Camden's Electric Ballroom has installed an Avolites Media Ai T4 Media Server and is using it to serve two separate areas of the main room: the 3x2m lo-res LED screens which hang either side of the DJ booth, and the DJ box itself.
"Recently, the owner wanted to install a raised DJ box area in the main club, and discussed the idea of investing in a cutting edge visuals solution," says the venue's technical manager Steve Waterhouse. "I'd seen the electro-house producer Deadmau5 using an Immersive projection system, and needless to say was impressed with how it looked, so as soon as I heard Avolites Media had bought the media server l8 from Immersive and launched the Ai Media Server I knew that was the solution for the club.
"I have the DJ box 3D mapped into the server, with two projectors plugged into it beaming visuals directly onto the booth and across that area of the staging," continues Waterhouse. "The DJ box is up quite high, and the server is able to deal with the sloped hood above it... the results are fantastic - people are always very impressed.
"A great aspect is that the user interface is so intuitive; but of course with technology that pushes boundaries I'm still learning about the extent of the Ai's abilities, but having had a relationship with Avolites for a long time, I know their customer service is amazing - they really work with me to ensure I'm getting the best out of my investment and are continually adding to and improving the server to simplify operation and make my life easier."
Waterhouse says that so far he's been using a lot of stock visuals and basic loops, but is looking to work with content creators to develop bespoke visuals for the venue, such as club idents, and to add projections onto the main stage. He was also pleased to learn that stock content can now be purchased from the AvolitesMedia.com media library.
He's controlling the lighting and visuals via an Avolites Pearl Expert. "The Ai Media Server and the Pearl Expert work together beautifully," he says. "The ease of connectivity is really impressive."
Steve Warren, managing director of Avolites Media says, "The last 12 months have seen our Ai Infinity Media Server deliver some of the richest and most electrifying visual feasts for some of the most stunning, internationally televised events and live performance shows on earth, andit's great to see that the abilities of the server are also being used to dramatically enhance the experience of clubbers in an iconic venue such as Camden's Electric Ballroom."
(Jim Evans)
