin's Albanian distributor Prosound Shpk and also includes a Magnum 1200 fogger and a PC-based LightJockey for lighting control. Lighting design was by Armand Dosti of Prosound.

"The club wanted high quality lighting but something other than the usual moving heads, so we suggested the MAC 250 Beam which has very good aerial effects," says sales manager Kliton Gjika of Prosound. "It can also be used to highlight the live bands using the fixture's frost effect."

The 250 Beams are the first for any club in Albania and Mumja Club is happy with them. "The 250 Beam has a great output and an amazing impact for a 250 watt bulb," he says. "And maintenance is low for both the smartMACs and the Beams." The graphics from the smartMACs, which are used for background light and effects, are an attractive complement to the Beam fixtures. All the moving heads are located four meters above the dance floor.

"The lights have performed as expected with no problems at all," Kliton Gjika says. "The investor, Andro Buxhuku, is happy with the fixtures and realizes that the Beams and smartMACs are a wonderful combination for the club."

Manager of the club, Florian Cara, plans to use the Beam fixtures for the summer club Folie, which will be ready for the season in April.

Newest JBL Speaker for Oldest Church in Cambridge

Take the oldest Saxon building in one of the UK's most famous medieval cities, and the task of equipping it sensitively with a 21st century sound reinforcement system may sound like the contract from hell.

Add to that the fact that the pulpit in St. Bene't's Church, which dates back to 1025, is situated in front of the speaker position and you will understand why installation contractor Matthew Dilley of About Sound had more than English Heritage and the Diocesan Council to contend with when fitting the new JBL CBT (Constant Beamwidth Technology) columns; these form part of a major sound system upgrade using brands from the Harman Pro portfolio.

In the event, the installer turned the situation to his advantage. "We welcome challenges and restrictions such as this," he stated. "I derive no satisfaction in trashing historic buildings! But what you don't want to see is a pulpit ahead of where you want to place your speakers."

Angela Tilby, vicar of the Anglican Franciscan Church and well-known broadcaster (eg Radio 4's Thought For The Day), had long been aware of the shortcomings of the old omni-directional system. It was when she was appearing as guest preacher at nearby St. John's, where About Sound had installed a webcast system, that she remarked on how refreshing it was to be heard, and asked the Dean for the name of the installer.

Two years ago she contacted Matt Dilley - but the long journey to get the speakers and mics replaced in the 100-seat church, with its famous tower, was only just beginning.

"The architects in the 1980s had installed these pendulum, omnidirectional spheres - they were cleverly disguised but of course better technology had come along since."

Dilley's task was to combine form factor with performance - always aware that feedback suppression would be an issue. "I short-listed several and carried out demonstrations, all the while knowing they would never have been acceptable to the architect on the grounds of being too obtrusive."

He was pleased he waited, for at last year's PLASA Show he saw the newly-launched JBL CBT Series. "It seemed just right, combining good looks with quality. A lot of these old columns contain multiple drive units which roll off at 250Hz, whereas the CBTs are full bandwidth.

The challenge was to get the same size of box but sounding better, he said. "The only ones I had seen in the form factor I wanted weren't good enough, however these sounded good, they were acceptable visually and they were signed off at a Diocesan hearing."

In fact the CBT's 150° horizontal dispersion was so impressive that rather than adorn all four columns with loudspeakers he was able to restrict the imposition to two, with a pair of CBT 50LAs inward and outward facing, the cabling carefully concealed via white mastic.

As a broadcast engineer, Dilley takes a fastidious approach to his craft, attending services before and after the installation process in order to survey, and evaluate performance. He also takes a progressive approach.

"We like to future-proof our installations where we can so that iPods can be connected to the concealed XLR plug-in points near the lectern." Although the system is intended primarily for speech it will easily cope with background music and the future will see sermons recorded live with the aid of an SD card recorder.

