Now considered as one of Melbourne’s most iconic landmarks, Federation Square (Fed Square) has received more than 85 million visits since the precinct opened in 2002 and hosts in excess of 2,000 events a year.
Fed Square during the 2013 White Night Festival
Fed Square is comprised of several multi-purpose event spaces designed to host a plethora of cultural, performance and art based festivals year around. At the heart of Fed Square is the large plaza which has seen up to 8000 people filling it to the brim during high profile events such as New Years Eve, The Royal Visit and White Night 2013 to name but a few.
With AV specialists Corporate Vision Australia supporting the audio visual production stream at Fed Square, the team works tirelessly year round ensuring every event is executed with the utmost accuracy.
In understanding the demanding and particular requirements of Fed Square, CVA specified and installed a Nexo Geo S12 PA alongside a DiGiCo SD9 in order to ensure the best results. With the central Fed Square stage being surrounded by bars, office buildings and being amidst Melbourne CBD, the system needed to be able to throw across the stage evenly without spilling outside of the designated areas. This is where the Nexo GeoS12 has become a favourite for professionals looking for an intelligent system capable of large amounts of dispersion control.
The PA was comprised of 10 x Geo S1210’s, 2 x Geo S1230’s, 4 x RS 15 Subs, 8 x PS15’s for fold back and 3 x 4×4 NXAMPS to power the entire system. Bryce Moseley, Head of Production at Fed Square felt that Nexo was the best choice for many reasons.
“For us, it was about what suited the venue. Modular design, value for money and a good quality system.”
In actual use, Bryce has found the system to be highly practical in situations where Fed Square had multiple stages and/or events running simultaneously also.
“The PA has been very good for us. It does exactly what we need it to. We split it up into different configurations, running it ground stacked and flown to suit our needs around the square. It is solid, reliable, adaptable and sounds great! It fits a venue like ours perfectly allowing us to build a PA to suit the various spaces.”
The SD9 has also proven itself to be a perfect fit for Fed Square. With DiGiCo’s proven flexibility utilising its next generation FPGA processing, it was no surprise the console delivered impeccably.
“The SD9 has been used as the main FOH console. It’s excellent. Just like the GeoS12, it fits the venue perfectly. We are able to run MADI via the underground core from FOH to the Plaza Stage, setup time is quick and it is easy to get running. We usually bring in another SD9 when we run a bigger show then simply split the signal with DiGiCo’s “little red box”. We run 1 SD9 for monitors and 1 at FOH.”
Bryce has been receiving fantastic comments regarding the entire system also.
“We have had nothing but compliments from our engineers, clients and audiences about the quality of sound at Fed Square. We are very happy with the PA so far. It has been an integral part of the infrastructure at Fed Square, it is a trusted piece of equipment that has delivered what it promised.”
