William Shakespeare famously claimed that ‘All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players’. This remains true today: indeed, streets and places are positively animated by people and their daily interactions and transactions.
But as well as acting as a stage, much of the built environment is also potentially a screen. New technologies in terms of projection, and creative thinking about the locations and context of where and how images are shown have opened up possibilities for bringing moving images into urban situations.
We see tragedies, love stories and comedies play out on streets and in public spaces. As well as orchestrating these cameo activities within the remit of place management, emerging projection and display technologies mean new elements can be injected into the public realm to help create new experiences for us all.
The outdoor cinema
People flocked to drive in cinema during the 50s & 60s in the US to catch the latest film, gather with friends and enjoy the outdoor movie-going experience. There was, and still is, something special about watching a film in a different setting from the traditional cinema while enjoying the outdoors at night.
While the explosion of television and home entertainment contributed to a decline in the number of people attending cinemas in general, as the 20th century came to a close people began to rediscover the shared entertainment experience, in both live music and movie watching. This trend has continued into the new century and, as the number of cinema-goers has increased, so too have those looking to show films in different locations and enjoy new ways of creating shared visual experiences.
A number of places have become known for their programme of outdoor screenings in recent years: Somerset House, Trafalgar Square and City Hall in London, for example, regularly host film nights, as do Brighton beach and Reigate’s Priory Park.
Stuart Brown, the BFI's head of events, noted recently in an article in The Independent: ‘The increasing demand for outdoor screenings is a reaction to the insular nature of iPod and download culture. People still want to come together and share an experience, which is a very human impulse. As technology advances and digital projection becomes more accessible, we will see a huge increase in open-air cinema. There's something very exciting about the epic scale of it.’
Film festivals and sponsored outdoor cinema nights have meant that open air screenings are now commonplace in towns and cities across the country during the summer months. Content is diversifying from classic feature films to sport, music and other topical events as well as independently-created material. But as people develop an appetite for watching moving images in different settings and enjoy the experience of gathering together for an evening of outdoor entertainment, what are the implications for those who manage urban areas?
Big screens
The showing of pictures in public spaces can be supported by either permanent or temporary systems – fixed or mobile installations. As the number of outdoor film screenings in British towns and cities has grown, so too have the number of permanent ‘big screens’. There are now 21 of the BBC’s Public Space Broadcasting screens in towns and cities across the UK, the first of which was erected in Manchester's Exchange Square in 2003.
Working in partnership with the BBC, a variety of companies provide the digital screens and technical expertise while local authorities host the screens and manage the public space in which they are set. Apart from BBC programming, the screens are often used to show locally-made short films, event information and sports coverage and are increaingly being used for interactive purpose such as games based on movement recognition or to show texts and photo-images sent by audiences.
These screens are likely to grow in number during the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games as the BBC works in partnership with LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and local authorities to develop a chain of big screens across the UK. While local authorities in host towns have greeted the screens positively, there are a growing number of commentators and national bodies who believe that they can have a negative impact on the built and urban environment in which they are placed. The issues range from physical intrusion to crowd management and amenity impacts, as well as concerns over power supply and health and safety.
The Evening Standard’s, architecture critic, Rowan Moore, is a strong opponent of the BBC’s screens and recently wrote that ‘almost no thought seems to have been given to the appearance or siting of the screens. They are grey and lumpen and present rears as dull as the backside of any TV, only much bigger.’ Meanwhile there have been some public order problems experienced where large crowds gather.
The potential of projection
Digital projection has opened up new possibilities for developing different forms of entertainment in urban places and ways of enhancing community participation. You can turn up with a truck, project onto a building façade or ‘pop up’ screens in almost any location and add moving images to the urban entertainment mix. Even bridges and clouds are potential urban screens.
No self respecting club, venue or festival gets by these days without the projection of moving images, and that the same now applies to outdoor events held in town or city centres. As the public expects more from entertainment in general, managers of urban areas are utilising temporary and permanent urban screens to add an extra dimension to the urban experience and create multimedia events.
While these technological developments represent new possibilities for programming more exiting and engaging town centre events, there are, of course, practical management issues to consider.
The use and placement of screens, especially those that are permanent, needs careful consideration. What are the planning and licensing issues? Who should be responsible for programming content? Should there be an entertainment or informative focus? What are the boundaries with regards to commercial activity and artistic freedom? And what impact could they have on the character of a place?
People management
Crowd management is a key concern for anyone organising an event in the public realm. Manchester witnessed the fallout from technical gremlins when a large crowd gathered to watch a football match and were unable to do so. Issues of overcrowding and access need to be addressed: should events be ‘fenced off’ to control numbers, for example, and is this really desirable in a public place? Similarly, noise pollution from events or the screens themselves can have a negative impact on nearby residents and those using urban areas for other activities. If screens are used throughout the day, do they take away the opportunity to enjoy the peace and quiet of a public square or park?
Typically measuring 7.3m wide and 4.1m high, the BBC’s Public Space Broadcasting screens are substantial objects. They form a focus for many of the places in which they are set. This raises questions about their use, placement, and legacy. Should they be left blank when there is nothing significant to show or should they be used throughout the day? Do they impact negatively on the character or identity of a public place? And what happens to them and the space that they occupy when they become obsolete?
New guidance has already been issued by CABE and English Heritage with regards to big screens. Richard Simmons, Chief Executive of CABE recently stated: ‘This is a growing issue. Before any decision is made to permit a screen, local authorities need to ensure that local character will be preserved or enhanced, and that any harm is minimised. This means having robust policies to protect public spaces, and a plan to resolve competing applications from other broadcasters or commercial operators.’
CABE and English Heritage recommend that local authorities:
• permit the screens only as part of an overall strategy for regeneration;
• assess the potential impact of proposals on the historic environment;
• avoid buildings and places of architectural or historic interest, and competing with public art;
• discourage proposals for commercial advertising, and
• carefully assess the proposed broadcast content and its potential influence on audience size, public access and safety.
Guerrilla cinema
Planning and regulation aside, a growing trend among those looking for more unconventional and interesting ways of showing film and projecting moving image in public spaces is meanwhile to simply turn up and do it! Guerrilla cinema has become a worldwide phenomenon, with secret screenings taking place in various urban spaces. The reasons for putting on a guerrilla cinema show range from transforming the urban environment and reclaiming public space through do-it-yourself public entertainment to smaller gatherings with friends or other like-minded people to enjoy an evening of outdoor film without a feeling of overt commercialisation. Technological developments could see this phenomenon grow in the next few years, as a whole new era of guerrilla cinema is made possible by small hand held projectors that use LEDs to project an image up to 60inches across and use an MP4 file on an iPod or phone.
As the use of projection in new and often unregulated forms takes hold, could we soon see new laws being introduced to control DIY screenings in public places? New laws were introduced in the mid 90s to control DIY music events, as ‘secret’ call-up-to-find-the-location raves became popular across the country. It could be argued that makeshift cinemas and DIY projection brings life to urban centres and provides free entertainment for the enjoyment of everybody. But others might see it as another distraction and hindrance to their daily lives and their enjoyment of public spaces as simply places to relax.
The challenges for place shaping professionals
While the development of projection provides unlimited opportunities to show film and create screens anywhere in the urban environment, there are numerous challenges faced by those responsible for shaping the places in which we live. Urban screens, ad hoc projection and temporary screenings can all add an interesting flavour to urban environments, but professionals must consider the impact they have on the daily life and character of an area. Each place and each screening should be considered on its own merits and the overall objective of creating great living spaces should not be forgotten. So all the world could be a screen – but it is the places, the people and the people’s desires and values that must remain centre stage.