But About Sound have dipped further into the Harman Pro catalogue, specifying a pair of Crown XLS 402 stereo amps to drive each channel of the system individually, a BSS SW3088 Soundweb Lite DSP, configured for four Mic and four Line inputs, to handle the routing matrix, and wired AKG mics.

 

He explains: "I always specify the best and we prefer the much-underused AKG GN 155 floor-standing lectern gooseneck mic, which we've used before, with a CK47 capsule mic on the top; this matches the C747 on the pulpit."

 

The customisation of the C747 shotgun mic represents a stroke of genius on behalf of the installer. "We knew we couldn't drill into the pulpit so I built a slab and painted it the same colour; the detachable C747 is rubber-mounted - so it also gives us shock-resistancy." Added to this is a full range of top-specification wireless systems.

 

Ease of use was also a prime criteria and Dave Bradshaw, from Sound Technology's newly-formed Project Support Team, helped the installer programme simple presets into the Soundweb, via a local BSS 9012 volume select and source panel, concealed behind the front pew.

 

"We have different presets for different types of service, including delays - for instance one for evening prayer and another for a full Sunday service."

 

Matt Dilley adds that with the speakers positioned where they are "an intelligent matrix where you can mute and dip accordingly, is essential to avoid feedback." Via the AKG mics and Soundweb processing the aim has been to make the amplified voice sound as natural and recognisable as in real life.

 

"It's the attention to detail I care about and I would like to think that I could not have done this any better," he assesses. Happily, the church also believes that to be the case - and Angela Tilby is said to be delighted with the results.

Midas XL8 and PRO6 installed into Russia's Largest Multifunction Venue

Midas' Russian distributor Theater Technics and Technology has installed Midas XL8 and PRO6 systems into the Crocus City Hall in Moscow. With a 6,200 capacity, the new building is now Russia's largest concert hall and has the ability to host a wide variety of events, from concerts and festivals through to conferences and business forums. The two-level hall can switch between different modes, easily converting into a smaller, 2,200-seater venue, while the stalls can be modified to provide either a seating area for corporate events or a dance floor.

During the building work, the client and the designer struck a very important compromise: to position the XL8 in the centre of the hall, where the most important VIP seats are usually located.

"As a rule, clients usually try to ‘hide' the workplace of the soundman on a balcony, or allocate some space in the central aisle of the hall," says the hall's deputy technical director, Vladimir Antonov. "People now envy us for having our front of house console in the most logical position. Even thought there's always a struggle to provide as many seats as possible, we have a large, 6 metre by 3 metre front of house area - practically the size of another VIP box.

"All engineers, those who have already worked at the Crocus City Hall and those who have just visited, are of the same opinion: at last there is a hall in Moscow where the main console is situated at the very place where it should be according to acoustic laws."

The PRO6 monitor console has also commanded a good-sized working space, being installed in a wing of the stage with plenty of room to work comfortably, well away from the performance area. To avoid lengthy cable runs, four I/O boxes have been sunk into the stage floor to work exclusively with the monitor console.

According to the technical team at the Crocus City Hall, Midas was chosen because they considered it to be the latest in state-of-the-art live audio mixing technology, as supported by the number of Midas digital systems installed in numerous prestigious venues worldwide.

Another consideration was that the XL8 and PRO6 interact can be seamlessly networked and complement each other perfectly, no matter what the application. And as the use of digital consoles and audio networking proliferates year by year, they were convinced that going down the Midas route was the right choice for their venue.

"The first concerts held here have demonstrated that most engineers are eager to work on our new Midas consoles," says Vladimir Antonov. "For example, for a concert by Turkish star Tarkan, we set up two ‘other brand' digital consoles that they brought in. When the technical team arrived, we suggested that they work on the Midas XL8. Tarkan's FOH engineer agreed. And as he studied the console, his eyes began to burn and he started to repeat, ‘I want one, I want one!'"

www.midasconsoles.com

COBRA-4 in African Gourmet Temple

The Carnivore is a name known to gourmets all over the world. It was recently chosen as one of the "World's Top 50 Restaurants" by a specialist magazine and boasts kings, presidents, famous musicians and film stars among its clientele.

