project news

Clay Paky’s Compact Luminaires are a Bright Match for Singapore’s Star Gallery

Singapore’s technologically advanced new Star Performing Arts Centre has invested in Clay Paky’s Alpha Spot HPE 700 and Alpha Wash 700 fixtures to provide a bright solution for its 770-seater Star Gallery multi-purpose hall.

The venue’s technical director Daniel Loh specified 16 of each Alpha Spot HPE 700 and Alpha Wash 700s as an optional upgrade to the standard lighting package in the theatre, choosing them due to their compact, lightweight build and quiet operation.

"In addition to the Alpha Wash 700s and Alpha Spot HPE 700s’ relatively small dimensions, we needed fixtures that offered good colour rendition and really packed a punch in terms of light output," says Loh. "The 32 Clay Paky fixtures will serve as floating stock that can be used in various venues in our facility, and the two Alpha ranges facilitate this due to their small scale size but powerful output."

The Clay Paky fixtures were supplied by Selangor, Malaysia-based Acoustic & Lighting System Pte Ltd.

"The revamped Clay Paky Alpha Series (300/700/1500) and of course Sharpy have been an instant hit in our market," says Eugene Yeo, Business Development Manager at Acoustic & Lighting System Pte Ltd. "As now more users has noticed the advantage of investing in better quality lights, we believe that Clay Paky will continue to grow in future.

"The 700 series are favourites due to their relatively silent operation, which is useful for TV and theatre, and its quick pan/tilt movement is also great for rock and roll shows. Due to its size and brightness, many people opt for this fixture over 1200W moving heads especially in Singapore, where most of the places are more towards medium size venue and storage of lights are a major issue - the Alpha 700 series fits perfectly for their usage. Clay Paky has managed to establish itself to be the new industry standard of 700W which is something we are very proud of."

The Alpha Spot HPE 700 is the smallest 700W spotlight available, weighting just 22 kilos. The 700W lamp provides a level of brightness equal, if not greater, than that seen with higher wattages. Similarly, the Alpha Wash 700 is an extraordinarily compact lightweight 700W washlight, with the luminous efficiency, graphic and optical performance of a higher category fixture and is extremely silent and fast.

www.claypaky.it

14th May 2013

Robe DLX Spots Installed at Tanglin Trust School Singapore

Robe DLX LED Spots have been installed in a lighting upgrade at a leading international school in Singapore.

The Spots were specified by Tanglin Trust School’s theatre manager Vincent Teo for the school’s 400 capacity Berrick Performance Hall; they were supplied by Robe SEA’s office, in a sale coordinated by Louis Teo (no relation).

The Berrick Performance Hall is a multi-purpose space used for a wide range of shows and events including in-house drama and musical productions, graduation and other academic ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions, music concerts, dance shows and other live performances.

Tanglin Trust School has over 2,700 students of which approximately 60% are British. Every student across the Infant, Junior and Senior Schools with ages ranging from 3 to 18 years old uses the space at some stage, with at least two events or productions taking place a week.

The eight DLX Spots are the first Robe products purchased by the school and the first time Tanglin has owned moving lights.

Vincent explained that one of the reasons Robe was successfully awarded the project which went to open tender, was due to their energy saving properties which addressed the school’s environmental commitments. “Being green is a key objective for Tanglin,” commented Vincent, who also highlighted the school’s need for a high output and flexible lighting fixture.

Buying the power-conscious DLXs also means that Tanglin can add to their lighting rig in the future without needing additional power installed in the building.

Another influencing factor when making Vincent’s choice was the rotating and static gobos and the endless patterns and effects. “I appreciate the fact that you can do shift focus and timing transitions when changing gobos,” added Vincent, “Robe’s superb tungsten emulation and red fade effects are fantastic – they emulate the qualities of a tungsten lamp perfectly!”

The lights get a huge amount of use at the school by numerous people, not all of whom are lighting experts, so they had to be hard wearing. “It has made a massive difference to the shows we can produce,” enthuses Vincent, who is finding he can also do a lot of programming “on-the-fly” with the DLXs as they are very easy to use.

One of the first performances to utilise the new DLXs was the Senior School’s recent production of the popular musical “Return To The Forbidden Planet” where the lighting contributed to the stunning production.

“Above all, the DLX Spots have been a big hit with the students!” concludes Vincent.

1st May 2013

J.R. Clancy creates custom beacon for One World Trade Center

Building one of the brightest beacons in the world—the one that will shine from the top of the new One World Trade Center tower in lower Manhattan—is the kind of challenge that comes around once in a lifetime.

For the engineering and manufacturing teams at J. R. Clancy, Inc., however, once-in-a-lifetime jobs come around on a regular basis. That’s why the company rose to the top of the must-hire list when Ballantyne Strong, the entertainment lighting and projection system company, was selected to create the beacon.

Strong worked closely with lighting designer Claude Engel through the preliminary phases of the project. "Clancy was always the first choice because they had been world renowned for their expertise on custom fixtures," said Glen Thor, director of Strong Lighting. "Mike Murphy, Clancy’s president, and Strong’s engineering team got together on the project over the next 13 months of engineering work, and we were able to get it to the finish line in less than half that time."

The energy-efficient beacon shines at 1,740 feet above the streets of New York, just below the 1,776-foot total height of the new tower. "The antenna structure is approximately 400 feet tall, and consists of 18 separate segments," explained Tom Trytek, P.E. of TDK Engineering, the firm Clancy chose as its partner in completing the project. "Our component, the beacon, is in the last segment."

The light itself is made up of 16 suitcase-sized petals, each containing 11 modules of LED lights. The bottom petals each contain an array of 22 LED modules. Each module produces 1,200 lumens on its own, for a cumulative total of 316,800 lumens—a light that will be seen easily from Manhattan to New Jersey, even on a foggy night.

The petal array lives in a stainless steel structure with large mirrors located between the LED modules to maximize and direct the light across the city, said Bridget Cox, J. R. Clancy director of project management. "The ‘mirrors’ themselves are not actually glass, but are specialized laminated assemblies of honeycomb board with a custom reflective aluminum surface," she said. The light sources remain stationary, while the mirror assembly rotates on a small, motorized turntable. A computer supplied by Barbizon Lighting sends a signal to the J. R. Clancy motor control cabinet, turning the beacon turntable on every day an hour before dusk, and shutting it off an hour after sunrise.

The motorized turntable, mirror assemblies, and electrical components were built by a manufacturing team led by Clancy, with the assistance of Blair Construction and Fabrication in Auburn, NY. The team paid special attention to reducing the potential for maintenance and repair issues. "The entire beacon is exposed to the elements, so it had to be designed to withstand New York City heat in the summer, cold in the winter, and precipitation," said Cox. "There’s a special enamel paint treatment used for all of the parts that could not be made out of stainless steel. The stainless steel motor control cabinet can withstand the summer heat intrinsically, but if the temperature drops below 40 degrees, internal heaters kick on to keep the control components at a relatively constant temperature. The turntable motors are also equipped with heaters to help avoid condensation."

