E (165)

77

INSTALL

March - April 2015

the verti go soft ware that then simulates the
ball and the keeper's reacti on on the display
screen. If you’re good you can score goals!

In the Behind the Scenes segment which
is dedicated to the history of Madame
Tussauds, there is a wide screen projecti on
of images to complement the story. The big
challenge here was the limited amount of
space available. The projected screen area
is 2.3 metre in height and 6 metre in width.
“We used a Panasonic PT-DZ680 projector
with the ET-DLE030 ultra short throw lens.
The images were projected off a refl ecti ve
mirror onto the screen. This was the only
way possible for us to project the required
image size due to the constrained space,”
commented Freddie.

The Music segment has a stage area where
visitors can pretend to play music as a band.
Behind the stage is a 2x2 55” Samsung
videowall that plays changeable content.
In another area there are 4 x 32” Samsung
panels that are arranged to look like fl ight
cases with diff erent contents being played
in each of the units. All these displays add to
the overall ambience of the segment and the
experience.

The Film area has a simulated producti on
area where visitors can act out their fantasy
of being a producer on the Oprah Winfrey
show. A 3 megapixel IP camera is directed at
Oprah that shows up in the displays at the
producti on area. There was a need for the
signal from the camera to be extended to
the producti on area. “We tried a couple of
manufacturers extenders and fi nally sett led
with the Gefen DVI extender which could

run for 100 metres. We only needed a cable

run of 70 metres. What was great about the

Gefen extender was its smooth transiti on –

no glitches and it worked well.”

The A List Party segment features 4 x EAW

2-way surface mount loudspeakers. This in

line with Merlin's requirement that the space

be made available for private functi ons. The

EAW SMS 4990 speakers provide high quality

sound and controlled directi vity. The speakers

off er output levels and sound quality

normally associated with larger speakers but

in a compact form.

The A List segment also features a Grand

Piano which has been rigged so that touching

any of the piano keys automati cally triggers

the piano to play a song – it provides an

illusion that a visitor is playing the piano,

which of course is a hit with the visitors and

especially the children. Simple as it may

sound it took the E&E team a number of

trials before getti ng it right.

An actual authenti c Grand Piano had to

be manipulated so that it sounds like the

music was coming out of the piano and not

elsewhere. The fi rst challenge was in trying

to get the right sensors to trigger the piano

to play. There was also a need to ensure that

the transmitt ers and receivers were placed

in the best positi ons so that the trigger was

smooth. In additi on two units of JBL C50

speakers were placed at the bott om part of

the piano very discreetly so that visitors will

not be able to see them and the speakers

had to fi t in within the space and yet provide

sound that would recreate how a piano

would sound.