Silberbauer Says:

Just a couple of images of the Concerthouse illumination from last night. We’re changing the illumination everytime a major event is taking place in the Concerthouse and this time it is the Outgames’ Conference about human rights for gays and other minorities. The illumination will be on until wednesday from around 22:30 until 06:00.

A short report from ‘TodaysArt08” in Hague in Holland.

What is TodaysArt?
TodaysArt is a two-day festival with electronic music, video installations, art and dance. It draws mostly a local crowd from Holland and hasn’t got the same international atmosphere as fx Sonar in Barcelona.

Was it any good?
No!
Even though we experienced a couple of highlights, it wasn’t worth the money. The basic impression of the festival is that the event has been putting too much effort in promotion instead of creating great content. And that will not bring me back to Hague next year.
A couple of things were great but the rest will quickly be forgotten and I recommend saving the money and going to Sonar in Barcelona instead.

The good stuff:
Augmented Spaces by Pablo Valbuena
The best thing were definitely the video installation ‘Augmented Spaces’ by Pablo Valbuena. It was a really impressive installation that made a great use of the extremely white Richard Myers building. Great use of the technique and the two projectors placed on the corner of the big white building.
The only problem was that the installation ran for two nights and that was way too much. Even though it was impressive, it quickly became a bit boring and it was weird that they didn’t bring more content to the festival.

Aerial Dance:
Another great event was the aerial dance by the Spanish aerial dance team ‘Brenda Angiel’. I took a couple of pictures during their training in the afternoon and some video at their performance later the same night.

And finally, the strangest instrument ever. The lightning scratching device. Fun, but once you’ve seen it – you’ve seen it.

/Lars Silberbauer

Take a look at this CNN weatherforecast of hurricane Ike from today. At 1:20 in the clip he uses the 3 dimensional multi touch display. For once it is not only eye candy but has value and gives a good impression of the hurricane. Nice use and integration of Google Maps as well.

If the embedded video doesn’t work then use this link or see the clip on Baekdal’s blog

If the embedded video doesn’t work then use this link:

So, I haven’t been posting for a couple of weeks because I’ve been extremely busy at work and at the same time had to finish my HD (Business diploma in Innovation and Management).

The Sonar Experience
But I have to share the experience I’ve had this weekend at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona. I went with a colleague to get some ideas to our the next big project which is to create a very large scale video projection solution in and on the new Jean Nouvel Concert House in Copenhagen.

How can I describe the Sonar Festival?….
In a few words: an utterly mind blowing experience!!
If you don’t take my word for it, then hear it from Miss Dubstep herself aka Mary Anne Hobbs from BBC1 in this clip from Sonar Night 2008.

And again, if you don’t think that this blond know what she is talking about then look at this clip I shot during the BBC1 Showcase at the festival Thursday night. Watch the crowd goes wild when she drops the bass line in around the middle of the clip.

The sound is of course terrible and can by no means give a real impression of the subsonic bass line which makes your nostrils spin – but the Sonar set of Mary Anne Hobbs, Flying Lotus, Shackleton and Mala is available on the BBC1 Sonar website or the direct link to the BBC1 Player. Check it out!!

What about the visuals?
There were a lot of visuals at the Sonar Night stages. I believe most of them were by Pfadfinderei which also gave a presentation at the Sonar Day Event about their work and methods for creating visuals. Great visual work with a big technical setup. The visuals worked great to enhance the musical experience. A small sample a recorded at the Sonar main stage.

The visuals were combined with a great ambient light setting created by gobo lights. This is a small clip from early in the evening when it wasn’t too crowded.

But is Sonar just a big rave party??
No, it’s so much more than that. It is SonarDay, SonarNight, SonarMatica, SonarPro, Showcases and much much more. But its too much to describe all the events taking place but take a lot at the gallery and then just sign up for next year and get the full experience. I will definitely be there!!

A while ago, Jeff Han demonstrated the multitouch screen at TED. Now it’s ready for the consumer in a less impressive, but more usable trackpad version. It’s definitely the way to go! It seems to be very intuitive and suddenly the trackpad becomes more than just a ‘mouse-wannabee’. Now we just need a bigger trackpad and more actions than just manipulating the size of a picture
And we need some really clever people to create generic trackpad-language so Mac and Microsoft and other will use the same ‘language’.