Designing a super-bright lighting fixture is challenging enough, but the fact that this beacon lives above 1,700 feet required the design team to think through every aspect of maintenance and repair. "The specifications from the architect were that the beacon was to be fully capable of being dismantled and replaced in place," said Trytek. "The beacon is segmented, so every component can be removed individually and replaced."

Clancy and TDK examined every aspect of the original design to determine the best ways to simplify and ruggedize the structure, reducing the likelihood of a mechanical breakdown. "Pete Svitavsky, P.E., at Clancy and I have worked together on many projects, so we started brainstorming the best route for doing this drive system," said Trytek. "We took a 180-degree approach to the methodology of turning the system. The original conceptual design by the architect could have worked, but there were too many mechanical components in a very tight space with limited access. We made it a lot simpler and more robust."

The turntable structure involves a slew ring bearing—a single large, circular bearing with a projected life of one billion revolutions. "It turns as fast as a second hand, and it operates roughly twelve hours a day," said Trytek. "With proper maintenance, it could last almost forever."

Just to be safe, though, Clancy built a second gear motor into the turntable to provide a redundant motor drive system, so the beacon would still operate in the event that one of the motors malfunctioned.

"The slew ring is so much simpler, with an infinite lifespan, and it’s very easily serviceable," said Thor. "Ours was a motor track system that would have required much more maintenance. I have to give Tom Trytek and the folks at Clancy all the credit for coming up with a better solution and saving everyone a lot of time, effort, and money."

Even with all of these precautions, the team knew that service personnel would need to access every part of the beacon for routine maintenance and repairs—both for the beacon itself, and for the components above it. "Through the center of the mirror system is an access ladder," said Trytek. "Just above the beacon on the tower are four FAA lights, as well as a light at the very top of the antenna. So we had to be sure that a maintenance person could pass through without interfering with the mirror, to reach the lights at the top of the tower."

While some of the mirror panels are fixed to the frame of the beacon housing, the center panels can be removed, "sort of like a leaf in a table," Trytek explained. "Each of the leaves of the mirror system can be stored to the left and right sides of the mirror frame. So you have an unobstructed way to get to the upper and lower petals of the LED system."

With the beacon soon to cast its light across Manhattan, Thor is quick to praise the expertise the Clancy team brought to the project. "Clancy’s role has been instrumental; we couldn’t have done it without them," he said. "Between the three companies, there has been a personal level of trust and understanding. I trusted that they were doing the right thing, and that was the key for me."

In picture: the top antenna section and the beacon system with partial mirror

28th March 2013

Prestigious Chinese Clubs Reach The Apex Of Audio Quality

The processing power and ease of use that Apex Intelli-X2 processors deliver mean that they are being adopted in high end audio installations across the globe. Seven of the units have recently been installed in two of China’s most prestigious nightclubs, with six more installations to follow.

Club TNT in Xi’ang is an 850m2 venue which features a diverse array of live music and DJ sets, including pop, rock, electronic and hip-hop. The audio system was designed and installed by Real Music Acoustic & Lighting Technology, one of China’s leading production technology houses, who specified four Apex Intelli-X2 48 processors to control a comprehensive Adamson audio system.

"We designed the system with a matrix of loudspeakers, to ensure that all guests are covered by audio from at least two different directions wherever they are," says Real Music managing director Richie Wang. "This delivers a very uniform sound throughout, maximising the enjoyment and experience for clubbers."

The Intelli-X2 processors were chosen because of their exceptional quality, but also because their ‘plug and play’ design means that they are very easily incorporated into any system. "They are exceptionally powerful and flexible, deliver fantastic quality sound and are also remarkably straightforward to install and program," says Richie.

So impressed were Club TNT’s owners - Nanjing Trendsetter Entertainment Management (NTEM) - with the system that they asked Real Music to install a similar one at their latest project, Club Enzo, an 875m2 venue in Nanjing. Here, three further Apex Intelli-X2 48s were specified.

"The sound at Club TNT and Club Enzo has really impressed everybody, not least the owners, who are dedicated to building China’s very best nightclubs," says Richie. "Using Apex processors is an important part of achieving that aim and we look forward to specifying them at six more high profile projects for NTEM in the near future."

 

15th March 2013

Spot One on the Air in Asia

Hong Kong‘s leading TV Station, Television Broadcast Limited (TVB), has recently made a major investment in GLP’s impression Spot One for its studios.

TVB’s headquarters, which is also the largest commercial television production centre in Asia, houses 22 state of the art production studios, collectively known as TVB City.

Under a new management initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of the company, TVB’s engineering department, headed by Mr. Ko Cheuk Wai, had the challenging task of finding an LED solution to replace their existing discharge lamp automated lighting system.

Their research process was comprehensive and technically thorough, to ensure that their final decision would meet the studio’s requirements for the next generation of automated lighting.

Gaffers, directors of photography, camera operators, studio managers, and directors all joined Mr. Wai and the engineering department to ensure that their needs were met.

Also present at the tests was Michael Münz, general manager of GLP Asia, who commented: “The technical tests took place at TVB‘s Studio 1 - one of the largest TV Studios in Asia. With all of the relevant departments present, there were a lot of tests to complete in order to check that the Spot One would fulfill their needs. As the tests progressed, I only saw stunned faces across the board which proved to me that the Spot One was surpassing even the high expectations they had for an LED spotlight.”

The Spot One was the first fixture of its kind to be released to the global market. By harnessing the raw power of a 400 Watt RGB LED engine and running it through an advanced optical system GLP has created an even beam for RGB color mixing at the same time achieving a focusable area for gobo projections. The result is a true hard edge LED profile fixture with a packed graphics engine that includes two fully indexable gobo wheels.

Ko Cheuk Wai said: “It was crucial for us not to make any compromise on the look of the lights and the appearance of our broadcast pictures. Color temperature, even beam output and smooth dimming are some of the most important requirements in our studio environment. Seeing the Spot One in action and in direct comparison with our discharge fixtures we realised very quickly that not only would we match, but also surpass the quality that we currently had, and gain a far superior level of efficiency that would meet the demands of our new forward thinking initiative.”

TVB also welcomed the five-year warranty on the LED engine that the Spot One comes with, ensuring savings for lamp replacements that they would no longer have to budget for. This, coupled with the sealed optical section of the fixture which reduces maintenance time, along with its low heat emission which reduces HVAC demands in the studios, will present a huge financial saving in the coming years.

5th March 2013

Sindo Exports Brings GLD to Two Singapore Venues

Allen & Heath’s Indonesian distributor, Sindo Exports Pte Ltd, recently supplied Allen & Heath GLD digital systems to Singapore’s Wala Wala live music club and Cleopatra karaoke nightclub.

Founded 20 years ago, Wala Wala started hosting live music acts ten years later following the refurbishment of its first floor storage area. A relatively small live room, the original sound reinforcement system suffered from poor sound quality when the levels were increased so Wala Wala’s management appointed an audio technician to mix the 11 weekly acts.

“Having decided to recruit an engineer in Mark Jason, we then realised that the club needed a sound system,” commented operations manager Maniam Krishnan. “Bands previously mixed themselves, which was a little inconsistent as some would be too loud and others were inexperienced.”

