AMBION again provides CODA Audio system for Germany’s New Year’s Eve TV spectacular …
" At the beginning of December I created a simulation based on city maps and a 3D stage design, and planned the corresponding main, out, near fills and delay hangs. CODA’s proprietary prediction software System Optimiser is essential. It’s an irreplaceable tool for realistically simulating the coverage across the site.”
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Germany’s largest New Years Eve party takes place at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Attracting a live audience of 65,000 supplemented by a TV audience of more than three million. Broadcast by ZDF, the spectacle was presented by Andrea Kiewel and Johannes B. Kerner, and featured many top national and international acts including Shirin David, Maite Kelly, Alex Christiansen, and Peter Schilling.
For the third year in a row production specialists AMBION took care of the sound, and once again relied on CODA Audio systems based around the brand’s flagship AiRAY Aline array, to meet the exacting requirements of ‘Celebrate at the Gate’ as the event is now known.
AMBION’s Tim Schürholz relishes the challenges of this special event:
“The sheer scale of the show and the often cold wet weather on New Year’s Eve are not what we encounter every day but no-one on the team is particularly nervous. The logistical effort is greater than with most other productions, and there are time constraints, but thanks to our experience in previous years we know exactly what needs to be done
Careful planning is a top priority as Tim explains:
“At the beginning of December I created a simulation based on city maps and a 3D stage design, and planned the corresponding main, out, near fills and delay hangs. CODA’s proprietary prediction software System Optimiser is essential. It’s an irreplaceable tool for realistically simulating the coverage across the site.”
Daniel Märzke, who worked with Tim on the event adds:
“We preconfigured all the amps in advance and marked and labelled all the equipment we’d be using. Once on site, we just distributed it and set it up according to our plans.”
AMBION deployed 14 x CODA Audio AiRAY and 3 x SC2-F subs per side as mains. 8 x N-RAY served as centre fills with a further 12 x N-RAY as outfills. Additional low end was provided by a Sub ARC comprising 42 x SCP-F subs, and14 x HOPS10 covered the nearfield. A further complement of AiRAY, CiRAY and N-RAY were deployed as delays. The system was driven by CODA Audio’s LINUS amplification.
The TV broadcast of the event demanded that clear sightlines were vital, according to Daniel:
“To achieve a PA-free image the main PA had to be hung very far out. The two N-RAY centre hangs were directly in front of the stage towers which meant they were well-hidden. The production wished to avoid having any loudspeakers visible on the stage, so we opted for HOPS5 on the presenters platform as they are so small. We mounted CUE TWO monitors on rolling boards to moved into position only when needed, and put in some unobtrusive sidefills comprising two APS units and one APS SUB per side.”
The event proved to be another great success with the wide range of CODA Audio loudspeakers forming a single cohesive acoustic unit. As well as delivering exceptional audio, the loudspeakers’ compact nature and discreet visual appearance made them the perfect choice for a TV a production environment.
Photo credits: Der Gottwald, www.der-gottwald.de
