Venue specifications, as well as the direction of the action, meant that centrally positioned LED screens were essential. The live event was broadcast onto LED screens hung in the centre of the venue to bring the experience and performance of the leading drivers even closer to the more than 9,000 spectators each day. Music clips, advertisements, statements, progress reports, greetings, and awards ceremonies were recorded and broadcast to every seat in the hall, and every spectator seated around the perimeter of the venue could see at least one full unobstructed LED screen.
Providing sound reinforcement for the event posed a swerious set of challenges. In the preliminary planning meetings for this project, it quickly became clear to Lars Schnier, D.A.S. Audio's system designer in Germany, that, "It's a jungle out there. The only way to win this fight is with every weapon in your arsenal at the ready." He decided on the company's large format Aero 50 line array system to cover the venue's long throw requirements. Each line array cluster consisted of six elements in order to cover the longer distances in the oval.
The longer diameter of the venue was fitted on one side with Aero 12A compact powered line array enclosures and, on the other side, with an Aero 28A system to test and compare the two options. The under-balcony sound system consisted of 24 Variant 25A powered, mid-high line array elements-rigged under the galleries in order to minimize shadows in the rows furthest back.
Sixteen Lab.gruppen FP10000Q power amps - augmented by four Lake LM26 controllers - provided amplification and processing for the Aero 50's as well as signal distribution to the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures. This equipment was distributed throughout the ceiling areas using the accessible rigging in the hall. All system controllers for the Aero 50 loudspeakers, along with the D.A.S. DSP-4080 signal processors for the Aero 12A and Aero 28A enclosures, were controlled by a wireless remote.
(Jim Evans)