“Wala Wala previously had a small analogue console, but switching to digital made a lot of sense owing to the many, varied performers playing here,” commented Mark Jason. Sindo Exports supplied the Allen & Heath GLD-80 digital console and KV2 Audio speaker system.

Cleopatra is a karaoke themed nightclub featuring a nightly light show and live singers. The FOH system consists of QSC Audio speakers and a GLD digital system. The GLD-80 digital console has been extended by adding an AR84 Expander I/O Rack with eight XLR inputs and four XLR outputs, connected via the dSNAKE CAT-5 protocol to the AR2412 I/O Rack on stage.

“I hadn’t used a GLD console before but I am very impressed,” commented technical engineering manager, Sulaiman Satriadi Simatupang. “The GLD-80 has an analogue-style channel processing section complemented by an 8-inch touch screen display. Anyone who hasn’t operated digital before can easily convert, and there’s even a user guide on screen. The USB ports allow direct playback of music files and can also take live stereo recordings of some assigned or all of the channels of the console. In addition, the 20 fader strips are well lit and clear to navigate. In fact, the GLD-80 comes with everything – there’s no need to start ordering extra hardware or software as everything you need is there.”

28th February 2013

Community Delivers the Sound for Singapore's First Olympic-Size Ice Rink

Electronics & Engineering (E&E) has recently completed the installation of a Community sound system at Singapore's first Olympic-size ice rink at JCube.

Owned by CapitaMall Trust, JCube is located out of town in Jurong East. Managed by CapitaMall Asia, JCube differentiates itself from the usual shopping and dining mall experience with the ice rink in the centre of the building. The 60 x 30 metre rink has a 460-seat gallery and can be used simply for community skating, or for more competitive sporting events including speed or figure skating and ice hockey. It can also host live streaming events and concerts in the space.

The sound system at JCube rink provides both high intelligibility speech and entertainment quality music, and additionally allows for the multi-use requirements of the venue. To meet the specifications of the rinks management, E&E worked closely with Community’s Singapore-based director of business development, Thomas Mittelmann, who liaised with the technical team at Community’s HQ in the US.

Seventeen Community WET W2-2W8 loudspeakers are mounted around the rink edge. The W2-2W8’s dual 8-inch horizontal drivers with centrally located 1-inch horn provide the optimum 120-degree wide horizontal dispersion required for the venue. Additionally the W2-2W8’s extreme all-weather capabilities handle the environmental conditions of the rink and its provision in white ensured the loudspeakers blended perfectly with the venue’s aesthetics.

In addition to the distributed W2-2W8 system, the audio design includes a ceiling loudspeaker system for the audience areas. The upper spectator stand comprises thirteen Community D8 8-inch coaxial ceiling loudspeakers. The D8 loudspeakers deliver consistent coverage with their Tru-Phase high frequency waveguide providing a wide uniform dispersion. In the lower stand there are thirteen Community D6 ceiling loudspeakers, providing the same consistent quality as their larger sibling, but equipped with a 6.5-inch low frequency driver. A further ten Community D4 ceiling loudspeakers and four Community DS8 surface mount loudspeakers are installed at back of house.

Five Ashly Audio NE2400 2-channel amplifiers power the Community loudspeakers. The network enabled amplifiers feature full control and monitoring capabilities via standard 10/100 Ethernet protocol and Protea software. An Ashly Audio NE4250 amplifier powers the back of house system.

Processing is provided by a Symetrix Symnet 8x8 digital signal processor, supplied with SymNet Designer software which equips the rink with more than 300 DSP modules, including feedback elimination, loudspeaker management and auto mixing. The built-in modules enable the audio engineer at the rink to switch quickly and easily from one processing mode to another depending on the function of the rink at any given time.

Completing the audio system are a Mackie 1642-VLZ3 I6-channel compact recording mixer and Shure SLX24/SM58 hand-held wireless microphones for concert type events.

27th February 2013

$3.16bn Chinese Resort Chooses Apex And DiGiCo

The first phase of China’s 20 billion yuan ($3.16 billion) Changbai Mountain International Tourism Resort opened in 2012, featuring five-star hotels and Asia’s largest ski resort. A centrepiece of the development is a performing arts theatre, where Apex audio processors and DiGiCo mixing consoles help to ensure that audiences enjoy the evenings as much as their time on the piste.

Changbai Mountain is located on the border with North Korea, with the Chinese side a 494,000 acre nature reserve that is already a popular international tourist destination. The new resort’s 26 miles of ski runs will draw many more visitors and the Changbaishan Grand Theatre has been built as part of the comprehensive accommodation and entertainment facilities.

Built by the Beijing Aotewei Development Company, the theatre features a cutting edge audio specification, supplied and installed by Rightway Audio Consultants, one of China’s leading professional audio distributors. The company specified five Apex Intelli-X² 48 processors and DiGiCo SD8 and SD10 mixing consoles.

The four in, eight out Intelli-X² 48 provides the entire range system management tools necessary for comprehensive system alignment and EQ, including IIR and FIR-based crossovers. Featuring internal processing up to 192 kHz as standard, high-end studio-grade analogue circuit designs and mastering-grade compressors, it sets the benchmark in system management and speaker processing design, but is simple to integrate into any network and also to operate.

“Audiences will be visiting the theatre from across the world and so it is very important that everything is of the highest quality, to ensure that they want to visit again,” says April Fung, Rightway business development coordinator. “We specified Apex and DiGiCo equipment because it delivers optimum audio quality and ensures the system can be used for any kind of production.”

DiGiCo’s SD8 and SD10 deliver all the facilities that front of house and monitor engineers need for every type of live event, combining an exceptional specification with intuitive operation and a compact footprint. The on-board Stealth Digital Processing provides unparalleled sonic quality and processing power, making sure that every show at the Changbaishan Grand Theatre has a great sense of occasion.

“It is very important for the theatre to attract high calibre performers. DiGiCo mixers are well-known and used on the highest profile shows, so they were an obvious choice,” adds April. “The system has been working perfectly and the theatre is very happy with the results.”

26th February 2013

d&b dreams of whale song in Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea

A pavilion of cathedral like proportions; a vast ceiling of moving colour and imagery; the deep blues and greens of the deep ocean, so real you can almost feel them wash over you; the majestic progress of the noblest creatures of the sea swimming high above you. What's the missing element?

It has to be sound; the echoing, womb like sound of whale song enveloping the visitor, drawing their eyes up to absorb the vision high above them and so to complete the experience. And not just any sound; sound designers Charles de Meaux, Content Artist and Thierry Coduys, technical 3D sound implementation wanted to create a seamless 3D sonic feeling throughout the Expo Digital Gallery Pavilion at the 2012 World Expo located at Yeosu, South Korea. Its theme of The Living Ocean and Coast was reflected both in its natural setting and its technically ambitious pavilions spread over a vast two hundred and fifty square metre site. Any audio installation here would have to be ambitious, creative and innovative to successfully compete with the dexterous technology on display here. They turned to Xavier Cousyn at d&b audiotechnik in France.

