BME takes over the 22,000sq.ft on the top floor of The O2 bubble, The O2's exhibition space. A permanent, high-tech, interactive music exhibition, it's also among the most technically complex AV installations ever undertaken in the UK visitor attractions sector.
Sysco's team, led by project manager Chris Mothersdale, director of engineering Glyn Hughes and director of technology Graeme Bunyan, specified and installed the projection, audio and computer systems and interactives that deliver the BME experience. They span every area of the BME, from the pre-show introduction presented by a 'virtual' Lauren Laverne, and The Core (BME's central area) with its six interactive exhibits and seven Edge Zones, to the stadium rock-style 'End Show'.Technologies include multi-projector edge-blended projections featuring Christie, Dataton and other brands; Sysco-designed interactive control surfaces of numerous types; multiple zone audio systems featuring BSS Soundweb, Tannoy, Soundtube, Lab.gruppen and Cloud Electronics equipment; a multi-platform (PC and MAC) content delivery computer system; RFID-based Smartcards that allow visitors to download their personal BME experience when they get home; as well as integration with The O2's site-wide IT infrastructure.
Sysco director Hugo Roche says: "It has been an exciting project for us to work on, and once again has showed that the Sysco team has the experience and innovative abilities to deal with a complex exhibition within a demanding timetable, and in the sensitive context of a complex building."
Visuals, audio and tactile interfaces combine spectacularly at BME. Large-scale projection is used throughout, with a blend of vertical and horizontal imagery framing interactive displays to create a three-dimensional visual environment.
Christie Digital projectors are used extensively, with no less than 13 DS+6k DLP projectors creating a giant wrap-around stadium visual for the End Show, projecting onto three semi-reflective screens using Dataton Watchout edge blending software, behind which three Panasonic 65" UXGA plasma displays blend in to create a 3D layered effect. Moving head lighting (installed by BME lighting suppliers DALD) is synchronised with video via DMX by the bespoke show control software, and the entire show can be triggered at the touch of a button by a member of staff via a Cue touch panel.
Another Christie projector - a DS+650 SXGA+ single chip unit - provides the high definition map of the UK that's at the heart of the 'Place In Time' exhibit in The Core, where visitors can check out the famous musical names and landmarks associated with thousands of locations across the UK. 3 inch plinth-mounted HAPP trackballs provide the interactive search element, pinpointing the chosen map location with local highlight information projected into defined circles via a trio of Panasonic XGA projectors running over Gefen Extender technology.
The Core itself is surrounded by 360 degrees of vertical projections on seven screens, known as Star Stages, which energise the space with a constantly running evocation of key names from UK pop music history, delivered via mirrors from Hitachi LCD projectors with software image correction.Christie DS+305 projectors create the 'Atlantic Crossing' exhibit that features in two of the Edge Zones, literally reflecting the cross-cultural influences of the US and the UK. The Edge Zones, which progress through the ages of pop from the fifties to the noughties, also feature circular Talk Tables, eac
