ELAN enhances custom-built drive-in movie theatre
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“First and foremost, a reliable control system is the most important factor when designing a unique and complex system such as this,” Walker explained. “It’s imperative that the technology is responsive and accessible during private events. That’s why we installed a central ELAN system to control both the sophisticated theatre and multi-room audio system.
“ELAN also controls the entire building’s Lutron lighting, Aprilaire thermostats, Elk Security system as well as Axis and Toshiba security cameras. Now, through both one-touch access and automated scenes, all of the event space’s technology is instantly manageable.”
To serve as the basis of the system, Walker installed one ELAN gSC10 System Controller, accessible through 14 strategically placed ELAN touch panels and two ELAN handheld remotes. Additionally, Walker used three ELAN S1616A audio controllers to control the space’s extensive multi-zone audio system. “With reliable control in place, we can employ the most cutting-edge entertainment technology available today and turn what was once a garage into an indoor drive-in movie theatre,” Walker said.
Walker and his team were tasked with building a home theatre experience that closely resembles that of a 1950’s drive-in theatre. To do so, he installed a central focal viewing point – an ELAN-controlled 24x10 Stewart Filmscreen display – which is viewed from the comfort of seven vintage cars stationed throughout the room.
Authenticity was absolutely key for the client. That’s why Walker and his team also installed a sophisticated 360-degree audio system throughout the space to closely replicate an authentic ‘drive-in’ theatre experience with customised effects. For example, the event space owner had acquired and implemented traditional “drive in” speakers – which needed a slight delay function to recreate the outdoor ‘echo’ effect common in old school drive-in theatres – and installed two in each of the seven cars. All the ‘drive in’ speakers are dedicated zones of audio to play in conjunction with the surround system or separate from the rest of the 360-degree audio experience.
“It was definitely a challenge to figure out how to get the central audio feed to these unique drive-in speakers that are actually installed on pedestals next to the cars, with enough cabling to bring into the car,” Walker explained. “They are not part of the multi-room audio system. Rather, they are separate from the room’s zones, and have their own dedicated channels. It was our job to extract audio content and filter them to these speakers to effectively to recreate a degree of authenticity that the client requested.”
Despite several hiccups, Walker and his team were able to successfully transform the room into a fully functioning event space that looks and feels like a 1950’s drive-in movie theatre. With a single button press on the ELAN mobile app, the lights dim, the audio fires up and the projector turns on. With another press or two, the movie starts, the game is on, or they can just watch TV.
“This was certainly the most unique project I have ever done,” Walker said. “These complex and sophisticated projects would not at all be possible without a reliable control system at the centre of it all. ELAN truly helps to bring it all together, and provides a the one-touch control that is crucial during an event.”
(Jim Evans)