The Digital Gallery, all two hundred and eighteen by thirty metres of it, houses one of the biggest video screens in the world to present virtual and digital arts in large format. Running along the entire arched ceiling the images presents visitors with panoramic experiences from world famous beaches and other oceanic delights: floating icebergs; sea birds flying over and through the hallway; waves and whales moving rhythmically across the vista. Rather than simply aim for a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound solution, de Meaux and Coduys wanted to create a 3D spherical sound field in the centre of the pavilion so Cousyn's design objective was centred on achieving a holophonic PA system using an ambisonics algorithm.

Tim Frühwirth, from Education and Application Support at the d&b audiotechnik headquarters in Backnang, Germany elaborates on the technicalities, "The big difference between a holophonic PA system when compared to a normal 5.1 surround system, where you have to place both the loudspeakers and the listeners in a given predefined setup, is the general independency of sources and loudspeakers; the accurate imaging for the listener would only be experienced at the central position or sweet-spot. Using this standard technology in a pavilion like the EDG where listeners are frequently passing by, the artists' expectations and the d&b philosophy of 'democracy for all listeners' wouldn't be achieved at all. Following the ambisonics principle, the source will be placed inside the virtual sound system emulation. The controller system knows the location and orientation of every loudspeaker within the installed system so creates and routes the calculated signal via multiple channels to the respective loudspeakers. This allows the individual visitor in the listening area to localise the generated sound source independently of his or her actual position. This achieves an accurate imaging of both the visible and audible content independent of the listener's position, which meets exactly the requirements for this project."

Back at d&b audiotechnik in Backnang, a system of E12-D loudspeakers, picked for their wide horizontal dispersion of 110 degrees that was most appropriate for an ambisonic or holophonic audio solution alongside supporting Qi-SUBS were painted up in the Special Colour (SC) option of light grey to blend into the background. Together with the relevant D12 amplifiers, the loudspeakers were shipped to d&b South Korea in Seoul. Although the system was designed in France and shipped from Germany, it was Seong-Jong Choi and Sun-Jung Kim from d&b in South Korea who installed and tuned the system with support from Frühwirth, this was a truly international effort.

The loudspeaker system was hung using eight pillars distributed in an elliptical shape around the area of the EDG Pavilion with a diagonal diameter of nearly sixty metres from the first to last pillar. Each pillar was rigged with E12-D loudspeakers mounted on three different vertical levels between four and fifteen metres in height and with one Qi-SUB which was mounted between the first and the second level. Each cabinet was driven by an individual D12 amplifier channel so that the positioning tool chosen by the original designers Coduys and de Meaux, the 'IANNIX' Software, could create a spatial sound field.

The International Exposition Yeosu Korea 2012 opened for visitors on May 12th and ran for ninety three days attracting between one to two hundred thousand visitors a day. The Dreaming Whale sequence at the Expo Digital Gallery invited visitors to participate in an interactive program and upload their own images onto the screen. Over one million pictures were sent in by over three million visitors to the EDG. When Frühwirth remarks that, with this d&b audiotechnik installation, "Every listener gets to hear the whole picture; that sweet-spot is expanded to include any number of visitors," one wonders if he had counted up to three million.

25th February 2013

Four DiGiCo Consoles Are Manna From Heaven

In 2012, a DiGiCo SD7 was installed in Jiguchon Church in the South Korea’s Bundang New City. Such was its success that four more of the company’s mixers have now been installed in another church in the city, demonstrating how DiGiCo mixing consoles are making significant inroads into the country’s house of worship market.

Featuring a state-of-the-art technical specification, the new Manna Methodist Church has a seating capacity of 4,000, with around 10,000 worshippers attending each week. Services feature a live band, choir, organ and orchestra, so the audio system needed a high input channel count, as well as facilities to mix live audio for broadcast on its own Internet channel.

The church consulted DiGiCo’s South Korean distributor Soundus Corporation, who supplied and installed an SD7 console at Front of House, with four SD-Racks and an SD8-24 to take care of the live broadcast mix. In addition, Soundus supplied an SD9 for a mobile audio system and an SD11 for the church video editing suite.

"The decision to use DiGiCo consoles was based on the SD7’s ability to handle more than 200 input channels, the dual engine offering stability, reliable redundancy and excellent sound quality," says Soundus sales manager Byung Chul Park. "The church also needed additional mixing consoles and it was an obvious decision to stay with the same manufacturer."

Utilising an Optocore fibre optic network, this solution made for a seamless solution throughout the church.

"The system is very versatile and is easily expandable for any future requirements," concludes Byung Chul. "The church is very happy with it."

www.digico.org

19th February 2013

SKYE’S the Limit for Martin Audio

The spectacular SKYE bar and restaurant in Jakarta is the latest venue to be opened by the Ismaya Group. Located on the 56th floor of the 230m-high Menara BCA building, SKYE's main attraction is the stupendous view over the city's skyline.

The owners required high end professional audio products to service its fashionable clientèle, and turned to the pro division of P.T. Citra Intirama, Martin Audio’s distributors.

The distributor already had a pre-existing relationship with the club’s owners, who have been using Martin Audio systems for many of their group restaurants and clubs over the years. P.T. Citra Intirama again had no hesitation in recommending a similar solution to equip the brand new rooftop bar, restaurant and lounge, as well as the outdoor chill out open air area within the exclusive operation.

The 800-capacity venue combines a mixture of Martin Audio’s small architectural AQ5s and EM150 for the lounge area, C10.1R two-way high performance ceiling speakers for the restaurant area, stylish, surface-mount C115s for the VIP area and C4.8T and C6.8T ceiling speakers for restrooms and corridors linking the indoor and outdoor area.

As a result, this carefully-considered solution ensures well-balanced background music coverage throughout; this is augmented via the additional power of two Martin Audio Blackline F15+ and S18+s. which are specially installed for weekend DJ events.

The result is another successful venture for the Ismaya Group – and a significant landmark on the Indonesian club scene.

6th February 2013

Take a ride with igus Energy Chains

Cable carrier specialist igus UK supplies and manufactures plastic energy chains and energy chain systems for moving cables that are durable, low cost and, above all, maintenance free. When commissioned to design the iconic theme park ride ‘Star Flyer’ – an extreme vertical Chair-O-Plane – in Vienna, ride designer Funtime Industries faced the mammoth task of specifying a reliable moving system to supply power up to the top of the 117 metre tower.

One of the biggest challenges to overcome for extremely high vertical applications is to support moving cables both safely and securely. The two most important factors for the cable carrier are that the cables lay perfectly within the energy chain, as not to absorb any of the tensile forces that occur whilst the cables are in motion, and they are securely fastened at the end points. In addition the cables must be able to travel smoothly, whilst supporting their own weight.

As igus manufactures energy chains with an interior separation system, these issues were effectively resolved for the theme park ride designer; the cables are securely and neatly harnessed into the energy chain, and end fixings provide strain relief to the cables - this ensures that there is no flexing, wearing or twisting of the cables and that each cable is able to move totally independently from one another.

Coupled with a guide trough, the weight and length of the energy supply is easily managed and supports the energy chain. The guide trough for the "Star Flyer" has glide bars designed specifically to protect the energy chain from abrasion at high speeds, whilst being corrosion and weather resistant.

