The Big Picture
Commissioned by South Dublin County Council and produced by The Farm, “The Big Picture” was a national first - an interactive exhibition giving the public access to information about the ongoing work of their county council.
The exhibition included seven interactive exhibits, developed in Flash, Director and Visual Basic. All exhibits were networked and managed from one central terminal.
A major feature, designed to “draw” visitors into the space, is the lighting visible outside the building. LED wall-washers illuminate the walls of the building on all three floors. The colours reflect the five primary colours used in the exhibition’s design and branding.
Posters displayed at ground level invite passers by to “text” a colour to a an SMS shortcode. Moments after an SMS message is sent, the lighting changes to the selected colour, allowing the public to “paint” the buliding with coloured light.
Software developed using Visual Basic, the lighting is controlled using a USB-DMX interface. SMS messaging service thanks to Púca. The high definition “Themes” wall allows users to navigate more than 30 minutes of high-definition video on a 102” plasma TV. Passive viewers can observe content from the mezzanine above also.
The interface uses chunky, arcade-style colour coded buttons and a content management system allows staff to plug new video content into the exhibit for future events.
Software, including content management system, was developed using Director MX2004. All video is HD encoded using H264. Eight HD televisions display promo footage on the “Eye Candy” wall in the reception area. The content includes a summary of the exhibits inside the space.
The public are encouraged to submit photos via MMS messaging. A web-based system allows exhibition staff to download and moderate these images before posting them to the Eye Candy wall for public display.
HD video is played using Quicktime PRO, automated using javascript. Images for the MMS gallery are embedded using a Director plugin to render gallery videos for inclusion in the main video loop. An interactive map is displayed on a dual-projection screen featuring hotspots representing flagship projects being undertaken by the council. Hotspots also appear on a touch-screen console, from which the user can select one to find out more.
Upon selection, a HD video sequence is played on the projection, delivering details and complex visuals about the project.
Software was developed using Director and is driven by two computers, one master, one slave, connected using a MIDI interface.