Aviva Studios flexes its audio muscles with d&b Soundscape.
Intro
Manchester’s Aviva Studios is an ambitious, progressive, world-leading hub for the performing arts. And, thanks to the power of d&b Soundscape, it provides artists and audiences alike with a sophisticated, versatile sound environment, one which is equal to the creativity and flexibility of this forward-looking, landmark facility.
Setting the scene
Aviva Studios, the new home of Factory International, is one of the most exciting performance venues in the UK. Built on the site of Manchester’s old Granada TV Studios, the development of this £211m culture destination was led by Manchester City Council. Designed by architect Ellen van Loon from OMA, it has flexibility and versatility at its core. It’s a space which aims to adapt to meet the creative vision of the artist, not vice versa. As such, it hosts a varied programme of ground-breaking music, dance, theatre, exhibitions and visual arts in a multitude of formats.
The venue serves as the base for Factory International, the organisation behind the Manchester International Festival (MIF). It includes the Warehouse, a fully configurable space for audiences of up to 5,000 standing, and the adjacent Hall, with a flexible stage and holding audiences of up to 1,600 seated or 2,000 standing. What’s more, the Warehouse can be sub-divided by a movable acoustic wall (into North and South Warehouse), or combined with the Hall for an even larger space. Other usable areas, both inside and out, complete this flexible site.
From the outset, the venue’s creators envisaged a facility which would attract and showcase the most inventive and ground-breaking performances: it would be a cutting-edge destination for the performing arts globally. And, as with other new, world-leading, multi-purpose arts venues, flexibility and futureproofing were the absolute priorities.
Setting objectives
As such, the team required a sound solution that could support that vision. They also understood the need to embrace new technologies to ensure the venue could continue to provide advanced performance capability for incoming productions in the years to come.
Theatre consultancy Charcoalblue was brought in to help consolidate this plan back in 2016. (With the unprecedented interruptions and delays of the following years, it was to prove a long haul). Charcoalblue’s team was led by Dicky Burgess and Matt Hall. Burgess recalls, “It started from an understanding that a standard LCR system wouldn’t be enough for the proportions of the room or to do justice to the sort of shows that were going to be staged – including new works and bespoke immersive events.”
Following an introduction from Charcoalblue, the Factory International team, including Paul Moore and Jack Thompson, soon began – among several options – discussing the possibilities of Soundscape with d&b audiotechnik’s Adam Hockley. Soundscape was still in development at this time, but Hockley, knowing the opportunities it would bring, proposed that they consider a design incorporating this emerging technology. Soundscape promised to be a powerful immersive audio tool that would bring endless creative possibilities – and remarkable new listening experiences – to theatre and event applications worldwide.
In 2018, the Factory team visited d&b GB in Nailsworth for an initial Soundscape demo, and from there travelled to Dublin to see a performance of Come From Away. This, sound designer Gareth Owen’s second deployment of d&b Soundscape on a leading musical production, gave them their first taste of the system in action.
The Solution
Eventually it was decided that d&b Soundscape was the answer. “d&b ticked all the boxes,” said Burgess. “Cost, ability to integrate, compatibility and scalability.”
In addition to this, the fact that the d&b name is one of the most rider-friendly brands in pro audio was an added advantage: the system would be readily accepted by visiting artists and audio engineers.
Hockley set about developing a feasible system design, based around the DS100 signal engine, which enables En-Scene, Soundscape’s object-based mixing module, and En-Space, the room emulation module. He says, “We proposed a concept of a horizontally distributed system of arrays, which was still revolutionary at the time, with a high resolution of front-fills and surround speakers installed permanently around the auditorium.”
Audio-visual solutions expert Solotech was appointed as system supplier and integrator, under project manager Phil Aitken. “Solotech were an invaluable part of the installation and commissioning process,” says Hockley, “taking the concepts that Factory International had dreamt up with Charcoalblue and d&b and turning them into reality!”
The task was not straightforward. “The auditorium is unusual as there are not many flat surfaces,” explains Burgess. “Most are angled, and there are entrances and exits at different places on each side, so ensuring the surround speakers were in the correct positions wasn’t as simple as it first seemed.”
Fast-forward to the present, and the d&b Soundscape system is up and running. The installation in the Hall has a flown system comprising five arrays of d&b Y-Series, with a V-SUB between each. These arrays can either be used as a high-resolution horizontal array for productions using d&b Soundscape, or they can be reconfigured to serve as a more conventional LR or LCR system – whatever the incoming production requires.
The flown system is supported by KSL-SUBS that can be deployed on stage, along with a choice of Y7P or 44S front-fills – again depending on the requirements of the production and programme material. There are also E-Series under-balcony delays, and xS-Series surround speakers covering the auditorium on each level. And of course, flexibility is key: the system is movable, with the potential to serve both the Hall and the adjoining Warehouse spaces as needed.
Hockley says, “One of the Soundscape highlights so far was for a creation by the Chinese composer Huang Ro, called City of Floating Sounds. The audience was within an ‘exploded’ BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with En-Scene and En-Space creating a completely immersive experience, with sound object positioning and a Virtual Acoustic Shell, supplementing the reverb of the Warehouse space with that of a world-class concert hall!”
d&b Soundscape gives Aviva Studios what it needs to maximise its sound capability, both now and in the future, as immersive sound makes its impact on live performance. Burgess says, “Today’s audiences expect more than just sound coming from the stage towards them. With d&b Soundscape, you feel as if you are in the middle of the action. Audiences get this at most cinemas now and they are used to feeling immersed in the sound, but at Aviva Studios, they will be getting an experience that’s better than the cinema, and with live action in front of them.”