The benefit of igus products is that they are made from tribological plastics and are guaranteed to increase the service life of the machine, whilst being modular and easy to assemble. This is proven both by laboratory testing for millions of cycles, and many real life applications in the field.

A short video demonstrating igus energy chains and energy chain systems in action can be viewed at:

www.igus.co.uk/videos/energychain&guidetroughsinparks.

www.igus.co.uk

28th January 2013

A Clear Case for d&b in Guangzhou

Located at number nine Yuancun Yiheng Road in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou, the Higher People's Court of Guangdong Province is one of the highest appellate courts in China. A typical commercial case heard here would sit in judgement over disputes in excess of three hundred million Renmimbi (approximately €3.70 million). It also presides over cases from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau - most famously being the venue for the renowned Apple and Shenzhen Proview iPad trademark dispute. This is not a court where misunderstanding through the inaudibility of those speaking is to be tolerated.

"When the authorities to the Judiciary determined the court's PA system required renovation they set higher definition and intelligibility as immutable goals," said a rather proud Mr. Long Po of integrators Acejet (Group) Technology Co. Ltd.

This was to be no easy task; the floor and walls of the courtroom are marble clad and reverberation is high. Multiple gooseneck microphones with high input gain make for an unstable feedback environment, and in deference to the importance of the cases heard here a wholly unobtrusive audio system was required. "Yet one that could deliver high SPLs," added Mr. Long Po. "Fortunately we have more than ten years’ experience working with the d&b audiotechnik product range with high prestige installations such as Nanjing University Theatre, and the headquarters of the China Development Bank. We are accustomed in dealing with the more difficult acoustic environments such venues can present. The sheer variety of systems available from d&b, all with consistent quality performance and remarkably accurate pattern control, gives us a toolbox with which to address any problem.

"We contacted William Xue at d&b China's head office and arranged for the court room to be EASE modelled. Then in consultation with Mr. Xue, determined a system design using elements of the d&b E-Series, namely E12 and E15X-SUB for main left and right; and then added a number of 8S loudspeakers from the d&b White installation range to be embedded in the walls of the audience area for local fill without exciting the fragile reverberation environment." The whole system is powered by d&b D6 amplifiers.

22nd January 2013

Skye’s the limit for Martin Audio

The spectacular SKYE Bar & Restaurant in Jakarta is the latest venue to be opened by the Ismaya Group. Located on the 56th floor of the 230m-high Menara BCA building, SKYE's main attraction is the stupendous view over the city's skyline.

The owners required high end professional audio products to service its fashionable clientele, and turned to the pro division of P.T. Citra Intirama, Martin Audio’s distributors.

The distributor already had a pre-existing relationship with the club’s owners, who have been using Martin Audio systems for many of their group restaurants and clubs over the years. P.T. Citra Intirama again had no hesitation in recommending a similar solution to equip the brand new rooftop bar, restaurant and lounge, as well as the outdoor chill out open air area within the exclusive operation.

The 800-capacity venue combines a mixture of Martin Audio’s small architectural AQ5s and EM150 for the lounge area;, C10.1R two-way high performance ceiling speakers for the restaurant area;, stylish, surface-mount C115s for the VIP area and C4.8T and C6.8T ceiling speakers for restrooms and corridors linking the indoor and outdoor area.

As a result, this carefully-considered solution ensures well-balanced background music coverage throughout; this is augmented via the additional power of two Martin Audio Blackline F15+ and S18+s. which are specially installed for weekend DJ events.

The result is another successful venture for the Ismaya Group — and a significant landmark on the Indonesian club scene.

In picture: the spectacular rooftop view from SKYE.

16th January 2013

More than 100 PR Lighting Fixtures in Tianjin Grand Theatre

More than 100 premium discharge lamps from PR Lighting have been specified and installed at the new Tianjin Grand Theatre — in the city’s new 90-hectare Cultural Centre.

Designed by German practice gmp architekten the $240 million project, set on an 85,000 sq.metre site, boasts a 1600-seat opera house, 1200-seat concert hall and 400-capacity and multi-function hall.

Kunkel Consulting International was in charge of design for the entire stage machinery, sound and lighting system working alongside Belgian theatre and opera house lighting specialist ADB — but it was construction company Zhejiang Dafeng Industry who recommended PR Lighting as primary suppliers based on their experience working with the products on previous projects. The PR solution was preferred not only for the comprehensive feature-set but because of the competitive pricing, and the fact that the products can be serviced locally.

Specified among the generic lighting in the opera house are a total of 67 PR Lighting fully featured XS 1200 Wash moving heads and 45 PR Lighting XS 1200 Spot projectors - using the powerful 1200W discharge lamp. From the same series eight PR Lighting XL 1200 Framing fixtures (equipped with four rotatable framing blades) have been chosen.

The construction brief had always been to position this alongside the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre and Guangzhou Opera House in terms of status. Thanks to the stunning architecture — with its shell-like canopy overlooking a man made lake — the Grand Theatre is the shining jewel in the city’s Cultural Centre that includes two museums, a library art gallery, youth activity centre and shopping centre.

Tianjin Grand Theatre is the latest in a long line of prestigious architectural projects in China, in which PR Lighting’s advanced automated fixtures have featured.

In picture: PR Lighting FX in action during a performance of Swan Lake at the Tianjin Grand Theatre.

11th January 2013

Vari-Lite VLXs Beam New Life into Iconic Australian Venue

A cast of Vari*LiteE VLX Wash luminaires have been installed as part of a massive AUS$136 million revamp of the iconic Australian theatre, Hamer Hall.

Adrian Sterritt, head of lighting at the Melbourne venue, says his team chose the VLX Wash luminaires following a shoot-out between the Vari-Lite fixtures and other brands.

“We were looking for a number of aspects from the lighting fixtures; speed, quality of light, operation modes,” says Sterritt. “‘The VLX Wash zoom was better, its quality of light was similar to what we were used to, and in terms of colours we wanted to produce, it was more suited to our desired colour palette. There was also an environmental aspect to the project so ‘green’ products were favourable.”

Harmer Hall is used for a wide variety of events from rock-and-roll concerts to orchestral and theatrical shows, and the VLX Wash luminaires are now incorporated into the standard rig configuration.

One of the key decision drivers for the Hamer Hall technical team when choosing lighting fixtures for their new venue was the ability of the VLX Wash to colour match with conventional luminaires as Sterritt reports. “Incoming LD’s love them. They have a lot of punch, especially with the saturated LED colours, however they also produce the more subtle pastel hues that we require in a theatre environment.”

The VLX Wash is a powerful and flexible luminaire, which harnesses the benefits of LED technology to give brilliant colour and long-life sources. Its low energy consumption also means it is eco-friendly and economical, ensuring that it meets the needs of 21st Century venues such as the redesigned Hamer Hall. Its output is approximately 14,000 lumens, with 70% intensity maintenance over the 10,000-hour life of the chip.

