business case - cwu.edu · web viewthis proposal will bring this enterprise facility in line...

Business Case

Digital Sound Upgrade

McConnell Auditorium

November 2014

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Contents

1. Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................2

Sponsoring Department: Theatre Arts.......................................................................................2

Date of Business Case Preparation: November 2014.................................................................2

Contact Person Name/Phone: Scott Robinson, Chair—Theatre Arts x1273................................2

2. Definition:...................................................................................................................................3

3. Addressing Problem with CWU Existing Tools and Products........................................................5

4. Organizational Impact:................................................................................................................6

Stakeholders.................................................................................................................................6

Primary Users...............................................................................................................................6

Staff Impacts:................................................................................................................................6

Training:.......................................................................................................................................6

5. Benefits:.....................................................................................................................................7

6. Strategic Alignment:...................................................................................................................8

7. Cost............................................................................................................................................9

Cost Breakdown:...........................................................................................................................9

Source of Funding.........................................................................................................................9

8. Alternatives:...............................................................................................................................9

9. Timing / Schedule:......................................................................................................................9

11. Product Life/Application Sunsetting or Decommissioning:.........................................................11

12. References:...............................................................................................................................11

13. Project Block Diagrams.............................................................................................................12

14. Quote: Morgan Sound..............................................................................................................15

15. Quote: EVCO Sound and Electronic...........................................................................................23

16. Recommendation:.....................................................................................................................27

17. Approvals.................................................................................................................................27

BUSINESS CASE | DIGITAL SOUND UPGRADE | MCCONNELL AUDITORIUM

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1. Executive Summary

McConnell Hall is home to the 750 seat McConnell Auditorium which is using a sound system that was added during a 1979 renovation. In 2003, the building upgrade that replaced major components in the auditorium included limited sound enhancement and no digital sound technology.

A new sound system has been one of the highest priority items for the Department for the past 15 years.

In 2006, the Department launched a new degree program in Musical Theatre. The current sound system is a significant weakness of the Musical Theatre program as well as the Design and Production program.

This proposal will bring this enterprise facility in line current and emerging industry and educational standards.

The department has been preparing for this change for several years with peripheral enhancements that will culminate in a total system overhaul. It is supported by broad financial backing including: the Theatre Arts Department Student Services and Activities Committee, the Provost, and the College of Arts and Humanities.

Sponsoring Department: Theatre Arts

Date of Business Case Preparation: November 2014

Contact Person Name/Phone: Scott Robinson, Chair—Theatre Arts x1273

New Product/Service

If there is a draft or sample contract, please provide a copy. Quote attached

Renewal of Existing Product/Service – if checked, include background information.

If there is a site license agreement, existing contract or new contract draft, please provide a copy.


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2. Definition:

McConnell Hall was built in 1936 and is home to the 750 seat McConnell Auditorium and the 350 seat Milo Smith Tower Theatre, flexible use theatre (commonly referred to as a “black box” theatre). McConnell Auditorium is part of the original 1936 building and the Milo Smith Tower Theatre was added during a 1979 renovation. In 2003, the building underwent a $1.4 million life safety upgrade that replaced major components in the auditorium but because of project cost overruns, did not replace all of the programmed sound and lighting equipment slated for upgrade. A new sound system has been one of the highest priority items for the department for the past 15 years.

The sound system in McConnell is well past its lifespan. The bulk of the components to the system have been in operation since the last renovation in the early 1980s and optimized for movie playback to support a film series hosted in the space at that time. The film series left the space in 2004 with the opening of the Student Union and Recreation Center.

Advances in technology have left the space lagging in several significant and very important ways, which significantly impacts space rent ability, faculty creative research, and most importantly the successful training of our students with industry standard equipment. It is critical that we move from the outdated analog system to digital technology.

The department began seeking funding for upgrades to the sound system in 1995. Improvements were programmed in the 2003 renovation but were cut from the final scope of the project. For most of this time, the Theatre Arts Department has tried to make do with a sound system that is still mostly in place. Several of the components predate the 1979 renovation and are either beyond their live span, no longer perform at an optimal level, have been rendered obsolete by technological advances, or are nonfunctioning all together.

In 2006, the Department launched a new degree program in Musical Theatre. This is the only program of its type at Washington’s public baccalaureate colleges and universities. As part of this program, the department produces no fewer than three productions each year that require the support of a sound system to reinforce the student performers. The current sound system is a significant weakness of the musical theatre program, as well as the Design and Production program.

Last Spring during the sold out showings of Les Miserables, seven extra speakers where put in various locations in order to better serve the paying audience, allow the back-stage actors to hear themselves, and to help the student mixer to hear what they were mixing.

