CHATILLON-SUR-INDRE, France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed more than 1,000 health workers in the gymnasium of the local hospital here Jan. 20, and SLJ Sonorisation, Eclairage, Vidéo provided audio support, including the Soundcraft Vi1 Digital Console used for the occasion.
The rental company was called in to convert the gym into a full production space. They built a lighting structure, which was rigged in the roof. Sarkozy's staff constructed the stage.
SLJ's FOH engineer, Benoit Lasjuilliarias, noted that the gymnasium was one of several locations visited by Sarkozy during his trip to the Chateauroux region of France.
Although SLJ has provide audio support for Sarkozy's speeches in the past, this was SLJ's first outing with the new 32-input Soundcraft Vi1.
"We purchased it on Jan. 10 and, little over a week later, we were using it for the first time – with the President," said Benoit. "So there was quite a lot of pressure."
He added that although the company could have chosen other digital desks in their inventory, they felt they needed a board with sufficient output capacity for TV and radio feeds.
"The desk also needed to provide simplicity of use and give us a lot of onboard 30-band equalizers – which the BSS effects do. We could see that with the Vi1, Soundcraft was one step ahead of their competitors."
SLJ first became interested in the Soundcraft Vi1 when they saw the new console with French distributors SCV at last year's Frankfurt Pro Light + Sound show.
They placed an order and SCV's Jean-François (Jeff) Guillot provided the training. "The desk was very intuitive, and even without much knowledge of digital desks, you could be ready in a few minutes. The transition is very easy," said Benoit Lasjuilliarias.
SLJ's own theatre and corporate customers shared this view after they had attended a demo.
Over in Chatillon-sur-Indre, the Vi1 took a simple live mic feed from the President, who spoke for about an hour. The signal was routed to four OB vans for TV broadcast, with four separate audio sources sent via Nagra digital recorders for the radio station and journalist feeds.
Although the President's address didn't require the desk to add any DSP cards, SLJ did take the precaution of purchasing a MADI expansion card to connect to a Vi6 stage box for future use. Benoit explained, "An associate of ours also has a Vi1 with a stage box – so now we have the possibility of being able to do a FOH and monitor mix."
Lasjuilliarias concluded that the Vi1 "is an extremely good desk – highly functional and an easy routing path. Everything is right in front of you, and you can see all the sends at a glance."
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