| ALFORD INSIDER Fall 2004 - volume 4 • issue 6 |
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COMMENTARYFraming a Rembrandt
In today's world where audio means line arrays, surround sound, instant playback, multi-track, timecode locked and digital consoles; lighting means moving lights, strobes, black lights, gobos and the limitless programming capabilities of the newest consoles; and video means multi-format, NTSC, high def, 16 X 9, native scan rate, multi-screen, widescreen and multi-wide screen; I ask the question “Is there really life outside of media?”
Maybe you have heard it said, as I have, that “the media is the message.” To that I say (stand by all cues) phooey! “Sand bag…go, trap door…go, confetti cannons…go, cue the closing number (singing and dancing), lasers…go, kabuki drop… go, new product reveal…go, liquid nitrogen curtain…go, pani's…go, pyro…go, no wait!” Oh well, roll walk out. “Ladies and Gentlemen we've had a great meeting have a safe trip home!”
Folks, the media has not ever been, is not, and will never be the message. I think of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in An Affair to Remember. Cary buys Audrey some really nice clothes and Audrey says, “You make me look beautiful,” to which Cary responds, “I'm merely putting a frame around a Rembrandt.” We interface with CEOs and other top executives of companies who are persons of great vision and some of the most charismatic leaders in our society. We work with them through production companies that represent some of the most creative people in the work place. Our job is to provide a clear conduit for what they want to say to be communicated to their audience.
Sure, we have the newest and best toys and yes, they're fun. Our challenge though is to listen to what the client needs to accomplish and team it up with the right compliment of technology and pizzazz so that the heart of what needs to be said reaches the audience effectively. We make that message more clearly articulated with audio, more focused with lighting, and more enhanced with video. At Alford we understand, we're merely putting a frame around a Rembrandt!
 INDUSTRY |
Tom Stimson - Dir. of Sales & Operations
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InfoComm Review
Every year at Alford Media a few lucky individuals and myself travel to InfoComm to see the latest and greatest new AV equipment the industry has to offer. This year's event was held in the Georgia World Congress Center in lovely downtown Atlanta. With only an attendee badge I had to wait until the exhibit floor was open to begin the search for new gear. Good thing I slept in till after the floor had opened.
10:00 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
This year our needs lean towards projection. I had heard a rumor that there was a new 6000 x 2000 resolution DLP projector called the MegaProfit 2005 that comes with a standard 0. 5-10:1 zoom lens. The variable light source allows brightness from 5000 to 30,000 lumens on 110-volt power. The 8000:1 contrast ratio made my mouth water, as did the completely weatherproof enclosure. The unit price of $25,000 was said to be negotiable. Devoting all my time to find this holy grail of projection was not going to look good back at the home office, especially if I failed. I realized I would have to check out alternate projection offerings. Man, this is too much like work.
10:25 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
SXGA+ high contrast DLP chips are all the rage. At 1400 x 1050 lines, these are basically a 4:3 ratio version of 5:4 SXGA. The big three manufacturers of Barco, Digital Projection, and Christie all have plans for 8000, 10,000, and 12,000 lumen models. All units have user accessible mechanical adjustments on the chip that allow for reconvergence in the field. All units also have an adjustable aperture that can change the contrast ratio from 1200:1 up to 2500:1 (the light output goes down as contrast goes up). It did not take long to identify our favorite offering. The Digital Projection HIGHlite 12000 DSX+ has an integral rigging frame with built-in leveling screws and a side-to-side adjustment. Another exciting feature of the HIGHlite 12K is that it has a sealed light engine with liquid cooling. I reward myself with a frozen cappuccino and take a short break.
10:50 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
The best part of the show is always the battle between the biggest projectors. It is sort of the heavyweight championship of light and resolution. (It also affords one the opportunity to sit down and see trailers from recent movies. ) This year's ring was reserved for the 2048 x 1080 resolution DLP units ranging from 18,000 to 27,000 lumens. Again each of the big three has an entrant. The jury is still out on who will win this battle, but at over $100,000 per projector we will be patient for now.
12:40 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
After stopping for a late brunch at the Atlanta Commerce Club I returned to the show to check out the new graphics and video switching products. Having recently purchased a well-equipped Montage system, it was easy to look aloof during the demos. Vista has a new scalable switching product called Spyder that is designed to do multi-layered windowing for less money. The Folsom division of Barco Events débuted the Encore. It also has modularity, but it comes with a very user-friendly control console. After two in depth demos I hurried to my appointment at the Shiatsu massage chair booth. Ahhh.