Sound quality and volume varies in the balcony from left to right and in the center. The poor fidelity of the system affects the quality of the higher tiered seats including differences in the bass, mid-range and high frequencies. The main floor has areas that are referred to as “dead” space as


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the sound seems to disappear and audience members are left with the inability to discern the spoken or sung word. The sound also varies across the main floor with areas of augmented bass sounds or augmented mid-range and high frequencies as well as areas of diminished bass or diminished mid-range and high frequencies.

The back of the main floor theatre has areas that reflect bass back into the room creating a muddied sound, where it is extremely difficult to hear voices and discern what they are saying.

The sound engineers and mixing people, (individuals who are mixing the sound from the balcony) have to guess at what the sound is like on the main floor as it is very different from what the balcony sound is like.

The lack of proper monitoring system on stage results in actors unable to hear what is going on across the stage. Actors on the stage can’t hear the orchestra over the sound of their voices in the theatre and the farther upstage they move, the worse the sound becomes.

Many constituents use this space across campus and the greater Ellensburg community relies on a proper functioning and viable sound system to hold successful events. Recently, the Ellensburg Film Festival considered decided against holding an event in McConnell Auditorium due to the age, reliability, and quality of the system.

Finally, this proposal marks a significant departure from a legacy analog sound system to a digital system. Modern sound systems combine traditional components like speakers and amplifiers with digital components and networks.

As an enterprise facility, decisions of partners and outside groups to move elsewhere have had a significant impact on the facility’s bottom line.


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3. Addressing Problem with CWU Existing Tools and Products

It has become apparent that there are no existing tools or products on campus at this time that will remedy the situation. Other than specialists in the Theatre Arts and Music Departments, there are no individual that service any of the component pieces of the system.

Two consultants, from highly reputable firms, were brought to campus in the fall of 2013. Both suggested a digital upgrade and sound enhancement to better serve the space and all users. To that end, the department has secured over $130,000 from various partners including the Office of the Provost, Dean of CAH, Student Services and Activities Committee, as well as department generated funds.

Some integration components of the campus internet resources may be required to fully implement the new systems and/or take full advantage of the system capabilities.

Several of the supporting peripherals are already in place. In anticipation of the project, a new digital 32-channel sound board ($3,500), a MAC OS computer ($4,000), and a rack-mounted MAC-mini ($1,500) were recently purchased to begin training and are currently in production, as is the recently upgraded software package, QLab® 3.0. This academic year, acoustical panels ($4,000) are being installed in preparation of the new system and to better the sound quality in the space.


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4. Organizational Impact:

Stakeholders: The primary stake holder is CWU’s Theatre Art. Theatre Arts is the primary user for both public events and student training.

In addition, this multi-purpose sound system allows McConnell Auditorium to serve the many various constituents that use the space throughout the year. These stakeholders and users includes: CWU Orchesis Dance, CWU Film and Video Studies “Film Slam,” Washington Girls State programming, local high school theatrical performances, the Central Washington Dance Ensemble productions, State of the University address, Honors Convocation, First-Year Orientation events, regional conference hosting, the Ellensburg Film Festival, and others. All of these stake holders are supported by the Theatre Arts staff when using the space.

Primary Users: The Theatre Arts Department uses this space for no less than four to twelve large-scale productions each year. This includes community partner productions and rentals as well as program specific classes, rehearsals, and performances. Indeed McConnell Auditorium is used nearly every day during the academic year, and even during the summer when summer classes are held. A properly functioning sound system is crucial to the curriculum in service to the faculty and students who use the space.

Staff Impacts: A reliable and versatile system will display the preparedness of McConnell Auditorium for the many and varied events that occur in the space. This makes it easier for staff to host and helps convey a polished outcome to all who take part in the event. Digital technology will simplify systems and streamline the processes in student training, faculty creative scholarship, and community outreach.

Training: One goal of this system is make it easily configurable by all who staff the space. A training session or available documentation that explains how the system functions will likely be something beneficial to setup each academic year.


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5. Benefits:

Visitors and attendees to the theatre bring in a significant amount of funding to the university. If paying audience members are satisfied with their experience in McConnell’s space, they are more likely to continue to come to events, and contribute to programming revenues.

Further, a space that is up-to-date helps to encourage students to apply to Central Washington University—in addition to helping to maintain the ability to hold on to students for the duration of their academic career. Students happy with the performance space they work in convey this contentment to new recruits looking to pursue their education in a modern and trend-relevant environment.

As universities strive to recruit new students, the campus environment and habitat become more and more important for student recruitment and retention. Out-of-date facilities make it difficult to attract students into our program.

Theatre Arts is in a unique position to display its facilities to every individual who attends an event in McConnell Auditorium. The better our space looks, sounds, and functions, the more word travels that CWU’s McConnell Auditorium study the art of theatre and attend events, as well as a great place to be as a faculty member, or as a perspective student.