Besides being a world-class restaurant, the establishment boasts a club called the Simba Saloon in which music is performed live, and it too has an outstanding reputation not only for the cultivation of local talent but as a stage for top international acts from genres as diverse as rock, soul, jazz and reggae. These have included the likes of Maxi Priest, Yellowman, Sadao Watanabe, Chaka Demus, Manu Dibango, Salif Keta and most recently, the Jamaican reggae star Beenie Man.

The steadily rising expectations of visiting bands made investing in a new sound reinforcement system essential. After analysing what was on the market, comparing offers and attending demos from leading suppliers, decision-makers from the Tamarind Group, which owns the Carnivore, opted for the Cobra-4 compact line-array system from Dynacord. "We had had several discussions with Jan Verwiel of the Tamarind Group," remembers Omar Abdalla Sheikh of Dynacord's African partner Audio Visual Engineering. "He was pretty soon convinced by the concept of the Cobra - and its performance sealed the deal. Only days after the installation, I got a letter from him that read: ‘My decision was absolutely correct. The Cobra-4 has all the qualities you promised, and then some!'."

In picture: a snake, for once, that's welcome: Jan Verwiel of Tamarind and Omar Abdalla Sheikh of Dynacord's African partner Audio Visual Engineering celebrate the arrival of the Dynacord Cobra-4 system.

Alcons Brings Audio Excellence to Denmark's AKKC

One of the largest and most flexible congress and culture centres in Scandinavia, Denmark's Aalborg Congress & Culture Centre (AKKC) attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year to music and theatre performances, trade fairs, exhibitions, meetings and congresses. Recently the venue underwent a major technical refit, including the installation of Alcons systems.

Supplied by Alcons Danish distributor Ascon Trading, the systems were chosen after a comprehensive ‘shoot-out' listening test of several systems.

"We were visited by a production which had the an Alcons LR16/LR16B PA system and we were impressed by the sound. It was very clear and had great presence," says AKKC head of sound Søren Hansen.

"When we were looking for new speaker systems, we did a comprehensive listening test with the Alcons system alongside two other brands. In our opinion Alcons was the best sounding and most flexible system for our purposes."

Ascon Trading supplied three Alcons systems at the AKKC complex, permanent installations in the venue's two main spaces - the Aalborghallen and Europasalen - plus a mobile system, with Alcons Niels Janssen doing the final setup and fine tuning.

The system in the (up to) 2,200m2 Aalborghallen comprises 12 LR16 and four LR16B per side, with three LR14 for downfill and three more for nearfield each side. The system in the 880m² Europasalen comprises six LR14 and two LR14B per side, while the mobile system features six LR14/120, six LR14/90 and four BF362 subs. All three systems are driven by Alcons ALC4 amplifiers, with the BF362s also able to add extra bass punch to the two permanent systems, if required.

"There are two QSC networks, one in each of the main halls, so engineers can log on and control the systems from different places within the room," says Søren. It allows monitoring of each amplifier's impedance, temperature, volume levels and switching individual amps on or off and recall different setups for different configurations of the room."

The latter is a critical point, as the Aalborghallen is a flexible space which can be changed in size. Thus, while the width and height are constant, the length can vary in 4.5 metre steps from 25 up to 70 metres long.

"We are very happy with the systems and have received very positive comments from visiting engineers, who are very impressed with sound and the clarity," says Søren Hansen. "The Aalborghallen system can be set up in many ways, depending on the configuration of the room, and all three systems sound excellent.

"We are very proud of this installation," concludes Torben Lauersen of Ascon Trading. "Alcons was chosen because it proved the best system in direct listening comparisons with the other systems and it really underlined the advantages of the Pro-Ribbon technology."

In picture: Aalborg Congress & Culture Centre (AKKC).

www.alconsaudio.com

Optocore Connects at Vancouver Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, which opened in Vancouver on February 12, combine leading edge technology in the three divisions of live, broadcast and recording production; and Optocore is the network of choice for the service providers responsible for making the audio transmission a guaranteed success.

