OSLO, Norway — For the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, held here, AVAB CAC deployed two Midas XL8s at FOH. One FOH console was dedicated to the needs of the 55-piece Norwegian Radio Orchestra. The second took care of the in-house band and international performers including Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Hudson and Seal. In addition, four Midas PRO9s were used as monitor consoles.
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Hosted by the American actress Sarah Jessica Parker and Scottish actor Gerard Butler, the concert was recorded live and televised to over 120 countries to reach more than 500 million viewers worldwide.
Set across three stages, the center stage accommodated a full size orchestra conducted by Nick Davies. Such a design ensures that the live televised show runs seamlessly from beginning to end as artist performances alternate between stages.
This year, Norwegian production company AVAB CAC deployed two Midas XL8s front of house: one for the 55 strong, individually mic’d, Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the second to take care of the array of international performers along with the in-house band. Norway’s biggest rental house — and long-term Midas partner AVAB-CAC, supplied full production for the show.
In addition a total of four Midas PRO9s were used as monitor consoles — supplying numerous in-ear mixes for artists and orchestra, as well as to the multiple floor monitors across all three stages.
“The Nobel Peace Prize Concert is a high-profile gig that’s televised worldwide, so it’s essential that we work with the highest possible quality sound system,” said Asle Nilsen, head of pro-audio at AVAB-CAC. “This, combined with their networking potential, makes the Midas’ PRO Series ideal for an event like this. After all we had more than (800) audio sources in the network!”
Networking such a huge event with multiple acts also saw Nilsen specify a combination of the Midas DL431 mic splitter and AES50 tie lines between the consoles. “To interface with the many audio sources, AVAB-CAC employed (192) channels of Midas DL431 active mic splitter, plus a number of Midas DL451 and DL351 modular I/O devices, totaling nearly (500) inputs, all of which were accessible to all six consoles via the AES50 network. The DL431 splitters also provided pristine audio feeds to the NRK TV trucks for simultaneous TV broadcast.
As well as mixing monitors for its own stage, the PRO9s were also used to create multiple stem mixes of the performance, which could then be accessed from the combined network by the other consoles. “This year almost every act played with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, which meant that a lot of people needed to be able to hear each another at any one time,” explains Nilsen. “Fast and easy routing of audio between the different consoles and stages is an absolute must.”
And with quick changeovers between acts, sometimes only 30 seconds, quick scene recall is also crucial; something the Midas PRO Series is very capable of delivering.
“Some acts move from one stage to another, so we also needed monitor consoles that could sync with one another,” says FOH engineer Øystein Karlsen. “Alternatively we might have an artist on stage one and a choir on stage two. In this case the consoles need to have access to each other’s audio sources to feed the monitors. As far as I am concerned Midas ensures that we can meet the demands of today’s musicians quickly and effectively.”
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most influential awards in the world. The ceremony takes place on 10th December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, and is followed by the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Featuring an international selection of musical artists and celebrity hosts, the concert honors the Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for 2012 was named as the European Union.
