Lighting Design
A/V Consulting: Discos & Dance Clubs-Case Study
Carnival Spirit
Dancin' occupies 3800 square feet on two decks of the Carnival Spirit, the first of the Spirit Class ships produced by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland for Carnival Cruise Lines. Nautilus Entertainment Design Inc. served as system designers and commissioning inspectors for the owner who was looking for a high-energy, high-tech dance club for the new generation of ships.
Coordinating with the architect's two floor design, NED developed an extensive audio system centered around EAW's AS300ie speakers and SB528 sub bass cabinets to provide the guests with a solid, heart-pounding beat. The lighting system contained a versatile mixture of moving head and disco effect fixtures which, in combination with a three-color neon dance floor designed by the architect, provided the DJs with an enormous amount of visual variety.
To tie both levels together visually, the architect envisioned a large video wall extending from the floor of the lower level to the ceiling of the upper level filling one entire end of the dance floor. NED designed and commissioned the 64-cube, rear-projection video wall system which, while utilizing a variety of source, mixing, and processing gear, provides the DJs with a powerful tool in order to offer the "punch and pizzazz" demanded by their young clientele.
Architect: Joseph Farcus Architect P.A.
Project Specifications:
- Approximately 3,765 square feet on 2 decks
- 118 seats
Lighting System
- Clay Paky disco effects fixtures including Astroraggi, Pin Scans, Stage Light 300s, and Color Dynamics.
- Jands Hog 500 control
Video System
- 64 x 40 Pioneer Video wall
- Digimax 2000 Video wall processor
- Kaleidolight graphics generator + multiple source units for playback
- Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras on each level capable of projecting live onto the dance floor video wall
Show Control / Integrated Control System:
- AMX control system integrating all audio, video, lighting, and effects systems into central control point with 17" touch screen monitor interface
Nautilus Entertainment Design's Services:
- Teamed with the Owner to confirm the technical requirements of the space
- Developed a preliminary budget specification and a revised specification which met the technical requirements of CCL Operations while still remaining within the financial budget of the contractual specification. This included specific choices of components and detailed cost analysis of both the contract spec and the revised spec to verify that the budget remained constant
- Created detailed conceptual drawings and paperwork which were used in discussions with the shipyard
- Created detailed system arrangements, one-line diagrams, and rack elevations for all systems
- Reviewed and coordinated shipyard and sub-contractor drawings
- Coordinated with the architect, shipyard, and subcontractors to incorporate the entertainment components within the venue in the most unobtrusive manner possible while still maintaining the functionality of the components
- Tested and commissioned all systems onsite and organized a punch list database for troubleshooting all systems