Jeff Han’s presentation at TED

Finally, after months of preparation, we have launched the digital signage system in DR’s new headquarter in Copenhagen… and it went well

From a workplace to a place to create.
That was the headline of the project from day one. DR Byen has been built by four different architects who has made four very different buildings.
Pictures from one of the four buildings in DR Byen

Our project was meant to deliver an integrated communication platform and to ‘bring the media’ inside these buildings.
As you can see on this images the last part in the project (the Concert Hall) is still more or less a construction sites (see the official site here). About three quarters of the building is finished and the digital signage project has been launch in three of the four parts of the building.

Number one: To connect the architecture with our corporate identity:
First of all, we needed to make a tighter connection between the architecture and the corporate identity.
Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) is, as the name implies, a media corporation. And although it’s an amazing piece of architecture made by 4 different companies, it is not immediately obvious that it was the home of the largest Danish media corporation, that we are delivering high quality public service content, and that we are the de facto keepers of the Danish cultural media heritage.

Number two
Second, we are experiencing an increasing competition in the media business, and the most important competitive advantage is creativity. Therefore I believe that it is absolutely vital to create a pleasant and inspiring environment for creativity to happen. Of course we can’t do an ROI calculation on how much creativity this project will generate, but I believe that we are creating the ground upon which creativity may grow more easily than usual. And that’s why we have been focusing on the integration of different kinds of visual art in the project and creating an experience instead of just an information screen.

Number 3
Finally, our customers have ever changing needs, and therefore we must able to communicate very fast inside the organization and also be able to change our communication procedures very quickly, if needed. A fully automated digital platform, as the one we have created, is a big asset in this race. In the web-2.0-user-has-the-power communication world of today it’s very important to have non-intrusive way of pushing important communication to your stakeholders, employees and customers.

First of all, the Entrance.
When you step into DR at groundlevel, this is what you see. Three large video projections (one is hidden in this image) on the white and grey concrete walls.

We’ve been working closely together with the architects to create a coherent experience of the room. The content is very abstract and meant to supplement the room with depth, dynamic and a creative atmosphere.

I think it’s important, to be very courageous and to use an abstract and symbolic content that will activate the viewer instead of communicating in the usual corp-speak discourse. We should stimulate experiences with the use of symbols and montage-effects and not with the use the very powerful media to promote corporate taglines. See for instance how Jason Eppink is transforming standard commercials to street art.

The entrance from another angle:

The foyer from one of the side entrances. Four 19″ monitors placed on a white concrete wall.

The ‘Main Street’ on the 2nd floor:
The connection between the four buildings in the ‘DR City’ is a giant glass-covered street (12*18 meters) with a bridge crossing the water channel going through the area called ‘Ørestaden’.

In this part of the building we have placed 6 46″ screens. The content consists of news from our own news-channel and news from the department of corporate communicate. Besides that, there are breakers made by young visual artists. They we’re given access to our media archives and used some of the old material to make new artistic expressions.

The ‘Main Street’ viewed from the bridge on the fourth floor.
Every screen has it’s own unique flow of information configured to the specific physical context and user behaviour.

The Meeting Center:
In our Meeting Center we’ve made an integration to MS Exchange Server. In this way our meeting booking system is automatically updated on the screens next to each meeting room. The interface is based on Flash using xml-data from Exchange generated by AgendaX.

What’s next??

Well, this is just phase one of the project. In the next 1-3 month we will be creating a lot more content to the system, for instance the weather forecast, trailers, traffic information and of course more visuals. In february we’re having the first art exhibition with the project ‘Runner’ in collaboration with Illumenart and EPI. Hopefully, we be able to extend the system to the other parts of DR in Jutland and on Bornholm and most importantly we’re learning a lot about what it takes to maintain and use this kind of communication platform.

Besides this, we’re of course looking forward to completion of the concert hall and to the exciting task of creating the digital projections in and outside the concert hall See the pictures. That’s gonna be amazing!!

