The 60th BAFTA Award

— LS9 Sparkles at Diamond BAFTAs —

Overview

On Sunday February 11, the great and the good of the British film industry assembled at the Royal Opera House as the annual BAFTA Film Awards celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The British equivalent of the Oscars saw 25 awards handed out to film luminaries including Dame Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker, Alan Arkin, and Jennifer Hudson, while those behind the scenes – the producers, scriptwriters, directors, composers, editors, cinematographers, designers and costume/makeup artists – also received deserved recognition.

The event is naturally one of the highlights of the film industry calendar, this year televised on BBC1 with highlights broadcast on BBC Radio 2. It’s therefore imperative that the sound at the ceremony is absolutely perfect. So it’s a testament to the reliability and trust placed in Yamaha equipment that a single Yamaha LS9-16 console was used on an event of this scale for the very first time.

Place:: Royal Opera House
Interview date:: 02/2007

Product List

Mixers:: LS9-16

Photo Gallery

Details

Space Savings and Speedy Setup

Sound specialists Britannia Row now have a rapidly growing Yamaha Digital inventory, from the flagship PM1D right through to the 16-channel LS9-16. So, as committed Yamaha users, Brit Row had no qualms abut specifying the LS9 for its first big day out at the BAFTA awards.

The event’s Front of House engineer Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Sargeant explains: “When Brit Row and I did the first site visit to the Royal Opera House, it was apparent that space would be a major issue,” he says. “Also, in between the rehearsals for the BAFTAs ceremony and the ceremony itself, we had to break down the entire system so that the ROH could stage its production of Swan Lake that evening.”

“Then, as soon as the show was over, we had to work overnight to reset everything for the BAFTAs on Sunday evening. So both speed of setup and the fact that the FOH desk must fit into a very small space were absolutely critical.”

This made it the perfect situation for the LS9-16 that, remarkably, allowed the FOH console to be set up in a single square meter, removing just four seats from the auditorium to accommodate it!

First-class Onboard Processing

“The onboard processing and EQ of the LS9 were also perfect for the situation,” says Rabbit. “I also only had one complete day to learn the desk, but due to its intuitive design and instant ease-of-use the LS9 was extremely easy to prepare for the show.”

Inputs to the desk were two lectern and two lavalier microphones, two handheld radio mics, one ‘Voice of God’ wired mic, and four lines of VT playback from the outside broadcast truck. Signals were split on stage (using the in house patch and multicore system as setup time was so tight), one set going to the OB truck and one set to the LS9. This meant that Rabbit only had to worry about the sound in the venue, with no responsibility for broadcast feeds.

Rabbit’s main concern at FOH was that the PA was almost behind the main presentation lectern. The LS9’s onboard processing was a big help. “Being able to insert digital EQ over the lavalier and lectern mics was invaluable, as it meant very quick feedback reduction was possible,” he says.

The Right Tool for the Job

All in all it was a highly successful evening. The 2007 BAFTA Film Awards provided recognition for the UK film industry, the audio production was flawless, and the LS9 acquitted itself very well.

“It was great. I loved the board and was very happy indeed with its performance,” says Rabbit. “It's also very quick to operate which is an important consideration in live events like that, when things have a habit of changing very quickly.”

The use of the LS9 also demonstrates Britannia Row’s growing commitment to Yamaha Digital – a prime example of large, market-leading rental company recognizing Yamaha's commitment to providing a digital console for every size of production.

“The LS9 worked really well for us. We, the client, and Rabbit were all extremely happy,” says Brit Row managing director Bryan Grant. “It’s a case of the right tools for the job,” he continues. “At an event like the BAFTAs where the FOH position is restricted for space but you need powerful audio facilities, it’s a delightful little package. It’s very powerful for its size. Plus Yamaha’s backup is absolutely excellent.”