The Newseum Blue Screen Exhibit

The participatory blue screen studio is one of the Newseum's most popular exhibits. The ingenious MPEG server-based system can be easily modified, allowing visitors to create a wide range of topical newscasts.

Is this where we get to be on TV?" asks an excited young student as he rushes up to the blue screen exhibit. His enthusiasm is understandable: The dynamic participatory exhibit is the next best thing to appearing on TV. The interactive exhibit at the Newseum, the Museum of the News in Arlington, Va., was engineered by Electrosonic Systems, Burbank, Calif. It's proven to be the most popular attraction at the Newseum.

The blue screen exhibit gives visitors the feeling of being a television news reporter. Guest reporters, guided by teleprompters and maps, give the weather forecast in front of a backdrop like those used by professional weathercasters. Other participation areas put visitors in front of a variety of virtual backgrounds, including the White House, the Pentagon and the National Zoo.

Custom Software Produces Impressive Results - Easily

Each performance can be instantly played back from disk. MPEG technology relays the performance to a video monitor where guests can see themselves with the background in place and opening and closing segments attached. The MPEG stream is the copied to a VHS tape, allowing budding reporters to purchase their own newscast at the Newseum store. Families or groups can create an entire news broadcast with each person playing a different role. The process is easily supervised by a museum docent, using Electrosonic's custom software for Windows NT and a simple screen interface.

"People go crazy for the blue screen, "says Newseum director of engineering Jim Updike. "It's been done right. The video quality is very high."

"A Masterpiece"

The exhibit has been called a masterpiece by the Washington Post. A dynamic combination of futuristic architecture, classical museum displays, interactive stations, and video exhibits, the Newseum has become one of the most popular attractions in Washington.

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