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Clear-Com empowers immersive experience with intercom technology

Free your Mind required a robust intercom system, and utilised V-Series panels, in conjunction with FreeSpeak II digital wireless system, to provide a solid basis for expanding theatre venue Factory International’s existing system

Theatrical immersive experience, Free your Mind, recently debuted in the UK utilising a Clear-Com system to optimise workflow. Mounted in Factory International’s new cultural venue, Aviva Studios in Manchester, Free Your Mind centred around the classic sci-fi film The Matrix and was produced by a world-renowned creative team that included director Danny Boyle, producer Tracey Seaward, choreographer Kenrick H20 Sandy, composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, writer Sabrina Mahfouz and set designer Es Devlin.

The show’s complexity, the number of departments, and the expectations of the creative team required robust intercom. For channel count and reliability in a frequency-rich environment, the V-Series panels, in conjunction with FreeSpeak II digital wireless system, provided a solid basis for expanding the venue’s existing system.

“When you’re working with directors and creators on this level, they’re used to a certain standard,” said production sound engineer David Gregory. “That standard applies to every element of production technology deployed on Free Your Mind, including intercom, which, given the complexity of this production, needed to be expansive… with the number of channels and FreeSpeak II, all we had to do was upscale the rig to accommodate everybody.”

Sound design for the show was by multi-Tony and Olivier award-winning Garreth Fry, whose work includes the V&A’s landmark David Bowie is exhibition and the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The intercom system, designed by Fry, was then implemented by Gregory and included an Eclipse HX-Delta matrix intercom system frame (outfitted with an E-IPA-HX card), FreeSpeak II digital wireless, and V-Series Iris User Panels.

Fry’s work designing the intercom system for Free Your Mind had unique challenges as a show due to its immersive nature and moving parts. Due to the complexity of the show, the team needed top-of-the-line equipment to succeed.

“My job was purely to implement comms.” Gregory continued. He noted that his previous work with both Boyle and Fry gave him clear idea of the level of flexibility and functionality necessary for intercom. “Danny came in with basically the same team that did the 2012 Olympics, and they have certain requirements…because there are so many different intrinsic parts (to the show) things need to happen really quickly.”

To present this take on The Matrix required intercom infrastructure more on the scale of a broadcast system than a standard performance setup – including many extra user panels. Obtaining those extra panels was challenging because the number of Clear-Com V-Series Panels required to augment the venue’s Clear-Com rig was the template for the more extensive system.

Communications for the show required all the capabilities of the original venue’s Clear-Com system and a substantial expansion – a combination of fixed and temporary installations. “Because of the nature of the building and the venue design, this project was commissioned to utilise the flexibility of the space to its utmost,” explained Anna Moutrey, senior producer at Factory International. “We’re effectively running two shows simultaneously, in two separate spaces in the same building – one in the hall space and one in our warehouse space, which is why we needed this massive comms system.”

Production manager Phil Wilding explained that the show takes place in two spaces,  starting in the 22- by 11-metre hall, and moving to the 65- by 35-metre warehouse. The V-Series Panels are spread throughout the venue due to the necessary inter-departmental communication. “The V-Series Panels are spread out (around the venue) because a lot of communication is necessary between departments” Wilding shared – among them lighting, video, sound, lasers, pyrotechnics, aerialists, costume, and automation departments all dealing with 50 dancers and 30 volunteers who manage the audience movement throughout the space during the show.

Gregory continued: “Normally these will be separate venues, but in this case are being used in tandem for the show, and it’s a massive space. If the audience is delayed, we need people that are in one space in the venue to be able to speak to the other venue.” He went on to explain that while there is an extensive and brand-new Wi-Fi network, like all Wi-Fi networks, you don’t want issues. “That’s why it’s brilliant that we’ve got FreeSpeak II because using 1.9 GHz allows us to get around where standard IT infrastructure sits.”