White Light on Right Track for IAAF Congress and Dinner
The IAAF World Championships London 2017, were the biggest sporting event in the world this year and the biggest event to be held at the London Stadium since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With this being the first time the Championships have ever been held in the UK, the event witnessed the retirement of legendary sprinter Usain Bolt and the major championship track farewell of British great Sir Mo Farah.
The Championships achieved an official Guinness World Record for the number of tickets sold with over 705,000 recorded while over 150,000 spectators lined a landmark filled marathon course in the city. With the IAAF World Championships taking place in London this meant that both the IAAF Congress and Gala Dinner were also held in the Capital. White Light was called upon to provide technical solutions on each event.
This year’s IAAF World Championships London 2017 were held from 4th–13th August and saw 2,200 athletes from 203 nations compete. The official opening of the IAAF Congress which featured a Gala Dinner, took place at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday 1st August and welcomed more than 200 of the IAAF’s 214 Member Federations. WL’s Senior Accounts Manager Dominic Yates comments, “The official opening was presented by IAAF President Lord Sebastian Coe and had some extremely high-profile guests in attendance. It took place in Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, a space we are now extremely familiar with due to our approved supplier status”.
For the opening Gala Dinner, WL was called upon to provide the full production support. With a team of 25 technicians, led by Project Manager Martin Strods, the company supplied the lighting, audio, rigging and scenery. Dominic states, “We drew on our extensive inventory to help create an unforgettable start to this year’s IAAF Congress. For the lighting, we drew on the Martin MAC Viper Performances and MAC Auras, CORE Lighting Colourpoints all controlled via a Grand MA2. We also supplied the audio system which consisted of the EM Acoustics HALO C Line Array, the EM 81s, 121s and 218s speakers along with Shure Radio microphones. For the content that was being relayed as part of the speeches, we drew on our Christie 4K30 Boxer Projectors as well as providing 2 x 95-inch Panasonic Plasma screens to ensure all of the delegates felt part of the evening”.
Regarding timescale, WL installed the lighting and audio system the previous evening whilst they had 45 minutes before the actual event to fly the projection screens and set up all elements on the floor of the Turbine Hall. Dominic states, “The Turbine Hall is in constant use as it was during the day of the event, so we had to plan intricately to ensure we could turn up at 6pm and have everything ready for that evening”.
Following the opening Gala Dinner, the IAAF then held their 2017 Congress at ExCeL on 2nd–3rd August. During the two days, they welcomed more than 800 international delegates from more than 200 member federations. Lord Sebastian Coe once again opened proceedings. Dominic states, “It was a busy few days with both projects running concurrently. The Congress was essentially a two-day conference in which the IAAF could review their previous year and look at putting forward proposals to their future constitutions”.
Such was the scale of the event that WL worked in three of the ExCeL spaces, the main auditorium, the Capital Hall and the Capital Suites. A team of 20 were led by crew chiefs Hadyn Williams and Tony Simpson with Mark Cuniffe and Quentin Jarman providing the lighting design.
Dominic comments, “In order to realise Mark and Quentin’s design, we drew on 110 x SGM P5 Floods, 70 x ETC ColourForce 12s, 55 x ETC ColourForce 72s, 22 x Martin Mac III Performances and 16 x Martin Mac Viper Performances. This was all controlled via a Grand MA 2 Control System. This was all flown from nearly 100 motors and 420-metres of Prolyte H30V Truss”.
Both the Gala Dinner and Congress went extremely well; prefacing what was an extremely successful IAAF World Championship London 2017. Dominic states, “It was fantastic to be involved with such a high-profile event and provide technical support on two major events from the IAAF. It was a busy three days but our resources and equipment ensured that we delivered everything on time to a range of events that received global recognition”.
Robert Juliat Lancelot And SpotMe Perform Swimmingly at FINA World Aquatic Championships
Four Robert Juliat’s 4000W HTI Lancelot fixtures were the followspots of choice for Frédéric 'Aldo' Fayard, the lighting designer behind the prestigious Opening Ceremony of the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships which took place in Budapest and Balatonfüred in July this year. The FINA World Championships is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and the largest sporting showcase Hungary has ever hosted. With over 2,500 athletes from 180 countries and 200 events over a period of 17 days, this was a massive undertaking.
Frederic Fayard, who is founder and designer with Concept K in Paris, created and programmed the lighting for the opening ceremony event which was conceived and produced by the French production ECA2 Group with MUPA from Hungary. The four 4kW Lancelot followspots were supplied by PRG France and were rigged on two technical towers front of stage. The Ceremony also provided the ideal opportunity for Aldo to test out Robert Juliat’s newest product, SpotMe, where he put it through its paces under live conditions for the first time ever.
