Shure Axient debuts at The End of Love Generation
Published: ASIA
CHINA: A Shure Axient wireless management network was recently used at Beijing’s 1,713-seat Century Theatre for the melodramatic play The End of Love Generation, which was the first time the system had been used for a stage play in China. Directed by Joe Lau, the play starred Cecilia Yip and its cast included Tan Kai, Angel Tong and singer Li Xiaoyun, as well as Yu Mingxuan.
Shure deployed a 13-channel Axient wireless system featuring an AXT400 dual-channel receiver, an AXT600 Axient Spectrum Manager and an AXT200 handheld frequency diversity transmitter for the play. Two channels of UHF-R Wireless were also used, and all systems were monitored by Shure’s Wireless Workbench 6 software.
‘The actors were required every now and then to raise their voices during conversation, or speak in whispering tones – as it would be between two people deeply in love – or even speak out their inner struggles through soliloquies,’ said Mr Liu. ‘We hoped that the actors’ emotions would be clearly and accurately transmitted through the microphone, so that the audience could feel as if they were intimately involved.’
Based on the director's request as well as his past experiences with using Shure products, technical director Born Yuen also opted to use Shure’s Axient wireless system.
‘During a play the audience does not want to miss one word in the dialogue between the actors,’ he said. ‘We had to ensure that sound transmission was uninterrupted without any unwanted interference. To this end the Axient receiver was equipped with highly sensitive interference detection circuits so that it would sound an alarm whenever its signal was being interfered with. The sound engineer would be able to choose to manually or automatically switch to a clear and interference-free compatible frequency. For the play we selected the automatic mode. It greatly eased our workload and also ensured that the performance ran smoothly.’
Mr Yuen said he was ‘impressed’ by Axient’s interference detection and avoidance feature, and stated that in his view, ‘the system’s spectrum management via its Wireless Workbench 6 software and its frequency diversity capability played a critical role in the successful performance’.
The ShowLink remote control enabled real-time remote adjustments of all transmitter parameters by using a wireless network connection between linked Axient transmitters and receivers. This meant that the sound engineers could make crucial changes to their transmitter settings even at their control booth when several performers were on stage.