O2 charts music history

From the early days of skiffle, via Punk, to the current brigade from Shoreditch and Manchester, rock and roll has been an intrinsic part of the national psyche. It has also been equally vital as a key driver of the a-v landscape, so it’s perhaps apposite that state-of-the-art audio and visual technology features large at the O2′s hi-tech permanent installation, The British Music Experience (BME).

Opened in March, the exhibition features interactive tables, projected images, screens and, of course, sound input to create what BME curator Paul Lilley calls a home for British music history at The Bubble, O2′s art exhibition space.

The installation enables visitors to trace musical trends through the decades, understand music’s influence on art, fashion and politics, as well as allowing visitors to download music from the BME archive.

To achieve this, hundreds of artists feature in the exhibition, from The Beatles to Iron Maiden, from Cilla Black to Elastica, from David Bowie to Motorhead. More than 500 key pieces of British music memorabilia are on display including David Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes clown suit and Ziggy Stardust costume, Noel Gallagher’s Epiphone Union Jack guitar, Roger Daltrey’s Woodstock outfit and a vintage Amy Winehouse dress. Impressively, all the exhibits are originals, in most cases lent by their owners, and have a combined value of more than £5m. Taking in wide-ranging musical genres, the whole exhibition presents a comprehensive story of UK music.

Given that it has all been packed into a modest 22,000sqft, split into seven spaces, the use of a-v has been pivotal in delivering one of Lilley’s primary objectives: to avoid a traditional museum space by creating an experience for visitors.

‘You can listen to a guitar and learn to play it, you can also learn to dance on the ‘Dance the Decades’ booth. Interactive displays walk visitors through the decades of music. If you feel there is too much information and you can’t remember it all, you can go to the website after the visit, enter your smart ticket code and have a record of what you have seen and done, whether it is playing or dancing, and review what you’ve learned,’ he says.

The installation was carried out by a-v system integrator Sysco, which worked with BME exhibition consultancy Land Design, as well as three software designers (Studio Simple, ISO and Clay). What they’ve created packs in top-end kit at almost every turning.

On entering the exhibition, a pre-show 3D-graphics presentation video, with a virtual Lauren Laverne, introduces visitors to what’s on offer using an interactive ticket – the BME uses RFID technology throughout. The smart ticket allows visitors to activate the interactive elements of the exhibition and register further interest in specific BME features. Visitors can then visit www.britishmusicexperience.com to access free downloads and information on parts of the exhibition they want to learn more about.

Acoustic awe

Move further into The Core, the central space of the exhibition, and a-v starts coming into its own: the ceiling is studded with doughnut-shaped Tannoy V8 and V12 HP loudspeakers that create unique audioscapes. The 8in Tannoy chassis speakers hang from the ceiling on six tiers at various levels, all emitting a different mix of sound. They also hide the projectors hanging on the ceiling.

BME’s audio systems, also installed by Sysco, are fully integrated with the BME wide-show control software and tightly synchronised to video content. The audio system is networked using a BSS SW9088 Soundweb London system, a return to the venue where the world’s largest Soundweb network was originally installed for the Millennium Dome. The Soundweb network here allows precise delivery of digital audio to the hundreds of network locations, free from interference and noise.

Directional sound

Sennheiser provides the headphones used for each of the show’s individual exhibits (225 pairs of HD 215s in total), as well as many of its microphones.

Sysco’s engineering team also exploited the power density of Lab.gruppen’s four-channel C Series amplification to drive multiple channels of Tannoy speakers, reducing rack space and power-draw requirements.

Where highly directional sound is required, for example in the Sound Tunnel that leads visitors from the pre-show presentation into The Core, Soundtube loudspeakers, driven by Cloud CX-A4 amplifiers, provide the requisite control and directionality. ButtKicker floor-shaker bass loudspeakers, with matching amplifiers, deliver special low-frequency effects for the ‘Dance of the Decades’ and ‘Central Mast’ zones.

The visual matches the strength of the audio kit, with large-scale projection used throughout via a blend of vertical and horizontal imagery framing interactive displays to create a three-dimensional visual environment.

