This is the first refurbishment of the multi use theatre since the Sainsbury Wing was built in 1991 and the existing track and motors were not just old, but also unreliable. With such a wide variety of events, and the fact that it's sometimes necessary to swap screen formats within the same event, Jon Sheldon, senior audio-visual technician at The National Gallery, needed a system that was flexible, quiet and accurate.
David Edelstein, managing director of Triple E, said: "We had been working on a new product, Chainbeam, which incorporates a duplex chain drive into the solid construction of Unibeam, giving an efficient and positive drive and matching exactly with the Gallery's requirements. With the chain running in the base of the track, the drive requires a minimal number of components."
The side masking runs on the Chainbeam and has a metal framed hard edge with black masking curtains following. As well as replacing the existing track with Chainbeam, Triple E also put in a new touch control system for all the masking, and installed new drive motors and rigging for the top masking border and the projection screen, which retracts when not in use. The control system, which offers seven pre-set positions plus one custom, was programmed by Triple E to Jon Sheldon's specifications, and links to the theatre's AMX system.
Sheldon said: "The new system is more flexible and easier to reconfigure if we need to. It gives us the option of making quick transitions between formats and we have complete control from both the control booth and the wings of the stage. The design and install team were easy to work with, and once the specifications for the system had been finalised, the installation was quick and hassle free."
(Lee Baldock)
