Sparks Fly for Event and RCF as Olympic Torch Comes to Chelmsford

In the finale of a day-long series of events (collectively known as Sparks Will Fly: Essex) the action moved to Hyland Park where local sound company Event Sound & Light (ESL) fielded the largest combined RCF TT+ PA system yet seen in the UK. The company was working alongside the Chelmsford City Council, who was responsible for staging the event, and their production company, Walk The Plank, who devised the concept for the pageant, closing event, and street theatre style performance.

ESL director Paul Galley confirms that to equip a main stage measuring 50m wide, 2m deep, and 2m high they supplied a pair of 7.5m high V-mast towers to hang six active TTL55-A line array elements per side, with three RCF TTS56-A double 21in subwoofers. In addition the company featured center fill ground stacks comprising four TTL33-A enclosures on top of side-stacked TTS28-A subs.

Some 70m down the field behind the front-of-house position, a center delay consisting of four TTL55-A's were mounted on top of a pair of TTS56-A subs, using the dedicated flying frame. Finally, a further pair of TTL33-A's were deployed for side fill and monitor duties.

The system was set up using RCF's RDNet, a dedicated TT+ networking board. This makes it possible to monitor all system parameters, from the input to the status of each single amplifier and address the specific cabinet presets, adjusting parameters such as gain, equalization, or delay.

The event was open air with no roof coverings and due to the gloomy weather predictions ESL replaced the RCF TT25-SMA wedges with line array side fills as they had the waterproof protection.

This fastidious tuning and system set-up translated superbly to a 12,000 strong crowd who assembled for an event culminating in the unveiling of an extraordinary glass bead representing Chelmsford, created by local artists (with the final piece carried by the Red Devils parachute team).

The Glass Bead Game itself revolved around two great champions, the giant figures of Boreas Zephyr and Marina Mightier, who having completed their marathon journeys across Essex, came face-to-face for the first time. The denouement was the stunning finale with pyrotechnics, special effects, and a spectacular firework display earlier in the day.

The main audio requirement was to reinforce the presenters' radio vocal mic and the show's backing soundtrack (and FX) along with time coded audio for the fireworks and pyrotechnic show.

Explaining the design rationale, Galley stated, "Due to the extremely wide stage and dimensions, we chose to use the large format TTL55-A line array to cover the main audience area with the TTL33-A to evenly cover the front audience. Working outside was difficult in this weather, but having access to a telehandler made setting up the primary system easy, with the forking points on the TTL55-A and TTS56-A wheelable dollies."

He added that the RCF line array systems were a pleasure to work with -- and were both simple to set up and use. "It sounded good straight out the box; we time aligned everything back to the monitors and the system really came alive. It sounded very hi-fi and musical."

One clear improvement to the TTL33-A was the RDNet module upgrade (which is also featured in the TTL55-A). "This gave us ultimate control over all the speakers and individual drivers which was so useful," Galley reports. "The TTL33-A and TTL55-A work extremely well together, they are voiced the same and where the 55 takes over from the 33 there are no noticeable drops or changes. You can tell they are part of the same family and a great team in a demanding and dynamic scenario."

The overriding memory for the crowd was of the Glass Beads, represented in the form of 65cm acrylic orbs, rigged on 2m x 37m long steel catenary wires while the RCF TT+ PA thundered out the soundtrack, along with special effects including pumped water and a liquid flame system alongside the pyrotechnics.