L-Acoustics K and L Series Sound Lets Freedom 250 Ring at the Washington Monument

America has quite a story to tell, and it portrayed that narrative spectacularly with a variety of events around the July 4 holiday in Washington, D.C. One of the most dramatic was the illumination of the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument, turning it into a canvas for a narrated projection show that launched America’s year-long 250th anniversary celebration. The projection show, designed by artist and videographer Kyle Barrett, ran for six nights and displayed emblematic symbols of America’s pioneering and innovative spirit, from wooden ships crossing the Atlantic and covered wagons heading West to the Empire State Building and Apollo moon landing. The iconic obelisk has regularly served as the backdrop for Independence Day fireworks shows in the capital, but this year was special, and event producers redoubled their efforts, presenting a visual and sonic spectacular worthy of the special occasion. LMG provided both audio, via an L-Acoustics K and L Series system, and the advanced projection mapping technology that combined for truly historic audiovisual storytelling.

LMG Audio Systems Director Robby Schlegel explains that the company deployed Barco projectors driven by a Ross Vertex media server ecosystem for the New Year’s Eve celebrations this year, to great success. “The planning team brought us back in for the July 4th celebration” he tells, and LMG deployed the same projection system again. “For the Fourth, they wanted to take the audio up a notch. L-Acoustics was the right choice to do that.”

Soundvision Adapts to Last-Minute Changes

Schlegel says that the initial sound design for the event, which took place on June 24 and integrated playback, live music, and a rally, prompted LMG to deploy L-Acoustics K Series arrays, with L Series arrays used as delay extensions for a concert taking place on the East side of the monument. The audio setup for the projection was designed using L-Acoustics Soundvision software, with the expectation that the crowds would be kept outside an oval-shaped, 600×400-foot perimeter around the obelisk, an optimum distance to enjoy the visuals.

But Soundvision was also an invaluable tool when last-minute modifications were made on-site. “We were told that there weren’t going to be people inside that oval area, so we designed the system to cover outside of that boundary, which was where LMG had large shipping containers that housed the projectors and where everyone was going to stand back behind and watch the projection,” he explains. “But the sheer number of people that showed up forced those plans to

change significantly. Near the start of the event, the client realized that there were going to be a lot more people inside the oval than outside, so we ended up spinning some of the arrays 180 degrees, with the north and south towers facing inside toward the monument, and the larger towers on the west side covering the rest of the mall. Acting fast was imperative, and the reoriented design was able to easily give us the coverage we needed.”

Deploying a Comprehensive and Flexible System Design

The final Mall East system configurations featured main arrays of eight K1 over six K2 per side, with six KS28 subs below each main in two stacks of three, while Mall East out-fills were served by arrays of three L2 per side, with six KS28 subs below each main, also in two stacks of three. The Mall North and South fills were identical: arrays of three L2 per side, with eight K1-SB subs below each main, in two stacks of four. The Mall East system fired facing away from the monument, flanking the Washington Monument Lodge, while the Mall North and South systems fired in toward the center, with the K1-SB subs conversely firing away from the monument. All K Series elements were powered by LA12X amplified controllers, while LA7.16 drove all of the L2 delay components, and processing was via a pair of P1 processors. In addition, an L-Acoustics LC16D network audio converter was used to route feeds directly from the live-concert front-of-house area to the Mall West speaker arrays. The entire system was linked via a redundant Milan-AVB network that worked seamlessly, despite some incredibly long fiber runs between the locations, Schlegel recalls.

“This project was a testament to Soundvision’s ability to pivot and to recalculate designs very quickly, giving the technicians the ability to make those changes based on the needs of the show,” he says. “It went phenomenally well and we heard nothing but great responses from our client. It was one of LMG’s most innovative projects yet, and L-Acoustics speakers and software were essential to the event’s success.”