LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Anyone who's ever watched an Oscars broadcast has heard the phrase, "I'd like to thank the Academy..." as part of virtually every winner's acceptance speech. But few outside the motion picture industry understand the many roles the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) plays in the day-to-day workings of Hollywood. As a large organization holding many meetings and conferences, the Academy recently undertook an expansion and modernization of its main Los Angeles conference room, home to the AMPAS Board of Governors. And one of the stars of the show is the Sennheiser ME36 condenser microphone.
   

Sennheiser Installed Series (IS) microphones were recently installed in the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) boardroom

The existing conference room, on the top floor of AMPAS' headquarters, had always been considered somewhat cramped, and had become increasingly unwieldy as the board added members. The new design called for incorporating an adjacent storage area, effectively doubling the space size.

Los Angeles-based Offenhauser/Mekeel Architects, the award-winning firm behind the restoration of downtown Los Angeles' Union Station, oversaw the redesign of the AMPAS room. International builders, Warner Constructors, the firm behind many of The Disney Company's theme parks, spearheaded construction. To create the room's audio and video systems, and provide acoustic design, Offenhauser/Mekeel brought in Menlo Scientific Acoustics, who have brainstormed acoustical and presentation system designs for venues including the Getty Center and the Getty Villa Museums. Menlo principal Neil A. Shaw worked closely with the Academy and Offenhauser/Mekeel in the design, while Thomas Gregor Associates executed the A/V concept.

The meeting room features state-of-the-art video and laptop equipment and is based around a hand-crafted wooden conference table painstakingly designed by Fran Offenhauser, principal of Offenhauser/Mekeel Architects, and her project designer, Lukas Peter. Covering an open oval some 40 feet in length, the 44-seat table is a work of art, creating a sleek, modern, yet warm, and intimate environment that truly envelops the entire room.

Creating a sonic environment on par with the room's aesthetics meant designing an A/V system that was as efficient as it was invisible. As Shaw explains it, "One of our stated goals was to create a sound reinforcement system that had a natural sound while providing clear audio reinforcement. We wanted people around the table to be able to hear the sound from any point in the room in a natural manner, as if they were sitting right next to the person speaking, rather than at the other end of the table."

Simplicity was another important concern. "At any given meeting, there are at least a few people who have never been in the room before" Offenhauser observes. "The system is so simple to use that virtually no one has been intimidated by it. You don't have to know what you're doing to use the room."

After auditioning a number of different conferencing systems, the Sennheiser Installed Sound (IS) system was declared the undisputed winner. Twenty-two Sennheiser ME34 condenser microphones, a cardioid-patterned mic, and MZH3042 15-inch gooseneck mounts comprise the system. Two Sennheiser ME36 mics, a lobar-patterned mini-shotgun from the same IS line, mounted on MZH3015 low-profile goosenecks, were installed on an adjacent staff table.

"We performed several listening tests with conferencing mics from a number of leading manufacturers, and the Sennheisers turned out to be the best fit for this project in terms of sound quality, aesthetics, and ease of integration," says Shaw.

Aesthetics were a significant consideration. "The industrial design of several of the other candidates simply wasn't acceptable to the architects," says Greg Kirkland, principal with Thomas Gregor Design. "Some were simply too large, had unappealing goosenecks, or just didn't have the look they were after."

"The ME series really is Sennheiser engineering at its finest," says Shaw. "The audio quality is head and shoulders above anything else we tried for this application. Plus, its industrial design has a very high-end look and feel, which was particularly important to this client."

"The Sennheiser system really turned out to be one of the high points of the entire installation, in terms of audio quality, styling, and ease of installation," says Kirkland. "Just plug it in, and everything works. That's what you want in a conference room system - once you install it, you should never have to come back."

Audio is run through a MediaMatrix MM96ONT mainframe unit, connecting to four MM8802 breakout boxes. Processing is then provided via three MediaMatrix RJ-Series DSP modules, which configure each position's unique mix-minus-one audio content. Each mic station also employs a Happ Controls momentary push-button and LED.

Mounted above the seating area are 22 JBL 24C in-ceiling speakers, positioned to follow the oval outline of the table. Each speaker receives its own unique mix based on the mics that are currently active. Three Lectrosonics PA8 amps power the speakers. The system components are housed in a single Middle Atlantic 44-space rack, with an additional 40-space slide-out rack custom-mounted in the millwork for easy access to video source equipment.

The client's reaction has been nothing short of ecstatic. Ric Robertson, the Academy's executive administrator, sums it up. "It sounds great. It looks great. And it works great. The system is so simple to use, most of the time we don't even realize it's on. You can hold a normal conversation among forty-plus people as if each of them is sitting right next to you."