Damascus College recently added a new multi-purpose Exam & Gathering space to their Ballarat campus. The brief for the space included a comprehensive audio-visual system utilising the latest technologies, capable of being used by both trained and novice staff and students. Initially contracted to design and create the tender specification, Forefront worked closely with the school’s IT department along with the project architects – Law Architects. After a successful tender period, Forefront was chosen as the AV installer and again worked alongside the project builder and associated trades.
The AV installation was scheduled to begin mid-2020, which landed at a time when border closures between NSW and Victoria were being enforced due to Covid-19 outbreaks. Forefront was able to draw on its network and rough-in was undertaken by some local trades using the provided cable schedules and drawings without delay to the project schedule. Eventually, our team was able to visit the site by late 2020 and complete the installation in early 2021.
The project was broken into three areas – the Main auditorium space, the entry Foyer, and the lower level Meeting Rooms.
The Meeting Rooms are small self-contained teaching areas comprised of a Samsung Smart TV display and local AV connections. Damascus College has been successfully using a Samsung Magicinfo signage network for some time, so all new displays were chosen with this capability in mind. Similarly, the Foyer houses a single Samsung Smart display and local AV connectivity, along with a pair of Nexo PS8 speakers filling the area with audio, controlled via a Nexo 4REA4 wall-mounted controller. This allows the Foyer to become a multimedia teaching space when required, or an area for additional reinforcement of the Main Auditorium’s AV sources.
The Main Auditorium is a large 450+ seat space with a 3.5m x 2m LED screen as the AV centre-piece. The screen is a custom indoor Pixapanel Echelon screen with a 2.6mm pixel pitch. There is a combination of HDBT and SDI input/output connectivity at multiple points throughout the space, allowing for total flexibility, no matter what the room configuration – the space is utilised for events ranging from school assemblies, musical performances, and examinations right through to formal dinners (there is also a full-scale commercial kitchen). SDI infrastructure includes a Roland V60-HD switcher and AJA Kumo 1616 router. This is largely unutilised but is in place for future development.
To further enhance the space’s multi-function aesthetic is a series of seven permanent lighting bars, housing some 60+ Showpro Photon 80 RGB fixtures, complementing the existing architectural lighting system. This allows for the fulfilment of the client brief to provide full-colour wash across the entire space with the ability to focus fixtures onto tables for dinner events, for example. Additionally, six Showpro LED HP profiles are in place to provide key light for speakers and performers when required. An LSC Clarity VX20 DMX controller is connected for the more complex events, whilst a simplified iPad GUI, via Kramer Control software, exists for basic scene/preset recall. Power is distributed to the bars from 3x LSC APW12 distros with built-in power sequencing.
The audio design for this project was made slightly more complex by the non-square shape of the room and the relatively low ceiling. It was also a requirement to keep the speaker components as “hidden” as possible. In the end, Nexo PS15’s were specified with 2 x Main left and right cabinets and additional left and right “delay” cabinets. Accompanied by a single LS18 subwoofer and Nexo NX amplifiers, this configuration provides a +/- 1.5 dB variation to coverage across the seated area. The school also has an existing Digico SD11 console with a D-rack and expressed the desire to be able to utilise this within the new audio system. As a result, the audio distribution system is driven by Digico’s 4REA4 mainframe with Control6 and Control8 controllers mounted throughout the room. Whilst there is a dedicated bio-box area for general AV operations, the Forefront team designed the system with the ability to connect the SD11 or D-rack at various points throughout the room (known as either Control or Patch points) to allow maximum flexibility. There is also a wall-mount A164 LCD unit for permanently available I/O for when the SD11 and D-rack are not available.
As in all school spaces like this, the ability to simplify and automate complex processes is key to the successful utilisation of the space. For this purpose, Forefront turned to Kramer Control to provide an interactive GUI via a series of wall-mounted iPad tablets. Kramer Control is a customisable, cloud-based app that uses a designated Kramer “brain” device to connect to 3rd party devices. These can connect via RS232, IR, GPIO, Contact Closures, or TCP/IP protocols. At Damascus this is used for turning TVs on/off, recalling lighting scenes, switching display sources, powering down amplifiers, even setting up various PIP layouts on the LED screen. Most importantly, Kramer Control provides the ability to ignore the more daunting control devices for novice users. For example, a virtual audio mixer page removes the need to run an audio console for simple tasks like turning up/down the volume on 2 of the 6 Sennheiser G4 500 series wireless microphones.
All in all, the Damascus project was about future-proofing – providing infrastructure to accommodate the schools growing needs and vision, whilst maximising the use of existing hardware and technology systems. Already the staff has noticed a move to use the space for even more functions than originally planned due to its flexibility and usability. The potential of the venue to accommodate any type of event is already being realised.
