Martin Audio Sound Adventures supports immersive Japanese production

MSI has used Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision platform (WPM) and Sound Adventures immersive 3D, with outputs controlled by the Sara II premium Rendering Engine, for a production of Inspire Onmyoji Nissei Theatre in Tokyo. Audience levels were reduced slightly from the usual 1300-capacity to conform to government Covid regulations.

Show producer Junya Yamada contacted Iwao Tsurusawa, president of Martin Audio rental partner MSI Japan Tokyo, to discuss creating a live show using the Sound Adventures 3D system. MSI supplied a main PA system comprising a ground stacked line array enclosure of eight WPM arrays and two SX118 subs per side and five WPM front fills, with seven XD12s pole-mounted in front of the audience.

A total of 31 outputs, including the theatre’s installed proscenium system, speakers on the upper floor and second floor, a balcony system and a temporary Martin Audio Adorn A55, were controlled by a Sound Adventures Sara II processor.

The WPM and XD12 speakers were powered by Martin Audio iK42 amplifiers, with Lake LM44 processors on a Dante network controlling temporary and permanent systems from one interface. Including the recording lines and backup Pro Tools, the number of Dante patch points exceeded 200.

MSI subsidiary Audiobrains provided an immersive sound engineer, with further engineers stationed at three Yamaha mixing consoles for mics, music and sound effects, respectively.

The playback application was Ableton Live, which released the MIDI Machine Control (MMC) protocol, while another application converted it into the Open Sound Control (OSC) external control protocol, which controls Sara II. This allowed sound effects to be placed everywhere simultaneously and streamed binaurally for livestreams. Control of the Sara II and Klang:fabric processors was via a single MMC and OSC simultaneously.

“All three consoles released MMC when engineers hit the snapshot change; those signals were then fed to an external MacBook Pro, from where they were converted into OSC in order to control the Sara II and Klang,” explained Audiobrains director Sam Yamashita. “With so much going on, you can see why we needed a separate ‘immersive’ engineer. I believe this will be essential for the next generation of shows.”

Added Iwao Tsurusawa: “When sound becomes 3D it means nothing unless all elements are linked: artist, direction, stage, lighting, video and live environment. Thanks to cooperation with each department, and a loudspeaker design that covered the entire audience seating, we were able to create a unique atmosphere for Inspire Onmyoji using the latest sound technology.”