M’ELODIE AND MATRIX3 PUMP ENERGY
INTO CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S OVO
“DYNAMIC MOVEMENT OF
SOUND IS ONE WAY TO TAP INTO EMOTIONS, AND MATRIX3 ALLOWS ME TO DO THAT FREELY AND EFFORTLESSLY.”
— JONATHAN DEANS
SOUND DESIGNER
OVO
A CIRQUE DU SOLEIL® production touring America under the Grand Chapiteau tent, OVO™ presents another gasp-inducing acrobatic spectacle—this time choreo- graphed around a storyline of romance and conflict in the micro-world of bugs. OVO envelops the audience with insect sounds blended into Brazilian-inflected music, all dynamically mixed through a Meyer Sound Matrix3 and self-powered loud- speaker system.
A 2,600-seat circus tent made of hard- stretched vinyl presents complex acousti- cal challenges, and further complications are introduced by a full-thrust stage and 270-degree seating layout.
“The M’elodie arrays were used because we wanted the power,” states Jonathan Deans, principal sound designer, “not so much to simply make it loud but to give us dynamics. For example, the closing tram- poline piece, which we call ‘the wall,’ is an extremely dynamic Brazilian techno num- ber that the M’elodies support very well.”
Jean-Michel Caron, assistant designer, is most appreciative of M’elodie’s precision coverage. “With M’elodie arrays we have excellent, uniform sound from the front to the last row, which is amazing. With other speakers we would get too much wash off the tent, so we’d have to turn it down for the back. That’s not nearly as much a concern with M’elodie arrays.”
6 | 2010 | VOLUME 1 | MEYER SOUND STORIES
The main arrays of six M’elodie loud- speakers each are augmented by eight UPQ-1P loudspeakers for delay. Additional fill and surround sub-systems comprise 22 UPJunior VariO and 16 M1D loudspeak- ers, along with six 700-HP subwoofers placed underneath the bleacher seats. A Galileo loudspeaker management system with three Galileo 616 processors pro- vides drive processing. The self-powered loudspeakers integrate seamlessly with the Meyer Sound Matrix3 audio show control and CueConsole control surface for mixing, signal processing and control.
“The open architecture of Matrix3 allows you to adapt your sound design as the show develops,” says Deans. “For exam- ple, with ‘the wall’ number at the end, we have sounds jumping all over the place, following the insects as they bounce back and forth. Dynamic movement of sound is one way to tap into emotions, and Matrix3 allows me to do that freely and effortlessly.”
On tour, operation of the systems is entrusted to audio engineers Patrick Burke and Martin DeBlois, with assistance from Patrice Langlois and under gen- eral supervision of Ges Edwards-Webb, technical operations director. Audio equip- ment supply comes from Montreal-based Solotech.
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