Appealing to a large teenage audience, the Comet Awards was presented by Viva TV, a German subsidiary of MTV Networks. System design for the show's dual stages required special care from project manager sound David Bergmann, system tech Thorsten Maier, FOH engineer Kai Reiss, and monitor engineer Mathias Hentschel, using Meyer Sound MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction programme and loudspeakers supplied by Hamburg-based Procon Event Engineering.
The first stage was mostly used by performing artists including Sportfreunde Stiller, Snoop Dog and Ashley Tisdale, who were surrounded by viewers listening through five arrays of Meyer Sound MIca, M'elodie, and M1D line array loudspeakers. Show host Oliver Pocher and Viva VJs Collien Fernandez took over the second stage, which featured four hangs of 12 M1D line array loudspeakers. The audience on the bleachers was covered by four Mica line arrays comprising 12 loudspeakers each for a 240° coverage. Sidefill was provided by two hangs of 6 M2Ds each augmented with one M2D-Sub subwoofer.
16 700-HP subwoofers were flown above the performance stage to form a short, camera-friendly TM Array configuration, a design initially created by Meyer Sound's Thomas Mundorf to provide even in-the-round bass coverage for the Metallica tour. Additional low-frequency support for the audience on the arena floor came from six 600-HP subwoofers in cardioid configuration under the performance stage.
"With this setup we were able to minimise the floor space needed for subwoofers and maximize bass coverage for this in-the-round production," says Bergmann. "And to avoid having any speakers in the camera sightlines, we also used smaller arrays than those normally used in a large concert.
"We brought the system directly from Moscow where we had used it highly successful as the Eurovision Song Contest's main system and although we had a complex audio system with over 190 loudspeakers, and 70 suspension points, we're able to manage system setup and tuning very quickly with no distractions during the numerous rehearsals, a result of our well-trained crew as well as the accurate predictions from MAPP Online Pro."
(Jim Evans)