SpotMe is a 3-D real-time tracking system that turns the followspots into an innovative solution to give the position of performers on stage without the need for emitters and/or cameras. The followspot is equipped with sensors which send signals to the server and communicates all the positions and beam size parameters to the lighting console through PSN and DMX protocols. The parameters can then be used by the console to control any automated or static lights. Any moving light can therefore also turn into a followspot at any time during a show which is precisely what Aldo was able to do.
The Opening Ceremony took place on an 80 x 10 metre floating stage, situated directly on the Danube river close to the main bridge with the iconic Buda Castle perched beautifully on the hill as a backdrop. Aldo chose to work with the Lancelot followspots for the prestigious event as he believes them to be “the most powerful and flexible followspots on the market.”
The Lancelots performed well in the rather humid conditions created by a combination of the weather and the spectacular dancing water fountains which were designed by ECA2 Group, also handling the demanding throw distances of between 50 to 90metres effortlessly. Aldo comments, ‘I have used Robert Juliat lights many times in my 30 years of international experience and I believe they produce the best profiles and followspots in the world. I know the Lancelot well, and for me, the most important features are the optics, their sheer power and the zoom range, all of which were invaluable for the distances involved and the televised event. I have worked with many manufacturers around the world, but wherever I am working, I always request Robert Juliat first.’
The wonderfully creative opening ceremony was attended by Hungary’s prime Minister Victor Orbán and other government ministers along with former Hungarian Olympic champions. Taking part were over 510 artists including some of Hungary’s biggest superstars Péter Eötvös, Ágnes Herczku and Gergely Bogányi and three-times Grammy Award winning artist, CeeLo Green. The Opening Ceremony ended with a rendition of the official song of the World Championships, performed by Gigi Radics and Nikolas Takács, followed by a concert by CeeLo Green.
Aldo was able to test Robert Juliat’s SpotMe in conjunction with the Lancelots on the singers during these key performances and also to follow one of history’s best-ever female swimmers and five-time Olympic gold medalist, Krisztina Egerszegi, during the launch of the water flame which initiated the amazing dancing water display. “We are happy to report SpotMe worked well in coordinating the moving lights with the movement initiated by the Lancelots,” says Aldo. “I can see this becoming a very sought after system.”
“The FINA Opening Ceremony was a good test for SpotMe both as a trial under live conditions and to ensure it meets the true requirements of lighting designers in all aspects prior to releasing it to market,” says Robert Juliat MD, François Juliat. “Live testing gives us the opportunity to fine tune the details and make sure it is a viable and valuable product in ‘real’ conditions.”
Bexel Teams With Mylan WTT to Provide First In-Match Player Microphones for Pro Tennis Broadcasts
Wrapping up on August 5th with the finals match in San Diego, the 2017 Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT) season broke new ground in broadcast coverage of professional tennis with the introduction of state-of-the-art, player-worn wireless microphones. Supplied by Bexel, an NEP Broadcast Services Company, the Quantum5X (Q5X) QT-5100 PlayerMic kits added a deeper element of fan engagement and excitement to live Mylan WTT broadcasts.
Developed by Quantum5X Systems Inc. in partnership with Bexel, the QT-5100 PlayerMic kits have previously been deployed in other sports broadcasts including professional basketball but they made their live pro tennis debut on July 18 when Mylan WTT's Washington Kastles and New York Empire squared off in Washington, D.C. Bexel supplied the specialty wireless audio systems and provided an on-site engineer to support the remote productions in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as the finals match in San Diego in which the Orange County Breakers defeated the San Diego Aviators.
"The PlayerMics are one of the most innovative and impactful ways of getting fans closer to the action by letting them experience the high level of athleticism, strategy and intensity that the best players in the world bring to the court," said Mark Ein, Mylan WTT co-owner and chairman. "The PlayerMics were amazing this season, as our fans loved hearing the behind-the-scenes strategy before the points and then watching how it played out in real time. There is nothing else like that in sports and we believe this is only the beginning of what this technology will bring to tennis and to our viewers."
Mylan WTT selected up to three players each match to wear the QT-5100 PlayerMics for its "Sounds of the Court" feature. The concealed mic and lightweight wireless transmitter which weighs less than two ounces and is only one-third of an inch thick, captured unprecedented audio sounds and effects for the league's live broadcasts. A remote control device enabled operators to turn the sound relay on or off easily during play.
