Ministry of Sound refurbishment
Recently refurbished, the main room at the UK’s iconic Ministry of Sound is now home to a KV2 Audio sound system designed by Technical and Production Manager Oscar Zammit and integration specialist, Louis Jemmott.
Interview: Autograph/Frequency Spectrum Clearance
The recent ABTT Show at Alexandra Palace saw Autograph Sales & Installations launch its Time To Change Your Tune initiative ahead of the forthcoming 700MHz frequency spectrum clearance.
Post-show, and with the Wireless Willy mascot on point, F&W spoke to Director Duncan Bell and Technical Sales Manager Chris Austin to find out what will going to happen, how it will affect pro wireless users and how the initiative can assist them.
Interview: Charlotte Wheeler/MPS
Now in its third year, The Media Production Show (MPS) is a two-day annual event showcasing technology and talent from across the media and entertainment industry. It also features a free-to-attend seminar programme delivered by industry names prepared to share their insight, knowledge and creativity.
New to the show, the Audio Theatre covers ADR, location sound, audio in post, technical seminars and audio case studies from recent film and TV projects.
Interview: John Ginty
‘They flew me to Nashville for a month, put me up at the Vanderbilt Hotel and we recorded at the famous Woodlands Studio. There were days when I went in and didn’t do anything. I played the Carol King Tapestry piano on that record. But then there were fewer and fewer gigs like that…
‘Studios were closing, budgets and record deals were going away. People were still making records, but they were doing it in their basement on a computer.’
Case Study: Śląski Stadium
A complete rebuild of Poland’s most famous venue has made it one of the most modern football and sporting facilities in Europe. Opened in 1956, Śląski Stadium (Silesian Stadium) in Chorzów was a symbol of Poland’s post-war rebirth, and has hosted some of football’s most important and memorable matches, as well as concerts by U2, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and The Rolling Stones.
In 1993 the stadium became the official home of the Polish national football team.
Case Study: The Lava Centre
A high-tech exhibition exploring volcanic activity and tracing the creation of Iceland over millions of years, has opened in Hvolsvöllur. The Lava Centre was inspired by flights being cancelled when Eyjafjallajökull erupted in April 2010.
The Lava Centre is a fully immersive show, located where five of the Iceland’s most iconic volcanoes to be seen. The design, preparation, integration and finalisation of all A/V equipment for the nine main show items took almost a year.
Interview: Michael Carnes/Surround Mixing
Michael Carnes has been developing surround reverbs for more than 20 years. He was the lead developer behind what may have been the first true surround reverb – the Lexicon 960L, shipped in 2000.
A fully-loaded 960L could provide two 5.1 reverbs at 96kHz and cos a little under $20,000 – 30 times the cost of an Exponential Audio plug-in that will provide up to 22 channels of reverb at up to 384kHz with money left over for popcorn.
Interview: Michael Carnes/Early Reflections
A long-time software developer and musician, Michael Carnes is the man behind US company Exponential Audio, which arrived in 2013 with its PhoenixVerb and R2 reverb plug-ins.
That both were reverb processors is no accident, as Carnes developed the groundbreaking 960L and PCM96 studio reverberation processors while at Lexicon, as well as being responsible for Lexicon’s plug-ins.
Case Study: Dinosaurs In The Wild
Created by the producers of the BBC series (and arena show) Walking With Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs In The Wild is a ‘live action experience’ using A/V and animatronic technologies to create a walk-through of the Late Cretaceous period.
There are three elements to this mix of theatre, theme park and the scientific research – the infrastructure and set design; technical sound, lighting and A/V content, and live actors who inhabit the set and guide the visiting time travellers.
Case Study: Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
Having suffered long-standing acoustical and clarity issues, Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana, turned to the IMEG Corp for a solution. I was found in the use of Renkus-Heinz’s Iconyx Gen5 loudspeakers.
‘We specified the Iconyx Gen5 – which are often used in large churches – but we did some unusual things in our design to improve clarity,’ explains IMEG Senior Designer David Wright.
Case Study: Bradfield College
Within an idyllic setting in the England’s rolling Berkshire countryside, Bradfield College is one of the UK’s leading independent schools for boys and girls from 13 to 18 years years of age.
Recently, Autograph Sales & Installations was called on to deliver specialised audio technology to expand the well-rounded education which, along with academic excellence, is the primary aim of the College.
Case Study: Infinite Content
Touring in support of their recent Everything Now album, Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire have completed two months in North America. Their Infinite Content tour has been performed in-the-round at more than two dozen arenas.
Where the band’s recording push the envelope of genres, the tour pushes the boundaries of A/V technology with the world’s largest Audio Video Bridging system to date for touring concert sound reinforcement.
Interview: Ben Nemes/SpaceCrate
The now familiar shipping container dates to the 1830s and the inspiration of American trucker Malcom McLean. In the intervening years, it has become an international standard for modular commercial transportation, provided building site ameneties, and spawned the ‘cargotecture’ behind pop-up shops and restaurants.
Now, the humble yet versatile shipping container has won itself a major part in the making of a forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster.