27/07/2016 » Axiom Delivers Acoustic Solution for Italy's Film Awards
Proel's Axiom loudspeaker products were chosen for the television production of the David di Donatello awards ceremony, a film award presented each year for cinematic performances and production by L'accademia del Cinema Italiano (The Academy of Italian Cinema) and broadcast by Sky TV.
Held in Rome in April, the Donatellos, as they are colloquially known, are the motion picture equivalent of the Academy Awards for the cinema, and follow a production format similar to the Oscars. Specialist TV show rental company Stonata Produzioni was called upon to provide the audio services for the event. With principal clients prominent in Italian television production such as Mediaset, La7, and Sky, Stonata Produzioni was well qualified to deliver an accomplished solution.
Stonata Produzioni selected the Axiom AX2010P line array for its predictable sound quality and because of its ability to integrate of flown subwoofers, since the sightline obstruction of ground stacked subwoofers make them unsuitable for TV productions. ED25P point source loudspeakers were chosen for near field coverage their very compact dimensions and low profile, and for their excellent response in the vocal range.
The main audio system design was based around two clusters of eight AX2010P passive dual 10-inch line array elements together with a single SW36XFP Tetracoil-equipped dual 18-inch subwoofer flown at the top of each cluster, rigged at a height of 9 metres. A centre channel of four AX2010P boxes rigged at 11 metres provided coverage of the first audience rows, and eight ED25P dual 5-inch passive loudspeakers were positioned under the stage, hidden amongst the scenography. The system was powered by four racks of HPX8000 amplifiers and controlled by PC260 digital system processors via PRONET, Proel's proprietary audio system remote control software.
In television productions there are two main problems for the audio crew: lavalier microphone rejection and the need to make the sound system invisible to the TV cameras. According to technical sales support engineer Damiano Formiconi, Axiom's exceptional intelligibility for both vocal and music program material ensured accurate coverage of all the audience, and considering the trim height of the line arrays with flown subwoofers, and the small size of ED25P, not one speaker cabinet was visible to the production director.
Sound engineer Roberto Scioni, who is responsible for audio on the project and also for the mixing of the event, commented on the choice of the Axiom line array: "Besides great sound quality, we chose the AX2010 system because we could fly the subwoofers to make them invisible to the TV cameras and for better time arrival for all of the audience.
"Also the EASE libraries for this product are really well done and reliable, and last but not least, because it is equipped with a precise and very intuitive rigging system. Thanks to all these features, the setup and aiming of the system is very simple and quick. We are very familiar with the ED25P, having started to use them many years ago, and find them ideal for this kind of project due to their very small size and perfect acoustics for television studio audiences."