Mc Donald's Anniversary Bash includes Riedel's Artist

Chicago, IL (July 11, 2005) -- McDonald’s really knows how to throw a party. The fast-food pioneer commemorated its 50th anniversary with an elaborate bash for employees that culminated with a performance by rock legend Elton John at the The Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, IL. And to ensure pristine communications and audio transport, Riedel equipment was on hand to guarantee that all systems operated flawlessly.

OSA International, a full service sound and technical management company specializing in corporate/ industrial shows, special events and entertainment was pressed into service to design, install and operate the large-scale communications systems for McDonald’s, their long-time client.

“We always pride ourselves on being on the leading edge of new technology, and that includes the Riedel Artist system,” said Jamie Ransford, OSA staff engineer. “For this sizable occasion we used three Riedel Artist “S” frames which were linked with a redundant loop of single mode fiber, nine RCP-1012E and three DCP-1016E panels.”

Riedel’s Artist Matrixes are powerful modular, network-compatible platforms for transmission and distribution of analog and digital audio and data signals. The three nodes for the McDonalds’ event were located at Front of House, in the backstage audio area, and in the video village. All the frames were configured identically with two AIO-209 cards for audio transport, one AIO-208 card for intercom interfacing (wired or wireless), and one CAT-208 card.

Riedel key panels’ ability to interface with other manufacturers’ analog party-lines enabled the S-frames to operate in conjunction with four ClearCom channels in the audio area, two channels of RTS (for cameras) in video village, and since The Arie Crown is a working theater, two channels of the “house” ClearCom. There was also 16 drops of wireless intercom on three different systems.

“The McDonalds’ creative team put together a 2 hour show with lots of singers & dancers, a house band, video rolls, executive speeches, and Elton John. It was non-stop, but Riedel makes it all so easy,” added Ransford.

OSA used the Riedel system to transport all audio to and from video village. In addition, the Artist S’s capability to serve as a DA allowed it to distribute SMPTE time-code around the venue. The time-code was generated by video ingested into the frame in video village, and routed to audio land for the multi-track audio decks, FOH for the lighting console, and other areas as needed.

Communications between the music conductor and the stage manager to coordinate multiple cues and hear the band was achieved via a control panel and a Sennheiser HMD-25 headset. OSA’s monitor engineer sent custom created subgroups to the frame in the audio area and the conductor was able to dial in his own mix (with the keypad volume controls) and communicate with the stage manager and monitor engineer.

“Whenever things change on site (and they always do), a couple of mouse clicks is all it takes,” commented Ransford. “I can change audio patches, change panel configurations, or give people access to anybody on the crew all from my computer. Riedel not only makes things easier, it also makes the system sound cleaner and better. I’ve been doing intercom for these types of shows for the last 8 years. Never in those 8 years has anybody on the crew said, ‘Nice job with the intercom’. Since I’ve been using Riedel, it happens on almost every show, multiple times.”

Ransford continued, “One of the largest benefits I’ve found is its point-to-point capabilities. People can now have private conversations, away from the “production” channels. It not only cuts down on chatter, it helps rehearsals to run faster (or at least more efficient), and shows to run smoother. Riedel outperformed my expectations. When the client comes to me and asks for something, it’s no longer a question of ‘how am I going to do that?’. The answer is always, ‘Yes, I can do that. No problem’. Riedel is the best thing to happen to intercom, period.”