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the creation of the ‘largest LED screen in Europe’. The venue in question is entertainment and leisure complex Printworks, located in Manchester and recently the subject of a £21m refurbishment by owner DTZ Investors that included the provision of a ‘fully immersive and interactive environment’. Providing the centrepiece is a 1000 sq m LED ceiling developed by ADI.tv which comprises more than 10,720,900 pixels and spans 115m in length. Integrated with lighting and audio, the ceiling allows the ambience inside Printworks to be adjusted to suit varying audiences and align with different live events and marketing, indicates that the project shows what can be done when creative and technical teams are keen to push the envelope. In the case of ADI.tv, this involved the creation of a new fire-rated product within the wider MT range of lightweight and slimline LED solutions, which are designed specifically with interior architectural applications in mind. The resulting product, MTF, is believed to be the world’s only LED module to meet the BS EN 13501-1 classification, and complements what Brindley describes as a ‘post-Grenfell increased awareness’ of fire prevention and related safety measures. ADI.tv is also providing remote production and event broadcast services for Printworks through its Live Venue Network – which connects more than 90 UK stadia and leisure destinations to its centralised production studios in Preston – over dedicated fibre connectivity. “We worked in partnership with CDA Architects, and as the project progressed it became apparent that there was a real opportunity to do something within the venue, on the ceiling, where there brand activations taking place. Oliver Brindley, ADI.tv head of previously wasn’t much going on,” recalls Brindley. “It’s not a space that you could open up to even put lighting in, which made the installation of an LED ceiling an appealing concept. We have been manufacturing LED screens for around 20 years, but with our latest generation of products we have really lightweight, slimline options that can be put into a ceiling with very little extra structural support required.” The company also worked in partnership with Manchester animation studio Flipbook to produce nearly a hundred pieces of content prior to launch. It proved to be a rewardingly collaborative experience, says Brindley: “No one had a particular ‘angle’ and all ideas were welcomed, which meant we had a really good 18-month period of creating content, which has resulted in a really broad variety of things, from a re-telling of the opera Carmen in an underwater environment, to a lot of generative content that is reactive to external sources such as music or the movement of people within the venue.” ADI.tv evidently hopes that Printworks will serve as an inspiration for similarly ambitious ‘venue transformations’ in the future, not least in the UK, which he
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thinks has generally been ‘a little behind the curve’ in pursuing similarly ambitious projects. “It was great to work with people who wanted to provide content that is an attraction to the venue itself, [as opposed to] only looking at space on a wall and thinking of it as advertising money,” says Brindley. PEOPLE & PLACES The impression that LED screens and lighting are being utilised in increasingly creative and meaningful ways is further reinforced by a conversation with Pete McCrea, an LED screens expert at Production AV, plus Jonathan Haynes and Paul Botham, lighting experts with White Light. Both enterprises now exist under the D&B Solutions company umbrella, alongside other UK technical production specialists B&H, Congoblue, ELP Broadcast Lighting and SFL. “We have a mission statement within D&B Solutions about creating spaces that connect people and places, so what we’re looking at in terms of LED screens is how we can facilitate the
No one had a particular ‘angle’ and all ideas were welcomed, which meant we had a great 18-month period of creating animated content”
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