Lee Estroff, vice president, strategic accounts at Bexel, noted, "For 42 seasons, World TeamTennis has been on the forefront of game-changing advancements in tennis. With the PlayerMics, WTT is once again pushing the envelope of innovation and we at Bexel are honoured to be a partner as the league continues to advance the popular sport of team tennis."
Inter-M Corporation Delivers World-Class Audio for Gangneung Ice Arena with Community
Located in the city of Gangneung on the east coast of South Korea, Gangneung Ice Arena is a new indoor venue which has been built for world figure skating and short track speed skating events in 2018 and as a permanent legacy facility for local recreational use.
The Gangneung Ice Arena has a seating capacity of 12,000 and houses two 60m x 30m ice rinks for competition and training respectively. With four floors above ground and two underground, the state-of-the-art arena has been designed using an environmentally friendly ice cooling system. The sound system for the Gangneung Ice Arena was designed and supplied by Inter-M Corporation, assisted by Desco Co. Ltd. on the installation. The Inter-M design was accurately calculated for the required intelligibility, sound levels and coverage and was based around Community R SERIES loudspeakers.
For the main competition rink, Inter-M used forty R2-694Z high power, full-range, three-way loudspeakers to achieve the required sound levels and coverage. These are supplemented by four R2SUBDF subwoofers which add low frequency extension and impact for wide bandwidth, high quality music. The system is controlled from a Midas PRO2/IP console, with Symetrix Edge DSP. Lab.gruppen C 28:4 amplifiers power the Community loudspeakers.
The training rink uses a less powerful but similar system, to give skaters consistency of audio quality for training and competition. In the training rink, Desco used fourteen R.25-94Z and eight R.5-94Z. The training system also uses a Midas PRO2/IP console, Symetrix Edge DSP and Lab.gruppen C 28:4 amplifiers.
Inter-M’s selection of loudspeakers for this world-class venue was based on the need for high quality speech and music, power and accurate coverage. Additionally, whilst Gangneung Ice Arena is an indoor venue, ice rinks present challenging climatic conditions and this additionally made the all-weather R SERIES their ideal choice.
Danley SM-80 Speakers and Subs Team up for Texas A&M Basketball and Volleyball Gym
Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Dugan Wellness Centre hosts all of the Corpus Christi Islanders men's and women’s basketball and volleyball games, as well as cheer & dance competitions and campus events and speeches. Its deep bleachers and roll-in seating fill with students and supporters on game days, but until recently, they weren’t able to hear announcements very clearly or enjoy full-fidelity music.
The anaemic sound reinforcement system had too many drivers in a very reverberant space and not enough bass. The Corpus Christi office of Texas-based A/V integration firm NCS remedied that on an incredibly tight budget with a Danley Sound Labs retrofit that uses just six Danley SM-80 loudspeakers and a single Danley TH-118 subwoofer. “They had been having problems for quite a while,” said Mike Keadle, NCS AV division manager for the Corpus Christi region. “The previous install appeared to have been done by someone with just enough knowledge to be dangerous. There were a dozen loudspeakers of mediocre sound quality throughout the space with massively overlapping coverage patterns and blown drivers. Intelligibility was almost non-existent. We came, evaluated their space and drafted a plan that would use Danley Sound Labs products to meet their high expectation within their tight budget.”
He continued, “If there are thousands of loudspeakers out there on the market, I’ve used 999 of them and of all the loudspeakers I’ve used, Danley has the best clarity hands down. No one else touches it. And I like the company, too. The people there have a lot of integrity. It’s an unashamedly Christian company. On top of all that, Danley’s output efficiency and pattern control mean that I can solve a problem like this with vastly fewer boxes. That was key to keeping this project within budget while still giving them truly excellent results.”
The setup is straightforward. Two Danley SM-80 loudspeakers cover each side of the court (four total) and two more SM-80s cover the court itself and the roll-in bleachers at either end. A single Danley TH-118 flown above centre-court fills the room with honest bass. Remaining faithful to the budget, Mike determined that they could repurpose existing QSC amplifiers by adding an inexpensive Biamp AudiaFlex DSP. “Everyone is very pleased,” Mike said. “I walked the room with the gym director and they brought in their game-day announcer. He has a deep voice that was routinely high-passed by the old system. Everyone was surprised at how great his voice sounded with Danley’s pattern control and how deep it sounded with the Danley subwoofer in place. They were excited to have the next dance or cheer competition because the room’s bass response would finally measure up to expectations.”
http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/