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6. Strategic Alignment:

This project fully aligns with the following Shared Values of the current Strategic Plan:

Student Success: CWU believes that student success is best achieved by providing supportive learning and living environments that encourage intellectual inquiry, exploration, and application. CWU believes that learning is best achieved in small classroom or group settings with ample opportunities for individualized instruction, mentoring, advising, and programming.

Engagement: CWU believes that learning, research, and creative expression are enhanced by engagement with external partners. CWU believes that as a publicly-funded institution, it has a responsibility to help address the social and economic challenges faced by our communities.

Inclusiveness: CWU believes that diversity of peoples, cultures, and ideas is essential to learning, discovery, and creative expression. CWU believes that all faculty, staff, and students must be and must feel physically, professionally, and emotionally safe in order to fully engage in and benefit from the university experience.

Facilities: CWU believes that state-of-the-art, safe, and attractive facilities enhance the working and learning environments of faculty, staff, and students. CWU also believes that state-of-the-art technologies provide leverage for the efforts of faculty, staff, and students.

This project fully aligns with the following Core Themes of the current Strategic Plan:

Objective 1.1: Enhance student success by continually improving the curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs.

Objective 3.1: Increase the emphasis on and the opportunities for students, faculty and staff to participate in research, scholarship, and creative expression activities.

Objective 3.2: Increase the external funding received for research, scholarship, and creative expression by faculty, staff, and students.

Objective 4.1: Enhance the commitment and the level of collaboration between the university and external communities.

Objective 4.3: Enhance the efforts of members of the university community to strengthen the economic base of the region and state.

Objective 5.4: Provide the facility and technology infrastructure and services appropriate to meet the university objectives, while maximizing sustainability and stewardship.


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7. Cost

Cost Breakdown:

Costs State-of-the-art Digital sound system $130,000 Installation includedTotal Costs $130,000 – 180,000

No ongoing contract costs are anticipated with this project.

Source of Funding (Project ID):

Theatre Arts 5345250-1 30,000-80,000Provost 3240050-0 40,000CAH 3251800-0 10,000Student Service and Activities 5341200-0 50,000

Theatre Art has also intends to incorporate the regular service, upgrades, and replacement in to their ongoing equipment maintenance plan.

8. Alternatives:

Alternative Reasons For Not Selecting Alternative

Status QuoTechnology is moving further from our grasp each year that passes, training of our students falls further behind industry standards, and possible revenue streams are passing by.

9. Timing / Schedule:

Task Target Date

Final RFP Feb 2015

Awarding of Bid April 2015

InstallationSummer 2015 (August / September)


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10.Technology Migration/Resource Identification:

IT become essential as the systems will seek some network capability.

Resource Requirements Timeframe

Theatre Dept Dec 14 – Oct 15Information Services Dec 14 – Oct 15Facilities

Resource Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Project Manager 5 10 25 7 7 7 30 40 40 10 5

Media Technician 10 10 10

Network Services 4 4 4

Total Hours

11. Product Life/Application Sunsetting or Decommissioning:

It is anticipated that the system will have a life expectancy of 25 years, or more. Once this major change is in place, it is expected that the Theatre Arts department will be able to make required updates and replacements under the current technology replacement plan.

12. References:

The Theatre Arts faculty member in sound design and technology has been in contact with several individuals at highly-qualified sound consultants in Washington State.

Morgan Sound 2004 196th St SW Suite #2Lynnwood, WA 98036866-860-8233425-771-7257The Theatre Arts Department has had significant experience with this vendor over the past two years--in customer service, purchasing, and product support.

Evco Sound & Electronics3511 East Trent AvenueSpokane, WA 99202509) 535-8718fx: (509) 534-2795toll free: (888) 535-EVCO(3826)


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13. Project Block Diagrams Morgan Sound


12 BUSINESS CASE | DIGITAL SOUND UPGRADE | MCCONNELL AUDITORIUM

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EVCO Sound


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14. Quote: Morgan Sound


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15. Quote: EVCO Sound and Electronic

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington

McConnell Hall Budgetary Sound System Upgrades

Prepared By:

Evco Sound and Electronics 3511 East Trent Avenue Spokane, Washington

99202

Phone: 509-535-8718

Fax: 509-534-2795

Contact: Rich Williams Date: November 27, 2013

3511 E Trent Ave. ~ Spokane, WA 99202 ~ (509) 535-8718 ~ (509) 534-2795 Fax


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Description

The following Budgetary Quotes address two approaches to solving the sound system issues at McConnell Hall. The Nexo system uses true line arrays, two flown in a stereo configuration. The hardware used will allow the line arrays to be removed for touring acts that may bring their own equipment in the future. Motors for raising and lowering the line arrays are not included. Options to the Nexo system include front fills mounted on the front lip of the stage with the line arrays adjusted to cover the upper seating and the addition of subwoofers located in the face of the stage. Mounting of the line arrays will be between the front lip of the stage and the first catwalk and secured to the structure above the ceiling.

