The Art-Deco Grade II listed Queens Hotel has been an impressive presence on Leeds’ City Square since its construction in 1937. Designed by W.H. Hamlyn and faced with white Portland Stone, it is a striking landmark which over the years has hosted many notable guests. Royals, world leaders, and international film stars, have all experienced the comforts of The Queens.
At the end of last year, The Queens was the focus of a spectacular art installation which saw LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District) collaborate with Barcelona-based creative studio Onionlab on ‘To Leeds With Love’, a visual spectacular which used the elegant architecture of the Hotel as a canvas for multiple projections themed around The Twelve Days of Christmas.
The ambitious and innovative project, which embraced state-of-the-art technology and world-class design, required the highest level of technical and logistical expertise, so following the huge success of the previous year’s extravaganza ‘Magical Night at the Queens’, LeedsBID once again engaged Bradford-based Pro Audio Systems (PAS) to co-ordinate and supply every technical aspect of the installation, which ran at regular intervals during the run-up to Christmas.
PAS’s Joel Sheldon takes up the story:
“We’d worked on a number of projects with LeedsBID since the summer of 2022, leading up to our involvement in the ‘Magical Night at the Queens’ installation at the end of 2023. After the success of that project we were invited to return, and knew that we’d again be responsible for helping to deliver an ambitious undertaking with very high production values.”
On the technical front, PAS oversaw the specification, supply and installation of all the projectors, networking, playback and control, as well as a substantial audio system. Its team was central to designing the video systems to ensure that the content was seamlessly projected onto the ‘canvas’ of The Queens Hotel to achieve complete coverage with optimal brightness. PAS was also responsible for selecting and co-ordinating a number of trusted subcontractors to implement the wide variety of ancillary elements of the project under its direction.
Joel describes some technical aspects of the projection:
“Once every feature of the building’s frontage had been laser-mapped by Autoplot to enable optimal design of the content, we constructed two 7.5m scaffold towers on City Square to house the projectors. With the stalls and concessions of Leeds Christmas Market located at the front of the Square, we needed significant elevation to achieve uninterrupted projection with good sight lines, avoiding any shadows.
“Our friends at Raven Staging obliged, with emphasis placed on safety and protection from the elements for the sevenprojectors deployed for the job. Given the possibility of bad weather, we needed to ensure that we eliminated every potential risk, so also in collaboration with Raven, we installed robust weather-shielding, heaters, temperature monitors, and a weather station to feed information to our control centre.”
A total of seven Panasonic projectors were deployed to cover the ‘canvas’ of the Queens Hotel. They comprised five PTRQ50K (50,000 lumens) units, a PTRZ21 (20,000 lumens), and a PTRQ25 (21,000 lumens). Joel knew the team could rely on them:
“They’re currently the brightest available on the market, and on the two occasions we’ve supported this project, those projectors have been rock solid. Even during extreme weather conditions, they have been consistent throughout.”
For video content manipulation PAS relied on two Green Hippo Karst+ media servers which were specified for a number of reasons, not least their industry leading software including SHAPE and Mapping, which enabled the team to ensure that the video on the canvas of the Queens was accurately lined up and looked as sharp as possible. With no room for failure, the absolute reliability of the Green Hippo servers was also of paramount importance. A combination of Netgear AV Line M4250 network switches fully loaded with Fibre interconnectivity, Lightware DVI over fibre video extenders, and Datapath FX 4 controllers, completed the network, playback and control picture.
Joel continues:
For the audio element of the show, PAS installed a Meyer Sound system, deploying a combination of high powered long-throw units, smaller units for infill and outfill, and large low frequency control elements, all designed to ensure the required SPL and coverage to provide clear, powerful audio across a crowded outdoor environment.
As at the previous year’s event, an electric vehicle which PAS had previously customised for LeedsBID was deployed to caption the show’s audio for deaf people, utilising HDMI over IP technologies.
From a logistical standpoint PAS had to work within timing strict parameters from start to finish. Dave Simpson, Business Development Director at PAS reflects on the challenges:
“The whole team brought the project together superbly. Every person from every company involved delivered exceptional service - setting up in the early hours of December mornings against tight deadlines was a tough but ultimately rewarding exercise. At the end of the run of shows, everything had to be stripped out quickly, and again, the team performed this mammoth task with incredible patience and efficiency.
“The public were wowed by the quality of the installation, which increased footfall to businesses in the area and created a truly festive atmosphere in the city centre. LeedsBID succeeded in delivering a spectacular show, and we were very proud to have played a major part in bringing their ambition to life. At Pro Audio Systems, we love a challenge - we can’t wait to see what this year has in store!”
James Wilson, Project and Events Manager, LeedsBID
“Pro Audio Systems and their partners together with Onionlab once again delivered a fabulous spectacle to the city. The team’s attention to detail and technical expertise meant that the entire twelve-day project worked seamlessly without a hitch.”
