Land of Drama brought to life with Dante network
- Details
A range of dramatic, full-immersion, panoramic storytelling encompasses 21 theatres and dozens of outdoor spaces, including 56 maze-like courtyards, multiple themed restaurants and food and beverage areas, and employs more than 800 performers. The attraction’s construction took four years to complete and cost nearly $930m.
The facility’s many lighting, video, and sound systems are controlled by a mix of pre-programmed, synchronised, time-code-based presentations, audio-triggered routines, as well as live production and mixing. At Unique Henan: Land of Drama, many elements of the global sound system and the many stand-alone systems are all built upon Dante audio networks managed and monitored with Dante Domain Manager.
“This is an amazing attraction. It's like a theme park, but it's all theatre and AV experience-based. There are expansive indoor and outdoor spaces, restaurants, panoramic vistas, and more," said Steven Cai, marketing manager, APAC, Audinate. “For sound design, each theatre has very different venue characteristics, different performance forms, and different construction conditions. Each theatre is different. The only way to manage such a set of venues and bring consistency and reliability to the project was to design all audio systems around a Dante network with many Dante-enabled products.”
Steven explained that the vast number of loudspeaker points throughout the Land of Drama dictate that a very flexible sound system architecture be created to accommodate evolving, ongoing production and space changes. The main theatres, micro theatres, and outdoor scene spaces are all built on a Dante system architecture, which significantly simplifies the cable installation and connections between large systems. The three main theatres work as independent networks, and the micro theatres and the scene spaces interconnect through an optical fibre network.
“The AV integrator for this project, Advanced Communication Equipment (International) (ACE), did an amazing job," said Steven. "As you can imagine, this is essentially more than 100 AV installations all wrapped up in one huge project. Many spaces work independently, and many are tied together. Some sound systems are hidden for background music, and some are large full-on line-array, concert-level productions. They even have mobile sound systems that can be relocated and positioned as needed to better cover larger crowds. The flexibility required here is like nothing else."
The Dante platform is a complete AV-over-IP solution that allows audio, video and control data to be transported over standard 1GB ethernet networks.
Andy Wei, solution manager, APAC, Audinate says, “Much of the sound system architecture is based on centralised control. The sound source equipment and the primary and backup digital mixers are located in a master control room. System digital processors and amplifiers are installed across four separate equipment rooms. Optical fibre interfaces are located at the performance venues, which can be connected to on-site mobile broadcast computers, wireless microphones, and other equipment as needed. All devices in different locations are connected through fibre to form a complete network enabling quick access, configuration, and management of the system at any network point.”
With such a large and complex system, hundreds of Dante-enabled devices are connected to the network. Some of the core Dante-enabled components include multiple Soundcraft Vi1000 and Vi2000 digital mixers, Shure ULX-D Series digital wireless microphones, a range of BSS digital processors, and much more. For signal routing and device control, powerful management software is required.
Andy added that the Platinum version of Dante Domain Manager (DDM) software is used for the network routing and configuration of the entire system. He explained that the system primarily adopts a multi-channel form of arranging the loudspeakers. No matter the location, there are speakers that can be positioned to enhance the sense of an immersive sound experience. At the same time, each speaker channel can be processed separately to facilitate even more processing flexibility.
Mr. Pang, the Audio System Administrator for the project was particularly impressed with how stable the system was thanks to DDM.
“DDM gave us power and control over the Dante network, ensuring the network was not only more secure, but also more scalable,” said Mr. Pang. “Our team, as well as the entire management team, were really pleased with the results of this project, meaning DDM is now a non-negotiable tool for us in future Dante projects.”
“With the evolving nature of the programs and performances, the content, speaker positions, and the connected equipment in use are constantly changing; only a Dante network managed with Dante Domain Manager could take on a project of this scale," added Steven. “Along with flexibility, sound quality and system reliability are also critical. The system - in all spaces - sounds great, is extremely stable, and the client is thrilled with the results.”
