The spring of 2007 sees the incredible Nomadic Museum, the travelling home of "Ashes and Snow" arrive in Tokyo. Electrosonic is responsible for the accompanying audio, high resolution film projection and overall show control.
An exhibition of more than 100 photographic art works, Ashes and Snow is a 60 minute feature film and two nine minute film haikus by Canadian born artist Gregory Colbert. Two things set it apart: first is the extraordinary subject matter of the films and photographs which explore the interaction between man and animals. The second is that rather than have the works displayed in a conventional museum or gallery, Ashes and Snow brings its own “Nomadic museum” along with it.
The first appearance of the Nomadic Museum was in 2005, at Pier 54 in New York City. Designed for easy assembly and dismantling, the museum building is made up of standard steel cargo containers stacked in a checkerboard pattern and these are “borrowed” at each location to eliminate the need for transport. The structure of the roof trusses is mainly constructed of paper tubes that rest on 75cm (30 inch) paper tube columns. Shigeru Ben from Japan is the museum's architect (who will be recognized by some as the architect of the Japanese Pavilion at EXPO 2000 – constructed entirely of paper).
In 2006 the Nomadic Museum and Ashes and Snow paid a visit to Santa Monica , California and this year (2007) it moves to Odaiba, near Tokyo for the spring (11 March – 24 June).
Exhibition (and AV System) develops each time museum is set up
Electrosonic has been responsible for the audio-visual presentation within Ashes and Snow since the New York residence. The exhibition itself develops each time it is set up, and the AV system is no exception, its specification has been upgraded and modified at each venue.
The main film, which was shot on 35mm film by Colbert and collaborators including Koji Nakamura, and edited by Academy and BAFTA award winning Pietro Scalia, is shown on a 35ft × 20ft (10.7m × 6.1m) Stewart Greyhawk screen, with projection by a Christie “2K” DLP™ cinema projector delivering 25,000 lumens. In order to maintain the best possible quality, the content is played back uncompressed at “2K” resolution at 24 f.p.s. from an Iridas server.
A 24 channel Tascam hard disc audio player provides audio for both the main film and for background sound throughout the museum. 14 channels are in use, six for the main film, and eight for background. BSS Soundweb units are used for audio equalization; Renkus Heinz loudspeakers provide main LCR sound for the big screen, and Electrovoice loudspeakers are used for surround and background sound.
The two short films are presented on smaller screens each 16ft × 9ft (4.9m × 2.7m) by Panasonic DLP™ projectors (7,000 lumen) and in this case replay is by Electrosonic MS9100 High Definition players running “720p” HD files at 24 f.p.s. Here AC3 digital audio is derived directly from the players and JBL 5:1 audio systems are used.
Overall show control is by a small AMX control system that keeps everything in sync, and looks after the housekeeping. For the Tokyo installation Electrosonic worked with a local installation sub-contractor, SC Engineering.
Electrosonic is an audio-visual presentation and image management specialist with over forty years experience in developing custom solutions for corporate applications, control rooms, museums, retail displays, theme parks and exhibitions. It operates as a product manufacturer, a provider of audio-visual facilities management and contract servicing, alongside having the capability to implement its products and solutions for its customers. The company has offices in Dartford, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Stockholm, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, and Orlando.