I will hopefully be able to upload some video soon. It gives a better sense of the look and feel of the displays.
Please comment if you have any good ideas or experiences with digital signage solutions.

/Lars Silberbauer

Just some slides (in danish) from my presentation at the seminar on “Corporate Branding and Architecture” last week.
foredrags_resume.pdf

Just another post on the use of digital billboards in NYC.
On his website, Jason Eppink is showing how to create street-art out of the commercial content on the digital displays in the NYC subway entrances.
There is a lot of money involved in marketing on the digital displays in the New York Metro:
(estimated $274,000 for a ten-second spots every minute on each of the city’s 80 digital displays for a month). That’s a lot of money! But you’re not getting you’re moneys worth if you are broadcasting the same standard made-for-tv commercials as always.
The content should be made especially to the digital displays and be somehow adjusted and relevant to the specific physical surroundings.
Or why not hire Jason Eppink… it looks great!

Check out the interactive installation at Union Square in New York. It’s really amazing and hasm a lot of ‘wow-effect’. But I would love to play with the equipment for a couple of days and try to combine the astonishing visuals with for instance live video/data or live data from a RFID chip

Microsoft has launched their Project ‘Milan’, which is basically a large touchscreen with a new multitouch manipulation software.





I tried a similar product in New York last year (based a projector instead of a touch screen) and based om my experience it makes a big difference when you’re using a multitouch display instead of a keyboard.

If you’re using a multitouch display on a horizontal surface it’s often becomming a social experience in contrast to using a keyboard where you’re mostly interacting in a individual manipulation and interaction mode. So give me a couple of those, thanks … but could someone at Microsoft please make sure that the blue screen of death is not all over my coffee table?
It would ruin my creative mood, I’m sure.

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Check out MoMA’s site about Doug Aitken’s ‘Sleepwalkers’. I wish I’ve seen it live in NY, but the site gives you a good impression of the video-installation.

By the way, one of the ultimate highlights of the excellent ‘Sip My Ocean’ videoexhibition at Louisiana (in Denmark) was definitely ‘Can’t Stop’ by Aitken. It’s a definitely ‘must see’ piece of videoart!

Enjoy!
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2007/aitken/

This week we’re testing large videoprojections in our new HQ in Ørestaden (Copenhagen).
The headline of the project is: “From a Place to Work to a Place to Create” and we’re trying to create an ambience of innovation, creativity and communication.

If you’re in the neighborhood drop by this week an enjoy the impressive prototype, else check out the videoclip.

What do you think?

Thnx to all who showed up at the REFLEKS06 event!
I think it was worth all the hard work and presented the history of DR in a completely new context and showed how our archives can be used to generate new ideas and new experiences.

It basically worked out the way I’ve imagined it and the performing artist were absolutely amazing (MHM One, Bottega Areté, VJ Samesame, DJ Djuna Barnes, Ane Trolle, Copyflex, Je M’appelle Mads).

Thanks to all the guys and girls who helped us with catering, wardrope and security!!

Click here for more pictures from the event and to give us some feedback.
All photos by Nicolo Fasano.

/Lars Silberbauer

On friday October 13, DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) is hosting the first public event in our brand new corporate HQ: “REFLEKS06“.

In collaboration with the visual artist group Bottega Areté, we’ve (some colleagues and myself) created an event that combines architecture, design and communication.
The concept is based on the idea that our media heritage holds value that goes way beyond the use as documentation on historic events. Instead we can use the archieves as building blocks for new experiences.

Therefore, we’ve asked a cast of young VJs and DJs to use our media archieves and the new buildings to create a creative media experience that hopefully will be as spectacular as our new buildings in “Ørestaden”.

I think it’s going to be an outstanding once in a lifetime event. And we will definitely be working like crazy the next couple of days to make it happen!
/Lars Silberbauer

More about the event (danish)
See the roster (danish)

Søren reminded me that it was about time to make a follow up on my previous posting about digital signage in the Big Apple. Klaus’ Zune posting created a lot of buzz, so we thought it would be appropriate to let it be the topposting for a while.

