With just a few days to go until Nokia Lumia Live hits London for a stunning free night of music and 4D entertainment, we met up with Ben Fender, CEO of Drive Productions, to discuss the event, find out more about what we can expect and hear what it took to bring such a huge spectacle to the bank of the Thames for one night only.

To celebrate the release of the Nokia Lumia 800, Nokia has teamed up with London’s Drive Productions and music producer Deadmau5 for a landmark event on London’s riverside. Taking place on the 28th November, Nokia Lumia Live will bring a free show of live music, played against the backdrop of spectacular 4D projections shown on the 120-metre Millbank Tower.

With anticipation high for this amazing riverside event, the first question we had for Ben Fender was to explain to us the thinking behind the whole 4D concept of Nokia Lumia Live, let us know us what Nokia wanted to achieve with the event and, without ruining any surprises, give us an idea of what we can expect to see on the night.

“The objective was to create a piece of work that would emulate the forward-thinking collaboration between Nokia and Windows and to generate excitement and media buzz around the release of the Lumia handset”, Fender explained.

“4D projection is an exciting new medium where, through the use of high-powered digital projection equipment we can project a model of a building or complex structure back onto itself”, he continued. “We can then dress this model with complex three-dimensional CGI content that creates the illusion that the fabric of the architecture is transforming.”

“This magical effect, which we have named 4D projection is distinguished from 3D by the fact that the viewer does not need to use stereoscopic glasses in the way that is experienced at cinemas”, Fender said. “In addition to this, the projection can be staged along with all sort of other live effects such as live music or scent generators or lasers, for example, to add the fourth dimension.”

Of course, one of the main highlights of the night will be the live music provided by world-renowned producer Deadmau5, so we were keen to hear how closely Deadmau5 was involved in the planning process and what special considerations were required of the team at Drive Productions.

“The main consideration was the type of music Deadmau5 produces”, Fender told us. “It tends to be electro and house [and] the content had to convey this throughout the performance, reflecting the sci-fi nature of Milbank Tower itself, as well as Deadmau5’s style.”

“The style of the content [of the event] has been driven by the idea of breaking down boundaries and travelling to new dimensions of experience, which has been created in conjunction with Deadmau5' soundtrack.”

However, maybe the most surprising fact about this event is that, while Nokia Lumia Live has taken the Drive Motion Graphics Studio three months of careful planning, the immense project will only require a crew of fifteen technicians on the night to ensure the whole event runs smoothly.

With sixteen high-powered projectors beaming images onto the 800 windows of the 120-metre Millbank Tower from across the river and images having to be projected so carefully onto such an immense structure, we asked Fender what the key technical concerns were, that had to be thought out during the planning of such an incredibly complex event as this.

“Variations in the line-up and the lenses of the 16 projectors would result in a hugely amplified reflection on the surface of the building” he told us “making the precise positioning of the projectors extremely complicated and technically challenging. Specially constructed steel cradles were made to position the projectors on their sides to create the 300ft plus tall image.”

When we asked how smoothly the planning of this event went and whether there were any specific obstacles that they faced along the way, though, Fender was a little less forthcoming, telling us, “Drive were able to hit all the deadlines as requested despite a number of production challenges.”

We can’t wait to get down to the Millbank Tower to see the full spectacle and with the event free for all to attend, you should be sure down to get down to the Thames riverside and enjoy the night for yourself if you’re in the area. And if you can’t make it, you can catch all the action live on the Nokia UK Facebook page.

Nokia Lumia Live featuring Deadmau5 kicks off at 9pm on the 28 November, so we hope we’ll see you there.