Our Work
- October 2016
- Coventry, UK
Custom Consoles - Coventry University.
Custom Consoles Module-R, MDesks and MediaPosts have been selected by Altered Images as the core technical furniture for a new television studio gallery at Coventry University. The facility will be used as a training resource for students of broadcasting, journalism and drama. It will also allow the production of high quality programmes supporting a wide range of undergraduate courses.
“An important aspect of this contract was to ensure it reflected current best practice in the broadcast industry to which many students will migrate after graduation,” says Altered Images’ Regional Development Manager, Tim Cunningham . “Our Projects Design Team like Custom Consoles desks and recommend them for many of our system proposals. They were the logical source both for the main control desk, rear operational support desks and video display screen mounts.
“The control desk is from the Custom Consoles Module-R series. It is a 5.7 metre wide rectangular design accommodating, from left to right, camera control, lighting control, vision mixer/director, PA, audio mixing, teleprompt and graphic effects including chroma-key and clip playout. We were able to specify exactly which modules we needed to house auxiliary equipment. These include an 11U high monitor and test equipment pod serving the camera control position, three talkback pods each with 3U capacity, and an 8U audio support pod housing equipment such as radio microphone receivers. Five 24 inch computer monitor displays are located just behind the main worksurface. Front, rear and sides are finished in beech veneer with the desktop itself surfaced in a hard-wearing grey laminate.
“Two Custom Consoles MediaPost mounts with linking crossbar form a 4 metre wide monitorscape in a half-metre space between the wall and the rear edge of the production control desk. These support two 50 inch LCD displays and two 8 inch loudspeakers. Two additional MediaPosts, each with a 47 inch transflective display, are separately located along glass walls within public view. They can also be rotated to display students’ work internally.
The three MDesks have the same colour scheme and are positioned as a rear-row running parallel to the Module-R control desk, leaving a 1.2 metre gap for the front-desk operators’ seating. Each MDesk is 1.8 metres wide, forming a total width of 5.4 metres. These form a flexible working space for auxiliary production personnel, lecturers, students and guests.
Module-R is a mix-and-matchable control room furniture system which allows aesthetically attractive and highly robust desks to be configured to meet specific shapes and dimensions from a selection of high-quality pods, base sections, 19 inch rack housings, worktops, end-panel modules and legs. Co-ordinated desk pods are available as single-bay sections with up 10U chassis capacity.
Custom Consoles’ MDesk is a structured system enabling bespoke configuration from a number of standard modules, providing an ergonomic working environment for control rooms of any size. surfaces, edged in a matching hardwood. Cable management ducts are incorporated as standard, with optional CPU holders and ergonomic LCD monitor arms as required. M-Desk is augmented by a selection of matching pedestals and storage furniture. An optional height adjuster enables staff to avoid backache and repetitive strain injury by varying their working posture. This is achieved by means of a telescopic handle which returns into the profile of the desk when not required. The M-Desk range is fully FIRA approved and incorporates extruded aluminium support pillars which deliver the twin benefits of light weight and high structural rigidity.
Coventry University
Coventry University (www.coventry.ac.uk) is the larger of the two universities in the city, the other being the University of Warwick. It has three campuses: one in the city centre of Coventry where a large majority of the university operates, one in Scarborough and one in London. The university comprises four faculties. It manages a number of commercial subsidiaries which provide business services to local and national organisations.
Altered Images
Established in 1996 Altered Images (www.alteredimages.com) is one of the UK’s major resellers of technology for the television production and corporate communications industry. The company has a deep understanding of the way visual communications technology works and how production professionals can get the best out of it. Altered Images can provide a complete solution from consultancy to design and installation, with full maintenance support from premises in Manchester, Nuneaton and Shepperton.
Custom Consoles
Founded in 1996, Custom Consoles Ltd (www.customconsoles.co.uk) is an ISO 9001 certified manufacturer of project-specific and modular broadcast, process-control and security furniture. The product range includes motorised, manually-adjustable and fixed-height units plus fan-cooled sound-insulated equipment housings.
Custom Consoles operates from a 1,200 square metre UK-based production facility equipped with 3D computer-aided-design facilities, computer-controlled cutting machinery and a thermoform press. These resources provide the dual benefits of precise quality control and prompt delivery times, typically 21 days from receipt of order. Custom Consoles’ clients include broadcasters, production and post production studios, governmental and corporate organisations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia.
Contacts for further information
Newsmedia support: David Kirk, Stylus Media Consultants
Tel: +44 (0)1342 311 983 | Email: stylusmedia@gmail.com
Altered Images: Nick Frith
Tel: 01932 255 666 | Email nick_frith@alteredimages.com
Custom Consoles: Gary Fuller
Tel: +44 (0)1525 379 909 | Email:gary@customconsoles.co.uk
Custom Consoles Ltd, Leedon House, Billington Road, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 4TN, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1525 379 909 | Fax: +44(0)1525 370 237
Web: www.customconsoles.co.uk
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