52 l October 2013
www.psneurope.com
installationreport GERMANY
Driving progress
The IAA Motor Show 2013 in Frankfurt hosted spectacular pavilions showing off the latest models from the world’s leading car manufacturers. Meyer Sound, Shure and Yamaha were all key elements in ensuring the success of the audio production. Simon Duff revs up to report
The Audi pavilion featured a fake city in the style of Inceptionhung above the brand’s latest models
THE FRANKFURT International Motor Show is held every two years and the 65th Show last month spanned 12 halls of the Messe Frankfurt with around 1,000 exhibitors from more than 34 countries showing off their wares over 10 days. Among the most elaborate pavilions this year was the sensational ceiling at Audi’s pavilion, where, in the style of the Christopher Nolan movie Inception, a huge fake city – involving buildings, trees and clever use of mirrors – hung, upside down, above the German brand’s latest models. With healthy budgets and exciting creative briefs for
production companies, Meyer Sound reported that it had almost 900 of its loudspeakers used for various manufacturers at this year’s show: Audi, BMW, SMART and Volkswagen all deployed Meyer kit from suppliers including PRG, CT Germany, Nordlight, Schoko Pro, Leyendecker and the POOLgroup GmbH. PRG has supplied lighting and audio services to Audi for 15 years. At this year’s event, PRG worked with TFN GmbH & Co KG, an audiovisual design consultancy based in Hamburg, on the design and technical planning of the sound. Christian Oeser, lead audio engineer and
Exhibitors from more than 34 countries
1,000
head of implementation planning at PRG, explains the audio set up in the Audi pavilion: “Audi used to have an open truss grid roof with a TV studio appearance, which made it easy to install loudspeakers of all types. This dramatically changed for this show with the upside- down look. The architectural design of the hanging buildings
hanging and the fact that about 90% of the truss grid was covered by mirrors didn’t allow the sound designer Christian Tesche from TFN to use the loudspeaker types as we had used on the show previously. Therefore we had to install them into the buildings of the pavilion set itself, rigged at varying heights. The design included around 84 UPM-1Ps and 82 MM-4s Meyer Sound loudspeakers.” Part of the creative brief for
TFN was that visitors to the pavilion, when entering an enclosed booth space, should be able to hear the Audi sound logo, itself modified on every new appearance. During the six-week pavilion
Part of the BMW rig featured 23 Meyer UPA-1Ps for ambience and 26 UPM-1P, plus 14 MM-4XP used along the racetrack
build, a full audio system was implemented to ensure that the various types of announcements and automated evacuation messages of different priority could be heard on the booth including toilets, storage and technical areas. In summary a system was needed with around 16 inputs and about 300 outputs. Oeser: “The main audio content was played from the video playback engines, synchronised to the video content. In total we had seven stereo tracks containing the base loop, special effects with specific acoustic localisation and additional sound effects to intensify the impression of specially themed buildings at different parts of the pavilion.”
In addition, he notes, for special events and presentations, the team implemented a set-up with an acoustical focus towards the main stage. “This only could be achieved by using delayed matrices.” Yamaha consoles were the order of the day for Audi on these presentation stages including a DM2000 and 01V96. Four AD8HR mic preamp units and no fewer than 10 Yamaha DME64N mix engines were deployed. Some 218 Meyer Sound loudspeakers were rigged for the Audi pavilion, including on one of the main presentation stages a MINA line array with 500-HP subwoofers. Amps used across the pavilion included 40 Dynacord LX 3000s. Twenty Shure R Series handheld microphones were available when and where needed. Commenting on his preference for Meyer Sound loudspeakers, Oeser neatly sums up his feelings: “Personally, I like them because I have a lot of experience with those and know how to place and to focus them without listening to the system.” With high microphone demand in the halls it was vital that wireless requirements were properly managed. To this end Shure’s Axient wireless microphone system – able to detect interference and automatically shift operating frequencies, undetected by the user – was chosen by a number of exhibitors. Volkswagen
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