Deploying multimedia technology in way that enhances a naturally stunning visual experience is no easy task. Yet that is exactly what Event Communications and systems integrator DJ Willrich (DJW) have done at London's The View from The Shard utilising the features of Dataton WATCHOUT multi-image display and presentation software. For this project, WATCHOUT was provided by Dataton's UK Premium Partner, Mirage Associates.
WATCH the video. Click to view.
At a height of 1,016ft (310m), Renzo Piano's Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe and has redefined the London skyline. Conceived by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect as a vertical town' incorporating offices, restaurants, residences, shops and the prestigious five-star Shangri-La Hotel, The Shard is the centrepiece of a £2bn regeneration project at London Bridge Quarter on the south side of the River Thames.
The View from The Shard' visitor attraction the first part of the building to open - enables Londoners and tourists to enjoy the 360-degree vistas from the highest public levels 69 and 72 which, at up to 800ft (244m), are almost twice the height of any other viewing platform in the capital.
The design of the visitor experience was carried out by Event Communications, working in collaboration with Renzo Piano, the architect for The Shard. Renzo Piano explains: London is a city of inspiration and imagination. We wanted to create a public space where people could visit the building to experience London in a different way and also feel that they have discovered the spirit of the building. On top of the city, but also within it.
On arrival at Level 00 and 01, visitors are drawn into the tapestry of London with glimpses of the city laid out before them. Travelling skyward in two high-speed kaleidoscopic' lifts, they then swiftly reach Level 68, from where Guest Ambassadors guide them to Level 69, a comfortable enclosed 360 degree viewing gallery, and Level 72, a semi-open space that surrounds visitors in the sights and sound of the city, with shards of glass that form the top of the skyscraper offering a breathtaking translucent roof.'
Event Communications were responsible for the experiential design of the whole The View from The Shard attraction, including the foyer and pre-show area at the dedicated entrance in Joiner Street, the ticket area and retail installation on Level 01, experiences on level 33 and 68 and a retail boutique on Level 68. The spaces on Level 00 and 01 utilise Dataton WATCHOUT to integrate multiple HD video images into a single whole image, along with synchronised multimedia content playout.
The foyer and pre-show area feature a 5 wide by 3 high flat-panel videowall showing filmic content designed to put The Shard into a historical and geographical context, while a four-by-one videowall, with the screens arranged to form a single portrait-mode column, provides up-to-date information for visitors regarding the schedule of their trip.
This is the one place from which you can see the whole of London, so in many ways The View from The Shard can be positioned as the first stop on any visitor's itinerary, says Kevin Murphy, development director of Event Communications.
It is all about taking visitors on a journey, and the ground-floor galleries offer a witty approach to that journey, giving visitors filmic and graphic images of London and famous Londoners some of whom you might not associate with the city at all.
Between Levels 68 and 72, a series of a dozen Tell:scopes' act as digital telescopes, identifying places of interest in the user's sight line and offering information on 200 London landmarks in a choice of 10 different languages.
Throughout the visitor spaces, the role of images is matched by that of the sound, which was crafted for the Event Communications team by composer David Mitcham. The site-specific soundtrack was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and London choir the Joyful Company of Singers.
Explaining the role played by visual technology in the visitor-experience concept, Kevin Murphy says: What we have here is a combination of a show system with digital signage. We were very restricted in terms of space, and we knew the system had to be flexible because with signage, you never know what the customer is going to do with it once the operation has started.
Using WATCHOUT allows the content to be dynamic and updated as necessary. We can even insert 4K video files without any loss of quality or flexibility. Content is king, and with WATCHOUT, we're delighted with the quality of that content.
David Willrich of DJW is similarly effusive in his praise for WATCHOUT, which offers the ability to blend and merge images from any source, and then synchronise their playback along with audio, lighting control and other show data, according to a pre-programmed schedule.
For this project, DJW wrote a digital signage element around WATCHOUT and added additional features for this system to enable the results that we wanted, that a conventional digital signage solution could not provide us.
Past experience has taught us that WATCHOUT is a rock-solid platform, says Willrich. What we particularly like about it is that it scales very well while maintaining image quality. The software simply embraces the data you feed it with, processes it, and then gets the job done.
Dataton's UK Premium Partner Mirage Associates supplied the WATCHOUT software to The View from The Shard project, and Mirage's Steve Selwyn admits the spectacular nature of the setting made this a fantastic project to be involved in.
For Dataton, Fredrik Svahnberg, marketing director, adds: The latest version of WATCHOUT incorporates flexible features that can be added, depending on the event. This is particularly useful for a project such as this
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
Deploying multimedia technology in way that enhances a naturally stunning visual experience is no easy task. Yet that is exactly what Event Communications and systems integrator DJ Willrich (DJW) have done at London's The View from The Shard utilising the features of Dataton WATCHOUT multi-image display and presentation software. For this project, WATCHOUT was provided by Dataton's UK Premium Partner, Mirage Associates.
