At the recent Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, Germany, Lawo and zactrack hosted a joint ‘Theater Future Tech Reception’, giving the audience an exclusive glimpse into a solution for automated, object-based audio mixing workflows.
Lawo is a global technology partner with a long history of delivering audio and video infrastructure solutions for theatre, musical and performing arts, and zactrack is an incubator focused on the development of VR, AR and XR systems for the entertainment industry.
Lawo showcased its integration of zactrack’s stage tracking system with its mc² audio production consoles, providing automated stereo, surround and immersive audio mixing workflows based on the performers’ tracking data.
Zactrack’s Radio Tracking is a fully automated follow system tailored for diverse environments such as open-air events, theatre stages and TV studios. Using Ultra-Wide-Band real-time location technology, the system works in aerial (2D) and spacial (3D) configurations. Zactrack tracks any number of performers or objects in real time, the aim being to facilitate seamless alignment of moving lights, video projections, cameras, and immersive sound to the position of a performer or object.
The zactrack system controls the Lawo mc² audio mixers for automated panning and even elevation in 3D audio systems. The Y positioning parameter can be translated into depth, meaning delay adjustment for replicating the depth of the stage. This delay adjustment is possible due to Lawo’s click-less delay functionality. The mc² consoles’ delay functionality is designed to enable users to add seamless delays of up to 1.8 seconds without audible artifacts, even during live productions.
“The integration of zactrack’s stage tracking system with Lawo’s mc² platform represents a significant step forward in the evolution of automated audio mixing workflows,” said Lucas Zwicker, senior director, workflow and integration, CTO office at Lawo. “Thanks to automated audio positioning of the actors we allow users to concentrate on all the other challenges of a live production, while still delivering a real-time immersive, spatially accurate audio experience across any multichannel PA system supported by Lawo consoles.”
“Running a zactrack mini system on the Lawo booth at this year’s prolight+sound allowed to showcase in a practical application how live positional data provided by zactrack can not only improve and automate workflows in audio mixing, but also help to enhance the acoustic experience for the audience whilst giving performers on stage full freedom to move,” said Manuel Ewers, global sales manager at zactrack. “It was great to experience how seamless Lawo’s mc² platform integrates with our fully automated tracking system and we are looking forward to seeing our users benefit from this synergy.”
