NewsNews: BBC Big Screen Derby – Call for Submissions
15/04/08
As part of BBC Live Events, Big Screens bring cities across the UK to Life. There are currently eight sites including Derby, the only Big Screen in the East Midlands. Local content is a top priority for each screen – film shorts, music videos, films about community organisations and interactive applications. The screens high profile city centre location means it’s an excellent way to reach a wider audience. We actively welcome ideas, partnerships and pitches for imaginative use that will engage the public, with no charge for use. The BBC underpins local content with a schedule of live television programmes and local events are relayed onto the screens and sometimes integrate with major national and broadcast events such as Wimbledon, Proms in the Park, World Cup Football and an annual series of exclusive relays from the Royal Opera House. The technology is now being rolled out to allow daily interaction between the public and their screen, from simple texting of messages to sophisticated video games based on movement recognition. If a software project or application can run on a computer, then it can appear on the screens.
We have a dedicated PC and Mac at each site on which material might sit for just this purpose. Examples include a Visual Jukebox, for which the public selected content via movement alone.Startling results can be achieved using the technology in place. One project baffled and delighted viewers by first switching to live camera, cutting to a pre-recorded DVD feed from the same source (inserting bizarre occurrences into the public space), and cutting again to the artist’s own time-delay unit so that observers then saw themselves arriving.The broadcast of a video feed from the vicinity of each screen allows us to integrate live activities. Portable camera(s) can be located at the base of each structure for staged/roaming activities, while a fixed camera located on the top of each structure provides an elevated viewpoint. Selected sites have additional live inject points both indoors and across the city, One project used a screen as a processing point for an artist to take still images of the public in posed positions, later splicing these together to form a staggered ‘dance’ that was transmitted to participants within that space; granting a rare opportunity to directly engage with the built environment.Content that has been created with outdoor broadcast and/or the site specific nature of each screen in mind is encouraged and has proven popular with audiences. It must be suitable for a public space and for people of all ages and comply with BBC Editorial Guidelines. To fine out more about the Derby Big Screen and how to submit work contact the Screen Manager, Louise Angell: louise.angell@bbc.co.uk / 01332 375049 or go to www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens  |
