OSA TAKES MLA TO A NEW LEVEL IN CORPORATE EVENTS
Imagine a corporate event for 11,000 people in a single layer exhibit hall with partial carpeting, cement flooring, and hard walls with the main attractions varying from talking heads to live entertainment, all of which create significant acoustical challenges. Thankfully, with Martin Audio MLA and the expertise of OSA such challenges can be made light work of.
In 2000, the largest real estate franchise company in North America turned to VEP Events, LLC, a full-service event production company, to produce their two annual shows. Fourteen years ago, the events had no more than 600 attendees with six powered speakers on sticks and two 7.5 x 10-foot screens. Today, these shows have grown into full production events with extraordinary set designs utilizing the latest video and multimedia technology, lighting, and a state of the art sound system to excite and engage an audience of 11,000-plus real estate professionals.
Each year, the company holds its training camp in the fall and its sales meeting for franchisees and recruitment in the winter, both of which bring approximately 11,000 attendees. An event of this magnitude takes considerable planning and coordination between VEP Events and the sub-contractors involved in the production, including video and multimedia displays, content, stage sets, and audio design and reinforcement. As these events have grown, the prevalent challenge is the audio design and engineering due to the variety of presentations and world-class entertainment as well as the venue, which is why OSA International, Inc. was brought to the table three years ago.
'Other audio companies in the industry have a lot of catch up to do when comparing the audio technology and engineering OSA offers,' says Managing Director Henry Marshall of VEP Events. 'OSA has the largest inventory of the Martin Audio MLA (Multi-Cellular Line Array) sound system in the U.S., and a top-notch team with the expertise to execute flawlessly. This groundbreaking MLA technology eliminates the acoustical challenges for any event and delivers extraordinary sound quality – so much so my client recognized the difference and was more than impressed during our last event.'
Annual Sales Meeting
In February 2014, the client held their annual sales meeting at the Phoenix Convention Center. The vision within the main room was to create a dynamic and versatile environment within the 260,000 square foot, single layer, exhibit hall style room with aluminum walls and partial carpeting. During the five day event, the main room had to support talking heads, concerts, dinners and parties, requiring multiple seating and configuration dynamics in order to hold the variety of events in a single space. The design created an audience area over 250-feet deep by 450-feet wide, without bleachers or risers, challenging the audio engineers to fill the room with impeccable sound quality for both the spoken word as well as entertainment performances by world-class artists, such as this year's artist Kenny Loggins. In previous years, the client brought in other top name performers, such as Doobie Brothers, Hall & Oates, Paul Thorne, Kelly Gray, and Tommy Emmanual. Many of their own A1 engineers have a difficult time mixing a room requiring delays as these type of venues often require, and it's important to have the right system in place to make sure the entertainment sounds as it should.
Exceeding the Client's Expectations
With the goal of exceeding the client's expectations, the OSA team and A1 Harold Blumberg of Blumberg Sound Design brought in the highly advanced MLA sound system, had it up, and running in a single day. With the accuracy of the modeling software used in the MLA system in calculating and creating the DSP settings for each cluster, the team had few corrective actions to tune the system to peak performance.
'Having supplied audio solutions for this event in the past using standard line array systems, offered us a great opportunity to see how the Cellular Drive Technology in MLA functioned when we compared results year to year.' says Vice President Jim Risgin of OSA International, Inc. 'Of course the sonic results were amazing. This groundbreaking technology in the hands of the mixers delivered outstanding performance and sonic quality, regardless of location in the sound field, and was noticed by everyone – attendees, presenters and performers.'
The MLA sound system delivers superior and consistent sound to exact locations with precision and clarity in any venue, regardless of floor plan dimensions, height and structure, unlike any other sound system available today. It gives the audience the same experience whether they are in the front row or seated in the back, ensuring the message is heard.
'Ultimately, being the audio engineer I am, to this day I am still amazed by the sound quality when I hear an MLA system deployed. It still puts a smile on my face every time.'
Unlike other line arrays, the MLA system also reduces the number of speaker clusters required to cover the vast audience and accommodate the numerous seating configurations. Ultimately, saving the client time and money, as it requires less rigging, local labor, and significant time savings to install and balance this complex sound system because of its accurate prediction, sound control and fidelity.
In addition to the main room, there were four breakout rooms. OSA provided both Martin Audio and JBL/Crown sound systems for the smaller breakout rooms with audiences ranging from 1,500 to over 3,500 per room. These rooms were used for additional meetings, awards banquets and training sessions. One of the breakout rooms required the MLA sound system to accommodate the aluminum acoustics and deliver quality sound.
'Bottom line is the MLA system overcomes the challenges audio engineers have faced for years,' says Marshall. 'Corporate audiences are more difficult to impress, yet they recognized the difference in the system and we received positive responses. The MLA precision and sound quality is truly unmatched, and I can't image going to back to another system after this experience.'
It is no surprise with consistent and superior results as this OSA is seeing the demand quickly grow for the MLA system. More and more producers, technical directors, event planners, and audio engineers are hearing the difference and audience response to the system.
About OSA International, Inc. & VEP Events, LLC
OSA International, Inc. has a reputation for its client-centric approach to every event, and for a 3rd year is proud to have provided audio engineering and equipment for this event. The OSA team understands it's their job to make the planning and execution of an event easier for their client. Working as a partner, the team assesses the overall project, such as the venue, audience, and types of presentation, and then selects the best audio solution for the venue and audience to exceed client and attendee expectations.
VEP Events is a full service event production company. Established in 1993, VEP is an eclectic collection of creative, technical, and operations experts. We Build Awesome! Our expert services include, Show Management, Design and Engineering, Audio/Visual, Projection, Lighting, Rigging, Widescreen Graphics, Animation & Digital Media, Business Theater, and Custom Décor. We are a preeminent agency ready to assist you; contact our office to discuss your next event and discover the VEP difference for yourself.