Felsted Memorial Hall was officially opened on 17th February 1924 by the High Sherriff of Essex, Major Gilbey Gold. The War Memorial Hall and War Cross in front of it are a lasting memory of those men from Felsted who gave their lives for their country.
A member of the Hall Committee, who is also the drama group director, contacted Clarity to ask about updating the sound and lighting in the Hall. The Hall is used for a multitude of community activities including an annual pantomime, clubs, bands and private hire.
Sound
To ensure good sound coverage we provided new high-quality Clever Acoustics 8” + 1” loudspeakers finished in white. These were mounted on dedicated wall brackets either side of the stage and powered from the existing amplifier.
An audio mixer was supplied to accommodate the various inputs from audio sources (Bluetooth receiver, auxiliary input, and any microphones used) which we clearly labelled to ensure ease of use. We also mounted a rack cabinet on the wall to house all the audio equipment and which is lockable for security.
At the back of the hall, we mounted a sleek and intuitive audio input panel. This unit accepts an input from a wired microphone, and it has a 3.5mm mini-jack input for an external MP3 player, radio or other audio source and independent input level control for each source. The main feature of this unit, however, is that it is a Bluetooth receiver. This will enable team members to quickly and easily play music directly from their mobile device
Lighting
Transitioning from traditional tungsten to LED stage lighting usually requires a modification to the mains voltage supply to the lighting bars. Clarity liaised with the Hall’s electrical services provider so that we could provide DMX cabling to the three main areas (front of house, upstage and downstage) to enable the electrician to ensure that the local high-level power sockets would deliver permanent power to the new lighting fixtures.
We provided eight new LED lighting fixtures in a mixture of multi-colour and dedicated white units to provide versatility, mounted on the existing ceiling hardware. The lighting can be controlled either via a wall-mounted button panel that provides quick access to lighting scenes for general use of the hall or can be done from a dedicated lighting controller for stage productions. The clever little wall panel is actually a programmable 512 channel DMX lighting controller. It is a similar size to a double socket. The inclusion of this unit allows simple static lighting “scenes” to be set and recalled at the touch of a button. Buttons can also be programmed to adjust colour, brightness, control individual lanterns or as a simple all on/all off facility. Anyone will be able to access the system with ease, without having to get out the lighting desk.
We also linked the button panel to a wireless router (isolated and not connected to any outside network). This enables the use of a tablet to control the lighting. This tablet works alongside the button panel but enables a far greater resolution of control. We programmed the tablet to give the control the Hall felt they needed (i.e. control over individual lanterns, selection of colour and brightness).
We also provided a simple little lighting desk for when a hands-on approach is desired. The desk can be plugged into a wall point, either at stage-side or out front for control of theatrical productions and packed away when not needed. It will also serve, when required, in the JCB Hall.