“What make them ideal for Hamer Hall are their output, speed of pan/tilt, and their ability to match conventional fixtures,” concludes Sterritt. “It’s great to have a light that can do a ballet pastel blue wash in the daytime and then work at night to produce a heavily saturated wash for concerts.”

Harner Hall, part of the Melbourne Arts Centre, has a long history as an entertainment space but was badly in need of an update when it closed its doors two years. Theatre-goers were thrilled when it re-opened in July 2012 to reveal its glorious new image. Foyer areas have been redesigned, as has the seating in the theatre itself. The space now seats 2464 people over three levels. Extensive work has been carried out on the ceiling and walls to ensure sound is distributed evenly and clearly to audiences and performers alike. The project was overseen by theatre consultants Schuler Shook, and designed by architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall.

www.vari-lite.com

8th January 2013

Sound.Com revolutionises Indian worship with Optocore

A massive spiritual convention, in which 350,0000 worshippers descended on the Indian city of Jalandhar, in the state of Punjab, over three days, saw the audio relayed over the vast site using an Optocore network, designed and supplied by the production company Sound.Com.

Using Optocore’s 2.14 protocol in a ring topology, and a unique combination of single- and multi-mode fibre they were able to deliver the signal digitally over the large coverage area.

Warren Dsouza’s Mumbai-based live event production company has long been an advanced exponent of Optocore technology, exploiting large systems for events including the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and The Oman Tattoo in Muscat. For this mega peace rally, called the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (DSM 2012), Sound.Com. was selected based on its excellent reputation.

"The organisers first needed the reassurance that we could deliver, and after we had walked the field 2,000 feet from the main stage to see how far and wide we needed to cover the audio, we realised that with Optocore control and digital transport there would be no problem. With solid networking, extensive audio processing and superlative measurement this was just another day in the office," said Dsouza.

Fielding a top tier crew, Sound.Com designed the system on an entire digital audio transport network utilising proven and reliable Optocore devices. "This provided the solid foundation and backbone of this project’s success, assisted by Dolby Lake processors that handled our delay and EQ over the large distances," reports Sound.Com’s MD. A redundant analogue back-up was provided as a precaution.

The PA system, consisting primarily of JBL VerTec, comprised a total of ten sound towers all at an equal height of 48ft evenly distributed over a distance of 2000ft, with an array length of 12 boxes each. Warren Dsouza and Sound.Com chief engineer, Sunil Karanjikar painstakingly measured each stack to ensure accurate delay measurements over the huge distances.

Each loudspeaker tower was assigned to an OptoRack, which distributed the signal and enabled local control. The immediate OptoRacks were linked to each other by Tactical Multi-Mode fibre cables and the redundant loop was closed by a 1.2 Km Single-Mode fibre cable — from the last delay stack back to FOH. "This is an outstanding feature of Optocore to be able to use a combination of Single- and Multi-Mode devices on the same unit, providing immense flexibility on projects like this," notes Dsouza.

Optocore devices used in the installation included DD4MR-FX, DD2FR-FX, DD32R-FX, X6R-FX (16MI), X6R-TP (16 MI) and X6R-TP (16LO) interfaces.

"Optocore has given us an extremely robust and secure way of transporting broadcast quality audio on all our projects and the proficiency with which it does this really makes the task easy. I am really looking forward to the future and many more projects with Optocore," says Sunil Karanjikar.

The event itself was composed of prayers, discourses and devotional music with the highlight being the rich baritone voice belonging to His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj ji. "The moment everyone was waiting for was to hear his speech over the PA system," reports Warren Dsouza. "At that point we knew it was it was ‘mission accomplished’."

19th December 2012

ADB Lights Tianjin Grand Theatre

In a country renowned for the grand scope and lofty ambition of its performing arts centres, the new Grand Theatre in Tianjin adds yet another architectural gem to the country’s cultural landscape. It is also another major location for which ADB Lighting systems have been chosen, including fanless, silent WARP luminaires and the company’s latest control desks and dimmers.

Tianjin Grand Theatre is the hub of the Tianjin Cultural Centre, located in the landmark district of the city – just 29 minutes from Beijing by high speed train – and close to the city hall of Tianjin Municipal Government. The Centre covers a total area of about 90 hectares and is comprises the Tianjin Grand Theatre, Tianjin Museum, Tianjin Natural History Museum, Tianjin Library, Tianjin Art Gallery, the Youth Activity Centre, shopping centre and the city’s underground traffic hub.

The Grand Theatre itself embraces four venues – a 1600 seat opera house, a 1200 seat concert hall, a 400 seat playhouse and a 400 seat recital hall.

Gmp Architekten explains the spectacular architecture: “The Grand Theater occupies the key position in the newly built Culture Park of Tianjin. The circular shape of the roof construction corresponds with the existing Museum of Natural History so that an architectural dialogue of an earth-bound and a “floating” circular volume is created to both ends of the park. Earth and sky represent a fundamental thinking in Chinese philosophy.”

In common with the spectacular National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, which in many ways set the bar in China for high tech theatres and multi-use performing arts centres, Tianjin’s Grand Theatre has elected ADB to be its lighting partner. Other venues in the company’s China portfolio include Shanghai’s Opera House and Oriental Arts Centre (OAC). The OAC provided an important reference as a similar application in a similar building at the NCPA.

In Tianjin, the Belgian theatre and opera house lighting specialist has been brought in to supply, in conjunction with Chinese partner Zhejiang Dafeng Industry, a complete ADB Lighting package for all the theatre’s numerous spaces.

Kunkel Consulting International in charge of design for the entire stage machinery, sound and lighting system. German architects Gmp Architekten, whose credits include the airy and spectacular Bao’an Stadium in China, designed the project.

ADB supplied the lighting package for the-three venue site including Freedom lighting control desks, Eurodim Twin Tech dimmers and luminaires.

One of the key elements supplied by ADB was its new House Lighting Control system (HLC-1) for the venue, designed for simple, fully programmable, plug-and-play operation.

The lighting systems for the three auditoriums feature a substantial ADB Lighting inventory – 28 of the ultra bright Europe DN205 2000W zoom profile, 10 DS205s, 82 F101s, 188 WARP 1230 luminaires and 20 WARP 2250s. The WARP units are silent, fan-less spotlights, an essential low-noise element for concert halls, particularly during orchestral or operatic performances.

The 1600-seat opera house’s 18m×12m proscenium fronts a main stage 24m deep and 25m wide, and has a lighting system with 4096 DMX channel Freedom consoles; in all, there are and takes 4096 DMX-channel dimmers as backup.

There are 993 lighting circuits in the whole system, in which 699 are circuits of Eurodim Twin Tech dimming providing 3-5kW per dimmer circuit. The theatre has two front lighting bridges, two more box booms, six top lights, and 10 rows of lighting ladders either side of the stage. Further ADB spot lights, ACP1004C cyclorama lights, ceiling beams, ground row luminaires and special effects lights are accompanied by a 10x10m LED screen.

photo: Christian Gahl

www.adblighting.com

12th December 2012

Martin Exterior Show at Singapore’s Star Performing Arts Centre

The Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex in Singapore blurs the boundaries between retail and cultural areas, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces, with spatial transitions that exude energy and encourage discovery.

