MST Supports BBC Radio 3’s Live Residency At London’s Southbank Centre
For its 70th anniversary of the founding of Radio 3 - originally as the Third Programme - the BBC went 'inside the box', so to speak, with a two week residency broadcasting live from the foyer of the Royal Festival Hall café at London's Southbank Centre, overlooking the River Thames.
As a long-standing supplier to the BBC for event production and AV equipment hire, we were once again asked to help out during Radio 3's residency over September and October 2016.
Programmes were delivered from within a sound-proofed pop-up glass studio, and also relayed live to the café customers via speakers set up around the foyer. Outside the studio, a space was reserved for staging immersive and inspiring performances given by invited guests on a daily basis.
MST Media Productions was contracted by the BBC to supply a series of LED screens set out on stands around the café space, so that the audience could easily access the on-screen media content. This was delivered by a custom-designed app, running via a Chromebit stick inserted into the HDMI port of each screen.
The app content was designed by justFDI Limited using ThinkWall™ interactive social display technology. The screen image was split into different zones, with the lower third running a live Twitter feed via @BBCRadio3 and the middle zone showing details of the current broadcast programme and/or guest performance.
MST's installation team worked closely with Huw Robinson, BBC Radio's Operations Manager (Classical, Radio & Music Operations). This ensured that all cabling was safely routed around the public space in order to meet current H&S regulations, and to pass the Southbank Centre's own exemplary standards for a safe and secure installation - as well as our own!
All in all, it was great for us to to work alongside the BBC team once again in the heart of London, bringing interactive crystal clear sound experiences to visitors to the South Bank.