Film Nights, Dresden (Germany)

Dresden’s large annual open-air festival, the Elbe Bank Film Nights, has once again opened its doors. Between June and the end of August 2016, cinema and concert fans enjoyed over 50 film screenings, along with live concerts featuring groups and artists such as Simply Red, Unheilig and Sarah Connor. Demands placed on the sound system used for this event were correspondingly high.

After giving long and reliable service, the previous sound system had audibly become too “long in the tooth”. It was therefore time for the festival organiser to consider a new, more modern alternative. An alternative that would also suit the particular sound requirements for the Film Nights: Firstly, by covering the spectator stands so cleanly and precisely that no stray beams would bounce off the Dresden Tax Office building situated behind, causing reflections. And secondly, by drastically minimizing the amount of backward sound emissions emanating towards the old town on the other side of the Elbe, thereby avoiding noise disturbance. Both problems could be eradicated with the use of high-performance Focus Venue line arrays with Beam Steering technology.

The loudspeaker systems are equipped with Digital Signal Processors, which can be controlled using Fohhn Audio Soft. This enables exact adjustment of the beam dispersion – so that, ideally, it reaches the audience without going everywhere else. In practice, this also means that if an event has only moderate attendance e.g. an audience of 500, it isn’t necessary to provide sound coverage for empty rows at the back. At the touch of a button, the sound technician can adjust the loudspeaker system settings in real time to suit the new situation. For systems of this size, it is a real innovation. In contrast, the beam characteristics of conventional line arrays (that don’t have digital control capability) cannot be changed without involving time-consuming mechanical adjustment.

What’s more, the digitally controlled Focus Venue loudspeaker systems also produce significantly fewer backward sound emissions thanks to Convertible Dispersion Technology.

Congratulations to the event organisers and Bewegte Bilder Median GmbH, who were responsible for this project, on this great festival.