This state-of-the-art Complex, which officially opened on November 1, has been designed by architectural firm Aedas and features a collection of performance and event spaces such as the Star Performing Arts Centre, which includes a 5000-seat theatre wrapped in an unconventional design of slanted columns and facades.

A key visual focal point is a six-story-high bow truss around the theatre bowl that runs between the core walls. Tucked discreetly into the architectural design from level 5 to 10, and used to illuminate the ‘bowl skin’ around the theatre, are 36 Martin Professional Exterior 200 colour changers. Lighting design was by Lighting Planners Associates.

The purpose of the Martin light is to illuminate the bowl skin so that it becomes visible through the glass cladding by night. According to Lighting Planners Associates, the effect intended is a glow from within the building and add that the dimming and colour changing capability was necessary to reflect the activities in the event venue.

The lit structure is curved at the bottom with 26 units placed on the bow truss and the remaining 10 at a lower level. Lighting control is from a Martin PC-based LightJockey with cues triggered from a Lutron control system.

www.martin.com

6th December 2012

The Path to Hearing Enlightenment with d&b

The Buddha Memorial Center of Taiwan's Kaohsiung City is a symbol of tranquility and spiritual exploration. As a meeting place for Buddhists from around the world, the memorial center must be prepared to host any number of events. Covering more than one thousand hectares, the Center faces east and is built along a central axial line. It consists of a Welcoming hall, eight Chinese styled pagodas that stand for the Noble Eightfold Path, photo terrace, Bodhi square, Memorial hall, four stupas that symbolize the four noble truths and the Fo Guang Buddha.

"It is not an easy task for us to find a system that can meet our requirements, as we launch a wide variety of activities in the hall such as seminars, conferences or concerts," explains Master Miao Zhi, who works with the Memorial Center. "The Grand Enlightenment Auditorium (GEA) alone covers around six hundred and sixty square metres and has a serious reverb problem. It was very difficult for us to choose an audio system."

After testing other systems that failed to meet Master Zhi's needs Topsound Co., Ltd suggested the center try d&b audiotechnik. The goal of the system, as designed by d&b China's Alex Poon, was to create a system that could meet a high speech transmission index in the auditorium. A d&b Remote network is used to configure the sixteen Qi7 loudspeakers and four Qi-SUB subwoofers installed on the truss, while MAX12 monitors and d&b E8 loudspeakers, which are used as mobile front fills, complete the package. d&b China's technical director Chiwai Chan, was on site to aid in the final installation and tuning of the system.

"Audiences from different levels of the GEA can enjoy and experience the activities now," Master Miao Zhi reflects, impressed with the system. "Our hall can now express the greatest effect of Buddhism thanks to the d&b PA system."

26th November 2012

Creative Events Studio Expands into China after Support from IVCA & UKTI

Creative communications studio Knifedge is to open a new office in Shanghai in January 2013, following a series of successful trade missions to China, organised by the IVCA and UKTI.

London-based Knifedge specialises in designing and producing live shows, experiences and environments for audiences and brands all over the world. The studio combines creative storytelling and digital content design with the latest visual and projection technologies.

Its core team of 16 employees in London has worked on everything from West End and Broadway theatre shows to rock concerts, major sporting ceremonies, fashion shows and brand events. Clients have included the likes of Snow Patrol, ESPN, Josh Groban, ENO (English National Opera), Wella and WWF UK.

Managing director Jonathan Brigden first visited China in November 2010, on one of the first missions organised by trade body the International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) on its new UK-China Programme, backed by UK Trade & Investment.

"This first trip to China immediately opened my eyes to the huge potential for companies like ours there," says Brigden. "The talent of Britain’s creative industries is widely admired in Asia, and the IVCA and UKTI were brilliant in setting up some crucial meetings with relevant contacts. People I met seemed genuinely blown away by the kind of imaginative visual work we were doing, especially projection mapping and holographic displays."

Though initial reactions to Knifedge’s work were extremely encouraging, new projects didn’t immediately follow. Brigden knew that further trips to China would be needed to build lasting relationships and trust in a country where cultural fit between business partners is so important.

Since this first meeting, Brigden has been back on two more IVCA/UKTI missions. On his second trip, he forged a particularly useful partnership with Ming "Benny" Luo, a former executive from Hunan TV and Vivid Media. When Benny subsequently moved to Huakai Creative, one of the leaders in urban planning exhibition centres in China, active work opportunities started to emerge for Knifedge.

This year, Knifedge has consulted with Huakai on the development of a giant exhibition centre in the Lanzhou New Area – part of the Chinese government’s plan to help develop western areas through its "Go West" policy. The centre opened in October 2012, and uses large scale projections to help market the development of the new district. Knifedge is now working with Huakai on several new projects including a new hall in the centre of Lanzhou City, due to open in 2013.

Meanwhile, Knifedge has also started working on a number of large scale live ‘spectaculars’ with TVZone, a Changsha TV owned production company. In September 2012, Knifedge provided giant balloon-based projections for a Huitang Hot Springs extravaganza, featuring top Chinese pop stars and piano superstar, Richard Clayderman. So well received were the projections, that Knifedge is now in discussions about three new shows for TVZone.

To support Knifedge’s planned Shanghai office opening early next year, the company has now recruited a dedicated China project manager in London, Yang ‘Sherry’ Pan, herself a Chinese citizen.

Brigden is upbeat about the future for Knifedge in the Far East: "When it comes to creative event production, Britain is seen as a true global leader – a position that the Olympics really helped reinforce this year. What’s interesting is that there are some fantastic opportunities opening up for smaller specialists like ourselves to bring unique skills, ideas and effects to Chinese audiences. We’re really positive about the future for our Shanghai office, and it’s largely thanks to the IVCA and UTKI that we’ve found ourselves in this position."

In picture: The recent show they produced by Knifedge for TVZone at the Huitang Hot Springs in Hunan Province in China

26th November 2012

Alcons aids Alexis in Kuala Lumpur

Established in 1995, Alexis Group has five premises in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There are a variety of elements that make the Alexis experience so special: stylish interiors; warm hospitality; delicious food; and the finest jazz music in town.

Nestled in Kuala Lumpur's commercial and embassy district, Alexis Ampang’s acclaimed programme of jazz performances on weekend nights showcase internationally renowned musicians and local legends.

"The installation of Alcons systems has certainly fine tuned the premise's in-house live acoustic, which met the musicians' demands for superb sound and delivered listening pleasure for its audience," says Alexis’ Eleen Ng, manager of Alexis.

The system comprises two VR8 pro-ribbon full-range loudspeakers and two BF181 long-excursion 18" subs, controlled by two ALC2 amplified loudspeaker controllers of 2x 1kW output each, with SDP speaker drive processing modules.

Featuring an Alcons proprietary RBN401 4" pro-ribbon driver, the VR8 combines remarkable clarity and intelligibility with high SPL. The unit includes dedicated filtering, with system equalization done by the ALC, which means the power capacity of the speaker components is fully utilized. Signal Integrity Sensing (SIS) pre-wiring ensures complete cable/connector compensation between the VR8 and ALC, while the asymmetrical enclosure design provides for very flexible mounting options.

