James Milne Institution committee invests £1376 funding in audiovisual equipment at Findhorn venue
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THE CUSTODIANS of a historic community building in Findhorn have been awarded more than £1300 for audiovisual equipment.
The James Milne Institution (JMI) committee accepted £1376.80 from the Moray Council developer obligations fund to invest in acoustic panels, a projector and screen, and speakers.
JMI committee member, Bob James, confirmed this has been added to nearly £5000 in developer obligations funding the local authority had already ring-fenced for the building - JMI’s committee requested the further amount as the speakers alone costed £5000.
New video conferencing equipment has been set up in the JMI’s Osprey room and existing kit has been updated in the main hall.
Bob said: “Most parties in the JMI now involve videos, photos and music on smart phones, tablets and laptops - we can now put these on our screen and speakers. Music playlists or home movies saved on the web can now be streamed with our superfast fibre broadband. And the speakers can connect with our equipment far more easily than before.”
Before investing, Bob visited Forres Town Hall’s lesser hall and was impressed by the difference acoustic dampening panels make.
He said: “The JMI was very echoey so we decided to add the same. We are also going to improve the audio visual facilities in the hall to make it more flexible to hirers. The equipment will be very similar to what’s in the Tolbooth courtroom.”
In 2020, JMI’s hall was redecorated, with new curtains and LED lighting put in. A CO2 meter has been added in the smaller Osprey room which can be used for teleconferencing, has a large screen TV and an easy-to-use speakerphone so users can meet face-to-face and via video.
Bob said: “We’e loads more capability and flexibility. We’ve also replaced the clock mechanism for the village!”
