NEW YORK – September 13, 2011: At the premier of blockbuster movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2â€? — which took place at New York’s Lincoln Center Plaza on July 11th — K-array’s Redline series of loudspeakers were on hand to ensure that VIPs, international media and invited guests could hear things loud and clear. The event, which required intelligible audio in three distinct areas including the red carpet area, the tented VIP area and all along the Plaza and Broadway, employed the entire family of Sennheiser-distributed K-array Redline series loudspeakers, including the KR100S, KR200S and KR400S.
Lou Mannarino, veteran audio engineer, sound designer and president of NY-based L&M Sound and Light, knew that K-array was the only loudspeaker that could fit the bill given the unique challenges that the outdoor event presented: achieving outstanding audio quality at
a very high aesthetic value. In addition to the Plaza, non-obtrusive speakers were needed for the horseshoe-shaped red carpet area, another VIP tented area with 2,000 to 3,000 invited guests, and yet another area directly along Broadway where actors and other VIPs were interviewed for major networks before New Yorkers and Harry Potter fans.
“Everything needed to be invisible, and we could not have speakers showing in any of the photography – and there were about 200 feet of media and international press,� Mannarino says. “We could not erect a mass structure because there was so much activity going on, and a mounted system would not have worked because the set up and tear down needed occur very fast. Aesthetics is what made K-array overcome the challenge, because we knew the audio quality of the Redline series would be outstanding.�
While certain areas within Lincoln Center required delivery of pristine audio, it was equally as important to keep audio out of other areas entirely. For example, an area was sectioned off beside Avery Fisher Hall where media was conducting interviews with VIPs, which subsequently fed out to broadcast television. Additionally, the production crew needed to comply with the NYC ordinance, which required that it not exceed a maximum level of 85 decibels. By using the KR100S, KR200S and KR400S, which have very focused sound dispersion patterns, L&M Sound and Light was able to prevent audio bleed into restricted areas.
The speaker setup consisted of eight KR100S loudspeakers pointing towards the street, which ran along the width of the plaza perpendicular to Broadway. The KR200S loudspeaker was deployed for each of the VIP sections, and KR400S lined the red carpet walk area.
The event not only overcame the challenges that were presented, but was a huge success overall, Mannarino concludes: “I am convinced that we got this gig in part because of the K-array technology we had and our experience using it. The real challenge here was ‘How do we zone all these VIP areas with screaming kids and the public, as well as cordoning off the media and major networks?’ We achieved all that, and we got enormous complements from the company that designed these events.�
