The sound company has now become accustomed to rigging its flagship Martin Audio MLA at the London site, mitigating its historic problems with offsite noise escape; working for promoters Festival Republic for the second year they were probably anticipating an easy ride following the successful system induction in 2014.
But 48 hours before the event the BBC decided to install two 'interview' tepees in the Guest Hospitality enclosure - a stone's throw from the right PA hangs and out-fills - and requested the sound to be steered away from this area in order that artist interviews between acts could go live to air without stage sound intrusion.
Capital's project manager Martin Connolly consulted with Andy Davies and Nigel Meddemmen at Martin Audio - knowing this was perfect territory for MLA's advanced optimisation control software.
Martin Audio's two technical support specialists knew they would be able to write a new profile for the side hang, negating the need to turn specific boxes off. "The original sound design was as requested with coverage into the Guest area, but then the BBC realised they had located the tepees directly under the coverage area," he says. "It was very late in the set-up, all arrays were flown and strapped at the bottom to avoid any movement in windy conditions, video screens were in position and banners added above and below the video screens. To bring an array in to redeploy with different angles would have been a nightmare and would have added hours of work.
"Fortunately knowing the unique technology available with a multicellular system the obvious answer was to use the 'hard avoid' feature. Between Andy [Davies], Toby [Capital MLA tech Toby Donovan] and myself we created a unique optimisation for that hang. We created a profile which maintained the coverage we originally had for the audience area - with the exception of the area from under the array to just beyond the tepee which was specified as 'hard avoid'.
"The result was startling," recalls Martin Connolly. "As you walked towards the array the coverage sounded identical to the previous optimisation, suggesting that the level would not be sufficiently reduced at the tepees; but the reality was extraordinary, the drop in level was huge.
"We all looked at each other with huge grins," continues Connolly. "I don't think I have ever experienced such a compelling demonstration of the control available from an MLA system. It worked exactly as intended, the interviews were broadcast to air and were relayed to the audience through the main system - including the side hang - without the slightest hint of feedback. It
A further new feature was the deployment of ten Martin Audio DD6's at the BBC's VIP stand, the structure of which had changed this year. "Last year we made sure we avoided hitting the glass doors with sound to avoid reflection," says Connolly. "Therefore, by steering the MLA Compact delay hang nearest the structure away from the verandah, the sound needed lifting in the HF; deploying a DD6 on each pillar led to a significant improvement."
Capital also installed 12 Martin Audio F8 inside the structure - both systems time aligned to the main system but with local control. Nigel Meddemmen added, "One of our R&D department's great achievements has been to give such a uniform tonal balance between all systems so even the smallest speaker will blend beautifully with a large multicellular array."
As for the main PA configuration, 16 MLA plus one MLD Downfill were hung on each side while the side-fills consisted of 12 MLA plus one MLD Downfill. A further 26 MLX subs formed a cardioid pattern across the stage front to facilitate beam stee
