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Electrosonic provides AV satisfaction for Rolling Stones’ Exhibitionism

Electrosonic provided AV integration across the nine galleries of Exhibitionism – the Rolling Stones show that is claimed to be the largest touring exhibition by any musical act.

The Rolling Stones’ Exhibitionism is claimed to be the largest touring exhibition of its kind ever to be staged by any band or artist, as well as the band’s first ever major exhibition. It features AV systems integration from Electrosonic across its nine galleries – each with innovative audiovisual technologies – including nearly 70 screens, stunning projection and a powerful audio system.

Produced by International Entertainment Consulting (iEC), Exhibitionism explores every facet of the Rolling Stones, from their creation right up until today. Highlights include artwork from across the decades, clothing, performances, instruments, recordings, unseen films, photos and entire rooms of rare and beautiful objects.

Throughout the nine galleries, AV technologies help to enhance the exhibits and effectively portray diverse and iconic moments in the band’s history. There is even a reconstruction of their first flat at Edith Grove in London, where audio helps to convey the conditions that they endured in 1962.

Electrosonic was appointed to engineer and deliver the complete AV installation under direct contract with iEC, in a very short three-week timeframe. London-based Fray Studio produced the video content and specified the show system. The technologies employed immerse visitors in the sights, sounds and exhilaration of the Stones – evoking passionate and euphoric memories and emotions within visiting fans.

“Electrosonic showed great commitment and dedication to meet the challenge of the three-week installation period. We were very happy with the skillset and the efficiency of on-site leads and the installation team,” said Ki McGinty, project manager at iEC.

One of the galleries consists of a spectacular display of 50 LCD screens, of different orientation and sizes, which immerse visitors in a fast-paced film exploring significant moments in the band’s history. Guests see a variety of film footage and images from concerts, news clips and newspapers, shown on individual or multiple screens. Overall, Electrosonic installed nearly 70 LCDs throughout Exhibitionism. LED walls are also used as a backdrop for an extensive range of designer clothes.

The Rolling Stones’ iconic tongue and lips logo is recreated into a 2.5m wide, three-dimensional model for a projection mapped presentation. The giant sculpture, created by Paragon Creative is transformed into an entrancing display of flags and mesmerising colours and images. Four Panasonic 3000-lumen Solid Shine projectors and one 6500-lumen single-chip projector are required to give complete coverage of the model, along with a 7thSense 6-channel server.The ‘Recording’ gallery shows a studio set-up and makes effective use of floor-to-ceiling projection. One viewpoint is served by ten interactive stations equipped with BlackBox headphones and Apple iPads to allow visitors to select and listen to recordings of the time. A second interactive exhibit, ‘Music and Lyrics’, with eight stations, allows visitors to experiment with the way classic Rolling Stones tracks were mixed. Visitors can adjust the levels of vocals, drums and other instrumental elements that construct their songs.

The exhibition ends with a recreation of the band’s backstage environment which then leads visitors into a highly immersive 3D experience. Visitors are engulfed with excitement as they see the Rolling Stones perform ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ live at Hyde Park. The 3D, never seen before show, makes visitors feel as though they are in the audience watching the Stones perform, making for an impressive climax to the exhibition.

The 3D production is run from a 7thSense Delta Nucleus media server and utilises 3-chip, 12,000-lumen DLP projectors from Panasonic, fitted with polarising filters and mounted in a custom rigging frame to allow double stacking. The polarisation preserving screen is from Harkness Hall; viewing glasses are from RealD.

Audio plays a significant role throughout the exhibition, particularly in the opening show and the finale. In the first case, Electrosonic installed a JoeCo BBp1P multi-channel digital audio player, fed to a Behringer X32 rack mounted digital mixer. A Behringer X32 is used for the finale but here the source is from the media server. Power amplifiers and loudspeakers from KV2 are employed in both cases to capture the high intensity of the crowd and the music.

Concluded McGinty: “The end result was a great success. Electrosonic met the requirements of both the project and iEC to deliver effective and robust audiovisual systems integration.”

The exhibition is currently located at the Saatchi Gallery in London until 4 September. It will then embark on a world tour of 11 cities over four years.

Audiovisual solutions from Electrosonic

Image courtesy of LD Communications