NEC Display Solutions Client Installation Video Wall Solutions
YORKSHIRE MUSEUM
INTERACTIVE VISUAL PRESENTATION BRINGS HISTORY TO LIFE
Having just undergone a complete refurbishment and with so much history on it’s doorstep, York Museum has a magnificent story to tell. Andrew Morrison, curator at York Museum explains ‘science, roman history and medieval religion, all represented at our museum, are all strongly routed in the classical world and the refurbishment allowed our building to reflect this with its own classical beauty.’ Using NEC X Series Reference video wall displays, with their precise image and virtually invisible bezels, innovative display solutions were created to bring life to the atmospheric surroundings.
The Challenge
‘WE WANTED TO BRING THE MUSEUM UP TO DATE USING NEW INTERPRETATION TECHNIQUES’
Having had no major investment for over 20 years, the staff at York Museum wanted to bring the displays up to date to reflect new interpretation techniques and the latest research. Whilst museums are traditionally about dead things and ancient artefacts, York Museum was keen to inject movement, colour and people to really bring history to life.
Having recently worked with the University of Reading investigating human remains found in York City in order to gain an understanding about where and how people lived, the Museum wanted to reconstruct these people in a way which you and I today would feel a genuine affinity with. Waxworks are too static and lets face it – wax! The vision resulted in the creation of a life size interactive presentation where the characters were in fact real people telling their story through time.
Using computer generated graphics, actors chosen for their features which matched as closely as possible to the reconstructions, appear to walk through roman buildings. Accurate research had identified the building layout and was the basis for the back story told by the characters themselves.
The NEC Solution
‘THE SUPERB SCREEN QUALITY MAKES THE IMAGE APPEAR EERILY LIFE LIKE’
This interactive presentation was to be the focal point of the central hall immediately drawing visitors back in time to meet the people who inhabited the City, before moving on through the museum to see their actual remains and burial goods. The Museum used a tendering process to select a partner to provide the hardware. Electrosonic, understanding the needs of the application, presented NEC’s X461UN which when used in a portrait 2 by 2 configuration offered a virtually seamless image thanks to its ultra narrow bezel in a size capable of portraying a lifesize human image. ‘The NEC product delivered exactly what we wanted. The superb screen quality makes the image appear eerily life like.’ Morrison continued, ‘it’s not 3D but the effect is the same. Our visitors are captivated!’ The solution has been integrated with a touch screen to create an interactive experience.
The Result
The refurbishment was expected to breath life back into the museum and ultimately to increase visitor numbers. York is an attraction rich city where tourists are spoilt for choice to satisfy their craving for culture. York Museum hopes to attract 150,000 visitors in the first year. They opened on August 1st 2010 following the refurbishment and in the first three months alone have seen more visitors than in the whole of the year prior to the close. Thanks to the unveiling of the building’s classic beauty, complemented by NEC’s aesthetic technology, the inhabitants of ancient York are reawakened to tell their story today.
