The commission posed a challenge for Altered Images of Shepperton, the company charged with the conceptual design, equipment specification and installation of the system, because it was desired that the studio surroundings in which the students worked should offer teaching and training facilities as close as possible to those encountered in reality.
"We wanted to build a studio of the kind the students will work in later in their day-to-day professional lives," explains Peter Gibbons, Altered Images' projects and installations manager, "which is why we opted for RTS equipment. RTS is what is standard on the British broadcasting scene - and with good reason. Their systems deliver top-class performance, are unproblematic in their operation, and function reliably."
The nerve-centre of the installation is a RTS Zeus III LE+ digital intercom matrix. Only one rack unit in height, the device is nonetheless armed with an integrated microprocessor, its own power supply, 16 keypanel/audio ports and two configurable party-line interface channels. The Zeus III LE+ matrix is also connected via Ethernet to a PC.
"The ZEUS III LE+ is perfectly adapted to the needs of Ormiston Academy," says Gibbons, "in respect not only of the working procedures it supports but also of demands placed on the budget."
For the keypanels, microphones and belt-packs, too, Gibbons and his team relied on RTS: four MKP-12 keypanels are at the disposal of the director, his assistants, the FOH engineer and the sound director, whilst in the theatre, radio studios and recording studio, four RTS BKP-4 keypanels and TELEX MCP-90-12 microphones ensure flawless communication. TELEX belt-packs, headsets and ear-sets round off the installation.
"BOA's directors are very satisfied with the installation," reports Gibbons, "and the students, too, have taken at once to the systems. That reflects well not only on our work but also on the products themselves."
(Jim Evans)
