Bringing simplicity and sophistication to Southern Cross Grammar
Southern Cross Grammar is a relatively new school located in Caroline Springs. The school is proud of its focus on bringing modernity to both its facilities and learning practices.
The school is fast developing a strong reputation for its creative arts disciplines including music, drama and theatre. In fact, these are a personal passion project for the Principal – Matthew Dodd – who is also keen to promote the use of innovative technologies in supporting student learning no matter the location or situation.
DIB Audio Visual was introduced to the school and its building via a consultant. The consultant brought us in when the project ran into challenges in combining high levels of AV functionality with day-to-day operational simplicity (which the client reasonably desired).
Southern Cross Grammar Theatre
They had an existing design, but it was costing a lot of money and missing the mark when it came to this simplicity. The project was under construction already so the DIB Audiovisual Team had to move quickly.
The construction project was extensive and included a new three-level building with everything from theatre and drama spaces to food technology and general-purpose learning areas.
Making use of our extensive experience in multi-purpose venues we conducted a consultative process with all stakeholders to investigate and identify the day-to-day operational requirements as well as the more advanced applications.
These were separated based on frequency and importance and filtered through with the school based on associated costs and budget impacts.
Throughout the consultative phase, the emphasis on simplicity of operation for the end users was maintained as a primary objective – even in the advanced, complex theatre space.
Once the consultation phase was completed, we moved quickly to complete full construction shop drawings detailing every wall plate and associated service. This allowed us to coordinate the efforts of all trades associated with the construction project.
This also provided the school with a greater level of understanding with respect to what they were getting and how it would look and function. After the shop drawing process, we made further refinements to the systems and configuration.
The process of consulting and then shop drawings before installation is like peeling back the onion to reach the optimum destination and if done well it effectively aligns outcomes with the user’s requirements.
One example of a refined technology in the project was the theatre video wall idea.
Southern Cross Grammar wanted to maximize the use and flexibility of the building and avoid a fly tower and traditional backdrops in the theatre. DIB Audiovisual solved this using three Epson projectors with edge blending to create a single image of a video wall. It also allows either single projector use for presentations or side-by-side projector setups.
As well as having the ability to use all three projectors to deliver the WOW of a single image backdrop across the whole stage and all controlled via a simple wall controller.
The whole project included high-quality projectors, speakers, microphones and multi-channel sound systems. We set it up to allow the school to patch sound and vision out into the restaurant spaces, and into food science and drama rooms. As well as multi-functional classroom spaces that can now double as green rooms during performances.
In our Extron panels, we included simple push-button set-up options for the everyday user, whilst also partitioning advanced functions for use during complex drama events.
Elegant touches like simple Bluetooth pairing plates allow teachers to walk in, pair their phones and play beautiful music through the space. The pairing clears each time to avoid phantom pairing issues.
DIB was and is willing to dig deep in situations like this to uncover simple applications as our experience shows that 80% of the use of spaces like this is often simple straightforward presentations. Yet we still need to isolate more functionality for advanced users, for when this is required.
Along the way, DIB also made a number of modifications to the installation and location of various components like speakers to ensure they were hidden but still provided great sound.
There is a lot of horsepower in the solution for this space. But it is accessible for everyday use.
The client has confirmed that the DIB Audiovisual team met their challenge of delivering a complex space that was easy to use. In fact, it is not unreal to say that the school was very pleased to see us take the complexity out of the project, get it back on track and deliver a great outcome.
We chose products to make the complex simple, that offered value for the client and that will deliver high-quality performance.
Southern Cross Grammar can be justifiably proud of its vision to deliver a multi-functional space with the WOW factor. And our team are definitely proud of our ability to deliver a high-quality solution that delivered this WOW in a simple manner.
That is how DIB Audiovisual is bringing simplicity and sophistication to Southern Cross Grammar.
For assistance with your school’s audiovisual requirements, do not hesitate to contact a DIBAV Solutions Consultant today via info@dibaustralia.com.au or 03 9457 4800.