Whilst on board, NoiseBoys also assisted with an event that made history for the cruise line when, on 28th July 2015, all four ships owned by Fred. Olsen - the Balmoral, Braemar, Black Watch and Boudicca - united in the port of Bergen on the same day. This was the first time ever that the whole Fred. Olsen fleet has come together, and NoiseBoys were on hand to advise and arrange power distribution for the celebrations and activities taking place on the quayside that day.
NoiseBoys won the contract to supply and install the new lighting and sound system on Fred. Olsen's Balmoral after a new show company was appointed to the ship. Mirage Shows and Productions put together teams of dancers and singers to entertain the passengers, and they have very high production values, which pay off in their high audience ratings. The lighting and sound control in the show lounge on board the Balmoral had been in service for a considerable time, so Fred. Olsen recognised that there was a need for an update; they decided to contact NoiseBoys after seeing the results of their work with Mirage on other ships in the fleet.
NoiseBoys designed a new lighting rig, comprised entirely of fixtures with LED light sources, replacing the old lights. The new stage lighting uses a fraction of the power, yet offers far better coverage of the stage. Utilising the latest six-colour mixing technology, it is also able to change to any colour in an instant, to provide a fully flexible stage wash that can be used for anything from presentations to cabaret, to full production shows. New LED battens were utilised for backlighting and effects on stage, alongside a new batch of moving lights with LED lamps. The fully LED rig requires next-to-no maintenance, and won't need a lamp or gel change for approximately the next 8 years, much to the delight of the on-board technicians!
The old ETC lighting desk has been replaced with brand new Avolites Quartz, running Titan version 9 software, which offers the technical team a really flexible desk that is super-quick to program or busk shows on, yet is also up to the task of running cue-stacked production shows with ease.
From a sound perspective, the old system was running from mini-discs, which are getting harder and harder to source, as the format is phased out. There was also a large analogue desk, with two large racks of compressors, gates, effects units, and system EQ. A Yamaha QL5 digital desk and single digital stage box have replaced all of this equipment, whilst playback is now provided via an Apple iMac, running Logic. The iMac delivers multitracked digital output to the QL5 via Dante, as well as MIDI time code to the lighting desk for full show control.
Phill Beynon, Technical Director at NoiseBoys, comments: "We are delighted to be involved with Fred. Olsen to undertake this major overhaul of their primary entertainment venue. The old lighting had many disadvantages. By replacing it with LEDs, there is virtually no heat for anyone standing on stage, yet the whole stage is evenly washed with light. The performers are happier, the technicians love it, and we've already had very positive comments from regular audience members on board! From a sound point of view, the QL5 has gone down really well on board. It is such a versatile desk, and the Dante capability means that we can run everything digitally, with no interference and at the highest quality, all over a few bits of cat5 cable."
John Allard, Operations Director with NoiseBoys, comments: "We sent a small team to install the new systems in a very limited time-frame, whilst the Balmoral was in po
