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LMG Inc., a national provider of
video, audio and lighting support, was recently
challenged by AVMG, a leading producer of association
trade shows, business meetings and special events, with
developing an innovative technical plan for the annual
RiteAid convention, held this year at the Anaheim
Convention Center. LMG turned to its new Medialon
Manager Pro for show control and as the interface for a
complement of Analog Way during three days of massive
productions and shows.
The main, on-stage set piece consisted of two vertical,
skateboard-style ramps, left and right, composed of five
screens each and measuring 90 feet per side. The ramps
were capped by a horizontal marquee and a sphere was
suspended below the marquee. Images could go up the
side of one ramp’s screens, travel across the marquee
and go back down the other side of the ramp. Visuals
included complex background elements from Dataton
Watchout, IMAG feeds, PowerPoint graphics and video
content. Sources included 37 computers, eight cameras
and five tape decks. The show featured scores of
programmed cues, many of them multiple and simultaneous.
“This was a unique opportunity for us because we had 10
projectors stacked vertically in two stacks of five.
That had never been done before,” reports Neil Morrison,
LMG’s video services manager. “Two additional
projectors projected onto the sphere and marquee.
Medialon was our first choice for controlling the
environment. It was the only system able to control all
the equipment we needed, including 12 Analog Way boxes.
We could use the Medialon interface to do all the Analog
Way software programming.”
Alan Anderson, Technical Supervisor with Medialon,
explains that Analog Way gear was chosen for its
vertical edge blending capabilities. “It could spread
signals and move PIPs around on the vertical soft edge,”
he says. “Medialon Manager Pro could control all the
stacks at once with Manager MXMs and the GUI was used to
control the present. Medialon Manager Pro also enabled
LMG to take full advantage of the custom graphical user
screen and to manage the opening and closing of PIP
windows and live feeds during the main projection.”
“We got great support from Alan and Medialon,” notes
Morrison. “They worked with us to tweak the software
and were very excited about developing the right
solution for us. Medialon can control an incredible
range of products: switchers, routers, tape machines.
It takes all the complexities of show control and
reduces them to individual but simultaneous cues like
roll tape, raise curtain, run pyro effect, cue audio.
Before, we would have needed five different hands to
manage what Medialon does with a single keystroke. I
couldn’t be happier with the system.” |
