The BBC's experimental Blast Studio installation at the South Bank in London is in its last 24 hours, but has attracted around 70,000 young people to play with its online, interactive tools since it opened on 12 May. The project's mission is to attract more 13-19 year olds into creative projects, and engaging them with technology is a key part of that.
Created by the digital agency Fallon, Blast Studio is based at a BBC website that shows the physical studio space in London, and invites visitors to control 'expressive technology' in the space. So far, that more than 100,000 paintballs have been fired from guns in the Blast space, 163kg of glue dribbled onto a rotating sculpture, and 500 metres of ideas, thoughts and observations contributed by the participants have been printed out in the studio. Hanging sound tubes invite users to fill the space with noise and have created the soundtrack to the event.
Participants also made suggestions for the work a graffiti artist and cellist should do during performances in the studio, and the whole process has been documented with nearly 8,000 panoramic photos. Tomorrow's finale will invite participants to aim the paintball guns at glitter and paint filled balloons.
The BBC describes Blast as a 'social learning initiative', and for the interactive learning department reflects a strategic shift among public service education projects which now recognise that they need to use far more imaginative, relevant tools to reach their target audience. Similarly, Channel 4 recognised there was no point spending an education budget on TV shows that were on while their audience as at school, and so shifted that money into commissioning web-based projects, mobile and games to achieve the same ends. Blast wants to make creative projects more accessible and less intimidating for young people.
Blast is the beginning of a summer tour that will invite 13-19 year olds to take part in free creative workshops at various venues around the country, and will give participants feedback on their work from media industry professionals. More than 350 young people have found work placements through Blast already, and a final showcase will be broadcast on BBC Two in November.
