Terminal 2 at Changi Airport in Singapore recently unveiled two multimedia installations — named Digital Sky and Wonderfall — created by multimedia studio Moment Factory that both incorporate audio delivered by K-array loudspeakers implemented by system integrators Electronics & Engineering (Wonderfall) and Electro-Acoustics Systems (Digital Sky).
“For our third collaboration with Changi Airport Group, the trust already established with the client allowed us to push the envelope, both creatively and technically,” explains Fady Atallah, creative director at Moment Factory. “With these installations, travellers can immerse themselves in Singapore’s nature with two unique experiences on their journey: an awe-inspiring moment at the Wonderfall and a surprising pause under the digital sky in the Dreamscape.”
Digital Sky, an overhead LED installation above the airport’s airside Dreamscape Garden, required an audio system to create a natural soundscape as visitors move through the space. The soundscape is procedurally generative, meaning that instead of arranging the soundscape on a timeline, it is generated in Audiokinetic Wwise software using a weighted random algorithm. The sound can be modified by changing certain parameters and values in real-time to trigger changes in the density and mix of all its layers. These parameters can also be controlled via an Unreal Engine capsule to respond to changes in the time of day and local weather conditions, creating a unique experience that blends reality with imagination for passengers awaiting their departing flight.
On the other hand, the Wonderfall is a landmark feature of the Terminal 2 Departure Hall. Here, a four-story digital waterfall, measuring 18 meters wide and 14 meters high, displays an array of creative waterfall imagery on a 34.4-megapixel LED wall, interspersed with animations and recreations of roaring ocean waves which never fail to stop busy travellers in their tracks.
Both installations, while clearly of a visual focus, required sound systems that would blend into the space while providing quality, lifelike soundscapes. K-array was selected due to the performance, reliability and compact design of the brand’s loudspeakers, allowing the integrators to install the products with minimal disruption to the installation design. Further, both the Wonderfall and Digital Sky are set among real-world vegetation, so IP64-certified loudspeakers make them well suited in the presence of water and humidity.
The Wonderfall required considerable audio reinforcement as between ambient interludes, the LED screen displays a three-and-a-half-minute show consisting of an immersive waterfall animation set to a piano composition by composer Jean-Michel Blais. Here, the systems integrators opted for a system based around K-array Vyper series loudspeakers. These flat line arrays create minimal visual impact due to their sleek design.
19 Vyper units are supported by two slimline Kobra line array elements and four mid-size Domino units. The addition of four, metre-long Python loudspeakers, each with 12 closely spaced 3.15-inch neodymium magnet woofers, helps ensure maximum throw and reproduction of the entire vocal range. The loudspeakers are mounted on the surrounding living wall of foliage to help ensure minimal visual distraction.
Four Rumble subwoofers take care of the low-end frequencies, integrated below the wall, while a total of 16 metres of Anakonda loudspeaker units provide a seamless wall of audio around the bottom of the LED wall. The system is driven by five K-array Kommander KA84 amplifiers that provide DSP and integration with the Q-SYS control system.
Airside, Digital Sky provides audio through 19 Vyper units reinforced by six Kobra and eight Domino loudspeakers. Audio playback across the Dreamscape and the Wonderfall is handled via Delta Media Server Infinity by 7th Sense.
“By installing the loudspeakers on the ceiling, balcony and hidden in the vertical garden structures, we could localise the sound of individual birds and wildlife in space,” explains Joseph Browne, interactive sound designer at Moment Factory. “This effect was achieved by using the spatial audio tools in Wwise, as well as driven by the location of actors in Unreal Engine. For example, if an eagle flies overhead on the Digital Sky, this triggers a corresponding sound effect in the correct location in the garden sound system.”
The placement of the loudspeakers to create an immersive experience in the Dreamscape Garden is demonstrated every 30 minutes in a show that brings the space to life through a three-dimensional orchestral soundscape utilizing all 33 loudspeakers. The sound system allows for the individual instruments to be mixed to different locations in the room, resulting in an enveloping musical experience. Whilst the cellos and strings are played from the ceiling, the piano melody comes from the balconies, whilst the mandolin emanates from the garden loudspeakers, literally surrounding passengers with music.
