Congratulations to our Audio-Visual team which has just completed another impressive videowall project – the UTAS Studio Theatre at the Sandy Bay Campus.
The UTAS Studio Theatre, which is located next to the Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre, is a multi-use space which can be utilised by the public.
The project included the installation of a 163-inch Sharp videowall on a floor stand, as well as three 86-inch screens on a mezzanine floor.
The Audio-Visual team put in place two cameras, one to face the presenter and one to face the audience, with state-of-the-art AI tracking, so the cameras follow the presenter around.
The installation also included four Shure ceiling tile mics and 17 Soundtube pendant speakers; all colour coordinated to the space to match the aesthetics of the room.
Each speaker was meticulously hand-painted over a two-week period in the Contact Group warehouse to ensure they appeared ‘true black’ under lighting.
Our specialist technicians also installed black skirting duct so all cabling in the room was hidden.
Site supervisor Jayden Griggs said it was significant project, with four technicians on site for two weeks non-stop.
“Due to the height of the room we had scissor lifts to allow us to get up to the lighting frame and mount all the cabling and all the devices,” he said.
Contact Group also upgraded the lighting in theatre.
“The previous lighting was quite weak, so we’ve installed 12 new high bay LEDS, which are dimmable,” Jayden said.
The biggest challenge was hiding all the services, and ensuring the theatre had sufficient capacity for whatever the building’s requirements are into the future.
“We’ve hidden all the run-to-rack cabling and node room cabling inside a new 40-RU rack under the stairs, which acts as a node room for UTAS, along with housing all our AV gear.”
Jayden said everything is centrally located within the room, with 60 or so network cables running back there.
Jayden said the client was very happy with the team’s work.
“All of the UTAS ICT and AV department are impressed with the finish of the space; they spec it, and we install it but it’s a collaborative effort,” he said.
Congratulations to everyone involved, especially the Contact Group team.