Meanwhile, the BF181 features a deep-tuned cabinet, vented double-spider frame and SIS pre-wiring, delivering a high quality, tight and accurate sub-bass response. This makes the BF181 the ideal complement to the VR8 for high fidelity reproduction of jazz, acoustic and classical music.

"We needed a system that was compact but could produce the Hi-Fidelity audio quality that we required at both low and high sound pressure levels," says Alexis’ Eleen Ng. "The Alcons pro-ribbon technology delivers superb sound and its precise dispersion pattern reduces the acoustic difficulties that we previously experienced. Combined with the excellent sound quality, the Alcons system has proven to be the ideal solution for delivering the high quality sound reinforcement that our customers demand."

21st November 2012

Yuanlin Performance Hall Refits with QSC

The Yuanlin Performance Hall lies in Changhua County, Taiwan, an area of the country famed for its literary culture and poetry. Last year, the sound systems at the venue were extensively refitted, incorporating several QSC PLX amplifiers and WideLine-10 line array loudspeaker elements with subwoofers for the first time. The new PA was installed by local dealer Reyn Yang Professional, with the guidance of the QSC distributor in Taiwan, Prosound.

Ben Su at Prosound explains how the installation came about. "At first, our client specified a different, domestic set of speakers for the installation. However, our appointed dealer Reyn Yang visited the hall several times, and utilised EASE to model the performance of WideLine versus the client’s original choice for this venue. After further evaluation, the client chose to install the QSC system."

A 12-element WL2102 system now provides audio in the main hall, supplemented with four WL118-sw subwoofers and driven by four PLX3102 amps and eight PLX3602s. An SC28 processor controls the overall system. "According to our clients, the performance of the system for both sound quality and control has been favourable," continues Ben Su,"and the feedback from users in the hall has been positive."

6th November 2012

Robert Juliat Followspots and LED Profiles for Japan’s Zepp Theatres

Robert Juliat’s Japanese distributor, Theater Engineering, has recently supplied Robert Juliat followspots and LED profiles to Tokyo’s Zepp DiverCity and Osaka’s Zepp Namba concert halls. The equipment was supplied to lighting and sound equipment specialists, Sogo Butai Co Ltd who carried out the installations.

Zepp concert halls are a group of dynamic, busy venues which are spread across all areas of Japan and play host to many international tours and Japanese musicians. They offer a broad programme of music and tours, designed to appeal to all ages, with upcoming dates including Paul Weller, The Offspring, Slayer and Brahman.

The Zepp venues are also popular locations for corporate events and conventions.

The 2700-seat Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo is the largest of the Zepp venues and the largest live house in Tokyo while the slightly smaller Zepp Namba in Osaka caters for up to 2200 people. Each of these venues has been equipped with four Robert Juliat Victor 1800W MSR followspots and a number of RJ LED profile and wash fixtures.

Mr Nishio, President of Sogo Butai Co Ltd, says: “Until now, we have been accustomed only to the usual Xenon followspots available on the Japanese market and did not know much about Robert Juliat followspots and profile spots.

“We first discovered the Victor 1800W MSR and Aramis 2500W HMI followspots on Cirque du Soleil’s ZED show when it toured Japan some time ago. Since that moment, followspot operators have been highly recommending these models.

“It is because of these recommendations, and the performance of the spots themselves, that we installed RJ Victor followspots in the Zepp Concert Halls at Tokyo and Osaka. Victor’s ergonomic features ensure a comfortable and efficient operation and their brightness is definitely a deciding factor.”

“We installed the RJ LED profiles not just for their performance but for environmental reasons. In the very near future, energy consumption is going to become a topical issue, then new energy-saving sources will become a vital criteria. It is for this reason that the new Robert Juliat LED spots are destined to be an all-over success in Japan.”

www.robertjuliat.com

19th October 2012

Adamson Installed in the new ‘City of Film’

Dureraum, also known as the Busan Film Center, is the dedicated theatre the most renowned Korean Film festival – the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), and is used as the venue for both opening and closing ceremonies. It is located in Centum City in Haeundae District in South Korea. The newly constructed architectural wonder was built on a 32,137 square metre site, utilising a design by Coop Himmelblau of Austria and Heerim Architects & Planners of Korea, both whom were selected in an open competition.

The centre is composed of three buildings: Cinema Mountain, PIFF Hill and Double Cone, the building varies from four to nine stories high with a combined total floor space of 54,335 square metres. The essence of Dureraum's beauty is its super-sized roof known simply as the 'Big Roof'. It is the longest roof of its kind in the world, about one and a half times the size of a football field 163m×61m (535ft x 200ft), and it almost seems alive as it soars over the main plaza with its underside being a series of LED screens which provide splendid lighting and a variety of video effects. Dureraum is expected to become the landmark of Busan's aspirations as a ‘City of Film’.

The nine-storey main building, Cinema Mountain, accommodates a multi-purpose performing arts hall with 841 seats named the Haneulyeon Theatre or ‘Open Sky Theatre’ which acts as the main theatre of the Busan Cinema Center hosting many kinds of film screenings. There’s also a medium-sized cinema with 431 seats, a small cinema with 212 seats and a cinema preview place. The ‘Big Roof’ also features under its cover an open-air theatre with 4000 seats, used for special public screenings in the summer.

The design and installation for Haneuleyon Theatre was handled by Kang-dong Media in Busan with sound design support provided by Adamson’s Korean distributor Sound Solution. The consultant for the installation was Sohn Gun Ho director Kang-dong Media. Ewan McDonald, Adamson’s applications engineer, flew in to be in charge of the tuning process.

The selection of Adamson for the Theatre was based on the performance of the system first and foremost, but according to Sound Solution the marketing and continuous support also played a role in the selection process.

The main system consists of nine SpekTrix three-way enclosures hung below four SpekTrix double 18” subwoofers, with a three SpekTrix W 15-degree box underhang, placed at left and right of the main screen and stage. The location of the speakers was changed from the original design to about a metre wider on each side, as there was an issue caused by reflection of the bass from the acoustic treatment used in the interior ceiling. The slight adjustment in positioning of the main hangs resolved the problem in the initial design.

The centre cluster features seven SpekTrix with two SpekTrix W underhang. Four SX subs are placed on the ground, and are mobile. 12 pcs of Point 8s supply fills on the balconies, and four M15 monitors are used on the stage. All Adamson speakers are powered by Lab.gruppen FP10000Q, FP6000Qs and FP4000s, processing is handled by XTA DP products. The FOH mixing console in the theatre was originally a Yamaha console, but was soon changed to a DiGiCo SD7.

Applications engineer Ewan MacDonald describes the results: “The team at Sound Solution did a very professional job with this installation in what is a world class facility. After some time was spent commissioning the system, we ended up with a very nice sounding system with no more than +/-0.5 dB variation (A weighted SPL) throughout the floor and the mid balcony, which was a testament to the great work the design team at Sound Solution do.”

The theatre’s full time chief FOH sound engineer is Byung Tae Kim.

18th October 2012

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