Additional Communication Paths Offered by Wireless and Wired Systems Boost Productivity
Clear-Com®, a global leader in critical voice communication systems, adds greater efficiency to productions at Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) Newport Performing Arts Theater by providing advanced intercoms with crystal-clear audio, robust functionality and immense flexibility. The high-end theater has installed a Clear-Com FreeSpeak® wireless system and Encore partyline intercoms to facilitate communications between its production staff.
As the first integrated tourist hub in the Philippines, RWM combines lodging, restaurants, gaming facilities, entertainment spots, a luxury mall, and the Newport Performing Arts Theater, a majestic 1,500-seat venue for concerts, plays, musicals and exclusive productions. The Clear-Com FreeSpeak and Encore systems increase organization for the facility’s elaborate theater productions. The six communication paths offered by FreeSpeak, coupled with the four additional channels from Encore, segment the theater’s departments into distinctive communication groups. From elaborate set changes to lighting and other technical cues, the stage manager can easily coordinate between the production staff by contacting specific departments to share information that is only important to them.
“In most sets, we would require beyond the traditional two channels of wired intercommunications for the entire production crew. Simultaneous conversations about separate issues would be happening, creating much confusion, especially in the delivery of cues,” says Ernesto De Leon, Senior Technical Manager of Resorts World Manila. “These systems resolved this issue. Multiple channels of communication allow the production team to focus on what is pertinent to carry out their job responsibilities. The flexibility of this wireless technology allows unrestricted movements with excellent indoor coverage in the whole venue.”
The setup at the Newport Performing Arts Theater features a FreeSpeak base station with 10 wireless beltpacks and one Encore base station with 18 RS-Series wired beltpacks and 16 KB-series speaker stations. During productions, the stage manager, technical director and other mobile stage crew members utilize the wireless system. Because of the FreeSpeak’s DECT and wireless auto-roaming technologies, the crew members can move freely and communicate without fading or losing connection. Further, the lighting operator, sound operators and technicians underneath the stage, along with the orchestra and backstage crew, are all on the Encore partyline system.
“Clear communications is key when working with a large crew like the one at Newport Performing Arts Theater,” says Edmund Song, Regional Sales Manager, Southeast Asia, for Clear-Com. “Clear-Com understands this, which is why the company has developed value-add and easy-to-use technologies that actually enable users to concentrate better on their productions. FreeSpeak and Encore easily integrate with one another and offer the extra channel capability that the theater requires. These systems are also scalable for expansion in the future.”