14:10 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
By early afternoon it was time for a quick cocktail and a nap back at the hotel. The hotel bar was full of freelance technicians so I bought everyone two rounds of drinks before heading up to my suite. The exhibit floor closes at 5pm so after a shower and change I wandered back to see what other new products would be of use to us.
15:00 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
There's not much audio of interest and frankly I find it boring. Apparently InfoComm agrees because they stuck the live audio guys off in a corner. I did see the new Yamaha digital console, the PM5D. It was way cool and had a mid-level price. It's no DiGiCo D5 but not everyone can afford the best. Lighting at InfoComm is even more of an afterthought than audio but there were a couple of manufacturers there. I didn't waste too much time in those booths because I don't know what that stuff does anyway. Basically, if you stop to look at anything people in the booth try and talk to you about it. It can get very tedious.
15:09 Georgia World Congress Center, June 9th
Where's the bar? Another grueling day like this and I may have to complain to someone. For the final two days of show I was forced to retire to the pool till
mid-afternoon and attend the various manufacturer's parties in the evening. This forced my dinner reservations back to 9 p. m. but that meant I had plenty of new friends to treat for dinner each night. My limo driver received a generous tip.
11:00 Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. June 12th
All good things must come to an end. There was no first class upgrade available on the flight home so I simply purchased a full fare business class ticket on an earlier flight. I'll call it emergency travel, yeah. There was some other stuff I was supposed to write about but frankly I am a little tired.
I believe a couple of vacation days are in order.
 SHOWS |
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We've Got You Surrounded
The DiGiCo D5 Live and 5.1 Surround Sound
For their recent National Convention at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort, environmentally conscious Nutritional supplement and Personal Care Product manufacturer Shaklee Corporation, wanted an all-natural look that would also reflect the high technology employed in their products.
To help achieve these aims they turned to show manager and president, Eric Foster of EFI Communications. Foster, and technical director Keith Buresh worked with scenic designer Greg Miller, graphics guru Paul Johnson and audio supervisor Philip Barrett to create a complete environment that reflected the company's goals.
Employing large HD video screens, the Watchout graphics system, forced perspective staging and a complete surround sound system the show combined audio and video elements that encompassed the audience.
Alford Media supplied all the production equipment and crew for the event including the sophisticated audio system. Designed by Philip Barrett, the 5.1 surround sound set-up included the DiGiCo D5 consoles married to a JBL VerTec line array with Macpherson M2Xs handling the surround portion. The center channel was also VerTec and sub bass was handled by EV DML-18s.
A major concern was that all participants experience a full surround effect. “Bad or marginal seats would be unacceptable” says Barrett. “The system was designed THX movie house style, so that the VerTecs delivered the presenters' message clearly to the back of the room. The M2Xs were then evenly flown around, and across the back of the room to ensure there were no hot spots or bad seats.”
The show's audio content included the usual compliment of presenter wireless and video playbacks, a Dolby 562 Pro-Logic decoder, a Metric Halo audio interface, multi-channel SACD/DVD-A players, ten cast members on wireless E6 headset microphones, a rhythm section and a 22 piece orchestra! “Literally we could not have done this show without the DiGiCo consoles” claimed Barrett. “We were using over one hundred inputs and close to thirty outputs, each with their own processing and reverbs. Replicating that in an analog world would have been almost unimaginable.” In fact, the entire house mixing system was setup and programmed in Alford's theater prior to being loaded on the show trucks. Once again, an important feature according to Barrett. “Due to previous commitments at the Swan & Dolphin Resort we saw the room for the first time on a Tuesday morning, by Wednesday afternoon we were in rehearsal. I recalled my presets from the Alford theater and house audio was basically built.”
Alford engineer and audio specialist Randy Robert assisted in the setup and operation of the system and supplied the wireless system used to align and tweak the sound. “Using a tablet PC we can walk the room and talk directly to the system processors” explained Robert. “With a system of this complexity this becomes a very desirable feature. The engineer can move around the ballroom and adjust equalization and levels in real time optimizing the system throughout the house.”
According to producer Eric Foster the show was a complete success. “We had the difficult task of using technology to showcase natural and environmental themes. The most important part was to apply this wisely and avoid gimmicks or technology for it's own sake. I would say that we achieved those aims in splendid fashion.”