Bradford has years of experience in theme parks, and his ideas and concepts have led the development of the audio-visual lighting industry. Bradford’s relationship with the theme park dates back to 1992 when he was employed by a sound and light integration company in Florida. In 2000, Bradford joined Harman, becoming an engineer in the Crown Power Amplifier product line, focusing on large venues. His extensive experience in theme parks has made Bradford an internal affairs expert in the Harman theme park business segment, and has given him the ultimate role today.
[SKD] We have long been familiar with the fact that audio-visual lighting technology has changed the market and applications, because these technologies are everywhere and everywhere. However, I think that the theme park is one of the few places where people can hardly judge their technological content. Some of the articles I have read about the audio and video industry in the near future suggest that the theme park is a market with less technology applications. But I personally do not agree with this view. So, I would like to ask, how many science and technology are used in theme parks? Why are these applications difficult to detect?
[Bradford] I think that's why people are always surprised at the complexity behind creating a customer experience. I still remember when I first saw the 48-channel console in the arena. Before that, I always thought that the audio broadcasting in the stadium could be done with a microphone and a broadcaster. At the time, I was not quite sure that the music effects in the stadium depended on various points to achieve, nor did we know what happened to the display playback. In the environment of the theme park, many people do not understand that there are innumerable technical programs behind the theme park running. Even if there are three or two problems, ordinary people can hardly notice. I call these audio-visual lighting technologies an "invisible background."
“As long as it is used properly, audiovisual lighting technology can also become a landscape or a highlight in the theme park.â€
From the main aisle into the park, you first want to hear the crisp birds in the ears, which helps create a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and enhance the tourist's interest. Therefore, the bird's voice was added to the park's background. Whether this group of birds belongs to this area is not important. What is important is that these birds meet visitors' expectations of the park, enhance the atmosphere of the park, and at the same time shield the external environment from noise, such as road traffic noise. Audio playback can effectively block the noise. As a result, you will hear music at the entrance of the park and hear various background sounds in different amusement programs.
[SKD] From this point of view, the main purpose of audio-visual lighting in theme parks is to create an atmosphere, followed by shielding and atmosphere incongruous things. So, what technologies have the theme park used to achieve this?
[Bradford] The main role of audio visual lighting technology in theme parks is to give visitors a full range of immersive experiences. The existence of a theme park should enable multiple functions. First of all, you have to completely separate visitors from their daily lives. Imagine a roller coaster project. This project should make countless tourists flock to. The whistling sound of the roller coaster will make the waiting passengers feel more exciting and impatient. This is the theme and experience that this project should create. For visitors who like to spend time strolling, it's important to be in a secluded and secluded environment. This is enough to make them forget that they are in the theme park. In this regard, audio-visual lighting technology can do a lot. Taking a large-scale distributed audio system as an example, it can not only provide clear birdsong for the entire park, but also provide background music and voice broadcasts for each project area.
“If you want to filter visitors to listen to both ears and make them forget to be in the park, audio and video technology can be achieved.â€
If you add video and lights, this adds more elements to the ultimate subtle changes in the park. Take the street lamp I often mentioned as an example. Most theme parks rarely use standard street lights. In contrast, theme parks tend to use architectural lighting because such lights are more in line with the park's atmosphere and make the park feel warmer. Digital signage also helps shape the theme of the park: providing information on items purchased by visitors, waiting in line, and even displaying rain gear sales information during rainy days. The replacement of television news by digital signage allows timely and useful information about the park to be conveyed to tourists and gives the park control over the content of the information. With a bad news to ruin the original pleasant day of the tourists, no theme park is willing to play such an attempt.
[SKD] Not every theme park can be made into an oversized theme park with a large budget. For a small theme park, how can we achieve such a system solution without increasing the budget?
[Bradford] This is the unique charm of Harman! We have a wide range of products to meet the user's expectations for functionality and price. So, you can get the system plan that I just described, and you can maintain the budget requirements. For example, if you do not use our Crown DCi amplifier, you can also use our mid-range Crown CDi series. There is indeed a great difference in the functionality of the two models, but the CDi series is already well suited for small-scale system applications. In the wall-washing system, we do not need to align with the high-investment theme parks. We can make some compromises on lighting control and replace a large number of small-scale wall-washing projects with a small number of large wall-washing projects. All audio visual lighting designs can be adjusted according to the budget and function of the park. We can also integrate the concept of scalability into system planning, and this system can gradually expand with the development of the park.
In fact, as long as you fully define the theme park needs, we can always provide the most suitable solution. This is like saying that you have hired a painter and simply explain "paint my house". In the end, what you got was probably not what you expected. Should he paint the interior or exterior of the house? What color should I paint? Where is the house located? All these issues will affect the material, time, and final cost of this work. So, when the owner of the theme park asks for audio or lighting, it is also open: How much area does it need to cover? How much is the budget? When is the delivery time? Although we can provide theme park solutions for different sizes or budgets, the answers to these questions will ultimately determine the one we provide.
[SKD] Thanks Bradford for our in-depth introduction. I think the importance of audiovisual lighting technology for theme parks is hard to explain, and what Bradford talks about is just the tip of the iceberg in this area. In the future, we will invite Bradford to introduce us more about this topic. (http://)