As the host broadcaster supporting 14 international networks, CTV's Olympic Post Sound Supervisor Mike Nunan has continued his use of Optocore in critical International Broadcast Centre applications by creating a 100-plus channel routing network at the International Broadcast Centre between his edit suites and his post sound control room, utilising DD4ME MADI interfaces, DD32E AES network devices, X Series remote preamp/converters and YG/YS interface cards. Additional signal transport and remote control via Optocore is the interfacing of numerous Neumann Solution D digital microphones.

For the opening and closing ceremonies at Vancouver's BC Place, Norwest Productions, Australia's largest audio company, were tasked with various responsibilities including remote preamps for FOH, monitors and East, West and Centre stage positions. Consoles chosen this time around included a Digico D5 at FOH and a PM1D for monitors, receiving a mix of AES and MADI signals. In addition to those five positions stadium locations, the eight-node ring was completed with Broadcast, Communication and FOH analogue patch network addresses.

Specifically an Optocore DD4ME MADI interface was used with the D5, Optocore YG/YS cards for the Yamaha PM1D DIO8 rack, and six distributed Optocore DD32E AES-capable network devices with combinations of X6 Series Optocore A/D converter modules.

Le Studio Mobile, considered one of North America's best mobile recording units, was awarded the challenge of capturing the always astounding opening and closing productions. Effortless integration was accomplished via a single DD4ME dual channel MADI interface with BNC connection.

In preparation for hosting all the Olympic hockey events, the17,000 seat Canada Hockey Place (GM Place) arena, located next door to BC Place, recently underwent a complete audio refit based on an extensive Optocore network that included their expanded broadcast facilities. The innovative design circling the building carries audio, video, intercom and data for all DSP-based products such as signal processing and wireless microphones.

The reconfigurable network allows staff to effortlessly position their Soundcraft Vi6 console at one of three mix positions around the building with instant connection to the remote preamps located in central patch at ice level, offering their clients flexible set-ups.

In picture: the Canada Hockey Place (GM Place) arena.

ASX Completes Ministry Conversion to Martin Audio

When the Ministry of Sound London commissioned a bespoke Martin Audio club stack two years ago it was just one step away from standardising on the brand throughout.

Standing in the way were the old ‘Bertha' sub enclosures, whose heritage dates right back to Richard Long's epochal system at New York's legendary Paradise Garage in the late ‘70s.

Although the subs had been loaded with Martin Audio 18in drivers during that last upgrade, the end game - according to Martin Audio R&D director, Jason Baird - was to provide a complete active low-end enclosure.

Meanwhile the Ministry's technical manager Alex Barrand was aware of development work taking place at Martin Audio HQ on a prototype - largely to provide low-end extension for Prodigy front of house engineer Jon Burton - but his interest really went into overdrive when he learnt that an active product would be commercially available in the marketplace.

Jason Baird recalls: "We started the system upgrade with the custom AS118 bass and Wavefront W8C into the club two years ago when discussions about the ASX were under wraps. Once we were able to demonstrate it we took it down to the club for a demo."

Alex Barrand had first heard the new ASX sub in the Martin Audio factory and thought it sounded "incredible".

Down at the club he remembers: "One unit comfortably outperformed the existing system at the audition. We ensured the crossovers were aligned properly and coupled with the 18's in the AS118's."

However, he wanted the subs to be able to tick over and instead proposed two ASX subs for each of the six club stacks, coupled with a custom flared horn. The flare met the MoS management brief that the design should retain the physical presence of the old stacks.

The MoS technician set about specifying an enclosure that would couple and at the same time deliver a visual impact. However, there were also some acoustic benefits to this approach - as both he and Jason Baird were quick to recognise.

"The flare not only enables more output to be generated but also better horizontal directivity. We needed to dissipate the hotspots and this did it. By angling the stacks we could get more broadband coverage."

