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The British Film Institute Chooses Panasonic for Professional Projector Installation
Renowned film venue the BFI on London's Southbank has enhanced the experience of its customers by using a combination of Panasonic plasma screens and projectors throughout the complex to show clips of upcoming films and information on future events.
When the venue was extended in 2007 the organisation used this as an opportunity to also upgrade its technology to better serve its customer base and help ensure that the BFI maintained its respected position in the UK film industry.
Shaun Fradd, sponsorship executive at the BFI, says: "It was obvious that this being the home of the moving image in the UK that we showed clips of forthcoming films on screens [around the complex]. With it being a more dynamic venue it made sense to have plasmas and this has improved the imagery."
After approaching various technology providers Fradd says the BFI chose Panasonic equipment partly as a result of the company sharing higher recognition than other operators that the striking of a favourable deal with the publicly-funded BFI would provide Panasonic with the opportunity to use this important cinematic location as a showcase for its technology.
The technology arrangement implemented by the BFI includes a batch of 42-inch TH-42PS9BK plasmas. Four are located in the Film Café facing out to the River Thames, one on the wall outside the Studio (a small cinema space), one in the Filmstore shop and one in the Delegate Centre. In addition, there is also a 65-inch TH-65PF9BK plasma positioned on the wall outside the NFT1 cinema.
Each of the screens is wall mounted and, according to Fradd, involved a relatively painless implementation: "It took only a number of weeks. After a quick delivery once our order had been placed, our own technicians then oversaw the installation including the cabling into the content management system."
Apart from the plasma in the Filmstore unit they are all linked into the BFI's content management system which shows the same daily-changing content on each screen. This comprises a combination of details of the day's film programme, opening times, information on the BFI's IMAX cinema located nearby and details of activities in the Gallery area. In addition, footage is also shown of future films - that might encompass nitrate films from the BFI archive right up to films shot in digital format.
The BFI has also implemented three Panasonic projectors comprising two PT-LB10NTE devices that are used on an ad-hoc basis around the venue and can easily be moved into place when needed. A third, larger Panasonic PT-D5500E projector is ceiling-mounted on a permanent basis in the atrium area, and is used to showcase footage from previous exhibitions held at the BFI. This device projects an image approximately two metres square onto one of the walls within the atrium.
With the level of ambient light entering the atrium through its predominantly-glass exterior walls Fradd says it was necessary to use a 5,000 lumens unit whereas the two smaller projectors in the Gallery are 2,000 lumens devices.
After one year in operation Fradd says the Panasonic equipment has proven to be very robust, especially the plasmas in the public areas: "Apart from those in the Film Café, which are out of people's way, the others are quite accessible (even to kids) but there have not been any problems in that sense. They've been very resilient."
The success to date of the overall implementation, through creating extra engagement with the public, has resulted in the BFI considering how it can extend its use of moving images within its Southbank complex.
This could involve both the introduction of additional equipment along with advances made to its content. Fradd suggests that the content management system could be linked into the box office so announcements could be shown about limited numbers of tickets left for the next performance and any special offers available.
A more flexible management of the content would also make it possible to use the screens around the complex to inform people when a film has made a last minute transfer onto a larger screen. "At the moment we use notes stuck around the building so we could in future put these notices on the screens instead," he says.
In terms of adding to the technology one possibility is the installation of a projector or plasma screen in the main foyer, which Fradd says would dramatically enhance the space by enabling moving images to be shown on what is currently a large blank wall.
A large 103-inch Panasonic plasma or a projector with a 10,000 lumens capability are the options under consideration for placement in an area that Fradd says is ideal to showcase state-of-the-art AV equipment.
27th June 2008
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