Models range from Christie’s HD projectors through to Panasonic, taking in Hitachi’s LCD projectors. The LCD projectors are used on the sides of The Core with 360 vertical projection screens running archived footage from the different eras presented at the BME, known as Star Stages. Hitachi LCD projectors have been used because the zone requires a short throw and HD wasn’t necessary, while the rest of the projectors are all DLP – a mix of HD and SD.

With this amount of kit, the project hasn’t always been plain sailing, admits Chris Mothersdale, Sysco’s operations manager. ‘One big problem we have in this venue is that, since part of the rigging truss is flown from one of The 02′s structural masts, the projectors get offset very quickly. One half of the BME vibrates constantly and, although imperceptible for the visitors, it means we need to have a technician re-setting the projectors all the time. But we have come up with some clever ways to suspend them to get the minimum movement.

‘The other issue we have is with the video walls. On the Edge Zones, where we use more than one projector for the video wall, we’ve had to make do with no edge blending. To cut down on cost, the software was not installed,’ he says.

Cultural influences

The Edge Zones have giant end-wall projections, each created by a pair of Christie DS+305s run from an Apple Mac. An interesting application of rear projection and interaction using Christie DS+305 projectors create the ‘Atlantic Crossing’ exhibit that has two of the Edge Zones, literally reflecting the cross-cultural influences of the US and UK.

The Edge Zones, which progress through the ages of pop from the fifties to the noughties, also feature circular Talk Tables, each surrounded by four, 24in vertically mounted NEC LCD displays. These interactive exhibits allow visitors to select the content they want to watch (with accompanying audio on headphones) by interacting with graphics projected precisely onto the table tops by one Panasonic single-chip projector per table, with images from a Blade IV server (one of many used by Sysco throughout BME). Around these are large showcases housing the unique memorabilia that the BME team collected for the exhibition, from the Beatles’ stage outfits to one of Noel Gallagher’s famous ‘Union Jack’ Epiphone guitars.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the Gibson Interactive Studio, where visitors can pick up and play Gibson and Epiphone electric and acoustic guitars. It features ‘one-to-one’ video guitar experiences with KT Tunstall, Amy MacDonald and the Magic Numbers, complete with step-by-step video tuition of some of their best known tracks, with content supplied courtesy of Nowplayit.com.

It also has a Slingerland drum kit to compliment the experience. All the instruments can be listened to with headphones. The drum kit is virtually silent as too are the guitars.

The BME experience finishes with a bang. Before visitors leave, they are treated to a loud and emotive finale produced by no less than 13 Christie Digital DS+6k DLP projectors that create a giant wrap-around stadium visual. There are nine screens in total; three screens are against the walls working in a more traditional fashion with straight front projectors. Another three semi-transparent screens wrap around the audience during the stand-up show. In between are three Pepper’s Ghost screens that retract themselves once they’ve displayed their holographic bit. These are not projection screens, but curved plastic screens that reflect images from a Panasonic 65in UXGA plasma. This part of the experience uses Dataton Watchout edge-blending software. The combination of the distant and close screens, together with the holograms, give the show a three-dimensional, layered effect.

Learning curve

Moving head lighting (installed by BME lighting supplier DALD) is synchronised with video via DMX by bespoke show control software, and the show can be run by staff via a Cue touch panel.

All in all, the BME is an a-v extravaganza, as well as a musical one. It is supported not only by music PRs and the likes of Getty Images and the BBC, but also from top brands such as Gibson and Sennheiser, which is cementing its role as a long-time industry favourite as a major BME sponsor. As well as financial backing, Sennheiser is providing audio equipment that includes 225 Sennheiser HD 215 headphones used throughout the exhibition.

The installation is the brainchild of Harvey Goldsmith, the events magnet who has brought the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Who, Cirque Du Soleil and Led Zeppelin to the world stage.

Goldstein chairs the BME Foundation, which is a non-profit organisation, and which will oversee content, the exhibition’s role as an educational tool and its future development. All funds from tickets and events will be re-invested in the BME or used for educational purposes.

The BME Foundation is clear in its intent: to provide a space to try out instruments, train and learn about the music industry. As Goldstein states: ‘Until now, we’ve had nothing to reflect our music industry heritage, which has conquered the world. We need new managers, musicians, promoters, to keep our music industry at the vanguard of the music world. Perhaps this will help do that.’ One thing is certain: however the UK music scene develops, a-v will no doubt continue to play its part.