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About NED
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With over 30 years of experience, NED has worked internationally with owners, architects, directors and producers to create one-of-a-kind, world-class entertainment facilities and lighting design on land and at sea. Just a few of its services include entertainment systems such as audio, video, projection, rigging, stage mechanics, special effects, control systems and broadcast systems.
NED draws on a depth of experience in a wide range of lighting and systems design from television spectaculars to the corporate theater/sales meetings. The company has been involved in theatre consulting for a wide range of entertainment facilities such as multimedia, fine arts performance, Las Vegas-type showrooms, cabarets, dance clubs and discos, as well as fountain lighting design, museum and architectural lighting for all types of public spaces. For further information and capabilities, please go to: http://www.n-e-d.com |
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Though the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is still undergoing final completion details, we thought we would share with you our participation in this massive renovation. We also cover the Chrysler Press Event at the Chicago Auto Show and the newest installation of the Carnival Seaside Theatre aboard the Carnival Conquest.
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Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
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Bombers, jet fighters, helicopters, missiles, a Mercury space capsule and other substantial artifacts are strategically placed throughout a museum the length of one and a half football fields. There is an installation schedule interrupted by a twenty-mile move from Stanton Island to Pier 86 in Midtown Manhattan. A hard deadline is set due to a week's worth of special events attended by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, military brass and celebrities. Those were a few of the challenges Nautilus Entertainment Design encountered when they were contracted to work with LightSource and Display Dynamics to provide lighting and control system designs for the refurbished Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
For Nautilus lighting designer Don Hill, the biggest challenge was working within a hull that is over 60 years old.
 "The Intrepid was refitted several times over the course of its active duty. One look at the ceiling of the hanger decks revealed a confusing mixture of old and new, active and inactive systems for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc," stated Hill. "There were no reflected ceiling plans. To light the exhibits of aircraft and other artifacts, we designed a pipe grid hanging on regular intervals throughout the space with a broad distribution of dimmable circuits ensuring that the lighting can be readily adapted as exhibits are changed over time."
The 280-foot long exhibit display cases were a particular challenge. Sealed to protect artifacts from dust and moisture, the only access was in the removal of a series of 200-pound glass panes. To solve several problems, a conventional low-voltage track light system with high-output LED lighting system was used. The advantages were less heat, longer lamp life and no UV radiation which was perfect for lighting museum artifacts prone to fading or deterioration.
For Nautilus's Brian Pratt, the designer of the master control system of all the museum elements, specifying an AMX system was the key in giving flexibility to the museum for straightforward ease-of-use while allowing ample expansion capability for the addition of exhibits in the future.
 "The major challenges on this project were the large number of different systems and content providers and the very tight time-frame," stated Pratt. "Flexibility and simplicity were required due to changes and refinements of other designers' systems and the need for it to be operated by museum staff. With the flexibility of the AMX control system we were able to adapt to system changes as they occurred."
"The control system allows the exhibition department to set up presets using a touch screen to individually pick and choose combinations of museum components to be in "on" or "off" mode and to set various lighting conditions," Pratt continued. "This way they can set up the usual operational presets; open, cleaning, closed and for special events. The system also provides the ability to perform manual overrides for special events."
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Carnival Seaside Theatre
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NED has just completed the latest installation of the "Carnival Seaside Theatre" on the Carnival Conquest, one of Carnival Cruise Lines' Destiny-class ships. The Carnival Seaside Theatre is comprised of a LED video wall twelve feet high and twenty feet wide. It has a 70,000 watt directionally controllable audio system. The system is capable of playing DVD, MPEG, live video or off-air content.
 NED designed all the audio, video and control systems as well as the architectural structure and facings. NED also provided the commissioning and project management of the Seaside Theatre system design and installation including coordination of all installation trades, budget management and scheduling, interfacing with Carnival Marine Technical who was in charge of the overall dry dock work.
Based upon the first such installation on board Carnival Liberty in 2005, the Carnival Conquest is the eighth project of this type that NED has been involved for the Carnival Corporation. NED has served as primary system designers as well as project managers for all similar installations for Carnival and Costa Cruise Lines. In total, NED has overseen five system installations on brand new vessels (three for Carnival and two for Costa) as well as the retrofit of similar systems on an additional five Carnival ships already in service.
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Chrysler Press Event - Chicago Auto Show
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NED provided lighting design services for Chrysler's press event at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Introducing the Dodge's 2010 "New Crew" of Ram Heavy-Duty Pickups, Executive  Vice-President - Product Development, Frank Klegon presented the new trucks to the right and left of the stage backed by a simple set containing a large video screen. The event was produced by Kaleidoscope Productions of New York in conjunction with O2 Creative Solutions of Detroit.
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In the next month we are lighting the Shoji Tabuchi Show in Branson, MO.; the Chrysler press event at the New York Auto Show, and the Hewlett Packard Stockholders meeting. Holland America Veendam will be undergoing an LED display installation during drydock and commissioning has begun on Costa Luminosa, which will be completed in April. Other ships that are scheduled for delivery this year are Costa Luminosa in April, Costa Pacifica in May, Seabourn Odyssey in June and CCL Dream in September. Work is continuing on the architectural lighting and AV system design for the expansion of the Choctaw Pines Casino near Alexandria, Louisiana for the Jena Tribe of the Choctaw Nation.
Thanks for your time. See you next month.
Sincerely,
Nautilus Entertainment Design |
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