SHANGHAI, China – FotoPhono AS, a Norway-based AV supplier, was responsible for the AV installation at the Norwegian Pavilion at World Expo 2010. AV consultant Ole Øyvind Heier contacted Multitekst Ltd. to design, program and implement the show control system, which included Richmond Sound Design's SoundMan-Server virtual sound system and a Medialon AV control system. The Norway Pavilion featured 15 model trees made from Norwegian pine trees and Chinese bamboo, part of an exhibit that featured zones portraying Norway's Coast, Urban forest, Waterfall/Fjord and Arctic areas.
While walking through the pavilion, daytime visitors could experience the subtle changing nuances of the music piece while watching themed video presentations. At night, northern lights shows were staged on the exhibit's semi-transparent roof with video projections timed to audio controlled by SoundMan-Server software from Richmond Sound Design Ltd.
Multichannel playback with full audio matrix, as well as two separate time code generators, kept audio, video and lighting in sync. The system ran four stereo pairs of continuously looping music distributed to the four main areas of the venue.
"We were proud to be able to give the audience this true multichannel multimedia experience without glitches and hiccups," said Vidar F. Eggen of Multitekst Ltd. "Medialon Manager, Dataton Watchout and SoundMan-Server were the perfect combination for this complex task."
For the video and lighting system, Medialon Manager Pro Show and Media Control software and Medialon Showmaster ST controlled 28 Dataton Watchout video playback PCs. Desk cues from a grandMA UltraLight were triggered from Medialon Manager's timeline.
For the video shoot, a dedicated Medialon Manager application was developed. This application controlled the playback of a Watchout sequence of background images for the video screens and eight tracks of session music playback, plus camera master time code. The application also included the ability to add 20 minutes extra offset to the camera master time code for each take.
A number of preselected start points in the music score allowed the operator to start recording at any time line position, instantly syncing screen images, audio tracks and the video cameras.
More than three million visitors experienced the sounds and sights of the Norwegian pavilion during the Expo's six-month run.
For more information, please visit www.medialon.com and www.richmondsounddesign.com.
