ensemble performances, removing a huge part of training practice for the musicians and actors.” It also meant the final of the Gold Medal – Guildhall School’s premier music prize, traditionally awarded each May in a sold-out Barbican Hall – would not take place. Founded in 1915, and surviving two world wars, the competition had never been cancelled. THE SHOW MUST GO ON The Guildhall team, including Sam Ziajka, recording and AV network and systems manager, sought a protocol that addressed all the challenges, deciding that an NDI system would be the best fit. Developed by NewTek, now part of the Vizrt Group, NDI enables disparate systems and devices to connect and communicate over IP networks, creating an IP-based production environment with shared access to video, audio and data. Working with NewTek senior solutions architect, Liam Hayter, as well as technology solutions reseller and workflow design firm, Altered Images, Guildhall devised a project for an entirely new NDI network in May 2020. It covered four buildings in different parts of the campus, working seamlessly with the existing Dante audio network. PTZ cameras were installed in each orchestral room, providing the conductor with a view of the musicians working in a room of their own. A PTZ camera livestreams the conductor ’s gestures back to screens in the rooms. According to Altered Images MD Tony Gill, the sheer scale of the project was a challenge, as well as planning and installing the system under Covid-19 restrictions. “With government guidelines changing throughout the project, I didn’t want to overcommit,” he says. “But when we heard that Gold Medal had never been cancelled, we just had to make it work. We had a couple of clever engineers – our CTO and installation projects guy – who worked pretty much exclusively on this project for weeks to get it from a design phase.” TIME SIGNATURE Keeping down network latency was essential, with thorough stress tests off-site and on-campus. “The conductor is sculpting the orchestra,” explains Hepple. “The basic technical requirement is that each pair of eyes must see the conductor at the exact same time, so when that downbeat is placed, everyone can respond accordingly. It’s not something you have to worry about in a live setting. WE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO RECORD LOTS OF PERFORMANCES – SIMULTANEOUSLY AND EASILY
“We installed a bunch of screens in each room. As well as the musicians always seeing a conductor, this means each room also has a quad view of the other rooms, so there’s a sense of visual connection among the musicians.” Some of the rooms had 4K flat-panel displays on the walls. Others had cheaper, 32-inch LCD screens, along with a mix of old SDI and newer fibre network connections to contend with. “It was remarkable how little impact any of that had on our chain – NDI is amazing,” Hepple observes. “The biggest differential was one room that was three frames behind the real world, and one at four frames behind. We’re talking about one frame difference across 900m.” It became demonstrably clear that 1080p50 video could be transferred anywhere on campus in a tenth of a second. “This was significantly quicker than expected,” says Hepple. “Most importantly, it arrives at any screen with the frame locked, meaning everyone sees the exact same image at the exact same time. As such, a large ensemble – wherever they are – can see a conductor simultaneously. “The only person experiencing any latency is the conductor, who sees the rooms that he is choosing to conduct at about a tenth of a second behind – in conductor terms, that’s nothing.”
THE NEXT STAGE In the performing arts, timing is everything. Guildhall’s new installation lets
talent from all departments collaborate in ever more creative ways
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