Theme tune

The Universal Studios Singapore theme park is part of the new Resorts World Sentosa development, and was a key part of Genting’s bid for the project. It offers 24 attractions, 18 of which are either original or have been adapted for the park, including seven uniquely themed zones surrounding a lagoon. Each zone is based on a Hollywood ‘blockbuster’ movie or television show, featuring character appearances, and dining and shopping areas.

Having opened in March 2010, the Singapore theme park is the latest addition to the Universal Studios family, following Orlando, Hollywood and Osaka before it. While it is the smallest of the group, it has been cleverly arranged to offer classic attractions together with a couple of novelties – Revenge of the Mummy is an Egyptian-theme dark ride/indoor roller coaster with evil Mummies, while Battlestar Galactica is a duelling twin rollercoaster and Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure offers a river rapids ride in a circular raft journeying through jungle, complete with dinosaurs and fog effects.

Although it is possible to walk around the whole park in roughly 10 minutes, attractions such as the WaterWorld and Donkey Live shows, and the Shrek 4-D cinema are guaranteed to draw visitors into the attractions. Lights, Camera, Action is a special effects show set in a hurricane-hit New York, with water, fire and destruction effects, and other highlights, such as the Madagascar indoor flume and the Transformers dark ride are to open until later in the year. Universal Studios Singapore has maximised its limited space and created the southernmost world-class theme park.

Singapore-based Electro Acoustic Systems was appointed to supply and install the sound reinforcement and background music system for the theme park. Centralised processing architecture provided by a QSC Audio Q-Sys Core 4000 system is at the heart of the design, performing all audio routing, audio playback (of up to 128 tracks) and processing and managing control functions throughout the signal chain over a local network based on L2/L3 switching on Cisco C3750G-12 L3 switches. With this architecture, input and output connections can be made close to their sources and destinations using I/O Frames without convoluted signal paths. Each of the Park’s 41 I/O frames house up to four cards that handle up to 16 channels of input or output in a single unit.

Two Q-Sys Core 4000 systems were installed to provide both Core and Network redundancy. The main system provides network redundancy having had additional network switches and cabling added. However, in the event of network failure, the Q-Sys components switch over instantly to the back-up network, so that the secondary core takes over. Further redundant I/O Frames have been installed in high-priority areas.

A total of 147 CX-amplifiers have been installed into the 13 control rooms, with 81 CX702 and CX1102 class-H models providing 700W and 1.1kW/channel at 4Ω (20Hz to 20kHz, 0.05% THD) respectively. The CX204V, CX302V, CX602V and CX1202V models serve 70V line systems and range from 250W to 1kW/channel in power. The CX amplifiers saved the EAS engineers’ time on site, as they weigh less than 10kg and their design also includes a detented gain control for consistent setting. Active inrush limiting eliminates AC inrush current, negating the need for power sequencers, while the HD15 Data Port connectors enable the Q-Sys network to support remote monitoring and control.

The Q-LAN low-latency Gigabit Ethernet network provides audio routing, transmitting from source to destination in less than 0.33ms. Q-Sys operates Q-LAN with 32-bit, floating-point distribution and A/D and D/A converters to give total system latency of less than 2.5ms. Although the system is intuitive and easy to use, without complicated, multi-level menus, the facility managers were all provided with system design training as this is the first major project in Singapore to use a Q-Sys set-up. Once the system is determined, Q-Sys offers a suite of troubleshooting and measurement tools, and gives an RTA display of the signal at any point. By using a measurement microphone, FFT-based real-time analysis and impulse response are also provided for acoustical measurement.

A Medialon Manager connects to all the devices via the Ethernet network to control the playback of music tracks to all theme areas, and this can be accessed via a screen located in main control room. The pre-recorded music is scheduled and played daily on a fixed schedule, although the Medialon Manager can be triggered by the facility manager. The user interface has been programmed to allow start/stop of background music, selection of standby/running modes for the amplifiers, adjustment of audio levels, fire alarm input monitoring, selection of audio files and stopping of audio in individual zones. Logs can be accessed for identifying and troubleshooting problems.

The controller doesn’t require manning, as it includes scheduler software for daily playback of music tracks to all the zones, in addition to scheduling daily start-up and shutdown times. In order to minimise cable runs, all the control equipment and amplifiers are located in 13 A/V equipment rooms within the theme park. The two core Cisco C3750G-12 L3 switches have been installed in different server rooms to provide full network redundancy for the other 11 Cisco Linksys SRW2024 access switches. Three Cisco Linksys switches have been installed in three different equipment rooms to form a dual-path redundant link cluster back to the two core switches. The networks are linked via 12-core single-mode fibre cables, routed between each equipment room in a ring.

At the end of the signal chain, EAS has installed more than 700 Renkus-Heinz and Tannoy loudspeakers on the façades, some on brackets, some mounted on poles and others hidden in the themed attractions. There’s no escaping the fact that the majority of these speakers have been employed and set at levels that are designed add to the thrill of the park’s attractions. Renkus-Heinz 500W SGX121s serve most of the attractions and ensure that the adrenalin rush is topped up at each and every step of the way, maintaining an almost constant sound level. The passive two-way, 12-inch model provides constant beam width directivity and can be rotated 90° within the cabinet for wider dispersion where necessary.

The cunning disguises that the SGX121 wears will bemuse its creators in Foothill Ranch, California For the Egyptian settings surrounding the Revenge of the Mummy ride, colour camouflages the pole mounted weatherproofed cabinets into sandstone settings. Decibels are certainly not in short supply in the Far Far Away Land and Jurassic Park sectors, but visitors cannot locate the sound sources as they have been boxed onto the tops of poles in the former and placed into dinosaur mouths in the latter.

Mel’s Drive In is a 1950s retro diner set in Hollywood, and here the Tannoy Di6DCt and Di8DCt cabinets have been spared full exposure from the equatorial elements, by having them installed under the surrounding canopy along the way. Elsewhere, 71 Tannoy SR601 rock speakers have been used among the shrubs and plants in various rockeries. The 6-inch driver is protected by a terra alba and fibreglass enclosure, which is not only water and weather resistant, but also protected against UV. However, it will be interesting to see in two years how the speakers have fared in such harsh conditions.

Electro Acoustic Systems has been instrumental in designing, supplying and installing a large proportion of Singapore’s noted A/V and sound systems in colleges, schools, churches, auditoriums and gymnasiums over the years. Its latest reference at Universal Studios Singapore stands out not only for its size, but also for its many challenges, which will no doubt continue as the service contract begins. However, given the scale of the project, EAS has succeeded in implementing a sound reinforcement system for all the rides, attractions, restaurants and retail areas, through precise planning and attention to detail. Each zone has been carefully analysed beforehand and executed during installation, possibly betraying the mass of consultations that were required with both the subcontractors and the theme park’s paymasters along the way.

www.singaporeuniversalstudios.com
www.easpl.com.sg