CT Screenco was contracted by production company Denham Technical Services to provide a complete relay distribution, not only in the giant tented area but also within some of the permanent function rooms. Their inventory - mostly supplied by CT-NEC - enabled corporate hospitality guests to have a permanent visual reference to the live action, looped highlights and statistical information.
Sony Computer Entertainment placed the emphasis at Old Trafford on network gaming, entrusting Denham and CT Screenco with providing local area network connectivity, as well as installing PS2 facilities in other partners’ reception areas (with a strong football bias generated by the TIF 2003 game). They also showcased the newly launched interactive Eye Toy - a family-oriented system which uses USB web camera technology to track hand and body movements on screen in real-time via the PlayStation2, without cables or peripheral attachments. Elsewhere, a mass of Sony TV monitors, distributed around the ground and hospitality village, showed the run-up to the final on looped video prior to the game, relaying the match live and switching to an information channel at half time for the game statistics.
Inside the stadium itself CT Screenco covered the Bistro Area, the Salford and Stretford Suites, providing Sony TV monitors (up to 29") and plasma screens (up to 61") as well as an Electro-Voice PA system in the mixed press/media rooms. In the Stretford Suite, two EV sound systems were linked to the main stadium PA augmenting Old Trafford’s existing facilities, as CT Screenco worked in cooperation with Manchester United’s technical department to take input feeds for live link-up on every TV monitor.
CT Screenco’s team leader was again the NEC-based Paul Thorpe, who also ran the project for the service providers at Hampden Park last year. He was supported by Rob Merrilees. While this was taking place, Ford provided entertainment at the Bramall-Quicks Ford dealership, by Old Trafford. Stage activities were beamed live to the passing crowds via an 18sq.m 25mm LED screen, provided by another Avesco company, MCL.
A special stage was set up, truss-mounted on a James Thomas structure, as the event management company, Fifth Element Event Design (who commissioned MCL) turned the event into a party, featuring cheerleaders and live entertainment. MCL provided a three camera (D-30) PPU and used a Grass Valley GVG-110 vision mixer for switching and editing. "It was a highly successful experiment," commented MCL’s project manager, Paul Gilzene. "Everyone was thrilled with the impact it created."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