The Community solution provides two speaker cabinets per side (left-right configuration) suspended from the bottom of the first catwalk that will provide good coverage of the Theatre seating. An optional 4x15” subwoofer is offered and would be flown center at front of the stage.

Both quotes include the rental of a lift for high work and having the Universities Structural Engineer review the speaker loads on the building structure.

Any additions or revisions for electrical power are not included in the budgetary quotations.

A separate Budgetary Quote is provided for replacement of the existing mixing console with a digital console with 64 channel capability. An option to that Quote offers a 32x16 Digital Stage Box Kit that would allow many options but one expressed was the capability to mix from the main floor of the Theatre.


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NEXO Speaker Configuration and Options

Quantity Description

14 NEXO GEOS1210, 10 Degree Speaker Modules2 NEXO GEOS1230, 30 Degree Speaker Modules3 NEXO GFT-FLG 120 Degree Dispersion Flanges2 NEXO GPT-Bumper Touring/Production Bumpers16 NEXO GPT-XBOW Mini Crossbow for S12 Speaker Modules64 NEXO VXT-BL820 Quick Release Pins1 NEXO NXAMP4X4 Power Amplifier with Speaker Processing, Requires 30

amp AC Power Dual Receptacle10 Conquest N212 3, 3’ Speaker Module Jumper Cables

500’ West Penn 227 Speaker Cable1 Lowell LER-4027 Equipment Rack1 Lowell LMB-27 Caster Base1 Programming and Equalization

Budgetary Total, $110,500.00

*OPTION 1 Add Front Fill Speakers*6 NEXO PS8U Front Fill Speakers1 NEXO NXAMP4X1Power Amplifier2 West Penn 227 Speaker Cable6 NEXO VNI-UBRK8 U-Brackets and Mounting Hardware

Budgetary Total Option 1, $21,000.00

*OPTION 2 ADD SUBWOOFERS*6 NEXO RS-18PI 18” Subwoofers2 NEXO NXAMP4X4 Power Amplifiers, 30 amp AC Power Required



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Community Speaker Configuration and Options

Digital Mixing Console and Options



2 Community SLS960 Speaker Cabinet, Biamplified2 Community SLS920 Speaker Cabinet, Biamplified4 Community Seat Track Kits and Hardware1 Crown DCi 4/600 High and Low Frequency Amplifier, SLS9201 Crown DCi 4/1250 High and Low Frequency Amplifier, SLS9601 Biamp Audia Flex DSP with 1-IP2 Input Card and 5-OP2e Output Cards1 Reuse the Existing Equipment Rack3 West Penn 227 Speaker Cable1 Programming and Equalization


*OPTION 1 ADD SUBWOOFER*1 Community SBS45 4-15” Subwoofer Enclosure1 Community DSPEC226AN 2x6 Subwoofer DSP1 Crown CDi6000 Amplifier in Bridged Mono Mode1 Subwoofer Flying Hardware and Isolators1 West Penn 227 Speaker Cable1 Programming and Equalization



1 Yamaha LS9-32 Digital Mixer 64 Inputs plus 4 Stereo Inputs, 16 Outputs1 Yamaha LA1L Console Light1 Studio Slips LS9-32 Slip Cover1 Programming, Mixing Console Set Up and Training


*OPTIONAL STAGEBOX AND INSTALLATION FOR REMOTE MIX*1 Yamaha 32X16 STAGEBOX KIT1 Gator G-Tour SHK 12 CA Shock Style Portable Stagebox Equipment Rack1 Main Floor Mix Location Receptacle and Box Configuration1 West Penn 4245OSP Cat5 Cable from Stagebox to Remote Mix Location1 Programming and Stagebox Set Up


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16. Recommendation:

It is recommended that the department move forward with the implementation of their plan to upgrade the sound systems of McConnell Auditorium.

17. Approvals

This section should be left blank.

The following actions have been taken by the appropriate Sub-Council (ATAC or Non-Academic Sub-Council) and University Enterprise Team:

Date Action By

12/1/14 Approved EISC

Upon approval by the Enterprise Information Systems Committee (EISC) or one of the two Sub-Councils (Academic or Non-Academic), CWU procurement policies and procedures should be used to initiate a purchase. Please contact the Purchasing office at x1001 with any questions regarding the procurement process.

If you have any questions, please contact Ginger McIntosh 963-1466, Sue Noce 963-2927 or Tina Short 963-2910.


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