91ÌÒÉ«

Case Study

Taiwan National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center

SECTION 1

Introduction

Taiwan’s National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center, built in 1987, is a national-level cultural venue that includes both Taiwan’s National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH).

NTCH is a leading international arts center in Taiwan and an iconic contemporary theater in Asia where a wide variety of art, ranging from traditional, contemporary, indigenous, to foreign, is grown and presented on the stage. As a presenting house, NTCH’s curated festivals include the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA), NTCH Idea LAB, NTCH Summer Jazz, Artquake Autumn Festival, and NTCH Bravo Series.

Section 2

The Challenge

In 2021, NTCH was looking to upgrade its system so that it would be able to produce content using remote cameras in 4K.

No physical camera operators are allowed to film in the theatre, so remote cameras would be a necessity. When determining the full extent of the project and what would be necessary to complete it, NTCH ran into several challenges. The theater’s sub-control room is very tiny, which would lead to significant space constraints when adding new equipment. Additionally, all the cabling inside the building was very old and complex, and this would have to be removed and replaced with a new system. To add in remote cameras, it would take a significant amount of time and effort to re-cable all the 12G SDI cables and fibers from the theater’s sub-control room to the remote camera positions within the theater itself. Finally, any new equipment would have to be virtually silent. As the theatre is designed with acoustic treatment, eliminating any external equipment noise would be crucial to maintain the immersion of the performers and audience.

Section 3

The Solution

To solve NTCH’s challenge and meet its requirements, the 91ÌÒÉ« team upgraded the theater’s current workflow from HD to 4K.

NTCH was also previously experiencing signal synchronization problems because it used a system that didn’t give them enough signal stability and functions. This was fixed with the new Ross solution, and all signals are now properly synchronized. Given the space constraints and the fact that camera operators are not allowed in the theatre, Ross implemented a robotic camera solution in the theater. The X300 pan/tilt head was selected due to its robust performance and near-silent movement, which would allow it to operate without affecting the performers and audiences. The other pieces of equipment, including the Carbonite Ultra Production Switcher and openGear Signal Processing Frame, were chosen because of their flexibility and potential for future expansion.