Royal Grammar School, Godrey Brown Theatre
Our Solutions
Following a competitive tendering process Otago Blue Ltd were awarded the contract to supply, install and commission the entertainment systems in the Godfrey Brown Theatre at the Royal Grammar School in the centre of Worcester.
This included theatre lighting, performance audio systems, rehearsal and daytime audio, video projection, show relay, intercom, control system, curtain tracks and curtains along with a RGBW house lighting system with a touch panel controller.
For this project we decided to implement our experience from cruise ship projects onto land based. Access and time on site is always restrictive and we are often one of the last few contractors in a venue therefore time is of the essence. We wanted to prepare as much as possible in the workshop and especially avoid time consuming soldering on site. Three 19” equipment racks were pre-wired with all the internal wiring taken to din terminals at the back and all the soldered interconnecting cables installed. In addition all the socket box connectors were pre-soldered with wire tails to push in terminals. This was time consuming and an additional expense but it saved time on site as the installation team only needed basic hand tools to complete the work.
During the contract we worked alongside Whittaker Bros Ltd, the main electrical contractor who were very professional and like us have high standards of workmanship. Gradually we oversaw the installation of the cable containment, cables were pulled, equipment racks, lighting bars and socket boxes mounted and then our team were able to terminate and test the infrastructure in record time.
The house lighting system consisted of Chroma Q Inspire range using both the standard and mini version mounted into a false ceiling. Not only were the Inspire lanterns used over the seating area but also provided for the studio / stage area which is used daily as a drama space. The Inspire lanterns are controlled via a Pharos touch panel offering staff full access to preset scenes and also an RGB colour picker to offer an enveloping creative teaching session.We were required to get the house lighting system up and running to provide general work light in the theatre by programming temporary scenes into the touch panel. The Pharos controller is also linked to a fire alarm system and in the event of this being triggered all the house lights return to full white.
Eventually after many delays the building was nearing completion and we could install all the equipment owned or recently purchased by the client, then hang the curtains, commission and handover the completed system.
Theatre lighting included – ETC ColorSource Thru Power offering remote control for dimmer, non-dim or relay controlled direct circuits, XTBA din rail RDM smart splitters & smart merge, ETC Colorsource LED Spot, LED Par and LED Linear Battens.
Audio system – Yamaha TF1 with Dante digital mixer, Dante digital audio breakout boxes, Symetrics Prism DSP processor, Lab Gruppen E Series amplifiers and Tannoy VX series speakers, Denon DN-200BR media players and DN-200BR Bluetooth receiver.
Intercom – Tecpro MS745 with belt packs and headsets
Video system – Extron IN 1608 DTP presentation switcher, DTP switchers and receivers, mixture of BenQ & Samsung video projectors and remote control panels were provided by SY Controls
Curtain Systems – Triple EEE Erail and Unitrack using tracking swivel barked arms and Black Wool Serge drapes
House Lighting – Chroma Q Inspire and Mini Inspire RGBW lanterns controlled by a Pharos TPC touch panel with EXT controllers and BPS remote button panels.
We were extremely proud of the finished project and it was evident at the handover how impressed the client was with the atmosphere created especially by the house lighting and control system. It was obvious that the desired immersive effect had been achieved. Training sessions followed but with the DSP and the SY control systems is was evident the functionality could be achieved by all levels of experience. On-going support is being provided to assist the client with more technical aspects of the system and we look forward to seeing the first large production in the new space.