And with the integral amplifiers, signal and control cables exposed at the rear he also commissioned and fitted a special rear box to conceal it from clubbers, who are already threatening to use the mighty ground-stacked flared enclosures as a dance platform.

Thus 12 x ASX subs, in six stacks, now drive the frequency range down to 30Hz - all connected to the new Martin Audio Control Manager software.

Each ASX is plugged into a hub which interfaces with a laptop, and the Control Manager application allows control and monitoring of all ASX's individually, noting the temperature they are running at and how hard the system is being driven - in real time.

Reviewing the new set-up just two weeks in, Alex Barrand reports that the sound is crystal clear and the crowds have been going wild. "I am delighted to have been in a position to carry out such an impressive upgrade to this heritage system."

And the DJ's agree. Louie Vega, who appeared with Jocelyn Brown recently, was particularly complimentary about the new Martin Audio stacks. "Ministry of Sound's new sound system, is one of the rare few systems left that bring the spirit of Richard Long's work from the Paradise Garage with a digital edge.

"Since the new sound system went in I've enjoyed every minute deejaying there at our Soul Heaven Events and look forward to many more musical journeys. Congratulations to the Ministry of Sound (and Alex Barrand) for once again creating a new club sound blueprint."

In picture: Alex Barrand with the new club stacks.

LTP Designs & Supplies Lighting for Major Footbridge

Lighting Technology projects (LTP) has designed, installed and commissioned an architectural lighting scheme for the new Perryn Road footbridge that traverses the busy A40, one of the main highways into London, UK, from the west of the country.

LTP was appointed as specialist lighting sub-contractors and consultants to SH Structures, who fabricated the 32.6 metre bright yellow single span steel bridge that now crosses the A40 in Acton, London W3. It was part of a major project by Transport For London (TFL) that also replaced the two 1920's Western Avenue road bridges in this area, and was conceived and designed by architects Grimshaws and consulting engineers/architects Hyder Consulting. The main contractors for construction and delivery of the project were Carillion.

The LTP team was led by Terry Reeves and Jonathan Adkins, both of whom have considerable experience in lighting bridges. Reeves comments: "Bridges always require special and individual considerations when key-lighting, involving plenty of creative and practical thought."

The lighting brief for the main bridge span included producing an environmentally friendly, unobtrusive, elegant and safe lighting solution emitting the correct levels of luminosity to meet BS design standards and comply to all the public health & safety regulations.

LTP specified 70 units of the new 400 mm white BWS 520 4 Watt inset handrail LED fixtures from Phillips, 35 of which are used on each side of the structure which straddles the road diagonally. The lighting units also had to be tough, durable and vandal-proof, with no exposed casings. The essential effect is to neatly and nicely key-light the bridge decks for the public without causing any glare or unnecessary distraction to passing motorists below.

It was the first time that Llanelli based LTP and north Yorkshire based SH Structures have worked together, a process that both enjoyed, confirms Carl Horner, SHS's commercial manager and Terry Reeves. The two companies collaborated closely and used sophisticated CAD and 3D viewing software to develop a combination of rigid and flexible stainless steel conduit into which the LED strips lights are ensconced, complete with integral cable routings and duct-ways. This part of the operation was completed at SH's workshop, so when the bridge span was finally installed on site - by crane, overnight - everything was set for the lighting fixtures to be inserted and wired up.

The bridge is serviced by a set of ramps and stairs, both wrapping around its main support columns, allowing full access for anyone needing to use it. These are lit with a series of IK10++ rated fluorescent fixtures as stipulated by TFL.

The bridge structure is constructed from standard mild steel sections and coated with an epoxy glass flake paint system. The decks have an anti-slip floor finish. The total weight is approximately 200 tonnes and the contract value to SHS was £1.36 million.

The Perryn Road footbridge project follows on from other recent high profile bridge lighting schemes supplied by LTP including Tradeston Bridge over the Clyde in Glasgow and the Sidings Bridge near Swansea.

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