Focus: Intelligibility in Entertainment Technology
Audio, Video, & Lighting for the Mint Condition Gala
Design Dialogue by Jack Kelly
September 27 2008 | Herst Tower Courtyard | Charlotte, NC

Evie Nomination for "Outstanding Achievement in Technical Support"- Greater Charlotte Chapter of ISES

Lighting
12 American DJ Fantasy 250
14 Chauvet Colorado 1
4 ETC Source 4 Leko
3 ETC Source 4 ParNel
30 Elation Opti 30
2 Elation DP-415
1 Elation DP-640
Rapco Cabling
Custom Rosco Gobos
Martin Light Jockey

Truss
Custom Global Truss 5m Circle
4 12" Box Truss (1m)
4 12" Box Truss (2.5m)
4 12" Box Truss (2m)
4 Universal Junction Blocks
4 12"x12" Base Plates
4 2' x 2' Base Plates
4 3' x 3' Base Plates

Road Cases
Road Ready
Custom Ghost Cases

If executed improperly the unique demands of a round stage for an auction is sure to be catastrophic. When Dean Jordan of the Mint Museum told me we were going to the style of in-the-round, my brain exploded with questions. How will the auctioneer know who has bid? How do we keep the sound level throughout the tent? How do we make sure that everyone can see what they are bidding on? Auctions are always done from a stage with standard video projection, standard audio maybe with delays, and the auctioneer can see everyone in the room without spinning around. Any complications can cause valuable bids to go unseen discouraging bidders. Since most auctions are driven by impulse, chances are seldom taken.

Flawless execution is what was expected of Eye Dialogue. Before we get to décor and creating excitement rewarding the bidders with interactive design, we had to address the issues of in the round. The auctioneer recommended putting the speakers around the tent pointing inward. Because the speakers would all be at different distances, the sound would arrive at the listener at different times making the audio confusing. The system would be out of phase, contain confusing echoes, and have frequency cancelation. This is obviously unacceptable. In order to achieve intelligibility, the main audio must be at least 10dB louder than any other noise . . . including itself. All the audio speakers in the room would be repeating everything at slightly different times; the ear wouldn’t know which speaker to listen to. This would cause brain fatigue and frustration. Back in the 50s, many churches used a pew back system (many speakers behind the pews) which works at low levels but doesn’t work at high levels. When playing music, the pew back system becomes noisy. With those that are hard of hearing, the system might not be able to achieve the audio levels required without adding all the previously discussed problems. Ultimately we decided to go a different direction.

We decided to use a raised circular truss to mount speakers overhead. If we placed them on the stage the levels at the front of stage would be significantly louder than the back of the room. In a concert hall setting up delays would have solved our problem. But having a stage in-the-round would mean 360 degrees of coverage which is costly. We had to figure out how to get even sound throughout the room without sounding muddy and staying cost effective. By getting the speakers as high as possible on the truss, the distance from the speaker to the first person was lengthened. By minimizing the difference between the first seat and the back seat, we could create an even level throughout the space (an acceptable 4.5 db from the front of the room to the back).

For the auctioneer, we needed to help him see 360 degrees at all times. Since superman wasn’t availigle, we set up 4 monitors with 4 assistants. Each assistant had a microphone and watched 90 degrees of the room. When someone would bid, the assistant would call out to the auctioneer. The auctioneer listened to each of the monitors and would point in the direction of the monitor and look for the raised sign. The auctioneer was amazing. He looked as if he had eyes in the back of his head, and the crowd loved it.

Moving onto lighting, we wanted to paint the entire tent with lighting effects. To excite all the senses and reward our sponsors, we adorned the room with fantasy lighting effects. Much like a kaleidoscope lighting effect, the fantasy spits the image but lets the images overlap creating an ethereal look. On the 4 large open spaces of the tent, the logo of our sponsors spanned the tent lines with gobo projection lights. Each truss piece around the stage and holding the gobo projectors had an LED fixture shining into the truss. The lumination filled the space with beautiful colored light. For visible intelligibility, each table was washed with a narrow spot from a par 30, perfectly lighting the dinner and beautiful table displays.

For the auction, we created 30 looks that changed after each bid was finished. The entire room completely changed color and shape with each bid signifying a new item to be auctioned. During the auction, every time someone bid we would sweep a streak of white (6500K), white (3500K), light pink, or baby blue through the room towards the one who bid. The lone truss piece in the quadrant of the bidder would remain the streak color until someone else bid adding a visible statement to the auctioneer. When the auctioneer chanted “going once”, all the fantasy effects in the ceiling would begin to slowly shake or swirl. We wanted to increase the excitement level so bidders would get into the moment and bid. When the auctioneer sold the piece; for several seconds, all the lights flurried, spun, flashed, and shook. The energy was thrilling and the winner was rewarded with not only the feeling of generousity towards the art community but also a fanfare worthy of a winner.

The final task was to make certain the bidders knew what they were bidding on. The auction had over a hundred items in both the silent auction and the auction. Because of the size of the tent and being in the round, visibility would sure to hinder some bidders. We mounted 2 6x8 projector screens on the tent, visible from the back of the room. Four additional TV’s were place on the truss, so the tables near the stage could see the item clearly. During dinner, the VJs remixed the auction items with an Edirol V-4 to tantalize the guest.

The Mint Condition Gala represents Charlotte’s largest annual art auction. Community leaders gather together to support the arts by acquiring modern art by America’s finest. Creating a mood of comfort and anticipation, the audience enjoyed themselves, opening their heart. Fun, modern, artistic, and precise; the Mint Museum Gala created a new auction experience for Charlotte’s art aficionados. Creating intelligibility, Eye Dialogue completely supported the technical structure required for a truly effective and impactful art auction.