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Paramount picks Neuron for MTV’s EMA Events

The 2024 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on November 10, 2024, at the Co-op Live in Manchester, UK. Paramount Pictures and event planners Music Alchemy entrusted Neuron AV with audio solutions for Paramount’s exclusive showcase, and after-party events, held at Manchester’s Aviva Studios.

The brief was simple - clear audio in three distinct but very different situations, a keynote presentation on Saturday, music in the evening, and a nightclub set up on Sunday. “We designed two systems to allow for the turnaround from Saturday to Sunday, which was two totally different styles of event”, explains Jonny Wharton, Neuron’s Director of Operations. “For Saturday, the client wanted a system that didn’t impact the sight lines or affect the video content. The system had to replicate cinema-grade audio.”

Neuron designed a system to accommodate the nightclub set-up for DJs and the 20-piece band The Hacienda Live Project. “We had to move our main hangs and incorporate a DJ set up in the middle of the room, whereas the Saturday night had been more of a classic theatre set-up for the keynote speakers”, says Wharton, who opted for a Danley Sound Labs PA system, the company’s current preferred touring brand, with a pair of flown Danley J3-94 for FOH, Danley BC415 Boundary Cardioid Subwoofers and a pair of Danley J7-95s for delays. The entire system was powered by the Powersoft X series with Dante and processed using Powersoft’s proprietary control software.

Wharton also deployed an Allen & Heath dLive for mixing. The stage monitors were Martin Audio LE200. The event’s wireless microphones were a mix of Sennheiser, DPA and Shure for the musical artists, while keynote speakers utilised DPA headsets and lavaliers. “The system was designed with even coverage in mind, in my opinion that’s the most important thing”, notes Wharton. “We had to be very respectful of sight lines, there was a lot of video incorporated into both events, so that and achieving the best coverage we possibly could was the priority.”

“We were able to have subs under the stage during the showcase event and keynote, but couldn’t for the Sunday after-party”, he continues. “So, we ended up flying subs for both of those shows, and then putting small ground fill systems around the room where we could to make sure the coverage was maintained as evenly as possible.”

Due to the height of the venues’ ceiling (25 metres high), the team had to build a solid network in various locations so that every element of the system could be controlled and monitored. “Aviva’s a brand-new venue, with a very modern design and an ‘anything is possible’ ethos behind it”, says Wharton. “You can put an inordinate amount of weight in the grid, so the production design isn’t as limited as some venue’s, you can pretty much put anything anywhere.”

From Saturday night into Sunday, control moved to back of house, the event was an immersive experience, so control could not be visible for that portion of the project - a slight challenge when it comes to seeing the artists in action. For Sunday’s event, rather than a traditional theatre style layout, the DJ was positioned in the middle of the room. “That was always the design”, says Wharton. “But rather than do a total re-rig of the PA, we managed to mask timing issues between the DJ monitors and the main PA.”

“The main PA is timed to gain even room coverage for the audience, but then when you put a DJ right in the middle, you can’t time the DJ monitors back to the main system, because it means the DJs won’t be able to mix properly”, he details. “We had to get quite creative with how we were going to position the DJ monitors to make sure they weren’t interfering with the main system. We also used some fill loudspeakers creatively placed in and around the DJ booth, so the audience weren’t hearing the timing issues that would come from an out of time DJ monitor, basically.”

(Photos: Neuron AV/MIXR)

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