Right now there’s a lot going on in the field of digital signage and corporate branding. Some companies are leading the way and are using digital signage in their corporate branding and are redesigning their corporate HQ in order to make the ultimate corporate branding experience. They are closing the gap between architecture and communication and creating a more consistent and holistic branding experience than I’ve ever seen before.

One of the best examples is the new Bloomberg Building in New York (created by Cesar Pelli & Associates). When you visit the building it’s obvious that the architecture and digital signage have been merged to create a unique branding experience. The building is absolutely soaked with large digital displays and the architecture is stunning. The visitor leaves the building with the impression of an innovative, creative and open minded organization. I don’t know if this is the true nature of the Bloomberg Corporation, but the building itself gives the visitor this very positive impression.

For instance take a look at this large 3 tier displays which is one of the first large displays that the visitors encounter.

I know, it’s a short clip, but it shows how Bloomberg has made a combination of a large digital display that delivers news content from Bloomberg Media, but at the same time creates an branding experience. It’s not just a news ticker, it’s so much more.

Or have a look at this elevator area. Nice huh?
I can’t describe the entire visitor experience, you have to experience it by yourself – and that is basically my point.

The corporate headquarter is the ultimate place for making a lasting impact on your customers, the press or your stakeholders. You control all the elements and you can create an experience that will be able to push through our personal “ad filtering system”, that most people has developed by watching the estimated 86.500 tv commercials per year (Ries 2002). Instead of having your customer placed in the couch in a familiar environment, you got your customer immersed in a controlled environment, where you can create an experience by making a complete experience for all five senses. As Martin Lindstrom (Danish Branding guru) says in his book “Brand Sense”:

Brand Communication has reached a new frontier. In order to succesfully conquer future horizons, brands will have to find ways to break the 2-D impasse and appeal to the three neglegted senses. Superb picture quality won’t do it. Rather we should look to embrace all five senses in order to create a foundation for future brand strategies.

You cannot send out a press release, make an online ad, create a television commercial or making a blog posting that will be able to make the same impact as the well designed corporate branding experience in your HQ. I know that not all your customers will come and visit you, but you will be able to make a lasting impact on those who does. Bloomberg has definitely showed the way by using digital signage and architecture to communicate corporate values and goals.
Take a look the next time you’re in New York, it’s really really cool.

Just returned to Copenhagen from a research trip to New York. We’ve been researching on trends and developments in the Digital Signage Business. Hopefully I’ll be able to share some of my recently gained insights in the next couple of postings.

First of all – The Research Team:
From the left:
Morten Tue Ankjær (Technical Project Manager)
Lars Silberbauer (Project Manager – Communication)
Nilo Kuhlmann Hansen (Project Manager – Architecture).

We’ve spend four busy days in meetings and on field research and the basic conclusion is that a lot is happening, both in content creation, system developtment and business models.
In the next couple of posting I’ll try to some up on the following:

1. Digital Signage and corporate branding
2. New trends in content developtment
3. Business Models and increasing revenue
4. Developments on the market for digital signage solutions.

I’ll be back!

CNN Money senior writer Paul R. La Monica reports the rising interest in billboards – and more importanty – digital billboards.

Lamar and Clear Channel outdoor are highlighted in the article.

Here’s an excerpt:

For one, billboards, unlike other “older” forms of media, have not faced the same pressure from the Internet, iPods, satellite radio, TiVo and other technology. When you’re driving on a highway, the only way to not see a billboard is to not look out your windshield. Needless to say, that’s not a good idea.

“Technology helps people avoid other advertisements, but we are the one unavoidable media. There is no mute button, no off switch. You can’t change the channel. We’re there,” said Paul Meyer, the global president of Clear Channel outdoor.

In fact, technology is actually something that could help Clear Channel Outdoor and Lamar in the near future. Both companies are testing digital billboards, LCD screens that can change advertisements instantaneously through Internet connections.

That’s a far cry from the old vinyl billboards that only get changed every couple of weeks (or sometime months). “For our industry, technology is no longer a threat, it’s just an ally. Digital displays eliminate the biggest disadvantage to outdoor right now, which is that we are a relatively slower acting cumbersome media,” Meyer said. “With digital signage, there will be no limitations on how often and when advertisers
change their ads.”
Full article here.